TOXIC

Good report. Grass in the river is hard to find this year it seems. I have been in Florida for the last week and just started reading all of the reports. Aquia is kinda my home creek as is Quantico and some main river spots in between.

Give Hookers Bait and tackle a call they run a trail in your backyard. https://www.hookerbaitandtackle.com/

Myself and a buddy almost bought the cottage we have been renting every year for 16 years on Harsens Island but in the end we didn't feel it would be fair to our wives since he and I would be gone every chance we got. It sold and now we rent from the new owner who doesn't rent it out very often. The other factor to be truthful are the brutal winters.

Yamamoto is always looking for improvements to their plastic formulation. The formula used on that era of baits was one of the best.

Tackle buster right there!! I'm sure the Bill Dance hat helped!! We call them Albino Racing Bass!!

Removing a treble will mess up the action on a crank. There are replacement hooks that are single shanked if you are adverse to trebles. Seriously by the title I thought I was going to have to post the fishing line extraction method for removing trebles from someone. Once I learned that I am much less fearful of trebles. Easy, painless (pretty much) and effective. It's an occupational hazard and anyone who throws a lot of treble baits will eventually get snagged.

Once you establish your routine it's not advisable to let someone "help" despite the best of intentions. That's the sure fire #1 way to foul something up. As a guide, I launch alone all of the time and politely refuse any help even from experienced boaters. With that being said, you can still mess up. I was launching one morning pre-dawn at a ramp on the Potomac and everything was going fine. Went through my mental checklist and was ready to go. Prepped the boat, tied off to the dock and got back in the truck to float the boat off. Backed into the water and the boat floated up like normal. Tapped the brakes and it didn't ease off the trailer. Backed in a little more and tapped the brakes again and it started to move but jerked to the right, away from the dock and went over the trailer fender and I knew immediately what happened. I had forgotten to release my starboard ratchet strap. A 21 foot boat now swung 180 degrees while still strapped to the trailer. I was in a pickle. Only option was to totally submerge the trailer (and the exhaust of my truck) and head into the water to try and get it back on the trailer so that I could pull up and release the buckle. Took me a while but I got it done. Mental kick in the nads for being an idiot. Forgot to take my wallet out of my pocket and I was soaked up to my neck. Only good thing was after I launched, I went back to the truck for a change of clothes and found my money clip laying on the ground with $200 bucks. It got pulled out of my pocket when I took my phone out.

I learned a valuable lesson when I lived in Florida. You do not mess with Mr. Longjaws!! I teased one with a buzz bait and got him to chase it to the boat. I was not prepared for what happened next.....he came right in the splashwell and almost on the back deck (and I almost jumped off the front deck). Lesson learned.

Truer words were never spoken. Take it from an old fishing guide, I rigged this bait up for all of my "new" fishermen and got results. Plus, no snags, no hooks to either the client or me and very, very good results!!

Since I do so much weightless Senko fishing there's a few things you have to take into account on a hookset. Generally, due to the conditions, the fish will either be agressive, hard tap, or somewhat passive, pick up and move. Once I determine that, then I will adjust my hooksets. A Senko is unique since a lot of your bites will come on the fall as opposed to being a bottom bouncing bait (shakeyhead, Ned, Dropshot, etc.) or a moving bait (crank, spinnerbait, chatterbait, etc.). Each situation requires a different hookset. Another fairly unique thing about a Senko is that I have found, the fish will "come back" much more often than other baits if you miss them on a hookset. They also have a tendency to "hold on" more to a Senko so you can lift your rod tip and "feel" the pulse of a fish swimming or the extra weight. But......yes, we all live for that tap.

My daughter is an equestrian and also participates in fox hunting. She is always careful about ticks. She did get Lyme and we caught it early. Me personally, I get the heebies from leeches. They make my skin crawl.

For those that remember when I said the Senko's in the "old" packaging are like gold.....The old packaging is in this hammy commercial. If you have them in these packages, save them for a special day or when you absolutely can't get bit. Word!!

This is how I store my boat all winter because I fish all winter. I have access to the warm water discharge lake from a nuke power plant. If I can get there, I can fish. I have never winterized my motor and it will sit out in freezing temps right from the lake. As has been said, store with your motor in the down position so that it drains. Since I have a speedo and Water Pressure gauges, I unhook the connection for them at the motor and drain out the lines. I make sure the livewells are drained or better yet that I don't get any water in them. I have had some pretty funny things happen. I have had the boat freeze to the bunks and one morning I got to the ramp to put my bilge plug in and the drain was frozen shut with ice. I had to sacrifice a thermos of hot coffee in the bilge to melt it. I now open the plug from the bilge when I pull out of the lake to drain and them put it back in when I get home. Side note: It's going to take a long span of freezing temps to even begin to raise concern for a motor, especially if daytime temps are above freezing.

There is no "wrong" way. There are different presentations for different conditions and types of plastic. Not a silly question at all but also not a simple answer.

