TOXIC

I have found that with a 1/4 oz teardrop QuickDrop dropshot harp weight and a #1 gamakatsu ewg hook with the bait Texas rigged, I can make a 5 inch Pro Senko sit straight out. I fish it most often in gin clear St Clair water so I can see the bait. Key is using lighter line and keeping it tight. If you relax it will not. Same holds true for a Shad Shape Worm (4”). In my personal opinion keeping the bait horizontal doesn’t increase catch rates. Once you add in hook weight and line they rarely sit straight. I can’t comment on how nose hooking the bait changes all of that because I don’t nose hook my dropshots.

Headwaters is a 10,000 acre lake with a 25mph speed limit. It’s also not a straight shot to anywhere on the lake. The longest is from the ramp to the first cut. @Zcoker not doubting you one bit and I think you have the most experience but in the 2 times we have been on the lake for a week straight each time, we have seen plenty of kayaks but never any through square lake and Egan back to where we found the baskets.

@RRocket I agree if you don’t rig it right with the right line and hook, it will not be vertical. My main dropshot bait is a Kut Tail or a pro Senko in addition to the Shad shape worm. They won’t fall over no matter how you rig it because they are round. Many times I rig a Shad shape worm upside down as well. 😎😉

Not for bass. There was no “funnel” type entry. It was a closed basket. The one we found looked like it had been dislodged and beat up. For those that don’t know, putting fish in a basket to be retrieved on tournament day has been going on for a long time. The spot we found this basket was a good 35 to 40 minutes of running a 250hp at less than full throttle but more than what I think a yak could cover. Maps of the lake are very deceiving because most of the maps look like fields of grass. We were down the S canal across the 45, through square lake and past the flooded orchard and the pump station.

I just put up a post in the Fishing Reports forum on our recent trip to Headwaters Reservoir. Something to note, this body of water is being managed as a trophy bass lake. For Largemouth Bass it’s 100% catch and release. There’s good crappie and other panfish. There were 3 boats of us bass fishing and we would normally all go to a general area, then spread out and if one of the boats gets on a pattern or a good location, they would call the other 2 and we would work the area. Our normal run was at least 30 to 45 minutes from the ramp. What’s my point you ask? Since this is a trophy managed lake there are no tournaments other than a few kayak events and twice a year a bass boat tournament with catch measure and release rules. Another note to mention is that there is only 1 ramp on the lake. One day we were a loooong ways from the ramp and one of our party called us and said, “You’re not gonna believe this, but I just found a fish basket!” He didn’t recognize it at first and thought it was trash so he was going to pick it up. When he did, it came apart and he saw 3 large bass swim out of it. Then, not 10 minutes later we stumbled on another basket that was empty. The guy who found the first basket gps marked the spot and informed FWC (he himself is in law enforcement). We were trying to figure out what purpose these baskets would serve since there aren’t regular tournaments. The baskets were far enough from the ramp that I don’t think anybody in a kayak could get there and back in a day. With only 2 annual bass boat tournaments, I can’t see it being a viable strategy to cage bass for a month or more waiting on the next tournament. So far the biggest complaints about the lake have been pushy guides who feel they own the lake and get nasty when they claim spots for their shiner fishing and those who are now putting out feeding marker stakes for shiners where they bait with bagged food and then net the shiners for sale. They are not supposed to spit out stakes. Some get around the no stake rule by wrapping floresent tape around some reeds. That’s all beside the point, what I’m asking is what you feel the cages accomplish? Pics are of the piece my buddy was able to get out of the lake and the basket we found that was intact.

