Bizzo

I think that this might also work well in the river, just stand in the current and let the line out. What do you guys think?

Right on.

Corn man. My buddies and I used to buy one can of corn and catch em like crazy in the mississippi. Put 2 or 3 kernels on a hook, let it sit on the bottom, and you will catch em.

Keeping it simple is a good idea, it is way too easy to spend all kinds of money! I have about 3 different types of baits that seem to work regularly, and I stick with that.

Amen brother, river smallies are the best. I went lake fishing for largemouth this weekend, and they just dont compare. give my my Mississippi, some senko's, and some fat ika's, and I am a happy man.

Wow, awesome! Way to go on a fantastic fish!

Very nice fish. I have been catching a lot of smallies lately and I still am amazed at how hard they fight. I had about a 5 pounder last night that wanted to rip my arm off. My left arm was a limp noodle when I finally got him in! There is nothing like hooking into a decent smallie and hearing your line go reeeeeeeeeeee!

Looks like about a 2 pounder to me. Nice fish!

So I went to my favorite spot again yesterday with my new spinning rig, "just to try it out for a half hour" and 3 hours later I hook into the biggest smallie I have ever caught. It fought twice as long and hard as any of the 3 pounders I have caught. But of course since I was "only gonna be there a half hour" I just shoved some lures in my pocket and left my cel phone/camera and scale at home. It's so frustrating to have caught such a big fish, the biggest ever for me, and have no picture or any idea what it actually weighed! I am going back tonight though to get him again!

I have been absolutely KILLING them on senkos in the river texas rigged weightless. Caught a four or five pounder last night and catch mostly larger fish on the 5" senkos. I have some 7" senko type baits coming today, I hope to catch some monsters on those. I would also give a super fluke a shot.

Well, I don't have a boat so I just fish from the bank. I spend a lot of time wading as well. The part river where I fish is about 3-4 feet deep at its deepest right now (except for one spot I will talk about), it is REALLY low. I seem to find the fish in the deeper areas, 2-4 feet deep, with larger rocks and vegetation, with a shallower area nearby. I have two favorite spots, one is an area of vegetation and rocky bottom 2-4 feet deep just before a very shallow (6 inches or so) area. The other is a pretty unique spot. It is two deeper holes, maybe 6-7 feet deep at most, separated by some large boulders and smaller rocks with an area of rocky rapids beside it. I can walk on the rocks and stand at the center of all 3 areas and just cast around. I have had the best luck with senkos, but have also caught some good fish on twister tails with a jighead, and larger topwater propeller baits. I have caught the most fish on topwater by throwing them just beside boulders sticking above the surface. I tend to get quite a few reaction strikes that way. If I dont hook him, I throw a senko that way and can get them a good amount of the time. I think the key is structure and deeper water. I am going to be ranging up and down river a bit more looking for other spots. I am going to get some fat ika's as soon as the wife gets over being mad at me for all the money I spent so far! Maybe my *** order has some ika equivalent freebies!

Has anyone had this happen? I was fishing for smallies with senkos and hooked into a decent size fish, about 2 pounds. Fought him for a bit to tire him out, took awhile, then pulled him in. I looked in his mouth and saw the lure and line go all the way down deep. I was going to cut the line, but wanted to pull out the lure first. I grabbed the lure with my needle nose and pulled it and the hook right out. He wasnt hooked at all! I have heard stories of people catching bass on senkos without the hook being set, but didn't really believe them until now. I am still just amazed that the fish just wouldnt let it go!

So these Senkos are starting to make me feel like I know what I'm doing! I have been hitting the smallies pretty good on the mighty Mississippi. I have to say that smallie fishing in this part of the river is a blast. I think I have been skunked once in 3 weeks, and that was before I discovered this forum and senkos! These fish are just awesome to catch, much more fun to me than largemouth for a fight. This one went 3lbs even This one was 3lbs 2oz These next two are 2lb 2 oz and 2lb even repectively

You obviously know how, but most anglers are better off not attempting to re-sharpen a hook (lost art). With hooks like the X-point you'd need a coarse stone to re-triangulate the point, then a fine hone to get a keen point. How often to replace the hook is not time-dependent, but depends on the condition of the point (e.g. Nail-shave test). For instance, if the point makes hard contact with a rock on the "first cast", it's already a candidate for replacement. I'm pretty sure that Roadwarrior feels the same way. Roger I agree also, I check my hooks quite often and replace them if I even think they are getting a little dull. To me, the price of a few hooks doesn't compare to a lost lunker.

