TOXIC

Just to highlight what a smart business man he is, he didn't patent (or he let the patent expire) the Senko and spend a lot of time and $$ chasing knockoffs, and let's be honest, there are Thousands of knockoffs, he has let his design and formula stand on it's own. And it has.

Give 8lb a try and you'll feel better and it will still work. The only braid I use on a Senko is in Michigan dragging a Wong rig with no leader. A few reasons. First thing is that I do not make long casts over the weed beds we usually fish. The more line you have out the more the advantage goes to the fish. Second, it gives less resistance to letting the Senko fall through the holes in the mats and keep its signature action. Make no mistake, I "go to" a lot of my bigger fish hooked on that setup. I don't try to drag them out. We fish a lot of windy days as well and the lighter line is less affected by it. A Senko has always been a finesse bait to me and the lightest line you can get away with is always better. I know I've posted this pic before, but this 14.9 Northern Snakehead was caught on a Senko and 6lb test mono.

I'm going to stay with wet cells only because I don't want to upgrade my charger. I have a Sears PM1 as my cranking battery and I always have to top it off with a portable that has an AGM setting. My charger is a 2005 model and it can't be reprogrammed to charge AGM's. Since I need a 4 bank it's an expensive charger. I'm toying with the idea of getting a new(er) boat anyway so I'm in a state of flux right now trying to keep the expenses to a minimum on my current ride.

When people find out I fish Senko's and DShads on the Potomac river on 6lb test, they look at me like I'm from outer space.

I'm getting ready for 3 new batteries this spring. I'm putting it off as long as I can but the time is near. Just dropped $600+ on a new pair of Rx Sunglasses and regular glasses with a new prescription. Fishing sunglasses count as a boat expense.

Really proud to represent them for as long as I have. Great Company, Great Baits.

Dude Wipes or TP in a ziplock bag. Everything else has been covered pretty well.

Just a few "must haves" on a boat that I have learned through experience. 1. Master shut off. Breaker that I can flip that totally shuts the entire boat off from the batteries. 2. Trolling motor shut off. Allows me to leave power to the boat but shut off the TM. Situation: If I am staying for a week on the water and I don't pull my boat out, I can leave the master power switch on but shut down my keypad (Ranger setup). That way if it rains during the night, I know my auto bilge will pump out any water while there is no power going to my graphs, etc. While in that mode, I am usually plugged into shore power so I can use my TM shutoff to isolate that circuit. I don't like leaving my TM powered up while charging the batteries. Or...I could just unplug my TM but it's easier with the switch. As soon as I put it on the trailer both switches get turned off. Common upgrade now is to put a "Battery Selector" (a little more complicated than the one linked above) in place of the master shut off so you can direct one of the TM batteries to power your big motor in the event of a failure to your cranking battery. I have not done this upgrade since I am used to the current setup. I have a set of jumpers in the boat if my cranking battery ever fails to start the big motor.

Just a precautionary note, any rod can develop a bend if it's not stored right. I've seen plenty of high end rods that were curved after storing laid against a wall with a bow in the rod. It is important to store them with no stress on the rod.

When I toured the Yamamoto production facility in Page, AZ, you would be amazed at the baits Yamamoto makes for the overseas market and are not released here. Some of the smallest baits I have ever seen for bass, so there's got to be something to that concept. I begged for some to try but was denied.

Since you mentioned "Soft Like a Senko" you might as well get some Yamamoto DShads. Made out of the same plastic as a Senko and in the form of a Fluke. Case Closed.

Good luck and keep us posted how you do.

2 come to mind. First on Lake St Clair a Smallmouth that would have been the wall hanger I have been searching for for 15 years on that lake. Hooked it, fought it to the boat and my buddy and I both said at the same time....."I/you finally got a wall hanger". Normally we fish with braid but I had downsized and was using mono. I was shaking so bad I was afraid I would knock the fish off before I could lip it, so my buddy went to reach for it and wrapped the line around his hand (like we always do with braid) before I could get a word out, the big girl turned around and snapped that mono like is was nothing. Second was a largemouth about 3 years ago on the Potomac about this same time of year. The big girls were moving up and we were throwing rattletraps (Aruku Shads) for them. I had mine tied on 35lb braid and as we came into a good shoreline stretch, I decided to really heave the trap out the back of the boat to get the line to lay tight on the spool. I made about 3 turns of the handle and got railed. It was such a vicious hit, I thought it was a catfish. Then about 30 feet from the boat it jumped and my buddy and I looked at each other and knew it was the fish of a lifetime on the Potomac. He grabbed the net and I worked it to within 5 feet of the boat. She came out of the water one last time and we both got a very good look at her as she flipped her head and tossed the rattletrap onto the front deck of the boat and swam off. It was for sure a double digit bass and a heartbreaker. As a matter of fact, we will be fishing that same spot this Saturday and I hope she gives me one more shot.

