Manifestgtr

This ...and this Regardless of the first bait, I’ve caught the most “follow up appointment” fish this way

I had a similar episode (on the other end of the spectrum) when I started taking the senko more seriously. Up until then, it was a desperation bait. If alllll else failed, I’d go senko. If I missed something I thought was big, I’d rig a senko on my fluke rod and throw it over...I like to power fish and if I could get away with it all the time, it’s all I would ever do. Dragging bores me, finesse fishing makes me fidget and I’ve yet to purchase anything related to the ned rig. So the senko is kind of a compromise I guess. It’s not like I had a “that’s it” moment either. I just started throwing it more often and before you know it, I had an nrx/metanium setup solely dedicated to senkos. But it did force me to reevaluate my approach. There are days when I ONLY take senko fish now and I realize they would’ve been skunks in years past. So I guess if there’s any true common ground, it’s that having an option or two outside of your normal wheelhouse is a good thing.

Big game 10lb...end of story... I’ve been loving my braid to leader setups recently but if I was backed into a corner, I could return to 100% big game. I did it for 30 years (except for that one summer when spider wire first showed up at k-mart) and I could do it again. 10 lb might seem a little light to some and I agree but only because of things like abrasion, etc. From a purely logistical standpoint, 10lb works on all my rods, in all my reels, will cast anything from weightless plastics on up. The only true bummer would be my frogging rig but hey...what are you gonna do...

I’ve only ever used two lines for jig fishing Straight big game for years...worked like a charm. Max quatro 65lb to big game when I made the switch over to braid to leader...or just straight braid. I’m trying to think back and in all honesty, I don’t remember straight mono being any more or less sensitive with a slack line. I’m sure it was a little more sensitive but it hasn’t been a super dramatic change or anything. What I HAVE noticed is that braid’s limpness allows me to see line jumps much more obviously. Where I used to watch loops on the surface, I’m now watching a straight line of braid and when something touches the jig, the entire thing goes “tap tap” in the surface film. So that’s been a welcome benefit. I dunno man...I wouldn’t lose sleep over line choice here. I caught fish just fine with both setups. The only line I don’t have an opinion on is fluorocarbon. I’ve just never been able to make it work for me.

I’ve been wondering about this, myself. I’ve never pulled the trigger on an Antares but the 70 seems like it might actually be practical...relatively speaking at least... So far, I’m having a difficult time imagining any new Shimano being nicer than the 20 met but I’m open minded. I would see it “taking the place” of the 13 metanium on my conquest 844 jig rig.

There’s more to be said for “matching the hatch” than I originally thought. I came to terms with that this year My go-to bait is the super fluke. I’ll almost always start out with that and work from there. Sungill is my color...it perfectly, perfectly matches the forage in my area...dark colored sunfish of various species. Last year, I picked up some Houdinis because I could get them in person. My local bps had them and I figured, hey...they’re basically the “same thing”, a few shades lighter with some different flakes. Bass are dopey, right? Not only that but they vaguely resemble some of the perch in my area. I mainly fish 3 bodies of water and I just CANT get them to hit Houdini. While we’re at it, I can get them to hit green pumpkin here and there but both of these combined will not take half the fish that sungill does. It’s a more “convincing” color, period. So now, I’m down to two “fluke” baits that consistently produce. Zoom sungill and strike king caffeine ghost. If strike king ever came out with a “sungill” color, I would be parading down the street, waving a baton up and down in time to the marching band behind me

Agreed I use $10 terminators I bought at Walmart and they work just fine. They cut down on glare and they’re comfortable...good enough for me ?‍♂️

Very nice My favorite pond on the cape is sand pond over in harwich. Nobody really fishes it and it’s unpowered for the most part (although I have seen canoe people with trolling motors out there). But it’s 30 acres of bass fishing paradise. Docks, pads, lay downs, reeds, offshore stuff, the works...all on this peaceful little pond.

I’m a Shimano guy through and through but I consider the Steez to be the better “flagship” model. It’s just lighter, more versatile and to be honest, more practical. The Antares A is actually the first model I’ve had any interested in. It’s the first one that made me feel like I could use on a regular basis. As far as pure, fishermen’s reels, I actually consider the Metanium to be the Shimano flagship. The Antares has always come across as being more of a showpiece reel to me

Just out of curiosity, is your name a reference to the y-d Red Sox? Between them and Harwich, I probably go to a dozen ccl games a year

Boating idiots aren’t strictly a product of this era, trust me. As a kid, I was completely traumatized by this story. A few years before my family started staying at this little $40 a week lake cottage (Probably ‘87-88), there was a horrific boating incident (right near a point that would later become one of my favorite fishing spots...of course...) A woman and her grandson were paddling along in their canoe around dusk and a distracted boater came blazing down the midlake at high speed. He impacted their canoe so hard that it actually DECAPITATED the grandmother. Can you imagine that level of horror as a kid? It still shakes me to think of that... Stupidity and recklessness are both time immemorial...

