BrianMDTX

This September I will turn the big 6-0. I have lures in my 1970’s Flambeau tacklebox that are 40-45 years old, including this plastic worm. Any idea what brand/make of plastic worm this? All I know is that it actually caught a bass today!

Nice fish! Today’s bass just missed the 3 lb. cut-off lol. But heck, I still thought it was a nice bass! So much for my criteria!

I’m on the weightless Senko train. Either Texas rig (slow retrieve- as someone said “let it crawl”) or wacky-style. Yeah, I get the weeds too. But wacky-style really works for me, with or without the O ring (you just save more Senkos using an O ring). You can’t go wrong with green pumpkin or green pumpkin and watermelon. if you have tree limbs hanging in the water, rig a Senko wacky-style and flip it close to the branches. Let it sink 90% of my strikes are pretty much as soon as I cast and it starts sinking. Take my word on this. I have pretty much been a live bait angler all my life. I figured I just stunk at catching a decent fish on a lure. Plastic worms? Maybe got two strikes and that was it. I’ve been fishing these Senkos only for less than two months and I am catching bass every time I fish. Sometimes only one or two. Sometimes several. But I’ve caught more bass on a plastic bait in less than 60 days than in almost 60 years. They made a believer out of me!

That’s a fishing trip right there! Congrats!

We’ve all probably caught some relatively small bass that due to extenuating circumstances (new or homemade lure, fishing with your kids, etc.) we’ve labeled as a nice bass. But generally, what’s your starting point for what you would normally consider a nice bass? 3 lbs.? 5 lbs.? Bigger? To me, a 3 lb bass is a nice bass. But I realize that some catch bigger bass than I do on a regular basis so a 3 lb. bass may not be all that spectacular. And of course, where you fish and the type of water have a role to play as well. So my “nice bass” is 3 lbs. and up. What’s yours?

What would Connie Rodd say?

Today was a bit slow. Nothing on a topwater frog, and tried a “weedless” lol jig that pulled up 15 lbs of muck. Had two good strikes on a Texas rig 5” Senko but lost both when the bass jumped. This was my first time using a Gamakatsu 3/0 standard offset shank with round bend hook. Don’t know if I just didn’t drive the hook home good enough or that it’s not a worm hook with an offset point. Or 3/0 is too big for a 5” Senko. Switched over to a 5” Senko wacky-style on a 1/0 circle hook with O ring. Caught two bass (once again, right after the cast). One was only 11”, but the other was 17-1/2” and 2.68 lbs. All-in-all, a good day.

Sad to say, yes. Looks as awkward as walking with shoes on the wrong feet!

I will say this, though. No matter what, I can tie a great knot in 12 lb mono in the time it takes me to try and get thin braid through the hook eye. Almost 60. The old peepers ain't what they used to be. But I’ll also say that is practicing on some new knots, I tied a Lefty Kreh leader knot with 20 lb braid and 8 lb hybrid pretty quick. Haven’t tested it yet casting or with a fish on, but I yanked on it darned hard and it seems pretty strong. Easy to tie and small in diameter as well.

That is absolutely 100% untrue! In fact, I saw a video on YT that stated that everything you see on YT is factual, honest and true! ?

It certainly has no bells and whistles like todays reels. No skirted spool, no roller guide on the bail. Makes that old-timey year sound when you crank the handle. But still reliable and catches fish!

I’ll be up front and state that moving to Texas from Maryland last year likely helped out a lot with that! I’ve caught more 2.5+ lbs bass here in less than two months than I have in over 45 years back in MD.

Yes and no. No, as I am a essential employee so I have been working throughout this nightmare. Although as I work for an airline, that may be subject to change in the near future. Yes, because I needed “something” to do, especially on the weekends my wife (she’s an RN) was working, and having really been away from fishing for a lo-o-o-ng time, I decided to clean up my old tackle, spool up with fresh line and hit the local pond. What a “mistake“. Just bought a new spinning rod and reel to complement the new baitcasting rod and reel I bought a few weeks ago. I have been fishing as much as possible when I have time and have already exceeded my PB by over 3 lbs.

That reel looks like it’s still in great shape. Hope you catch a big’un with it!

If I recall, I believe Senkos are worked on a semi-slack vs slack line. Which I take as the line is just below being reeled tight. So the fish has a little give when taking the Senko, but not enough slack to swim off for seconds before you can reel all the slack out of the line. Regardless, most bass I have caught on a Texas rig Senko have been just as they’ve bottomed out, while wacky-style seem to get taken as soon as or just after they enter the water.

