Crestliner2008

Depth & speed control - Buck Perry, circa 1960. Color is what sells fishing lures....not fish.

X2!

I use Megastrike all the time. Great stuff!

Are any of you aware that VT still has a pike shooting season? Yep...they actually use rifles on them! Talk about stupidity!

Keep your mind focused on only two things: depth & speed control. There have been some great suggestions here already. I'd only add blade baits to the list of jigs, DD cranks and the drop shot.

X3

The drop shot works well in just about any situation where "searching" does not have to be done. If you locate bait and/or bass, this technique can bring in the bacon. Fish in a very active mood will take it as well as when they are rather negative. Think of it this way, the DS is a precise, controlled presentation which positions the bait in the fishes face for long periods of time. No self respecting bass can turn that down! You can beef it up and fish it in shallow, snaggly water as well. And just about any piece of plastic works - 4" to 8" worms, crawdad imitations, tubes, Fin-S Fish type baits, hellgramite imitations - whatever you have in your box!

Very good article! I've also heard that if you do get the hook out and the fish is bleeding; to pour some Sprite soda into it's mouth....suppose to close the capillaries faster!?

I concur with the above, but my preferrance is 6# - 8# test fluorocarbon lines. My reason is that these lines sink pretty rapidly whereas the braids or fused lines have a tendency to float; thereby creating a bit more of a belly between your rod tip and your jig.

The rod & reel combo you list here is just fine. However, I hope your line selection is a fluorocarbon? They keep the belly out of your line, maintaining a more direct contact with your presentation. Plus fluorocarbon is a harder line than mono, consequently the "perceived" line stretch is much less, usually resulting in a higher percentage of hook-sets. (JMO) Why do you want to go with a "small tube"? You can do that, but I think you might be better off with a 4" tube, if the tube size you are referring to as "small" is 3" or less. Make sure you get some in watermelon & green pumpkin colors. I'd also recommend internal jig heads for more open water conditions, or if you are fishing snaggy stuff, use the EZ-Weights (internal) with a texas worm hook. Let your lure fall to the bottom. Let it set for a bit (vary this time according to the fishes mood). Then twitch it off the bottom and/or drag it along. Again, try various retrieves, but keep it on the bottom as much as possible. You'll get bit! Finally, don't over a LC Pointer or X-Rap suspending, hard jerkbaits.

You can use any plastic bait you can think of! I've use plain slugs of plastic and caught bass with them when drop shotting. Some of the more tried and true plastics are the 4" finesse worms, but I've used 6" before. And don't over look wacking rigging a Senko (4" works best for me). I've used tubes and helgramite imitations to boot! The one recommendation I would make is not to overwork the bait. Sometimes I'll wait 30 seconds or more before applying the standard twitching technique.

Hey Sam....if you use the hook outlined above, you won't have any problem with them swallowing it. They are lip hooked 90%+ of the time. I've had great success with it.

Not sure how many of you have ever tried to fish a wacky-rigged Senko under a slip bobber before? I've been fishing this rig for 2 full seasons now and I've got to tell you folks, it's a great way to present a Senko, especially with a second rod (where legal) while you are working the first with a crank, tube or hard jerkbait. Keeps the action going, if you know what I mean! Some folks have asked me how I do my rigging with this presentation. It's difficult to put it into words, so I took a snapshot, which should help you get a better idea of what I'm talking about: The bobber stops can be found at any sporting goods store - even WalMarts. They have the stop set-ups & small plastic beads in the package. You can find the cigar floats at Dicks; you can use all kinds of slip floats in this application, but after trial & error, I've pretty much settled on this one. It's about 4" long and the bright colors make it easy to see, even in a decent chop. I've chosen Fireline Chrystal, as my main line, because it stays on the surface of the water, between the float and your rod tip. This makes slack retrieval much easier, as well as the hook-set (which we will talk about later). And, for me, it's easy to see! The glass bead under the float prevents the eye of the crane swivel from sticking in the bottom of the float. (There actually is a method behind my madness, believe it or not!) Do NOT use a barrel swivel! You know....the kind that are used with "snap-swivels". Use a quality crane swivel or ball bearing style only. These turn much easier than the barrel types. The Senko hanging below a bobber, has a tendency to turn....so you will need to avoid line twist, as much as possible. I really like to use the Spro Powerswivels, size #8 or #10, but they are expensive and not easy to find everywhere. You can use any hook you want; however, I would highly recommend you give this one shown a try. I've had excellent results with it over the years. When the bobber goes under, you just start reeling her in! The leader between the hook & swivel is anything you want it to be. If I'm fishing fairly shallow in weedy/wooded conditions for LM, I'll beef it up to about 10# test - or more! But for open water SM fishing, the 6# test cited above is about as good as it gets. Now....the most important part! How far up the line to you set the bobber stop? This is what I do. I find bait on the structure I'm fishing. Then I attach an ice fishing depth finder - the lead weights with the alligator clips molded into them - to the hook. I lower this boatside until it hits bottom. I slide the bobber stop so that the float is about 2' underwater. This will be correct for having your Senko presented 2' ABOVE THE BOTTOM. Got that? Simple...effective. Remove the depth finder, slip on a Senko, wacky style. Cast it a short distance from the boat. The float will lay flat, until the Senko is at the end of it's travel. Now the float will semi-stand up, bouncing about and imparting a rather dramatic action to your wacky rigged Senko. I've caught SM, LM, salmon, lake trout, and white perch with this rigging. It's especially effective when the bite is tough. When the bite is on, I prefer more aggressive presentations, but for us old folks, this rig can be a God send - when the arms give out especially! Give it a whirl next time you go fishing. I have a strong feeling that you'll always keep one rod rigged this way, once you try it!

