galv

i've been using the strike king shaw's pro series 5" salty stick recently. i think they are most like senkos out of all the many stick baits i've tried and are relatively inexpensive. just doing a quick internet search, i can't really find much information about them, so maybe they don't make them anymore. wish i'd known i'd like them so much. i would have bought a lot more last time i stocked up on baits. i've also been using tiki sticks, yum dingers, mann's hardnose. maybe the senkos are the best but i've caught good fish with all of the knockoffs as well.

wow. i'm gonna try and break my rod next trip

my buddy bought that combo late last year. he has no problems with it.

i've never used it and maybe they've improved it, but i've witnessed a buddy firsthand snap his line no less that 5 times on one 3 hour fishing trip. i could barely contain my laughter.

i usually bring 2 rods but really only need 1 because i lazily throw soft plastics the whole time :-[ depends on where you're fishing, but i like just bringing a 6 foot rod, so you're not walking through the woods getting all caught up on trees and crap getting all ticked off because you felt the need to bring all your gear including your 9 foot saltwater trolling rod. also the bug spray is a must and i like a small radio with headphones because i can get kinda bored when the fish aren't biting.

i'm not a complete idiot when it comes to getting fish off but i'm always looking for tips from more experienced anglers. mainly gut hooks but another example earlier this year i nailed one of my biggest fish 5lb 130z with a really solid hookset burying the hook in the top of her mouth all through that fleshy part and out the top. this thing just wouldn't come out. i forgot to bring my pliers but i'm not sure they would have made much difference. i was just ripping away trying to get it out until my hand was bleeding. naturally during this my fishing partner is trash talking calling me a pansy and what not. same thing i'd do to him. so after about a minute with no success i dumped the fish back into the water then let him have a shot at it. after a minute or two he finally managed to get the hook free doing the same thing i was. unless i'm lucky enough to catch an 8-10lber which would have a good chance of being the yearly state record, i'd like to get the fish back into the water as quickly as possible and give someone else a chance at catching it again

i've been using the yum dingers and tiki sticks recently just to cut down on expense. i haven't noticed a huge difference. the two biggest fish i've caught this year were on the same green pumpkin black flake senko half an hour apart. didn't have the scale, i'd estimate 6.5lbs and 6lbs. caught a 5lb13oz on a bumblebee yum dinger and a 5lb5oz from shore on a watermelon/chartreuse tiki stick. fished a pack of mann's hardnose worms and caught some nice fish with those too. if i was fishing with money on the line, i'd use a senko, but i can't justify the price difference for just casual fishing at this point. when i stock up i'll usually buy a pack of senkos and a couple packs of something else.

hahaha avid. tell all the dummies you're fishing for snook. i'm writing that down ;D

you've got some patience at least i think after 2 minutes i would have tried to horse him out and take the chance on snapping the line 2 hours

i'm gonna guess around 18

i saw that this morning too and that was awesome

toss it out let it sink, maybe raise it up a little then let if fall again. i've been thinking lately that i fish this too slow even and it might be more productive to cover more water than i do. seems like if i don't get hit or see some type of commotion on the initial cast, jigging the worm around rarely entices a hit. if possible i'll try to cast so i can cover a few good spots before the worm gets back to the boat. when reeling from hole to hole i'll vary my retrieve and see if i can get some type of reaction strike then just stick with whatever may be working.

i get that a lot with pickerel but so much with bass. looked down the other day and a monster pickerel is staring me in the face from 3 feet away

a lot of the time when i get the tap tap tap i'm convinced it's crappie. sometimes i'll catch a pickerel with the tapping but rarely. bass even more rarely. i like to think i've become pretty good at sensing how hard the fish has or hasn't yet hit the bait. helps with braided line. if it's real light taps i'll usually try and wait until the fish actually starts moving with. the line will be moving not jerking intermitently.