jomatty

a weightless senoko is productive in every pond ive ever fished. matt

ive found that the corkscrews dont really help much with the 3x baits. it is very hard to get them to screw in. for me if using a bite me style jig head i use super glue. its difficult to describe the way i put the worm on but ill try. i thread it on just like normal but instead of stopping when the end of the worm is where i want it i keep pushing. the plastic will start to bunch up around the jig head. once you know how much to do this it will bounce back to the right place. i put a little super glue on the shank before doing this. not sure if this makes sense but is really simple, although still a bit of a pain in the butt. those 3x baits are a sick shaky head bait, and i also am using them almost exclusively for c riggin. too bad they are such a pain. keep em out of the sun too cause they can turn to goo. matt

this is a hotly debated issue and there is no right answer. personally i think that yamamoto senkos are far and away the best producing commercially available stick baits but others strongly disagree. dig around for the great test conducted between lbh and rw and you can see how even great anglers disagree about this issue. there is no doubt that the baits from *** are great baits and will catch fish. are they as good as senkos...very personal issue. if you are on a truly tight budget they very well may be the best option for you as they are a little bit tougher and will last longer, even aside from their lower starting price. matt

ive always used single tailed grubs for swimming jigs but recently i got to the lake and realized that i didnt have any grubs with me (had thrown them in a backpack to walk to the river and forgot about them). my challenge for this month was a swimming jig so i was planning on throwing it anyways. I used a speed craw that i had recently grabbed on sale and had no real plan of what i was going to do with and had good results. how do you guys like these baits and what are you doing with them. seem like they could be good on a c-rig but other than that or as a jig trailer im not sure what they would be good for. matt

personally i wouldnt use a crig to target bass that i can see on the beds. however for blindcasting spawning areas it is a fine option. i would definitely think that it would be a good option in the deep water you described. i just cant see sight fishing with a crig. i mean they are hard to cast and then you would have to drag a big ole weight through the bed before your bait gets in the strike zone which could spook a fish on the bed-who is so stationary. matt

yeah the super glue with the brush is the way to go imo. squeezing drops in the right place is hard. if you fish a lot of senkos and ikas glue will help you to get a lot more life out of your baits. when they start to slide down the shank of the hook every cast a drop of glue on the top of the hook shank will help you get a lot more life out of every bait

thanks guys, the split rings are coming off, although its clear they dont need to. i just like as little excess stuff on the bait as possible so...

i use spot removers a lot but also like a plain ball head jig head as well. i havent tried the ikey heads yet but they look like a good option as well. matt

i fish a lake that is entirely lined with lillies and had a tough time adjusting. here are the things i do that have worked. the frog that everyone has suggested is a big producer i use a bronzeye as well as ribbits a fat ika or senko around the edges is very productive spinnerbaits around edges are very productive heavy jigs pitched into any slight difference or hole in the pads a beaver or straight tailed worm with a 1/2 to 1 oz tungsten weight pegged and then pitched in any small hole in the pads if there are slightly larger holes in the pads you can jiggle an ika through them and yo yo it letting it fall on a slack line other tips...this is one of the situations where i think line is absoluetly crucial. make sure you have braid tied on. try to get em to the top and water ski em on in but if you cant you will be very glad you have the braid tied on. also key in on any difference in the pads. if there is a lot of them, like in the lake i fish they can be kinda overwhelming as it can all start to look the same. look for small holes (can indicate a rocky bottom)and gaps,indentations, and other differences pads are not my favorite type of vegetation but it can be a lot of fun to fish. this post is making me want to head there right now.

i know many folks consider this to be an absolutely terrible idea but ive found that when i have less rods than i would like and do not know exactly what bait i want to throw for the day that they are a good option. i like the action better than when tied normally although if i know exactly what i want to throw for the day i will often tie a rapala knot. what i am considering doing however is removing the split rings from all my cranks and always using a snap. one of my favorite search baits is the speed trap and that is how it is sold out of the package. do you guys that use snaps take the split rings off? how about on lipless cranks and traps? in my experimenting the action looks good and removing the split rings takes away a lot of my issue with using snaps as a small snap is not much larger than a split ring so it is not that visible. anyhow yes or no on removinn the split rings?

