FatBoy

With a good soft plastic, especially some of the scented/flavored ones, a bass will sometimes swim around a bit and even put up some fight just holding the bait in its mouth. So even though you feel the weight of the fish and some pull, you still need to give a solid hook set. Also, when you see the fish coming to the surface for a jump, get that rod tip down and keep the fish in the water if you can. A big jump and head shake will probably throw a single hook a lot easier than a treble. As a relative newbie I've probably lost more fish on the jump than any other time. And like RW said, let us know what kind of hook you're using. I use 4/0 EWG for almost all soft plastics. When I first started, the hook looked huge to me. But I've caaght real dinks, like 6", on a 4/0 hook, so it seems like it's hard to get a hook that's too big.

Dude! An 8 lb yamamoto kreature bait!?!? I know GYCB's plastics are heavier than most, but that is a monster. Sorry, couldn't resist ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Thanks, George. That's good stuff. I wonder if one fish is always a cannibal (I mean is a "relative consumer") or if it depends on their "mood." In other words, maybe a particular bass will get along well with the school on one day. Then the next day he's really hungry and gets aggressive. So the other bass chase him off. Once he's behaving himself again he's welcomed back into the school. Then it's time for another fish to turn aggressive. Or is it once a cannibal always a cannibal? Once he gets a taste of bass he just can't go back (unless his pond has a 12 step program for recovering cannibals). Just curious...

LMAO, Avid. You're right that we shouldn't judge another species culture just because they are different from us. It's not the bass's fault they eat each other. Most of them were raised in dysfunctional families. Heck, many of them never even know their father, and you know what the lack of a positive male role model will do to a fish. Putting labels like 'cannibal' on another being leads to stereotypes and hatred. Rather than judge them, we should all accept them and love them just as they are. Now I think I'll go take off my birkenstocks and fix myself a big bowl of muesli with farm-fresh hormone-free milk. Then I'm going down to my vegetable co-op and pick up some nice, organic leafy green vegetables to go with the homemade tofu I made last night...

Well, I have to chime in to make y'all feel good. My PB is the fish in my avatar. I didn't have a scale but it was 17.5" which according to the fish calculator puts it at about 2-8. I know some of you would consider that not much more than a dink. But I was in heaven. I've only been fishing for bass since early this summer. So my goals aren't that high I caught it on a 3" chartreuse Storm swim shad. It was a bluebird day, about 85*. I was fishing from the bank at Rend Lake in southern Illinois; supposed to be a pretty good fishery. She was hanging out in the shade from the tree you can see part of just to the left of my head. She put up a pretty good fight but it only took less than a minute to land her. Still, for this newbie, she pulled pretty hard. I can't imagine what it feels like to have a 5+ lbr on your line. This day was the first time I had gone fishing with my dad since I was a little kid (that's him sitting on the bank in the funny hat). He's fished on and off for probably 70+ years (he's 82 yo), but he's pretty much a worm and bobber guy. He was looking through my tacklebox the night before and saw all the 7" plastic worms, senkos, 4/0 EWG hooks, jigs, etc. He thought I was insane. He picked up one of the 4/0 hooks and made some crack about whether I thought I was fishing for sharks or something. When I lipped that fish he changed his tune, though. He was pretty impressed and (I think) proud. I think that was the only fish I caught that day, but it's still my best day and best memory yet.

Colors have been discussed to death, but for me two colors work really well. Watermelon w/black&red flake and black w/blue flake. I can't catch anything on lighter colors like the pumpkinseed or bright colors like reds and purples.

Wow, never heard of that before. How thick was the plastic tubing? In my experience it's tough to get the tubing back over the barb of the main hook even when I'm trying to. I can't imagine how a fish could put enough force in that direction (back towards the front of the bait, the line, and you) to do that. But obviously he did it.

So do bass tend to eat baby bass? I know shad are the most common forage and crawdads and frogs are preferred when available. But do they eat their own young? The abundance of baby bass colored baits/lures would seem to indicate they do. But what about a baby bass patterned rapala? Is that meant for bass or other species?

Thanks for the help. I don't miss too many fish with senkos (and knockoffs) so I don't think it's really my hook set. I always wait to make sure fish has the lure. I'm thinking the fish may just be too small for such a fat bait. The fish I've been catching in this hot weather are pretty small, like 10". I think the bigger fish are all hanging out with a beer in the deeper water. And I AM encourage that at least I'm getting hits. I'm far from giving up on the fat ika. Maybe when the water cools down I'll have better luck.

OK, on the fall means literally on the fall. Just wanted to make sure since as I said most of my catches don't come that way. After the bait hits the bottom I dead stick it for several seconds. Then usually give a little shake of the rod tip and let it sit again. Sometimes the bass will hit right after the shake. If not I move it a little, sometimes slow sometimes with a slight pop. Then let it set, shake, repeat. The length of the pause depends on how I think the fish want it and my patience level on a particular day. Sounds like I do it more like RW's way than some of the others I've read. Ah well. To each his own...as long as we're all catching fish.

I've been fishing the fat ikas off and on for the past couple weeks and still haven't caught a single fish on em. Some of that is because it's so hot and the fishing is slow. But I'm catching them on other baits in the same places. I've been getting a few hits on the fat ika but I can't get hooked up. Every time I feel a fish hit, when I get the bait back to me it's bunched up around the bottom of the hook. So I wonder if I'm rigging em wrong? I'm using 4/0 EWG Gamakatsu hooks with the fat ikas skirt up. The point of the hook goes through the body about 1/4" from the bottom. Then the straight part of the hook lies flat against the side of the body. I've tried "texposed" with the point of the hook just under the skin of the body. I've also tried pushing the body a little further on the hook so that the ben of the hook sticks out from the body but the point is just touching the body. Does all of this sound right? I'll try to post some pics of my rig soon.

