Lucky Craft Man

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but I was wondering the effectiveness of using a rubber "O" ring to wacky rig a Senko opposed to hooking it directly through the middle? I know the "O" ring is supposed to protect the Senko from ripping, thus making it last longer, but the hook position is parallel to the length of the worm. If you Wacky Rig it through the middle, then you tear up the bait, but the hook is perpendicular to the length of the worm. Therefore, my question is, does the hook position of a Wacky Rigged worm matter?

Well, since I don't exist anymore, I just changed my new screen name to my old (now lost) screen name (without a record of me, I knew there wouldn't be a conflict). The only thing is I look like a new member (I'll be curious to see who welcomes me to the forum) I assume with the suggestion of removing the discount service form, your profile maybe found rather quickly.

I hate to disagree with Roadwarrior (since gaining access to my original account is in his hands), but I never saw any better "production" between the original Senko and Tiki Sticks (for the record, I stopped using the original Senko and switched to Tiki Sticks, because they are much cheaper and I actually feel the Tiki Stick might be slightly better for me - "for me" being the key words). I told this story before, but a buddy and I fished a weedbed with him using the original Senko and me using a Tiki Stick. We had on close to the same color and fished for 2 hours. The end result...He caught 10 bass and I caught 10 bass. The only difference was that I caught all ten of my bass on 1 Tiki Stick and he used I think 5 Senkos. Therefore, it cost me 3 cents per fish and him 30 cents per fish. Not a big difference, but with how many of these lures you may use in a season, it could add up. Though, the key is what you are confident in. I like the Tiki Stick, RW likes Senkos. Therefore, you can experiment and decide which ones you like (I personally think they all work well).

The same thing happened to me (my original name was LuckyCraftMan). It wouldn't even let me assign a new password.

I have the same question. I just purchased Gamakatsu Finesse Weedless Hooks and I have those small rubber rings that you slide on the Senko for the hook to go through for wacky rigging. I hope to test this out this weekend to see how it works. These are the hooks I purchased: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0030848120038a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&No=20&noImage=0&Ntt=weedless&Ntk=Products&QueryText=weedless&Ntx=matchall&N=4887&Nty=1

RW suggesting something other then a G Loomis!? What's next, a recommendation to buy a Pflueger over a Shimano?

I caught some nice ones out of that cove (a couple 4 lbers) and I'm not complaining of the number of bass, either. I'm actually happy about the fact that I did well and I'm glad bass are stupid enough to keep hitting the same lure. I'm was just wondering it the gravy train would end (which it looks like it won't).

Do you think bass will ever wise up and get sick of hitting Senko style lures? There was lake I fished for 3 days. On day 1, I found this small cove (no bigger then 150 feet long and 50 feet wide) and caught about 20 bass out of it with a green tiki stick. Day 2 of my fishing trip, I went straight back to that cove and caught over 35 bass with the same colored tiki stick. Day 3 came and I figured I must have exhausted that cove out, but I ended up catching close to 40 bass, again on the green tiki sitck. I find it hard to believe that there were over 95 bass in that cove; therefore, I must have caught a few fish twice in those three days. Senko's have been around for close to 10 years (I think) and they almost make fishing too easy (not that I am complaining). I'm just wondering, with more and more fisherman using this lure, will there be a time when Senkos will not longer produce like they have been the last 10 years?

My sentiments exactly.

I am looking for feedback as to how you guys who have a G Loomis Crankbait rod like it? I am particularly interested in the 7'6" Medium or Medium Heavy model. This rod would be used for deep crankbaits and rattle traps. Thanks in advance for you opinion.

I faced a somewhat similar situation. I had several small lakes nearby (along with the three rivers that run through Pittsburgh) and Lake Erie is 2 hours away. I didn't want to get a large rig just for Lake Erie and a smaller boat for the surrounding lakes (I don't have the room or money for two boats). I found what I think was the perfect boat for my needs. It was a 14' Crestliner that has the amenities that a large bass boat would have (trolling motor, fish finder, live well, etc), but it was small enough to fit in my garage and handle to small electric lakes just fine. It fits two people very comfortably (and not that difficult for one person to launch) and I have taken it out on Lake Erie on calmer days and it handled it just fine. It wasn't that much money and the 40 h.p. main engine gets it going around 30 m.p.h., which is fine with me. So if you are looking for a boat that can handle almost everything you are looking for and you don't mind an aluminum modified V boat, then there are very good options for you.

I would definately go the other way around with those two. I like the shorter more limber rod for spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and crankbaits and the longer stiffer rod for soft plastics (the heavier power will help haul bass out of weeds). That's just my 2 cents worth.

