I guess this post could just about go anywhere but for the most part it was an outing from which I learned more in one day than I have for a long time. My 6 year old son and I hit the MG's today about 2:30. I rigged him with the good old bobber and nightcrawler and he had a blast catching perch, sunfish, bluegills, 1 smallmouth and 1 largemouth.

     My experience was a little different. Late last night I read the tutorial on senko fishing. We I chose a 4" smoke senko rigged wacky style. I never missed so many fish in all my life! Finesse is definitely not my strong suit. after 3 hours or so I rigged texas style and my catch rate did increase, however I didnt get quite as many hits. But let me tell you I still had tons of hits! I would say 70% of the time the senko was hit nearly as soon as it hit the water.

     What I learned: First of all the first rod had a real stiff line with lots of memory and it made it very difficult to stay in touch with the senko. Once I swithced to a much softer mono on a different rod I could keep in much better touch. Didnt someone mention that the wind always blows at the MG's. Well the wind also made it very challenging; the big belly in the line made hook sets very difficult. The last component that I should have had but didnt, was a rod with a stiffer tip. I really learned so much from the 4 hours or so that I fished the senko and my boy thought that it was pretty funny that I couldnt hook anything.Thanks for the excellent article on fishing senko's. I know my fishing will be much better for it.

     Also, Im a relatively new boater and had never really used my foot operated trolling motor. I always used  my rear trolling motor that I could steer by hand. Well I new that motor had taken a beating on the Juniata's low water last weekend but I didnt realize how much. With the rear motor we were going nowhere fast. If you happened to be on the lake today you couldnt miss me. I was the guy in the middle of the lake spinning in circles! ;D Again though by dusk I could almost run a straight line.

    Even though the day didnt go real smooth I never got frustrated. I was having a blast with my son and learning about our little fishing boat. We finally got our fish finder working and my boy was crazy over the underwater camera that came along with the boat. As a matter of fact I thought it was pretty cool to.

    What a great day! The knowledge I've gained since I found this site made this day a success. We spent the last hour by locating and marking walleye in about 35' of water and again drawing on the research I'd done previously. Apparently I need to study a little more, especially on the walleye.

    Sorry for being so long winded. I just needed to share this experience with some folks I knew could appreciate it.

Here's to many more satisfying days on the water.

Mike

Try some super braid to fish senko's .

Mike,

Bream or small bass were probably hitting your wacky Senko. Happens all the time all over the country.

Try using a lighter flouro line test, like 8 pounds on a spinning rig and 10 pounds on a baitcaster.

Go with a weedless 1/0 hook.

Check out my PM on some wacky rigging that I will be sending you in a few minutes.

As for the trolling motor, welcome to the club.  I still get screwed up working mine as I get too intense fishing to worry about where the boat is headed.

Try putting the speed to #2 or #3 and you will have an easier time handling the trolling motor.

Great story. Thanks for sharing it with us.  

thanks for the tips guys. Still was a pile of fun.

Mike

Bream or small bass were probably hitting your wacky Senko. Happens all the time all over the country.

My thought too. Don't set up on everything!

Wind problem...just drop the rod tip down to the water and to the side and the line will stay in the water  almost up to the boat or the bank. You can stay in touch with the Senko a little better.  If you have the tip up and all that line out of the water, the wind will whip it all over the place.  

As for the trolling motor, welcome to the club. I still get screwed up working mine as I get too intense fishing to worry about where the boat is headed.

Try putting the speed to #2 or #3 and you will have an easier time handling the trolling motor.

X2!!! I still have some problems as well. I think it is funny as hell when I let one of my friends try to drive my boat when they have never done it before!!!

-Nitroman

As for the trolling motor, welcome to the club. I still get screwed up working mine as I get too intense fishing to worry about where the boat is headed.

Try putting the speed to #2 or #3 and you will have an easier time handling the trolling motor.

X2!!! I still have some problems as well. I think it is funny as hell when I let one of my friends try to drive my boat when they have never done it before!!!

-Nitroman

Yea, I agree.  It is pretty funny to watch them get frustrated and say, "It looked easy to do."