Well, we couldn’t have picked a tougher week to go to Headwaters in Florida than the week we were there. 40 degree nights, 60 degree days (one day did hit the 70’s) and 15-30mph winds most every day. We even managed to get rained on one day. With that being said and since we are as hard core as they come, we still had a good time and caught a lot of fish. The wind really messed up both the ramps and even the canals you use to navigate the lake. There were literally islands floating across the lake. Some were shallow vegetation but others had sapling trees and bushes growing out of them. That was the difference between plowing through or finding another route. The ramp was another story. It was common for one side to get slammed so thick you could not launch. It was problematic both launching and retrieving. If we got lucky, there were some duck hunters with mud motors who launched before us and they would blow out some of the vegetation making it easier to launch. FWC came out and cleared the ramps one day but they were slammed again the next day. The one good thing is that the traffic on the lake was down considerably most days because the locals know what cold and wind do to Florida strain bass. I’ll admit, I stocked up heavily on a host of Yamamoto baits to throw and so did my partner but in a weeks worth of fishing a grand total of 3 fish were caught on a bait other than a Senko…..3…….2 on a spinnerbait and a bowfin on a chatterbait. There were 3 boats and 4 anglers for most of the week and there were some fish in the other boats caught on a jig and flukes but they too leaned heavily on the Senko. Now that I think about it, I did catch a few on a 7 inch Yamamoto Kut Tail with a 1/4 oz bullet weight punching or fishing a flooded orange orchard. For some reason that setup came through the branches really nice on a 4.0 gamakatsu ewg hook, Texas rigged. We went through at least 25 bags of Senkos in various styles and presentations. Because of the wind, I was throwing the 6 inch Senko weightless or if I was throwing the regular 5 inch or Fat Senko, I would use as little of weight as possible with a screw in bullet weight. My partner was also adding a spinner with a hitchhiker screw in the tail of his Senkos. For me, 97% of my fish came on some sort of Senko setup. I did learn a valuable lesson. I normally use 6lb mono for my DShad (Yamamoto fluke) but since I wasn’t getting bit, I tried rigging it for my weightless 5 inch Senko and it was too light of line. I was snapping it on hooksets. Truck did fine, boat did fine but we found out quickly that the Mercury 4 stroke 250 doesn’t like to go through heavy vegetation and overheated a couple of times. One of the other boats was a new 21 foot Ranger with the same motor and they would both overheat at the same time. I attached a few pictures. If anybody has any questions feel free to ask. There’s another post I’m going to make that could be considered controversial but not in this part of the forum.

There are so many things that go into line choice as has been said, deadsticking is not one of them. The only consideration I can see would be in ultra clear water you might not want to use braid.

Yamamoto has come out with multiple floating baits both Senko style and Shad Shape Worm for dropshotting. Personally, since I Texas rig my dropshot baits, it makes no difference if they float or not. If rigged right, the hook holds them vertical since the weight is below the bait. I use a number of baits in the Yamamoto line to dropshot.

First, I am a night owl. Always have been. I attribute it to my lifestyle early on where one of my hobbies had me in bars and clubs most every night. I wouldn’t get to bed before 2am and normally up at 6 or 7. Then I had a job where I worked 3:30 to midnight. That further messed up my sleeping habits. I can sleep on command but I have still not lost my night owl circadian rhythm and it’s very easy for me to stay up as long as I want. Except fishing. When on our week long combat fishing trips, it’s not unusual for me to hit the hay at 7:30-8pm and be up at 6am. When I worked in Washington, D.C. and commuted, I was up until 12:30-1am and then up at 4am due to the commute. Now that I’m retired, the first part is still true but I don’t have to get up until I’m ready. That’s nice.

I have 4 AGM size 31 batteries. One, or some configuration of more than one, better be able to start my boat because pull starting a 250 Yamaha is out of the question. I’ve been thinking about getting one of the 3 way battery switches or at least carrying a jump pack. As for fuel, after my last experience of draining both tanks, I am planning on only using 1 of the 26 gallon tanks.

@slonezp 😂😂. I guess it could be an acquired taste. I got hooked on them in the late 70’s when I lived in a small town in Iowa. The local bar would make them with just tomato juice and we called them “Red Beers”, he would use Clamato juice and we called them “Clam Diggers”. I got a spicy version made for me as a hangover cure after a Nebraska Huskers football game and I have made them ever since. It’s an excellent way to drink cheap beer. 😎🤣

On our trip to Florida, I was able to enjoy one of my favorites. A Michelada. The Mexican restaurant menu was all in Spanish and the Michelada. It was available in about 5 different configurations, some with seafood, some with vegetables. I preferred mine just plain. I often make the same at home with spicy Bloody Mary mix, Worcestershire and Tabasco. While I like a good craft beer as much as the next guy, I have enjoyed these for years.

