thomaskgrosvenor

Thank you for advice/suggestions. I went back to the same spots I had two of my bite-offs the other day along the Whippany River in New Jersey. I continued with the 10 lb test P-Line(which worked for shore fishing efforts for bass with the weightless texas rigged senko)but added a 5" leader of the AFW 7x7 26 lb test black nylon coated stainless steel leader which is knottable (the lightest available at the tackle store, a bit pricey though, but I wanted to catch one of the culprits). Since the leader was black, I used a black 2/0 ewg hook with a black 4" senko so that everything was fashionable and color coordinated. Anyway, I got a couple of aggressive hits and then caught one (it was a pretty big pickerel with very well developed pointy teeth) and the leader held up well and did not deter the pickerel from biting. I was working the senko around a watery vegetation that looked like underwater evergreen bush branches, along tops and outer edges. I am not sure if the pickerel were reacting to the drop or action of the senko or to the vibration against the edges of the vegetation. So it remains to be seen how the bass will respond to the added leader when I fish in areas where both pickerel and bass are congregating, but if your fishing for pickerel in the vegetation, the aforementioned leader material seemed to work well as far as presentation of the texas rigged senko to the pickerel and held up well to their teeth for a couple of rounds. Perhaps a step in the right direction.

Sorry for writing a book here, but if you are an experienced angler, please read: I have been doing a lot of catch/release bass fishing this summer in New Jersey. I have been shore and wading fishing in ponds, lakes, streams and rivers with a lot of vegetation. I am relatively new to this activity and am looking for some advice for the sake of the fishes. The technique I have adopted from my research and observation of others is the use of Senkos, 4” and 5”, on a offset shank worm EWG 2/0 hook, with 10 lb test p-line floroclear either weightless texas or wacky rigged. What I had the most success with was tossing the senko out along the perimeters of various forms of underwater vegetation which I could locate with polarized sunglasses. I would also plop the senko on top of the vegetation while weightless texas rigged and scoot it along to the edge and then let it drop off the edge. Sometimes, I would plop it out around structure or underneath plants and trees that extended out off the shore above water to imitate something edible falling out of the tree into the water. I also use other lures, conditions permitting, but the senko really caught me the most large and small mouth bass this summer and fit to most of the conditions I encountered while shore fishing, so I’d like to continue using it. Also I like fishing in different locations as I explore the state of NJ and enjoy finding the fish as much as catching them. After all the that background information, my dilemma is as follows. There have been 3 occasions (once in Deer Park pond, Allamuchy and twice in Whippany River, Morristown) when I have encountered fish I believe to be pickerel who seem to also like my senko fishing tactics around the vegetation. I have caught and landed few, but believe I have had 3 hook bite offs due to them, one of which I actually saw – but couldn’t be certain it was a pickerel. Basically, I feel the fish on, but as soon as I initiate the hook set, the hook and senko are gone. I seriously don’t think it’s bass biting off the hook, as I have caught a number of bass and I am certain my knots are strong. Now, being as I have fished a number of locations this summer and have an idea where the pickerel are, one could say “well if your fishing for bass, then don’t fish there” however I like to exploratory fish in new locations and don’t mind catching the toothier fish. If I encounter toothy fish at a new location, I certainly don’t want to be leaving hooks and senkos in the fishes though as they are the source of my enjoyment of fishing so I want to catch them correctly and release them correctly as possible. Finally, the question at hand: I wish to continue fishing the weightless texas rigged senkos around the vegetation in an exploratory manner. Sometimes, I can’t get information as to exactly what fish species inhabit a particular body of water I am exploring. So, is there any way I can rig the senko for bass around the vegetation while at the same time making the set up pickerel-proof (or other toothy fish) while not negatively impacting the behavior of the senko as it drops?