TOXIC

Easy cure. We are loading up and going to Okeechobee in a couple of weeks. That’ll keep me happy till we can get out again here in Virginia. Will be going to St Clair end of May.

I use Shad scented smelly jelly on crappie baits and have some confidence it gets more bites. Move over to all of the Yamamoto plastics and they have -0- scent added. I have had fish clamp on the back 1/2 of a Senko nowhere near the hook and I have brought them to the boat. With the smaller fish, I have actually boat flipped them without them ever having the hook.

Base is Waupaca and the King chain of lakes. I used to fish winneconnie and the Fox river. Have fished Big Green as well. The fishing on the chain has been so bad the last couple of years since they sprayed the aquatic vegetation, that I actually left the boat at home last year. Sad really, it used to be really fun fishing.

This is the 2nd year going to Okeechobee. Before that we went to Kissimmee. We stay at Roland’s Resort and meet up with some locals. It’s a good trip. I also go to St Clair in May and Wisconsin in August. Been doing St Clair for 20 years. Those are my 3 away trips every year. Waiting for more of my buddies to retire so we can add a few more. ?

I am going to break from my comfort zone and take some swim jigs with me to Okeechobee in a couple of weeks. I’m not a swim jig expert but I will be rigging them with both a Yamamoto Zako in paddle tail and fork tail. Swim jigs and Swimbaits are go to baits on the big o. I usually am a 5, 6 and 7 inch Senko guy and DShads.

1/4 oz football head jig with a Yamamoto twin tailed hula grub has caught a lot of smallies. A lot.

My one and only trip to Canada with my grandfather on his annual trip before he passed, we had an Indian guide (same one he used every year) that would cook shore lunch. I’m 64 and it was when I was 13 so a few years ago. We also did a fly in to another lake and I remember packing multiple coolers of walleye fillets to bring home. Back then there was a processing operation right at the place we stayed which was Lindy’s on Lac Le Ronge. We also came across a moose swimming across the lake and the guide wanted to lasso it with the boat rope and drown it for food for his family (he had 13 children) but my grandfather talked him out of it because I was along.

Exactly. But how does that affect their representing a product. There’s absolutely no credibility coming from someone who just follows the $$.

It’s not uncommon to follow up a missed strike on a top water with a Senko or fluke and catch the fish. Many times I have power fished a bank without luck and gone back with a Senko or other plastic, dropshot, Ned rig and caught fish. Whether they bit because of the different presentation is up for debate. But I do not think power fishing will spook them or shut them down.

We are required to have the safety course here in Virginia and believe me, they ask for it. The Boat US course is free and the plastic card is an up charge but we’ll worth it. The pics are of the front and back of my card.

Good choice. The most important thing to remember is where in the nose of the bait you initially place the hook. If you look at what would be dead center of the nose, that’s where you want to rig it if you want a straight side to side action when you jerk it. Put the hook point lower and the bait will rise nose up when you jerk it. Put it higher and it will dive when you work it. Likewise either left or right of center will exaggerate that sides action. Those are the basics and there’s a lot of small adjustments you can make with those.?

If you fish big water, being able to get to a safe dock or outrun a storm is important. Likewise if you get caught out in bad water, you need a bigger boat to be safe. Big boats require big motors. I’ve always said it’s better to be able to dial it up when you need it rather than not having it.

It’s very hard not to help when they are in your boat but rules are rules. Many times I would have the same anglers in my boat that I took out to practice. They would tear them up in practice and then struggle tournament day. I would also give seminars at their meetings and I preached that you have to fish the same way tournament day that you did in practice. When tournament day rolled around, they would fish twice as fast, tie on twice as many lures and move twice as many times. They didn’t even realize what they were doing. I gave the same speel to regular tournament guys who hired me to prefish.

When I was guiding I regularly captained for a high school fishing team. Rules were pretty clear, all I did was drive the boat. Stop where they wanted to fish and then drive them to their next spot. As a guide, I could have given a pretty unfair advantage. Now, when prefishing I could give tips but tournament day it was a draw system for the boat captains so you never knew who was going to be in your boat.

I won’t put blame on anyone but in my mind, as a boater, it’s my responsibility to not hit anyone or anything in front of me when I am operating my 21 foot boat. As for being sun blind, that is no excuse. I have a pair of quality sunglasses that allow me to see in almost direct sunlight. If I have to operate going into direct sunlight, I will quarter my boat on plane allowing me to see pretty far ahead for a good amount of time. If the body of water is too small for that maneuver, then I’m not getting on plane.

I’d like nothing better than to post it up but it got copyrighted by Yamamoto and they sent it out as a tip a day to their twitter followers. I could probably find a way to rewrite it but I’m always spouting different ways. Stay tuned. ??

I did an article for Yamamoto titled “78 Ways to Rig a Senko” ?. I have branched out since then but it still ranks as the #1 bait I throw.

If Yamamoto doesn’t make it, I don’t throw it. I have never found the need to try anything else. They have enough styles, sizes and colors to fit every type of fishing I do. Hopefully that holds true with the new ownership.

Nothing worse than a thief. When I lived in Florida on the St Johns, there was a rash of prop thefts from bass boats on lifts. Come to find out it was a local guide and tournament fisherman. While he was guiding he would scope out boats then come back after dark and steal the props. When I travel with my boat, staying at hotels is always a very high risk. I take electronics out and have a Lok R Bar with an alarm padlock for the boat. It covers all of the compartments with my baits and rods. I’ve never heard it go off in all the years I’ve traveled. I think that most thieves would look at it and move on. Sorry to hear about your friend.

I’ve moved around quite a bit and tend to try and find mom n pops and stay away from the chains. Growing up in Nebraska I went to Little Kings which was a Subway style place but 100 times better, Schlotzkys which was unique and a local favorite Runza Hut. When I lived in Kansas City there was no option beyond bbq sandwiches. I did venture to a biker bar near me that had the best pork tenderloin sandwich I have ever had. It was called the Pretzel. When I lived in Massachusetts there was a place called The North End Deli in my town of Plainville that had the best eggplant parmigiana sandwiches on the face of the earth. I’m still searching here in Virginia. ?

Chances on bringing back a discontinued color aren’t good? but there’s always the option to do a special order since they still have the color codes I’m sure. Otherwise, eBay for old stock (which isn’t a bad thing) may be your best bet. I’ve dropped them a line to inquire about the jig heads and Kut Tails. I’ll let you know what they say. COVID might have slowed production for the plastics but the jig heads might be a supply chain issue.

I just looked at the master catalog for 2021 and none of those colors are offered in any of the Kut Tails. So, GYCB discontinued those colors before the buyout. It’s not been unusual for them to discontinue colors over the years if demand isn’t there. I have some friends in Michigan that use a discontinued color of twin tailed grub so they all get together and make a custom order. I think it used to be 700 bags for a custom color order but that may have changed. Your best bet will probably be to search eBay and other internet suppliers to see if you can find them.

This is just my opinion and you might be right but Yamamoto baits are already at the top of the food chain in price and I can’t see much wiggle room in a price increase that wouldn’t push many over to cheaper knockoffs. Now if they come out with some new designs, then all bets are off.

I just went to the website and while there may be a few less colors available, I see all of the Kut tails on there. Is there a specific color you have gotten in the past that you can no longer get? I am very basic in my color selections so I have to refer back to the master catalog for colors.

Their diet changes at different times of the year so different baits, multiple baits, will work at different times on the same water. Chances are the forage changed and you matched it.