I'll be heading out to the Potomac River Saturday for my first outing. They ought to be moving up but our water is still pretty chilly.

We all "give back" in our own way. I fish a lot of Wounded Warrior type tournaments where we take wounded servicemen out for a fun tournament. Although I think I get more out of that than they do. Absolutely one of the MOST rewarding things you can ever do. I have given out literally hundreds of bags of Senko's and hooks while on the water and showed fishermen how to rig them. One year I was in Wisconsin fishing after water skiing time had ended and was working down a bank. I had a good pattern set up and the bass were cooperating really well. I had caught around 20 down a 500 yard bank. I came upon a Bass Boat tied to a dock and 5 guys sitting around a firepit. Normally I would just swing wide and avoid any appearance of a conflict but sencing they were fishermen I decided to go ahead and fish. Caught 2 right in front of them. They got up and walked out on their dock (I had already started to move on and they struck up a conversation so I slowed down. They said they had been there a week and caught 2 bass. I told them that was great and that I caught 20 coming down the bank. They didn't believe me. I told them I could tell them the next spot that I was going to catch one, they laughed.....I proceeded to make a short cast and caught a nice 2lber. They got quiet, then one said if I was that good, I should be able to call my next one as well......I did and caught another nice one. They were amazed so I got on the TM and motored back to their dock tied off and proceeded to give them a little class on a Senko (they never heard of it). Gave each one a bag of 297 Senko's and Gamakatsu EWG hooks. Pics are from that year trip. Smallmouth and Largemouth

Well, just an update for me......I got my annual eye exam and my RX changed a little. My RX Oakleys' were made in 2015 and it was time to update the RX lenses. Went into the Oakley retailer and they were able to order new lenses for the frames I have. They were grey/polorized/blue mirror but since I am retiring this year and plan to be on the water more, I looked at the Oakley color chart and they actually recommended copper for fishing. Sooooo....the new lenses will be copper/polorized/mirrored with a progressive RX. It will be interesting to see if they improve my water vision compared to the grey that I had before. I also got my new regular glasses RX in an Oakley frame so both my sunglasses and my regular glasses will be Oakley with original Oakley lab made lenses. I went cheap on my last RX for my regular glasses and I have never been happy with them. You get what you pay for in RX glasses/sunglasses.

I still think the hull design is going to be what is different. How that hull is configured will make or break the boat.....literally. The construction process claims to be lighter and stronger. I'll be waiting for the first big water reports on stress cracking and hull performance. I could care less about looks and gimmicks. They sure didn't make it any more affordable than current market offerings.

The main and only important thing to me would be hull design (ride/durability). Things like a storage box in the trailer step (seems to me they would get robbed at a ramp), Retractable emergency ladder (hoping it doesn't deploy in rough water or break the latch) and shock absorber seats (again, they have to be durable) as well as all of the other "goodies" that have already been incorporated (adjustable seats, net storage, non carpeted flooring) in current boats. I could care less about a wrapped steering wheel.

I thought I heard him say that all of the fiberglass was vacuum constructed which would result in a lighter boat. I thought BassCat already did that. If the bass boat model can take the abuses of big water lakes like Erie and St Clair then I'll take a serious look at them. At the price point they are apparently selling at, any owner that has problems will be vocal and it will spread like wildfire because haters will be looking for any reason to put them down.

I took my first Weim with me but being velcro dogs, he lost his mind when I would leave camp to go fishing. I took him many, many times when I bank fished at a local river and he could shadow me he was fine.

Totally depends on where you are fishing. The tannic water of Florida I fished vs the gin clear water on St Clair have totally different perspectives on what is clear, stained and muddy.

To me all of the gimmicky or cosmetic changes are not importamat. What is important is the construction and new hull design. Lighter, Faster, Stronger will only be established after some hard on the water testing and results.

USCG Regulations change for different bodies of water. Here in Virginia we are subject to USCG regulation (I know because I have been boarded) but we are not required to carry an anchor. I referenced the Great Lakes because their requirements are different than ours and they do require an anchor as standard equipment. My point was that if required, you better have enough rope to satisfy the Officer doing the check on the body of water you are on.

I wear dark grey with blue mirror. The mirror to cut the glare and the grey for maximum sun blockage. My glasses are RX Oakleys and my optometrist is a bass fisherman. I could get better water penetration with Amber but I use mine for driving too and need the sun blocking of grey. You might want to look at Copper as a go between. Smith Optics has that color.

That is a physics question and I'm out!! I know that my regular power poles deploy at an angle slightly away from each other from their mounting spots. so they deploy in somewhat of a "V" configuration. Would be great if someone could do the math to predict the angle needed to hold considering the weight of the yak vs the current speed vs the length of the yak for water resistance. That person would not be me.