I use a Shimano Curado 100 D with 12 lb. Yo-Zuri hybrid Line on a GLX BRC893 Senko Rod (I know RW would be proud of me for having this set-up). I can launch a senko a mile with this outfit. The only downside is when I get a hit on the end of an extremely long cast (setting the hook can be a challenge). The moral of the story is like everyone else said, senkos can easily be fished with a baitcaster.

I used to use Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, and then Rapala came out with the Rattlin' Rapala, which I used exclusively. Now I use the Yo-Zuri Rattle-N-Vibe, which seems to be more effective then the other 2.

I apologize for mixing questions with my opinion (hence, appearing that I am telling, which was not my intention). My intended question was what criteria would you use in considering getting a replica of a fish made. If it is size, then what size have you or would you look to catch in order to consider it for a replica. Maybe the criteria is for just memories, independent of size. That what I was wondering. How about you Rolo? What would you use as a criteria in getting a replica made or if you already had a fish mounted, why did you choose to get that particular fish mounted? PS I would pass out if I brought a 9 lb 5 oz. Smallmouth to the boat.

I would normally say a 7 lb. Smallmouth is unrealistic, but I fish Lake Erie often and have caught several 6+ lb. fish. Therefore, I feel a 7 lb. Smallmouth is achievable for me (though maybe not). I think a trophy criterion is based upon where you live and fish and the potential of the lake you have nearby. If I lived in Florida or California, I don't think an 8 lb. Largemouth would not be replica worthy, but in Southwestern PA, it would be. This is part of the reason I asked the question. I like to see what all the guys out there consider "replica worthy."

My rule of thumb is to use as light as weight as possible and still be able to maintain contact with the bottom. In heavy winds, this might be up to 1 oz. and in very calm situations where I am casting, I might use 3/16 oz. That's just my humble opinion and it seems to work for me.

Let me first start by saying that when I say "Mounting Fish," I do mean getting a replica made. I would never kill a trophy fish (or any fish for that matter). I was wondering if you guys have any criteria, such as size of fish, you would consider mounting or getting a replica of? For me, my criteria for a Largemouth Bass is over 8 lbs. (which I'm sure for you Cailfornia guys and Southern guys your criteria might be 15 lbs., but for the Northeast, I think 8 lbs. is pretty rare). My Smallmouth Bass criteria is over 7 lbs. and for Musky is over 50 inches. Though, recently I caught and released a 21 inch, 4.5 lb. Smallmouth, which is not my PB, but the colors on this fish are just amazing to me. I was thinking about getting a repilca made of it, but I don't think a sub - 7 lb. Smallmouth is "replica worthy." Therefore, would you conside size alone or are there other factors that you would think about when considering getting a mount or replica made? I was just wondering what you guys would consider "mount worthy" or better yet "replica worthy."

That would be an extremely difficult thing to keep track of (unless you are the featured guest on "Day on the Lake"). Also, If you drift a drop shot rig over large flats, then one cast could be 25 minutes long. Therefore, your catch per cast would be very large. Though, this year I have been keeping track of one thing. My cousin posed the question to me last year as to how many fish I catch an hour on lures (he is strickly a live bait man). I had no idea, so this year I counted the fish I caught and divided it out by the number of hours I fished, which obvously gave me fish per hour. As it stands this year, on a good day I average 3 fish per hour and on bad days I would average around 0.6 fish per hour. I figure this is a good measurment as to how well I progress as a fisherman and is easy to keep track of (as opposed to counting each cast).

This Saturday I caught a 20" LM Bass on the exact same lure (watermelon Tiki stick) and I weighed it on my scale (that I calibrate often) and it read 3 lb. 5 oz. So I would say 3.5 lbs would be a good estimate.

I fish it exactly like a Senko (it falls horizontally like a Senko).

I'm with you. I use the Senko so much, I even blew the wad on a G Loomis GLX Senko Rod just for that one lure.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewkistlermg.html

Since learning how to use a Senko type bait, my fish catch total has tripled. I don't know why fish love them so much, but they can't seem to resist them. I took my father out bass fishing this weekend (he never threw a lure in his life) and taught him how to fish a Senko (essentially cast out and count to 30 without reeling or moving the bait). He caught 2 LM and 1 SM in about a hour and I caught about 20, all on Tiki Sticks (Senko knock-off). Now he is talking about going to the store and buying 100 packs of these things, because he can't believe how easy they are to use and how effective they can be. For those who are having trouble with them, the only thing I can say is make sure you let the thing sit on the bottom long enough and study your line.

The Pflueger President Baitcasting Reel is a very good reel. I would give this reel a try before you give up on Pflueger Baitcasters.