BrianMDTX

That’s what I though. But the OP confirmed it's feet. That’s nothing. So if it is feet, something's afoot.

Unless they are right next to you (which is part of this topic), I’m not sure what the deal is with smoking. As long as they police their butts and don’t leave them on the bank (bad) or flick them in the water (worse), it shouldn’t be that big a deal if they are not within casting distance.

IMO, even a half-filled reel will cast 25’. Are you sure your line isn’t spooled well and is digging in? 25’ is a little over three times the length of a 7’6” rod. If you can’t cast that far, something is truly amiss.

25’ is 8.3 yards. Are you sure you meant feet, or yards? 25 yards is 75’. Big difference!

It took me a few times, but I soon figured out to reel in the slack until the line is tight and the bass sets the hook itself. Normally in the roof of the mouth or the corner of the jaw. IMO, it lessens the chance of missing hooksets that way. I started with circle hooks, but I think octopus hooks have a more positive hookset and I find them easier to rotate and remove. And those Gammy octopus hooks are seriously sharp!

Easy solution. Unscented deodorant!

Gamakatsu 1/0 octopus hooks.

Always a 5” Senko wacky rig on a 1/0 Gammy octopus hook. Most likely in watermelon copper orange red laminate or green pumpkin. Having just really gotten back in fishing I may change that as I progress, but for now, it’s an easy decision. I probably have caught 75% of the bass I’ve landed with that.

I have 8 lb YZH on my spinning finesse rigs and 12 lb on my baitcasters. I have no issues with using it fishing T rigs or wacky style. And yes...I use KVD before every trip.

There’s a certain poster on this site that often says “hookset are free”. Well, in a certain sense, knots aren’t free, as it takes inches of line. But it’s cheap insurance. I learned my lesson on that score once. Once.

Glad it worked for you!

They are green bass down here for sure. And most of the ones I’ve caught have beautiful dark green lateral line markings.

So I have two Daiwa Aird X’s (a 6’6” and a 7” casting rods), which I really like. But I much prefer cork grips, and this Procyon has very nice cork grips for that price point. It’s also very balanced and the sensitivity is decent. All-in-all, I like it!

As I stated in another thread, I had points from a work program that I could use to purchase goods or gift cards. I used them to outfit a new finesse rig. It’s a Shimano Sienna 2500 on a Daiwa Procyon PCYN661MXS rod. I’ve had the reel since early July but just got the rod last week. Spooled up some 8 lb. YZH and was ready for Friday. Except I had issues at work (even though off on a vacation day) and then my brake line failed on the truck. Had to wait until this morning. Got out at first light. Man, was it dead. Whopper Plopper, spinnerbait, chatterbait, T rig...nothing. Caught one dink on a weightless 5” Senko WR (luckily on the new finesse rig) and that was it. As the truck was still in the shop until late this morning, I had to use my wife’s SUV to get my Sea Eagle Packfish7 to the pond. I had to deflate it to get it in the SUV and after I was done fishing, I had to open the valves and deflate it for the ride home. As I was waiting for the boat to deflate, I grabbed the new rig and decided to cast a few times from the bank. As this is on the landscaped side, it’s where all the kids fish, as well as adults who don’t want to walk around to the opposite side where it’s overgrown but has much more structure. First catch was Stick On! I chuckled at that and walk around to the other side of the small tree I was standing under and flipped the watermelon Senko out about two feet. It hit the water, sank and the line went running. I figured bluegill or a dink bass. I flipped the bail, reeled in the slack and the drag started screaming. The ML Procyon rod bent hard and I knew I had something. It started running for the roots of that small tree that stick out through the bank into the water and I thought I going to lose it there. But I tightened the drag and turned it. I got it close to the bank and remembered that I had already put the net, fish grippers and scale in the SUV. So I grabbed the line and horsed the bass up on the grass and grabbed its lower lip (got some nice bass thumb lol). I ran back and got the scale and weighed it, took some pics and let it go. 21-1/2”. Well, I guess I’d say the new finesse rig shined. It caught the only two bass of the trip, and the last one was a nice one!

Slow, slow, slow! on the pond today. Caught one dink from sunrise til noon on a 5” Senko. It’s 97° right now so maybe a factor? Decided to toss the Senko a couple times after I beached the boat. First cast was a stick. Second cast was this. In maybe 2’ of water. 21-1/2”.

1/0 works for me.

Are you talking improved clinch knots to terminal tackle? I use them about 50%-60% of the time (the other 40% or so are Palomar knots). Can’t say I’ve ever had a properly tied IC knot fail unless I should’ve retied it after a snag, etc.

He was likely drunk, like his dad.

I prefer octopus vs dropshot hooks for weightless Senkos. Not sure of the physics, but I think when reeling in the slack the octopus turns and hooks better than a dropshot hook. And I feel they offer better protection against gut hooking if swallowed deep.

A 1/4” (tighter) or 5/16” (looser) is what I use.

I use Gamakutsu 1/0 octopus hooks for WR and 3/0 or 4/0 EWG for T rigs.

I know that reel doesn’t get a lotta love, but I’ve got no complaints at all so far. I’m actually impressed with it, especially considering the price.

I have zero issues with long casts. Long enough for me anyway.

I have two Black Max’s. One is L/H and the other is R/H and I fish both equally well. One was on a Fenwick HMX HMX70M-FC and the other on a Daiwa Aird X AIRX701MHFB, but the tip broke on the Fenwick so it’s now on another Aird X- a AIRX661MFB (waiting to hear back from Fenwick about warranty). Both are spooled with 12 lb YZH. I don’t really flip or pitch, but have caught bass on topwater (Whopper Plopper), spinnerbaits and weighted and weightless T rigs. I haven’t had a single issue with either reel yet, although they only have 2-4 months of use. Spool tension is easy to set as is the brake. Maybe down the road I will upgrade to higher-end baitcasters, but for now, they catch bass.

Naegleria fowleri, AKA the "brain-eating amoeba”. ‘Nuff said