I've heard a lot of people say that when fishing senkos, fat ikas, etc. the majority of strikes comes on the fall. So by "on the fall" do you mean after the bait hits the water but before it hits bottom? Or does that include sitting on the bottom but before you start any kind of retrieve? If on the fall includes sitting on the bottom I'll agree that most hits come on the fall. But if it's before it hits bottom I disagree. I get a lot fo my fish on senkos after it sits on the bottom for a bit with maybe a very slight shake of the rod tip.

Hmmm...still not sure what you mean. Lots of people use a variety of creature and lizard baits on c-rigs and some of them are pretty heavy. GYCB's Kreature is a perfect example. If you're trying to imitate a crawdad scooting across the bottom I don't see how weight matters. What I mean is that I would expect the fat ika to have essentially the same presentation in 20' of water tied to the end of a c-rig as it does in <10' of water t-rigged weightless. Now whether the fish are interested in that presentation at that depth with given cover etc. is another question entirely. Yesterday they weren't. :'(

The lure is too heavy for what? Not sure what you mean.

Oh yeah...what Jim said. Smear on some scent. I always do that with jigs. In fact, jigs are pretty much the only lure I use scent on. It will also help the jig slide through cover a little easier.

Jigs aren't like topwaters or a t-rigged soft plastic. You need to set the hook quick. In my experience, the quicker the better. I don't wait when I feel the tick or thump. And I don't miss that many hook ups. I do agree with Tom that you may be getting bluegills not bass. Or they may be smaller bass that are picking up the trailer and not getting the hook in their mouth. Another thing I've learned recently is that the hooks on most jigs are way bigger (in diameter) than the standard EWGs I use for soft plastics so I need a stronger hook set to get the hook all the way in there. Regardless, always remember that swings are free!!!

I haven't been getting notification of replies to posts for the past couple days. Seems to have started some time yesterday after I was having some trouble connecting (server problems yesterday?). Anyone else having this problem? Mods? Glenn?

OK, not much to report unfortunately. I didn't catch anything on the fat ika c-rig. I did have one fish hit, but didn't get the hook set. I wouldn't draw any conclusions from this as the fishing was pretty slow tonight. I just couldn't find where the fish were. It was a 50 or 60 acre quarry, very deep, I've only been to once before. And we were fishing from a canoe. No depth/fish finder. I did catch one 12" bass on a Norman DD22. Had another on a jig, but I got too anxious and my line broke right on the knot. But that's for another post. My partner caught only one small crappie on a shad rap (almost as big as the fish).

When do bass strike? When management won't give them a good contract. They would probably strike more often, but it's hard for them to hold those picket signs with such little fins. muddy_man, you disappointed me. I thought you would be all over that one ;D

Here's a link to the bigmouth video: http://www.timtuckeroutdoors.com/proddetail.php?prod=A342&cat=8 Bass Smacker, stay away from those other big mouth sites You'll be sleeping on the couch for a month.

When I asked a similar question recently someone pointed out these three KVD DVDs from BPS. http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=80198&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=WISHLIST&hvarAID=wishlist It's not on the web (read not free) but $10 for 3 DVDs by one of the best-ever pros seems hard to beat IMO. I haven't had a chance to get them yet, but they're on my list for next time I place an order from BPS.

I can't answer your first question since I'm still working on that one myself ;D But I would consider the presence of lots of baitfish to be a mixed bag. On one hand, it may mean that there are few bass in that water if so many are able to survive. On the other hand, the bass that are there would have plenty to eat and therefore grow. Also, where's there's baitfish the bass may be in a feeding mood. As for why they would take your lure when there's so much good eatin' around? Bass are not real smart. They'll eat anything that looks alive. Your lure MAY look as good as the real food. They're also lazy. So if your lure is bigger than the baitfish, or looks like a wounded baitfish, they may "think" it's an easier meal. I actually asked a similar question about whether seeing lots of baitfish is a good sign or bad for the presence of feeding bass a couple weeks ago. I'll be interested to hear others opinions on this one.

RW, I guess by "action" I meant the backwards fall and wiggling tentacles. Not darting movement through the water like a tube or something. This is quoted from RW's "infamous" magic lure thread: I cast parallel to cover or structure, let the lure settle to the bottom and fish it like a Senko with a short (6-12") horizontal sweep. I then let the lure fall on slack line so that it falls vertically, not moving forward. I work the lure slowly, letting it pause for 10-20 seconds or more before moving it again. I like to picture a crawdad moving over rocks and hiding. I can see doing a similar thing on a c-rig at more depth. No? Regardless, I'll let everybody know how it works out. I'll also be experimenting with a new DD22 and some other cranks so I may not be able to give the ika c-rig a thorough work out. But I'll definitely fish it for a portion of the trip.

Anyone tried a fat ika on a c-rig? Seems like it should work. With a long enough leader I should be able to get some of the nice ika action. Do you agree? I'm fishing some deep water (flooded quarry) from a canoe tomorrow and the only soft plastics I have on hand are a bunch of senkos, some yum craw papis, and a few fat ikas.

There's no way of knowing if either of these ponds has any 7+ pounders (and I kind of doubt it). But given you've caught 50 fish the same size from the golf course, you won't find a 7+ pounder in there. There may be some a little bigger than the ones you've caught, but not a lot bigger. Spend your time on the neighborhood pond. And good luck!