TOXIC

I can see your reasoning, I guess in my years and years of fishing them I have become very refined in my gear and line and can detect a slack line bite before they get gut hooked. It certainly is a personal preference and I'm not discounting a baitcaster at all.

Yamamoto makes every type of grub you can imagine. Curly tail, double tail and single tail Hula grubs.

Why spiral wrapped?

What weight fly rod are you throwing those with? Or are you using casting gear or float n fly? I smallie fished with a 8wt Scott Brightwater and threw a lot of poppers, beaded nymphs and streamers but nothing a large as you show.

Normally, we refer to craigslist as the home of the unwashed That being said, I have purchased a big ticket item......MY BOAT!! I sold my guide boat in Florida (was detailed there for 2 years for my job) before I returned to Virginia and I started the process to look for a replacement. I have a friend who cruises Craigslist regularly for fishing gear and just curiosity. He called me one day with an ad he saw. Long story short, I met up with the seller 3 times over a 3 week period before we closed the deal. That being said, I do not list anything on craigslist since I have enough outlets for selling stuff without them. My Craigslist purchase....

Can't see why it wouldn't work. My only problem is that I have a heck of a time getting them to stay buttoned up with 2 trebles. 1 might be even more problematic.

I don't want to start a huge debate but in my 20 years as a Yamamoto pro-staffer and as a guide, I have never thrown a Senko on a baitcaster unless it was heavily weighted and I am pitching beds. FWIW. Without going into a long dissertation, the reason for using a spinning reel on a "weightless" Senko is the fact that you can't properly free spool a baitcaster to let the bait fall naturally and that is where 90% of your bites come from. Can you catch fish throwing them on a baitcaster? Sure you can, but IMHO it's not the best tool for the job.

Sure you can pull it away from them...if you have the wrong rod/line setup for the bait you are fishing or if you are using a heavy punching hook and you don't use enough force or on the opposite side of the spectrum, if you are using a thin wire hook and you use too much force.

The record for the Potomac is 18lbs and change but any double digit is considered a very good fish. There are Guides specializing in Snakehead trips, tournaments for them as well. The bowfishermen have pretty much kept them in check but they are still plentiful. They have spread to a lot of waters around here. Some have been illegally introduced (Lake Brittle, Lake Anna) and in some cases people have been prosecuted.

Weight totally depends on how deep and what type of water you are going to be fishing them. I use 1/4 oz as my go to. Personally, there are a lot of companies that offer shakeyheads and it is pretty easy to find them after you decide which style works best for you. I like the Spot Sticker Pro style with the coil baitkeeper. I have found a lot of that style at discounted prices from other makers. I use a smaller bait for my shakeyheads (Yamamoto Pro-Senko) and the coil keepers work best.

They are.....and can be BIG!! 14lbs on 8lb test!!

Sorry to say you are going to be hard pressed to find something in your price range. Look on CL for a Jon and a good trolling motor. You may be able to find a PVC style (Pelican, Bass Hunter, etc) in your budget.

You are correct that it totally depends on where and what type of water you fish. I fish on Lake St Clair where you can read the date on a dime in 30ft of water most days, to Northern Florida tannic water that looks like black coffee. The key is to be able to adapt on whatever the water clarity is.

I agree to try and not waste the fish but you do need to thin the heard if it is overstocked. If you do not want to eat them, try to find someone who does like them for tablefare. They make great fertilizer if all else fails. Also, you need to make sure you thin the Blue Gills and Crappie if they are in the pond. While they serve as good forage when small, they quickly grow too large for most bass to feed on and they spawn multiple times a year. They can quickly overpopulate a small pond. You should call your county extension office or do some searching on the internet for pond management to get some help. Good luck!!

Aside from the unintentional catches while fishing for bass (Catfish, Perch, Blue Gills, Snakehead, etc.), I will target Crappie when the water gets cold enough because there's nuthin like some fried Crappie fillets.

My experience is with a Yamamoto DShad so I can't comment on the other makers and if this works with them. When you first put the hook point in the nose of the bait (for me a Gamakatsu 4.0 EWG), envision a bullseye on the bait nose. Where you start the hook will determine how the bait acts in the water when you "jerk" it. Most everyone doesn't even pay attention to this and tries for the center just because that's where the most "material" is and it keeps your bait from tearing. If I want my bait to jump up, which is what baitfish do in the matted grass, I will insert the hookpoint lower in the nose. If I want it to dive down for deeper water or to act like a stunned baitfish in open water, I hook it nose high. If I want a vertical fall with a straight side to side action (active baitfish or topwater), I go for dead center in the nose. It's very amazing how just a little adjustment can totally alter the action and take it to the next level. You can also affect the action by how far you put the hook point in and how you thread it through the bait before you skin hook it. Can you tell I fish DShads a lot? I get very precise on my rigging from all the years I have thrown Senkos and not wanting them to tear prematurely.

Consider yourself blessed.

Yep.... Hang Christmas ornaments, kite string.....and on and on!!

I have done shore, wading, boat and Yak. I have found that for shore and Yak I will shorten up my rod requirements. From shore because of tree limbs and from the Yak because the only one I ever fished from was a sit-on and with a longer rod, the hookset was weak.

I've used braid to sew up a ripped boat cover and to repair ripped tackle bags.

Dragging tubes on St Clair is an art form. Add wind, drift sock(s) or drift paddles and it's a specific art form. That being said, the heaviest I throw is 3/8. Why? Because my rods/reels are set up for these weights and I prefer 1/4 99% of the time. If I go heavier than 3/8 my setups are getting overpowered by the weight and I feel like I am dragging a trash can lid. If it's windy and we are drifting I put a 5 inch Senko on a 1/4 oz football head jig (hook exposed) and it darts to the bottom. Judy Wong is who started it so we call it the "Wong Rig".

I may be stating the obvious here but you do know how to thread the bait on the hook to make it dart down, up or side to side right?

He's my tournament partner and a good stick....when he's not destroying my boat.....

There is a pinned thread on it. If you have any questions after reading, come back and ask.

"You are a Hoarder"...........