TOXIC

Keeping in mind I regularly fish the Potomac river which might just be the epicenter of bad behavior on the water. Anybody who fishes here knows that. I watched from the beginning to when they had the interaction. To be honest, if that happened on the Potomac, the way I saw it, he should have just fished up to and then yielded and went behind them to continue down the bank. Now per him, they motored from the other side of the cove if I understand it, and cut him off when they saw him heading to the spot they wanted to fish for a bedded bass. If that is the case then they were in the wrong. I just didn’t see it in the video. But keep in mind, I’m used to catching a fish and having someone come in on plane and set down 20 feet in front of me and start to fish.?

Had a friend fly in for annual St Clair trip from Australia a couple of years ago. I was in the boat as a back seater the day before he was in it. All of my “used” Senkos were in the cup holder. He caught fish all day on my castoffs. ?. I still hear about it. ?

Was talking to my fishing partner about our upcoming annual St Clair week long fishing trip and he reminded me that because he has been out of the country for his job a lot this spring, we are not in what we call “fishing shape”. Normally before we head out for 7 days of sunup to sundown fishing, we try to do multiple long days on our local water to work the fishing muscle groups that get used the most. Add to that the grind of standing on a heaving deck if the weather goes south and we will be hurtin units at the end of the day.?

You and me both. Add in a freaking Chatterbait as well ?

Most years you would be right and you hit the nail on the head regarding the weather. It can change everything. We normally go at the same time every year but have had years when 1 bait totally outshined all the others. One year it was Little John cranks in Olive Shad. On year the trip was saved by a DShad in either bubblegum or pearl. One year it was a Stacy jerkbait. But you are right plastics on a Ned or Dropshot and a weighted Senko will get you bit 70% of the time.

There is no correct answer to the question to “Is the Senko worth the price”. My answer to that question in my seminars is to throw what you have the most confidence in. Period.

If you fish long enough, you will get favorites in multiple categories. Crankbaits/jerkbaits/plastics/bladebaits/top waters, Etc,…..Figure out which “style”:they want and whittle it down from there. With that being said, there’s some baits that produce in multiple conditions. Plastics have so many ways to rig you can usually get bit on them but if the crankbait is shut down, you get a lot of casting practice.

The ones I have seen are not the entire shirt. Mainly just a strip along the armpits down past the waist and shoulder to shoulder on top. I can’t remember who makes them but I’ll keep an eye out.

Anticipation has set in! Preparing for the annual trip to St Clair has begun. Hard baits are packed. Today was the #yamamoto plastics turn. My goal is to restock 7 or 8 plano 3700 size bait boxes that will go in the boat and then pack enough to resupply or change up as necessary. I can honestly say that in 20 years of fishing lake St Clair, I have thrown every plastic I am packing. Some more than others. ? If you want to read more about our trips to this great lake, I have articles up on the Inside Line section of Yamamoto Baits website www.baits.com Rods and reels next. What’s not pictured is my Ned box with 4 and 3 inch Senkos, Cali Rolls, Baby Ikas and Kut Tails. Senkos are in a 2 sided box with my favorites shown. Dropshot baits are Shad Shaped Worms and Pro Senkos. One box is just for DShads because it’s one of my favorites. Brown bag is just Senkos and stays home after I pack extras. Labeled plastic box is my working stock so I know what to order. The other plastic box will go in the truck to resupply the 3700 Plano boxes. If anyone has any rigging questions feel free to ask. Also not shown is a big tackle bag of aruku Shad’s (2;sizes), jerkbaits, SPRO Little-Johns in all depths and colors. I have a cherry picked selection in a 3700 Plano of all of these and will restock it if the hard bait bite is on. I take a few swimbaits, football head jigs, underpins, and blade baits just in case. 20 years of going to this lake have refined this list greatly.

That lake is just soooo hard to figure out. When I was guiding, I was on the water even without clients just to keep up on their movements. Most that do well there have a milk run of brush piles and known structure.

What are your WOT rpm’s? What is the recommended rpm range for your motor? You can’t do it by “feel”.

You have to find which style of shirt works best for you. I see 2 main types, both made from the same material. First type have the fabric “vents” usually across the back and can be webbed down the sides. The second and my favorite are the shirts that have “waffle” type panels. They seem to promote the most airflow for me. There’s always just the solid poly shirts, they seem to be the most cost effective. Since there hasn’t been a shirt produced yet to highlight my “physique” I just let it all hang out.????

You don’t have anything down lake. There are more coves and areas to fish out from Dukes. Just something to consider.

You would think my answer would be Yamamoto but it’s not. Although the Senko might be the best selling stick bait, it for sure doesn’t rank as the most sold. If the parameter is “Who has sold the most plastics of all time” I would have to say ZOOM. In all my years of traveling and repping for Yamamoto, there’s never been a mom n pop or big box store without ZOOM plastics in it.

I buy it by the gallon. I don’t use it on the gel but I do on everything else including my road armor trailer and it’s tires.

Anytime, anywhere bluegill are the main forage as long as it’s got some orange on the belly.

I’ll give you a little different take on the subject. As a youngster, I was a football player and in high school worked training thoroughbred race horses. I was walking horses 3 hours before school and then football practice and walking horses after school. I then went on to various careers that were very limited on physical demands. I ended up in a very sedentary job that I kept for 34 years. I started guiding in the middle of my professional life. What I found was that serious fishing works muscle groups in ways that normal workouts and life in general doesn’t. At my current age of 64 I can tell more physical limitations on parts of my body I don’t use for fishing ?. I am still able to manhandle my 21 foot boat and fish 10 hours a day for a week straight in both Florida and Michigan every year. I’ll admit it probably would be easier if I dropped 40lbs but I can still combat fish. I do have some spinal arthritis that will act up some days but it’s most evident running long distances in the boat in rough water as a passenger. ps….signing up for Medicare this year sucked!??

No matter the hull color a good coat of your favorite wax or protectant will keep the hull easy to clean. As for trucks, I had a 2004 Silverado I bought new that was black, in 2016 I traded it and bought another new Silverado that is Iridescent Pearl Tricoat (basically white). I am very picky about a clean truck. IMHO the white is twice as hard to keep clean than the black was. While I fully agree with your wax comment, you are aware that a vinegar mixture is acidic and will strip wax off correct? I have used vinegar but always waxed after. I never use it as a regular cleaner.

Not to derail the topic and he did mention it ….. How many on here actually use their trolling motor to troll? It’s not my style of fishing and I have been on my TM pedal most of the day in wind and current but I have never used it to troll. I know Minn Kota made a troller that attached to the foot of the big motor but I thought guys who trolled normally used small kicker motors?

Before that incident, in my 40 years of fishing, I had lost a grand total of 2 combos off of a boat and that includes 20 years of going to lake St Clair and running some real rough stuff. I have modified my tie down procedure now.

That’s good. There’s always the temptation to go smaller to save $$.

Also, max out the motor HP rated for the boat you buy. Get extended warranties on everything you can especially big motor.

Heading up myself for a week starting the 20th of May.

My theory………Bass that are shallow or “on the bank” are more likely feeding. They don’t go shallow without a reason and the main reason is to feed. Bass that are holding on “off shore” structure won’t be feeding unless there’s also baitfish around.

Obviously the paddle tail has more action and can be rigged as a stand alone. The fork tail has very little action and needs the chatterbait to give it some.