TOXIC

You’ll get no argument from me that castability is easily a possibility with bait casting gear even the traditional baitcasters not designed for finesse applications. Where they all differ from a spinning reel is the totally free flowing line from the spool. There is no baitcaster you can do that with, even those designed to throw super light baits. ?

I will repeat and die on the hill that a weightless Senko should never be thrown on anything heavier than 8lb test mono and a spinning rod. Ever.

Let me rephrase, trolling with a motor is not allowed. You can row troll. ?

Only rule is that it won’t work if it’s out of the water. It not uncommon when retrieving a lure to surface your tm prop in shallow water. You don’t want it banging bottom or rocks. Always carry a spare prop and prop pin as well.

Chain of lakes I am currently on here in Wisconsin, trolling is illegal. ☹️

If the smaller profile baits aren’t working for me, I’ll switch up to a Yamamoto California Roll or Pro Senko to change the profile.

Question comes up often and usually garners a lot of debate. Historically, spinning setups were considered novice gear for those who couldn’t handle a baitcaster or needed the bigger more efficient drag systems on baitcasters. Enter finesse fishing and upgraded attention from manufacturers on spinning gear. The notion that spinning gear is not needed is now moot. Look at any upper level tournament anglers gear and you will find spinning gear 100% of the time. Can you throw a weightless Senko on a baitcaster? Sure. Will it catch fish? You bet. Is it more effective on spinning gear? Yes it is. I have yet to see anyone who can cast a weightless Senko with a baitcaster and not have it pendulum back. You need the free line of a spinning reel for the best action. Sure, you can manually peel line off a baitcaster but since 90% of your bites on a Senko come on the fall, I guarantee you are going to miss bites. My boat deck is evenly stocked with baitcasters and spinning setups. I have punched with 50lb braid and a 1 oz weight on spinning gear and I have thrown weightless plastics on baitcasters but as a rule it’s the other way around.

I never said you couldn’t catch fish with heavier lines but I have said I guarantee you are not getting the unique action you pay more for. Personally I have never been a fan of throwing 50lb, 30lb, or even 20lb braid, fluro or mono. If you are fishing deeper than your leader you’ve lost the action. Fluro, braid, mono, copolymer and all the other hybrids have different water absorption rates, sink rates, water tension resistance levels and the action of a Senko is so subtle that throwing the heavy poundage lines for fish from 3 to 7 lbs on average is ridiculous overkill. I throw 8lb because I have good gear and good drag systems I trust. I have posted some catches on 6 and 8lb test. If you are pitching wood or weeds, your not throwing weightless. You can catch them on piano wire if you want but after my years fishing and guiding, I throw what works best for me. I could show you in my tank demonstrations at Bass Pro how different lines affect the action and fall.

My daughter has chickens. Lots of chickens so we get a lot of eggs. My grandfather used to put a sunny side up egg in between his stack of pancakes before he butter and syruped them.

As I have said in the past, I have never thrown a weightless Senko on anything other than a maximum of 8lb mono. I control the fall by my hook size which is a gamakatsu ewg from 3.0-5.0. Anything more than that line size and you have destroyed the unique action of a weightless Senko.

There are some select tackle outlets who have stock now. One I have seen is Fishusa.

For the most part, a hookset on a dropshot is just a sweep to the side. The reel only hookset is for circle hooks. I will snap the hookset a little harder if I am fishing it deeper than 20 feet.

I don’t worry about the cover. It’s really not designed for outdoor use but it will keep the pine tar off. Once I cover the truck in the full sun, the sap actually gets so hard it turns into dust on the black cover and flakes off. I’m due for a new cover since my truck is white and shows every speck of bug poop, bird poop and leaf mud. I really need an all weather cover for as much as I use it. I’ve patched this one a few too many times. ??

I’ve got 3 coats of Griots Garage 3n1 ceramic coating on the truck and I still ain’t risking it. ?

I learned my lesson about parking under these 100ft pine trees in Wisconsin. We are up here for our annual trip and every time I park the truck, it gets covered. I had 2 blobs on my last truck that I could not for the life of me get off. I am too picky about my truck to risk it. ?

I will see if I can get a timeline for the new releases.

And that my friends is why I stick to Morels.? Even at that I will get some reaction occasionally. Same with commercially grown buttons if I let the cap open too much. I still enjoy them tremendously.

In reverse order… Yes at the bottom of your post there is a notifications button that you can click to receive responses. There is also a “follow” button at the top of your very first post that will allow you to get notifications. As for size of baits, there is no rule of thumb. Small bass hit big baits and big bass hit small baits. Bait choice is more dependent on local water conditions. You are correct in that there are 2 strains of largemouth, one northern and one southern. The northern tend to be smaller but are less affected by weather/temperature conditions. There is now a hybrid of northern and southern but that is a whole different topic.