You've been given all the options on what could be wrong and I agree it could be any number of reasons. There's a way to eliminate at least 1 that can be done with the setup you are fishing. With 12lb mono (much heavier than I would throw) there's no reason not to reel down and whip set that hook like you are trying to cross their eyes!! You are not going to break your line on the setup you have. 99% of the time I T-rig my Senko's with a 4.0 Gamakatsu EWG hook (not Superline) and I have no problems setting the hook on 6-8lb test mono. All that being said, with the description you gave, my vote goes to the bites being Bluegills or some other small fish. You might also try delaying your hookset until the Senko actually moves instead of when it gets bit.

I have waaaaay too many SPRO cranks to list. My absolute favorite is an Original Little John in Cell Mate (computer chip bill). It absolutely whacks everything that swims in St Clair when we go in late May.

I never get in the boat without a DShad rigged up but I don't respond to every post on this site because I don't want to sound like a broken record. A little tip I used to do to give the DShad a different look...I would take my line cutters and cut the center section of the tail out giving the tail a "Y" look. It gives it a little more action if I am going to be dead sticking it a lot. I also put a "How to" post up a while back on rigging a DShad to get it to dart left, right, up or down. It's a much more versatile bait than many realize.

FYI....Michigan has some new boating regulations this year and you will have to take your plug out. When it comes to boating this spring and summer, it's all about keeping a clean vessel. The new rule is requiring boaters to avoid leaving any aquatic organisms that could attract invasive species, such as bitterling, bighead carp and black carp. According to the DNR's website, the existing law required boaters to get rid of aquatic plants off of their watercrafts and trailers before were are placed in the water. The new law would have boaters to do the following before they leave a site: Remove all drain plugs from ballast tanks, live wells and bilges. Drain all water from live wells and bilges. Ensure that the watercraft, trailer, and any conveyance used to transport the watercraft or trailer are free of any aquatic organisms, including plants.

Understood. You know your water better than anybody, that's why it was just a word of warning. Still pays to know the limitations of your boat. There's days I won't hook my boat up to the truck when others head out.

Just a word of caution from me since you already chose and purchased your boat. LOZ in the summer, there is no such thing as a calm day with all of the BIG cruisers out there. Be very, very, careful and respect the limitations of your boat. I can't stress that enough. Also be very diligent on keeping track of the weather. If a storm blows up and you are across the lake from the ramp, you will be in danger. It's the same way on Lake St Clair and the Potomac River where I fish. That is why I have a 21 foot boat that I store in a "spur" I had poured next to my driveway. I hate that it has to sit outside year round because it won't fit in my garage but I keep it covered, including the trailer and tires and keep a good coat of wax on it. It's been stored that way for 5 years and it is none the worse for wear.

Solar Bat makes a good product. It's what I have in my boat as a backup pair of non Rx glasses. Smith Optics is also good. Once I went with Rx sunglasses, I realized I wouldn't be going back to non Rx glasses again. I can't afford the cost of Rx glasses for every situation and that is why I went with the dark grey, mirrored Oakley's with my last pair. Since my Rx changed a little and my glasses were made in 2015, I updated the Rx and this time went with copper which should increase my water vision and be dark enough to wear while driving. As close to the best of both worlds as I can get.

I like to call that "Senko Magic"!!

I got a very good education on the "Value" of gear....all gear. Being sponsored by CastAway and being Pro Staff for Bass Pro Shops for 20 years, I had the chance to use gear at every price point in their respective lines. As a matter of fact, it was frowned upon if I ordered nothing but high end gear through their respective programs. Same with Quantum. I know a lot of people aren't going to like my next statement but the line between crap and quality is a LOT thinner than most will ever know. You pay more for a name than actual mechanics/build quality/craftsmanship in a LOT of cases. Far be it from me to tell any man how to spend his hard earned money but I find the challenge more rewarding to find gear the performs well at a "fair" price and not necessarily the most expensive. The amount of actual "upgrade" vs. price paid is usually not that great. If money were no object, I would have all custom built rods where I could get the exact power, action and length tuned to the presentation and to my style of fishing. Custom means custom and not an off the shelf piece of gear no matter who the manufacturer is. That to me is worth the coin.

First as has been said, you put all of the puzzle pieces together to give you a "clue" as to where the fish are. Weather Conditions Type of food source and where that food source lives (baitfish, craws, etc.) Water condition Time of year ....and a anything else that tip you off to where the fish are. On a new lake with the above factors in mind, I look at the map on my electronics to see where I "think" the fish would be. I go to those places and then use the 2d, sidescan. downscan, to locate either bait/structure or the fish themselves. If that doesn't work, try to figure out what you didn't take into account in your first analysis. To be honest, I have only caught a few fish that I actually saw on my electronics and that is usually with a dropshot. Normally it's a process of elimination and being correct on your initial assessment.

Really most any soft plastic can be thrown weightless if you really want to. Since the Yamamoto line of plastics have a tendency to be heavier than other plastics I throw a LOT of them weightless because I can get a good sink rate out of them or I can work them on top. Senko Swim Senko DShad (fluke style bait) Fat Ika Yamafrog (topwater) 7" and 6.5" Kut Tail/Curl Tail