I've been using the 14pd co poly and I love it. I just can't break the stuff. I am using it on my baitcaster though. I have Yo-Zuri Hybrid (which I love, thanks RW!) on my spinning rig.

Ahhh, I see. Thank for the clarification!

Just curious, but if you have never changed hooks to try using different ones, how can you say you land fish the same? I know that when I went to better hooks, my hookup/landing ratio went up.

I am fishing the Mississippi by Monticello Mn. One other thing I thought was crazy, I never moved. I was standing in the same spot for all 7 fish. Just fan casting.

that is hilarious, lol

Bottom line is that bulk packing cuts into profits, so they don't do it. Not that I see anything wrong with that personally.

I always change my hooks to gamakatsu hooks when I can. Some lures don't have rings so I will just sharpen those. I notice a big difference when I do change them. I also check my worm hooks often and change them as soon as they get even a little dull.

I found the post below on another forum concerning this question, it's an answer from someone at Yamamoto baits as to why they dont sell in bulk. Okay, well I'm someone from Yamamoto and I'd love to answer this question. I manage the Online Store and get a very significant number of requests for bulk deals. The long answer is that we used to have bulk available. We stopped doing this because we do not have room to keep all of our 3,000-some different styles and colors in stock as 100-count bags. And when we did, the weight of the bags and bait tended to crush the soft bait. Then, nobody ever wants the same color or style as another angler. It seemed that the extra efforts consumed any savings we could reasonably pass on to the angler by making 100-count bags. Now, dealers and distributors get bulk deals, naturally, by the caselot. (No suprise there, right?) And the baits are still packaged in the normal ziplocks. Now we love our anglers. You guys asking these questions. But honestly, we're not into making outrageous profits on anyone. I think that our bait is worth the extra cost, and I get that value back in better performance. If you don't think that's true, you should either do a little more research here at the Inside Line, or find another bait to use. Our bait is expensive to make. I know for a fact that I'm not making rock-star wages. (In fact, everyone here is definitely underpaid. *hint hint Gary*) The real question is, why don't the tackle stores have special deals and quantity sales? We don't because we really don't want to compete with them -- our corporate policy is to actually support those mom-and-pop dealers who have to compete with the X-Marts selling 5,000-count bags of X-bait. So, to recap. We used to have bulk -- it really didn't work out because of the quantity of products and the delicacy of our bait. We're not trying to rip anyone off -- our bait is expensive to purchase because it's just plain expensive to make -- our prices have NEVER increased and have actually DECREASED in the last 15 years (we're getting cheaper) -- stores get quantity deals and you should talk to your local dealer about getting the deals. Hope this helps, -Ryan

Here are some pics, they didnt turn out as bad as I thought! This is the biggest one I caught Here is a decent one This is another pic of the biggest one Another good one All in all, a great 2 hours! I had 4 more like these, all nice size and fought like crazy.

So I go to the Mississippi today where I have been trying to figure out the smallies and what to use. For the first two hours I use a crankbait, spinnerbait, twister tail, topwater floater and a buzzbait, all with zero bites. I decide that I have had enough, but while I'm here I might as well try these senko things I have heard so much about. 2 casts later a smallie thats about a pound. I think "hmm, probably just a fluke". 2 casts later, a huge smallie, to me anyway. Probably 4 pounds and about 22 inches long. I couldn't believe it. I catch 5 more in the next hour, all between 1-3 pounds and all fight like crazy. I have never had a DAY fishing like that, much less an hour and a half! And I owe it all to the people here at the BR forum. Everything I tried I was told about here, plus I never would have known what a senko was or how to fish it without this forum. So from one incredibly happy angler, a profound thank you to you all! I do have some pics, but they are from a camera phone and they suck. Maybe I will post them tomorrow.

Nothing wrong with those fish at all! I'll take em' all day long. Good stuff!