I know exactly what you are talking about. Although the swivel hooks may reduce line twist, I doubt they will help with the inevitable tangled tag line and weight you get with a flopping fish. Personally unless you are casting and retrieving a dropshot and not vertical fishing it, you shouldn’t have that much line twist. Also depends on what bait you are using and how skilled you are at rigging it.

Exactly. It’s hard to compete. I’m not knocking the quality or durability even though there are a lot of options for wholesale buyers. My complaint is with the US pricing and getting what you pay for. It’s very difficult to be a savvy consumer in the reel market which, in my opinion, is why so many latch on to a brand name and defend it to the grave. ??

For years and years my go to bait river fishing smallmouth was a curl tail grub on a ball headed jig. It caught literally thousands of fish. As with most lures, we get drawn away by the latest and greatest just for something different. I would hazard a guess that I have progressed through probably 20-30 new baits with the Ned being one of them.

Sorry to say that unless you have some more inside information than me who repps for Quantum/Zebco and was pro staff at Bass Pro Shops for 15+ years, then feel free to share. I only list my history to show that I’m not spewing any 1/2 baked opinion and that I do know a little about the back room operations of some of these manufacturers. Ive worked shows with most all reps from all reel manufacturers and call a lot of them friends. I used to track who made what for who and who bought which mass produced reels where as a buyer, you fly overseas to the manufacturing facility and pick the level of parts you want your name brand of reels made with but I came to the conclusion that there were only a limited number of suppliers and a whole lot more buyers. Answer me this…..why has no reel retailer ever marketed their product as made in-house and higher quality? Because they can’t. It’s your $$ spend however you wish but as for me, I’m a little more skeptical due to my years in the industry and knowing the manufacturing process of baits and gear.

The ownership and product offerings have become to complicated for me to track anymore. My problem lies with 20 reel manufacturers buying/designing/manufacturing from the same wholesalers overseas and then having 20 different price points for basically the same product with minor differences. I don’t like to overspend for slick marketing campaigns. Although I can buy whatever I want for the most part, I am not irresponsible with my money and I feel some of the manufacturers are totally snowing the buying public. Just my opinion.

Throw a progressive prescription in the mix and double the frustration. The sun glass industry is going through some big changes with Luxottica owning Costa, Oakley, Native, Ray Ban, and probably a few other “sport” brands. I’m about due for a new pair. My last Oakley Rx glasses were $600 and I was able to get updated lenses when my prescription changed. I doubt I’ll be that lucky again because they were discontinued the last time besides the fact I’ve heard bad things about Luxottica and their prescription quality.

Thanks Glenn. I’ll pm you the pr contact. All-new 3” Zako is in response to demand from our pros and our customers. As many anglers start utilizing smaller bladed jigs, they asked us to make their favorite trailer in a smaller size. It maintains all the qualities that make the original the industry standard, just in a new fish-catching size. The all-new Speed Senko is sure to be your new favorite worm for covering water. Designed at the request of our pro’s, the Speed Senko is the ultimate worm for fishing grass and brush. It’s thumping tail feels like a Colorado coming through the water and makes it easy for bass to zero in on it in grass, laydowns, brushpiles or any other cover. Try Texas rigging it with a light weight and swimming it over grass. Or Texas rigged with a lift and drop retrieve in and around cover. This is one the fish will find, so you better find you some too! Utilizing the shape of the Shad Shape Worm, but pairing with our new “Mega Floater Formula”, we are really excited about the new 5” Shad Shape Worm! This new version floats, which makes it absolute MONEY on a drop shot when you want a bigger profile bait. It is also incredible on a scrounger head! The profile and action make it an awesome baitfish imitator that will fool fish no matter how clear the water or how you rig it. Largemouth, Smallmouth and Spots will all be suckers for the 5” Shad Shape Worm! The all new Slinko is unlike anything in our product line. First, the ribbed shape body allows for bulk while maintaining the classic Senko profile. The ribs not only make for great hooksets, they put off bubbles to give a more lifelike presentation. The most important aspect of the Slinko is its construction from our new Mega Floater Formula. It stands up on a jighead, dances vertically on Neko rig, and floats on a Carolina Rig. Although new, it has the unmatched action that you would expect to get only from Yamamoto Baits! Videos of all of the new baits are available on Yamamoto’s Facebook page. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjR36fuxor5AhXMFFkFHcFHDNQQFnoECBEQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fyamamotobaits%2F&usg=AOvVaw35x9-xBEzp6qeFQQ7d8yo9 I will get some stills of the baits as soon as they are available. Here are some of the pics. I missed a new 3 inch Shad Shape Worm now being offered.