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I fooled around with the BSE on a pond today. Used a Spinning Rod. It's truly preposterous how easy this bait is to skip....and how far. I laughed out loud a couple of times. And these were just light throws. I was seriously considering a full send cast to see if I could skip it all the way across the pond!

Yep. If you look beyond the ribs and focus solely on the solid body in the photo I provided, you can see how small and for how long the thin body is. And it's thinner than most finesse worms. This bait would be truly killer in an Elastomer plastic.

Many also have a numbering system. Unless you can read Japanese, you won't see "Ayu". You'll see TW123 on the package from OSP.

I'm a JDM tackle and fishing fan, so I learned some of the native bait fishes and their basic colors in an effort to understand what they were throwing to "match the hatch" there. And I wouldn't expect JDM bait makers to change the name of a real fish colour just to suit the US market...any more than a US manufacturer changing a bait fish name (Perch, Shad, etc) for a non-US market.

What about a head where you can use whatever hook you want? Opens up some options.

While I think the Hayabusa solution is the best, the Ryugi Inset Keeper works well too.

I guess I just don't understand why calling a bait color a proper fish name that's easily associated with that species natural color (Wakasagi, Ayu, Shad, Perch, Goby, etc) is misleading or hard to understand. I do understand the disdain for the others though, since there's no color frame of reference for "California 420" or "309" and the like. Despite all of this...are there any color names that make you chuckle? I always thought "Margarita Mutilator" was silly. LOL 😆

Since I got back into Neko, I've been trying every conceivable bait (within reason) to try and find one I like or one that works best for me..as is my usual way. I thought I'd touch on the 6th Sense Boosa Shakey Worm since there isn't too much out there on this bait. It's 6.5" long with a fairly thick head but with a very fast taper to a very thin tail...almost like the tip on the Spunk Shad. The entire bait is ribbed. So it should displace water very well. It weighs 6.5g (just under 1/4oz). It floats. It smells lightly of plastic. It doesn't feel robust enough to stretch or pull hard. I used Black/Blue for testing. First, the action. It's next level compared to the bulb tailed worms I've used. Even at the slightest twitch. It just looks so, so good. You don't even need to work the rod, really. Just a gentle sweep while having the nail weight bounce along the bottom keeps the worm lively. Everyone who's looked at the action in the shallows says "Wow!" or similar. I reminds me of that real fluid movement when a leech is swimming. The head is thick but it tapers very fast to a very thin tail which no doubt helps with that action. But this is where it hinders too on a Neko. For a Neko, the Boosa head is plenty thick for a nail weight. But the problem is where the hook would go...which is right at the very thin taper. And so the hook pulls through and breaks the worm with alarming regularity. I've even broken it on a cast! Doesn't matter if I use crossover rings, silicone tubing, shrink wrap or even the Geecrack Neko Hack (had these pull through). It will break. It's just really thin there (4mm or .150") and much weaker. This wouldn't be an issue with a Shakey Head though, since you're pulling by the head. Sadly, not the case for Neko! But I do like this worm. Quite a bit. It looks great! It has probably gotten bit more frequently than most other worms I've used. But the durability is not there...unless I find some solution. I'd also add some bait attractant gel to the ribs..if for no other reason than to mask the plastic and add a little "something". But need to fix the durability for this to find a permanent place in my bag.

But it's a laminate, isn't it?

Well, this is another species of Japanese fish (as is Kingyo...Goldfish). Silver/white, usually a darker back and often pink/purple hints for Wakasagi Do you also take offense to lure colors with the name "Shad" or "Bluegill" in them? These are actual fish species they are trying to emulate.

I mostly agree with this..except your gripe with the Ayu one. Ayu is an actual Japanese fish species and everyone there knows the basic color of an Ayu. Just as everyone here in North America knows the general colors of shad, shiner, perch or baby bass. I presume that the bait with Ayu color was from a Japanese brand..or those seeking Japanese tackle.

I do all of that and still come up empty. I've even gotten very specific advice from "experts" on my local maps (they circled areas...which were largely the same as areas I picked out) and came up empty. Regardless of what bait was thrown, what weather, time of day, etc And I'm not the only one. Ran into some guys from down South USA and they said if they had to fish LMB like here, they'd quit! LOL 😆 SMB on the other hand are easy here (best SMB fishing in their lives according to the same guys). It's just really tough here and the norms and "rules" don't seem to apply quite as readily as in other areas..particularly those down south.

It's difficult LMB fishing here (North). The season here is truncated due to weather AND regulations. No pre-spawn or spawn/bed fishing, season not open until last week of June, etc Therefore, I want to maximize my time in likely fish holding areas. Local advice has always seemed lacking and unreliable. I solidly fished an area today that was supposed to be "loaded" and not a single bite. So I want to rely on myself to find high percentage areas. And I think bathymetric maps can be a useful starting point tool here. And so I am endeavoring to do this. Part 1 was choosing my app. After much back and forth, I settled on Navionics. I also liked that they had a Fishing Ranges feature to customize the maps shading with user defined color and depth ranges. And that's what I'm asking advice for here. So this is Part 2 I understand the importance of setting custom colors. The most obvious being it allows quick initial identification of potential fishing spots. But I'm coming up a bit empty in my research for HOW and WHY to assign what colors to what depth ranges so you can arrive at the best result. For example, the maximum depth for me would be 30 feet. How do I set up the graduations? Every 2 feet? Every 3 feet? More? And I presume Red for shallowest, then orange, then yellow....then what? I am really quite curious what has worked for you and your eyes. Any advice on your set up or good, very specific videos on the topic?

It definitely comes through vegetation better than Brand Z

Oh, in that case...I already mentioned how I think it stacks up against Brand Z

Ummm..these are bladed jigs. Not sure what you mean.

No joke. I wear one of these a few places I fish from the bank.

As the resident JDM fan boy, it stands to reason that I would have tried this by now. And I have. Lots. So much so, that it's the only bladed jig I now use. And I'm a constant, enthusiastic bladed jig user. I also consider it to be the best on the market...and if not THE best, it's certainly in the running. Perhaps 1B to another brands 1A. But I've been jealously, selfishly keeping this to myself because they are so hard for me to get. It's been my dirty little secret! I've ordered all of them from Japan. But here's the thing: to this point in the year, I would have already lost several bladed jigs from "Brand Z" to snags. But I have yet to lose a single Super Break Blade (SBB). Not one. Nories makes a flat bottomed pin tail (think flat bottomed Spunk Shad). And with a flat bottom bait to prevent rollover AND with the bottom guards, you'd have to try very hard to snag it..or be very unlucky. So the difficulty in obtaining them has been offset by the difficulty in losing them. At least for me. I have, I think, 4 different colors. So here's a few photos with a couple different trailers already rigged. Sorry, I don't currently have one rigged with the Nories Hulabug..but if someone REALLY wants to see it, I'll rig one up.

I can't comment specifically on that particular reel but I see similar type used here on the Great Lakes for Steelhead or Lake Trout.

I've been a fan boy of poop baits and by extension poop baits/bug baits with appendages. I fish them daily and always have one sort or another tied on. Been having fun with the Coike Shrimp lately..either on a Jika or a Decoy Switch Bomb. Very lively looking!

Yep.

One of the Levante rods?

I feel your pain. Pike, Bowfin and Gar are a constant source of headache for me.

Yes. I just use the regular non-Toad version as it's more slender.