I have an old Garcia K5116 pistol grip 5-1/2’ ML casting rod that I would like to set up with a spare baitcaster, just for the heck of it. I think I’ve owned it since new from somewhere in the mid-70s. The only problem is the reel seat. It’s the type that has a big slotted plastic screw head underneath that loosens and tightens the forward reel seat like a clamp. The screw part is still in the rod, but the upper part of the seat seems to have backed out and is now lost. Any idea where a part such as this may be able to be sourced? And yes, I know it’s likely not “worth it” to repair it, but it was the first casting rod I bought when I was 14-15 years old, and I’ll be 60 this fall. Some old things still work lol.

How long do you let the bass run with the Senko before driving the hook home?

“Awww, come on guys, it's so simple. Maybe you need a refresher course. ... It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads. And I'm gonna need 'bout ten quarts of anti-freeze, preferably Prestone. No, no make that Quaker State”. That's a classic!

Sounds like a heck of a trip!

I can’t top the moose, but probably 45 years ago my dad and I were fishing on Loch Raven reservoir near Baltimore in Maryland, in a rental wood rowboat with a single trolling motor. We were up by Schoolhouse Cove and saw something moving in the water, leaving a wake. Turned out to be the head of a whitetail doe swimming across the reservoir. We followed discreetly at a distance. It must have swum a good 1/4 mile to it reached the opposite shore, climbed out of the water and sauntered off like it was out for a Sunday stroll. Been a deer hunter for decades and I’ve seen many a buck and doe walk up, down and across streams and creeks, but that’s the only deer I’ve ever seen actually swimming. I’ll add a hunting story just for the heck of it. Early 90’s, hunting opening week of gun season in Wyoming SF in northern PA. It was cold, and after the first two days, pretty quiet. I was perched atop a rock outcropping overlooking a large draw and heard a very faint whooshing sound that got progressively louder. All of a sudden a US Navy or Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk passed directly overhead at less than 1000’ AGL. As soon as it passed the entire forest shuddered from the roar of its Pratt and Whitney J52 turbojet engine. When I say it was loud...it was LOUD!

Coming from an aviation maintenance background, I can say there are numerous greases and oils that are designed for certain functions that are not compatible with others. Trust me on that. Like the poor sap I knew years ago that decided if Exxon 2380 turbine oil was good for a turbofan engine, it was probably a great choice for the 5.0L V8 in his Mustang. I think he made it about 4 miles down the road before he spun bearings and threw rods. A fishing reel is no different. Sure, there may be alternate lubricants that exhibit the same qualities and specifications as a specific brand of grease sold for fishing reels at lesser cost, but you need to make sure it matches the specifications of proper reel grease. But, the fact is, reel grease is cheap compared to even an economy reel. Why scrimp on maintaining your gear? The time to discover your “shade tree mechanic” lube job on your $$$ reel was unsatisfactory is not when you’re on the water with a lunker on the line and your reel locks up.

As a die-hard bowhunter, nothing gets me more than hunter trash. Want to lose access to good private land? Leave trash behind. Seriously, I just don’t get it. You did well.

If I can, I will pick up other's trash and discard it appropriately. I loathe litterers. But if I can help clean some trash out, I will.

I asked this question in another thread and came to my own conclusions lol. I am RH, and cast every rod with my right hand. Grew up fishing with spinning reels with the handle on the left side. Cast right, hold rod right, reel left. Feels natural. Had a baitcaster with reel on the right. Cast right, switch and hold rod left, reel right. Wanted to buy a new low-profile baitcaster and decided to get a LH. Makes sense, right? I reel a spinning reel like a demon LH, so why no a baitcaster? It felt awkward. My best guess is geometry and ergonomics. A spinning reel is below the rod, so the handle is below the axis of the rod. On a baitcaster, the handle is above the axis of the rod. Other factors may be involved as well, but I know cranking the handle on a baitcaster with my left hand felt strange. I switched to the same model baitcaster, but RH, and it simply felt normal. Switching the rod from my right to my left hand after the cast is almost instantaneous. But I’d say whatever works for the angler is what they should use. There is no “right or wrong”. Except holding a spinning reel above the rod. That just IS wrong! ?

Good enough! Went with Sufix 832 20# and 8# FC leader. Reel is due tomorrow. No shipping date on the rod yet. This will be my first use of braid. It sure feels different. I’ll use some 8# hybrid as backing on the spool.