I’ve fished in canoes on and off since I started fishing. From a purely logistical, “it’s possible” standpoint...there are some you can stand up in. Of course, I couldn’t recommend it to anyone with a clean conscience but I’ve done it. As a kid, I fished in this huge, ultra heavy, bare aluminum canoe. I stood up every trip and never once went in. On the other hand, I inherited my grandfather’s 12’ Radisson and while it’s my favorite canoe of all time (one man can carry it with one hand), you absolutely CANNOT stand up in it...you would be in the water within seconds. I’ve had two canoe tipping incidents in the last 30 years and they’re really, REALLY not something you wanna get into...especially in the age of cell phones. With all of that being said, there are actually some little advantages I’ve found to being low. It puts you nearly at eye level with certain docks and lay downs, so you can really get in there. You can also work your way into little, shallow spaces that a bass boat would never fit. I own both...a bass boat and a canoe. I don’t look at the canoe as being at a disadvantage, really. You get to learn its strengths and weaknesses. Both boats can do things the other could never do. The only true, unique frustration you’ll find in a canoe is that they’re awful in the wind. If you’re trying to work a spot without an anchor (I hate non-talon anchors...) and the wind kicks up, you’re going bye bye...no questions asked. All that means is that you have to consider the wind...find sheltered areas, paddle up the lake then allow the wind to push you while you work the shoreline, etc. It just takes some getting used to. The important thing is that you’re now off the shore. No matter how you look at it, that’s a good thing.

Here, here... I’ve been lurking this place for at least a decade and just recently started posting. It was ALWAYS my number one, go-to lurk and it’s now the only bass fishing forum I use/need. Lots of great people here...many whose advice/experience I fully submit to.

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. I’ll be glad when he’s off it, though. Thats a nice pile...not a phrase you get to use too often.

The very first jig strike I ever had was a “moving line” strike...it was also the first time I ever threw a jig. Sometimes I still think about how strange that is... But that definitely started me off on the right foot because it was an immediate “ooo, this is gonna be a little different than I’m used to sometimes”. One weakness I know that I have with jigs is the “mushy” strike. Even being 90% sure that I have something on, I almost always hesitate for fear of setting my jig into a huge clump of grass or an old log. I’m missing fish for sure. It’ll get better with time...it’s just one of those little frustrations I have at the moment.

This ones really special to me...I call it “the Sean”. Its a highly involved process of lying to everyone in my house and telling them I’m going to “get some stuff done” or “do some work at the shop” instead of admitting that I’m heading to the lake for the second day in a row.

Yup, that’s exactly what’s going on. My fish are just starting to get back to normal. I only caught one skinny one today as opposed to last week at this time where every other bass looked like Kate Moss circa 1995

How often does this happen to you guys? It feels like every other time I hit this one brush pile, I end up taking the same individual. It’s not even like there’s a question about it either...he’s got a very distinctive lower lip, a sawed off lower tail and a light spot on his left side. It’s getting to the point where I’m starting to feel bad about it. I know it’s in my head but I caught him again today and I feel like he just hung there like “hay...what’s up” while I unhooked him then darted back to his usual spot. So far, that I know of, I’ve taken him on a senko, a fluke and tonight on a swim jig . I feel like I might just skip over that brush pile for a bit. It can’t be good for a fish to just keep getting caught over and over and over...I’m probably not even the only one who’s catching him. It’s just a weird position to be in. I’ve never caught a single fish THIS many times that I know of.

I have 6, but I could get by with 5 on any given trip and not feel like I’m short. Without getting into the pointlessly personal details (since they’re all just based on my own preferences anyway): -Moving plastics rod (doubles for light topwater) -Bottom contact plastics rod -A heavy “all purpose” jig/chatter rod (the conquest 844c will throw ANY jig in my box...finesse-3/4 oz...seriously, that stupid thing will through a finesse jig like it’s meant for it..) -a senko rod -a frog rod Those are really my go-to, confidence, “I can catch em anywhere or at least go down swingin” setups. Anything beyond that is a bonus as far as I’m concerned

Oh... Oh my....

This exact thing is the only gripe I have with my nrx 803c. That thing is an absolute senko destroyer of worlds...except the handle is just a liiiittle too short for those times when I wanna get my other hand in there for a more distant target.

Korean manufacturing has been getting better and better. If you play an early 90s made in Korea strat, it’s kind of like “yeah, this is pretty cool”. But now they’re pumping out killleerrrr stuff for prs, washburn, etc. The doyo, etc reels aren’t my absolute favorites at that price but the point remains. A good Abu Garcia or bps specimen will easily stand toe to toe with a good Daiwa/Shimano/what have you. I have two 5-10 year old doyo reels (bps and abu) that are still all original and still tickin

Haha yeah, I charged into that battle like braveheart.... two replies later:

Senko, fluke and a jig... That will change soon, though. They’re starting to hit the frogs and toads a little harder so after the June full moon, it’ll probably be flukes, frogs and jigs.

Very much so...the other thing is sticking with it. Baitcasting isn’t quite as difficult as you might think, it just has its own little set of challenges. Casting around the yard will help you get used to the setup as well (a casting plug, lead weight or an old, beat up, retired jig works nicely). I always pick out 4 or 5 little spots to aim at then shoot for them at random. It won’t take long at all to gain a feel for what the reel “likes to do” and “doesn’t like to do”. Great choice with the black max, too. I’ve always loved those little reels.