BrianMDTX

A Daiwa Steez or Shimano Antares. So I could sell it and buy two Tatulas or Fuegos and two decent rods lol.

I just bought my first pack of 901’s recently and caught my first bass with one last Saturday. No swirls though! I see. My opinion stinks unless backed up by others! You cut me to the quick, hokie! ?

Have you rigged the Fat IKA both ways? I started with tentacles to the rear, but switched to tentacles front. My bite ratio is about 3:1 front vs rear.

Man! That #956 watermelon w/copper flake/orange w/red is getting a lot of love! It’s easily my best and most productive Senko color by far.

He does a lot of pitching. I don’t know how far I’d cast a weightless TR on my HF rod!

Maybe. From what I’ve seen so far (only two strikes and two catches) is that they hit the bait and run, starting the rod to bend. By the time I sweep back to set the hook, the rod is pretty much at the bend in the action. Trust me, it’s not going to become my soft plastics rod. It’s just interesting how well it seems to be doing it lol.

It’s not the power as much as the action. I’ve always used a MH/F for bottom baits with big single hooks to drive it home. My thoughts on action was that a fast would get into the hookset quicker. But this MF action seems to have no difficulty with that.

Pretty bass!

I’m never going to write off any soft plastics! Last year, someone posted a thread about what bait were you giving up on. I mentioned it was likely a Fat IKA, as I had yet to get a strike on one. So far this year it’s one of my top producers lol. Glad I stuck with it!

My last rig purchase was a Daiwa Tatula 100H on a Dobyns Fury FR705CB. I bought it as I had MH/F and M/F baitcasters and though a MH/MF would be good for crankbaits, chatterbaits, etc. But last week, I decided to see what it would do with a weightless TR (in this case, a Fat IKA on a 3/0 hook). It cast the bait effortlessly and it was a pleasure working the bait across the bottom. When the bass struck, I easily hooked it. The same happened yesterday. I still had the Fat IKA rigged so it was the first bait I cast in the morning after the frog got no takers on my HF rig. Once again, got a strike and the bass was hooked good…and easily. I know conventional wisdom points to fast action for Texas rigs, but I am intrigued at how well this moderate fast action seems to work. I’m curious if anyone else has or does use one for weightless Texas rigs, especially for heavier soft plastics like a Fat IKA or Neko Macho. I wouldn’t try a weightless Zoom Trick or similar as it’s too light to cast on a MH rod, but those heavier baits really cast well and the hookset seems great.

Man, the bite has really been off lately. Had two bites and caught both. Neither of any size. The pond exploded with duckweed and algae after all the rain followed by a week of sun. The breeze normally blows it to the west end of the pond by mid-morning but yesterday it covered the whole surface. A frog was the only topwater that would work but it was ignored. I caught one early on a Fat IKA and another later on a #901 watermelon/cream Senko. Good take-aways are that the Senko was rigged on a new braid-to-leader for me (Seguar Smackdown in flash green with a 6 lb mono leader) and the Fat IKA was still rigged on my new Daiwa Tatula and Dobyns Fury FR705CB. Having only used Sufix 832 before, I can notice a big difference in visibility (a no-brainer due to the color) but also in the smoothness of the line. But I am really surprised by that rod. I bought it as a crankbait rod but tried it last week with that Fat IKA and easily caught a bass with it. Same thing happened yesterday. I was twitching the bait in, skittering it across the bottom like a crayfish, when the bass hit it. I started to set the hook when it took off, and it basically set the hook itself, which IMO is pretty darned good for a 3/0 EWG. I know it’s not the application that rod was designed for as MF action, but I am pleased with the results! Fat IKA Senko

Love that frog!

Time (as always) will tell. But some things you can tell are cheap junk before you even use it once. I would NOT put this reel in that category. It may not stand up to 8-10 hours of solid fishing every weekend for years on end, but for an inexpensive starter baitcasting reel, it’s not bad at all.

I haven’t tossed a chatterbait on my 705CB yet, but it’s done great with squarebills and lipless cranks.

The only “flaw” I can truly state is that, unlike my Fuego and Tatula (set the spool tension just to the point of removing play and be done with it), you do have to adjust the spool tension for the weight of the lure. Have it set for a heavier bait and cast a lighter one (or vice-versa) and you may get a bird’s nest. But once adjusted properly, it stays adjusted. For $49.99 (or less) on a $49.99 Daiwa Aird-X, it’s hard to beat for the price.

Mine are only a year old. So far I have not had any issues with either of them. One is spooled with 12 lb YZH and the other with 10 lb Berkley Big Game.

I'm guessing you're likely looking for a MH/F, but if a MH/MF would suit you, a Falcon Lowrider Weightless Worm rod runs about $130.00. It's 6' 7".

Gamakatsu 3/0 EWG for weightless TR and 1/0 circle octopus for WR.

Nice bass, hokie! This year has been tough. A lot of rain and storms seems to have cooled off the bite. Only caught four today. Two were true dinks. This one was on a tried-and-true #956 Senko WR. I tried various jerkbaits, squarebills and topwaters and had zero strikes. I took a Whopper Plopper off my new Daiwa Tatula on a Dobyns Fury FR705CB and decided to try a weightless Fat IKA on a 3/0 EWG just to see how it would fare. Boy, I was surprised! First, it really casted that bait a long way for a weightless TR, but I had it skipping under branches as well. Had a dink hit it and then I had a decent strike. Setting the hook was not an issue. I know that’s not the application that rod is designed for, but darned if I could tell!

Trust me. None taken! It’s great for small ponds but a 1/2 mile one-way trip would destroy me lol.

Looks great!

What rig(s) are you using? If you have a finesse spinning rig, wacky rig or weightless Texas rig 5” Senkos should get bites. Also try Zoom Trick worms on a weightless TR or with a 1/8 oz bullet weight. If fishing ponds, look for areas where bass lay in wait for prey. Look for sunken limbs and stumps, and where low-hanging branches extend over the water.

I fish many a Senko as a weightless TR with my baitcasters, but I use spinning gear for my WR's. I don't want 10 or 12 lb line on a wacky rigged bait.

I fished for four hours last Sunday morning and caught one bass on a squarebill. That was it. This rain and high water has put a damper on the bite IMO.

Wow. Good/bad story lol.