you guys dont like white baits at night. black is definitely my go to color but white is the only other color i use. try it when there is a little moonlight. if you want to develop some confidence in white plastics get some white or pearl super flukes. they should build your confidence. in addition to cranks and spinnerbaits i like white jigs in the fall or pretty much anytime im swimming em. matt

ive been looking at the yo zuri and the different shape that they had made me nervous and i havent got any yet. clearly that was poor judgement as everyone seems to love them. ok they are on the shopping list now. matt

yeah if i didnt already have the bubbles i would do that, but being a bone head im going forward, ill just have to be really careful

interesting the varied responses the release of the imaginary fish got. if i caught a state record i would release it no problem. if i caught the world record...that bad boy is goin in the ice box to silence doubters. i guess the different records mean different things to different people. matt

try a single tailed grub or swimming chunk or speed craw as a trailer. you do not fish a swim jig like a regular you swim it. i use a steady retrieve with slight pumps of the rod tip. sometimes you can swim it right along the surface but i have had better luck swimming it similar to how i would a spinnerbait.

spinnerbaits are the first thing that comes to mind but something like a lipless crankbait can also be effective. wiith those baits you will not need to feel everything to catch a fish and also the wind can stir things up and get the fish active. matt

its not a stupid question and i dont think there is any easy answer. if you see a pair on the bed then the smaller one is the male. other than that i think it is a lot of guesswork as even top fishermen seem to have a tough time and rely on guesswork alot. during the spawn the males will also often have beat up tails but females can get a little raw too being in the shallows. look at the belly and if it is distended with eggs then that obviously is a clue... maybe a biologist will come along and set us all straight with some fail proof tell tale thing to look for but i dont know any...

i have favorite brands that i use for most techniques but have never settled on a favorite lipless crank. to be honest ive used pretty much whatever and that has worked out fairly well. i like the lucky craft baits and use them for a lot of other things but am not sure that it is worth the extra $$ in this application. maybe im jsut not good enough with lipless cranks but i just cant tell that much difference. plain old rattle traps have also worked fine for me although they seem fairly cheaply made and need hook changing out (which aside from lucky craft). ive also had good luck with the rattlin rapalas and like them fairly well. anyways, what are you guys favorites?

i hope those guys were talking about the other guy mentioned by another poster and notmike or john when they were taking about owning a particular lake. thats great that kerr is gonna fish the FLW. cant wait to see how he does. always wondered how some of the trophy hunters would do on one of the tours and if they could adjust to having to target 3 lb fish

if the wind isnt howling try a weightless senko. thats my number one pond lure

wow i had no idea that those bubbles i have are so dangerous. im glad i havent used any yet. guess ill have to be careful. wow my son even helps me poor and i can see it now, get a spoon little guy and dump some of those bubbles in there.... man i am dumb and need to be more careful....

i used to do the same thing for c-rigs but now i cant seem to throw anything but 3x lizards or centipedes on a rig

randall why would it not be better to still just have a small stinger hook on the back of the bait? im not saying your wrong as im sure you know much more about this than me but i dont see what in your theory makes a smaller back hook completely useless or in the way. even in ideal conditions where most fish are eating the bait whole there can be one or two that change their mind at the last minute and dont commit. i think of the back hook kinda as a just in case, stinger kinda hook. if they eat it how i want them too i wont need them, but im still wondering what harm they do and why you like to remove them. thanks for clarifying and a very interesting post, matt

senkos work well on a shaky head but are not imo generally the best available option. i prefer something that stands up a little better and has a slightly slimmer profile. the slim senko is a killer shaky bait.

yeah like skillet said, use what you have until you can upgrade but dont avoid jigs just because you dont hav ethe perfect set up. as long as you are not fishing heavy cover or mats you will do fine with a lighter rod.