Totally awesome smallmouth!

I totally disagree with J Francho on the Stand Out hooks. I've been using them for many seasons now and have caught an awful lot of smallmouth and LM bass on them. They are a staple in my arsenal.

Hey bigbill, sorry to hear about your problems! My problem is arthritis and "fishing elbow" which also comes with aging. This is why I focus more on offshore structure fishing these days, with finesse type presentations. You might want to try drop shotting, tubes and slip float presentations (with wacky rigged Senkos....dynomite!).

Here in MA, the ponds are still supporting a lot of ice fishermen!

I enjoy - and have been successful at - a lot of things relating to our sport of fishing. If I had to pin it down to one, I'd have to say that I specialize in offshore structure fishing for smallmouth bass. And I'm pretty good at it.

Very nice report and some real dandy smallies there!

I'm 64 and have been wearing glasses since my early childhood. Nowadays, I need bi-focals which are pretty easy to get use to. I even have a second pair with polarized glass, just for fishing. Works for me!

I agree....in the women's hair care section is where I found mine.

There are probably a 100 ways of hooking a Senko wacky style. Here's one I've adopted from a long time fishing friend (a pen-pal of mine, Hiromi), living and fishing in Japan. It's a bit hard to explain to someone by typing instructions or verbally communicating this technique over the phone. So, I took some pictures and maybe this will help someone getting started. Maybe you'll even consider changing your current technique and give this one whirl (you may be pleasantly surprised!)? First, you will have to buy a package of "Goodys" at Wal Marts: Next, you will need a pair of long nose pliers and put the tip thru one of these rubber bands: Then you will DOUBLE the band on the tip and open the pliers a bit to retain a loop: I use my knee to keep the plier handles spread open at this point. I proceed now with the next step, of inserting a hook into this newly formed loop and pulling even further, creating a bit of a triangular opening: Believe me, this is a lot easier and simpler to do than it is to show! Finally, you insert your Senko: All you have to do now is slip the "Goody" off one tip of the plier and then the other. Presto: You now have a wacky rigged Senko which will keep your worm intact for quite a few fish. Another advantage to this rubber band deal is that it acts as a spring when you lift or twitch the Senko, giving it quite a different action from a solid connection, such as a straw or heat shrink tubing. A very cost effect approach which you will note, is much cheaper than "O" rings. It fits the 5" size Senko best, but I've used it on the 4" as well. A bit too snug on the 6" or 7" however. I've used this very technique for 4 seasons now myself and am very satisfied. FYI, I only use Gamakatsu's OCT INLINE CIRCLE hooks; cat. no. 221311, size 1/0 (the smallest size in this particular hook style). You might also notice that the barb is pinched down as well. This facilitates CPR tremendously. I've NEVER lost a fish using this hook barbless. I do hope this is value-added to some of you. Have a great day!

I fish the Quabbin quite a bit during it's open season. Have been doing that for a lot of years. Retired now, so I get up there at least a couple of times a week nowadays. There definitely is a motor restriction there. Max. HP is either a 25 2-stroke or 20 4-stroke; and the motor can only be 50% of the boat's rated HP. Hope that helps some. They do rent boats there as well, however - 15' alum open hull boats with 7 HP motors. Not fast, but they do the job. For parking, gate fees and boat rental for 2 guys, you're only talking about $35.00/day. A great deal! I have my own rig, so I don't worry about the rentals.

Great read! Thanks.

After trying various hooks and sizes, I've settled on a #2 as the best for bass...SM or LM, believe it or not. I agree with the folks above. You just start reeling and the hooks will set themselves. If you fish SM with them you just have to know: REEL AS FAST AS YOU CAN! ;D I use Daiichi hooks, but just about anything will work....you are in direct contact with the hook, so your hook-up ratio is very good.