I have everything on your list minus transition. I have a separate pair of sunglasses that are progressive and polarized. My daily glasses have the computer glare coating, crizol for scratches and light polorazation. I wanted wrap around style for my outdoor activities that block the wind. They would look strange for daily glasses. My sunglasses are polycarbonate Oakley.

Little update….strange as it may sound, Power Pole is being a little shady on their replies to his inquiries. He’s talked to them once and they have told him they will review with a tech and get back to him. Not the usual customer service we have come to know from them.

I don’t know if I’ve ever smelled anything stronger than Chompers garlic scented grubs. Smelled like I had an Italian restaurant in my boat.

Well, the amount of bellyaching didn’t deter the record sign ups for Peacock when the Chiefs played the Dolphins, as much as I hate it, I can see them monetizing sports.

Interesting that Yamamoto uses no scent in their plastics. The oily feel they have is a release agent for the molds. I have never added any additional scent to their plastics except when they made crappie baits. They no longer do but I still put Smelly Jelly on any crappie plastic I use. I put the green pro formula Shad scent on them. I don’t know if it could be considered scent but I also will tip the hook of my crappie plastics with Berkley Crappie Bites.

That’s a cool feature. The bugs and powder dust did a number on my truck in Florida. Now that I’m back it’s cleanup time .

My fishing partner just bought and installed the new Power Pole Move trolling motor before our trip from Virginia to Florida. We felt it would be a good test since Headwaters lake has thick milfoil, Kissimmee grass, pads, reeds and hyacinths. We put the motor through its paces. Overall report is that it passed the test in all categories. It was quiet, powerful and super light to stow and deploy. It cut through the thickest vegetation without having to stop and pull up the motor to clear it. He was not a remote user with his last motor (Lowrance Ghost) but he really liked the features and ease of use with the Move remote. Some things we really liked were the very accurate spot lock (gps puck is built in), the motor has a reverse function so no more spinning the head around with your foot on the pedal and he liked the thrust control on the remote which was easier than the side adjustment on most all others. We were only able to get it bound up once and it was a breeze to clear. We did not attach his front facing sonar due to the heavy vegetation so I have no comment on that. The negatives were few but here they are. There isn’t a “bounce buster” or some kind of hold down for the motor when stowed and running in rough water. I’m sure someone will come up with one but so far only one private guy is making something and he is sold out and backordered for a few months. We found a bit of black grease residue on the stow and deploy assist shock and it appeared the motor was periodically loosing Bluetooth connection. Currently have an email into Power Pole to see what the problem is and how to fix. This unit is pretty expensive and it is a personal decision as to whether or not it’s a good deal. It was for me because I got to buy his Ghost for my boat to replace my Fortrex when he bought the Move. 😆

@gimruis you are correct but my odds just went waaaay down for the largemouth. I’m not complaining and will be giving it my best shot. 😉

Well, the first part of my prediction is a bust. Not a bad bust mind you but a bust nonetheless. Just got back from Florida and the weather really messed with us on Headwaters. 40 degree nights, 50 degree days, and 30mph winds made fishing tough. We got a lot of numbers but not anything in the double digits. I’m totally good with it when we were doing just as good as the shiner guides and a lot better than most of the local talent throwing artificials. Best I could do was a 7. Sounds like we should have ventured down to Okeechobee and rubbed elbows with the pros in the open. Roland was up on Headwaters while Scott was setting records. I see he made it down for the final weigh in. On to the next goal which is my Smallmouth trip to lake St Clair in May.

Great send off.

Not so much a guess as a hope….the same hope I have every year. I’ll be gunning for my best largemouth soon because we leave Friday for headwaters in Florida for a week. My goal is a double digit. We’ll be heading to Michigan and lake St Clair at the end of May and my smallmouth goal is one over 6lbs. If I get 7 or above, I’ll get a replica made. For the majority of the year fishing here locally in Virginia, it’s more about the fun times and the variety of freshwater fish we catch.

Trolling is fun until you gotta make a turn.😝😂

While not actually trolling, there’s not much of a difference between trolling and the many, many times we ”drift” fished St Clair, dragging dropshots, Senkos and weighted plastics. Before spotlock and using drift socks.