PWE

It all started to get confusing for me when I realized I can't cover a day of fishing with 1 rod and 1 type of lure. So, I figured I need a minimum of 2 rods to cover the need for heavy stuff and another for light stuff. I figured, well sure I can put 20lb test on my spinner but its probably better on a dedicated heavy b/c which gives me experience with both. I really love the b/c but I utterly HATE 20lb line (its the yo-zuri line). My tackle store told me I NEED 20lb test for jigs, which I wanted to try. I think a b/c caster is superior for pitching etc into fall downs, heavy cover, over hanging tree cover etc. I also find the 20lb test and the b/c pull through heavy snags superbly. My comfort though, is with finesse plastics and smaller lures, cranking etc. All that being said, if I could trade both rods and reels in for 1 g-loomis drop shot spinner I would probably do it in a second. I find it hard to believe a well fed bass (stocked trout in Cali reservoirs) will hit a large lure often. I'm sure experience will prove me wrong there. So, how can I setup a single spinning rod rig to cover the options - seems to me I can't? Thoughts?

Ok, so I thought I had it worked out - baitcaster for jigs, spinnerbaits, swimbaits (small ones) and top water frogs etc. Spinner rod for finesse techniques, all soft plastics weightless etc. I see however, some people using jigs on spinner rods - thus I am now confused again. Do I need a heavy rig baitcaster and a light spinner setup or can you use a spinner setup for jigs etc If so are they only light ones? I simply want to focus on a few techniques and have the best setup I can for them. Thanks.

The guys here have been a great help in getting me started too. While I plan on moving to a floating object of some kind next year, this year I am 100% bank fishing. I have climbed, hiked, walked miles already this year - great workout lol. Anyways, I have finally settled on 2 rods - 1 heavy baitcaster and 1 light spinning rig. Baitcaster - jigs, small swimbaits (soon), larger spinnerbaits pretty much. Anything heavy. I have some kind of 20lbs ish line set on this rig and I am probably going to move to a 10lb flouro leader. Spinning rig - this one is where my heart really lies. I use it for all my finesse techniques and I specifically go for drop shotting and split shotting, I also use it for weightless plastics action. If my mood changes I can also quickly change it to run for trout etc. I use a backpack I had laying around and some cheap plastic storage boxes sectioned for tackle. I carry a horde of soft plastics and I only change to the heavy rig in major cover, heavy wind etc. That being said all my recent catches were off a point, in heavy wind using the drop shot and 4" worms. if I could only fish 1 thing it would be plastics, anytime, anyplace. I wear drab clothes and I'm careful when stepping near rocks etc for noise. I try to carry only one of the rigs and leave the other in the jeep when I can.

This is the result of what I have read in another hot topic called "situation senkos." I think its my turn to experience the "senko magic." I am going to pick a day to go out and hit 2-3 different reservoirs 600-1000 acres approx. each. I am going to take only senkos with me - from 3" to 7" sizes in various colors. I have access to a 7' spinning rig spooled with 8lb p-line flouro and a 7' baitcaster spooled with 20lb yo-zuri hybrid. I can fish deep or shallow, cover or open water, rock or grass lines. Water is pretty clear or sightly 'wind-murky.' Recommendations please for me to run this test - size of senko, which rig, t-rig or drop? etc. I feel this is a good test for the hype since I am, for all intents and purposes, someone very new to bass fishing. Thanks. I will post results after.

I find it amazing that you guys all catch with them. I wish I could catch like you guys describe with them. Just to get some experience behind the wheel so to speak. My experience with senkos has been totally negative in respect to catching fish. My roboworm seemed to work where there were clearly fish yesterday and my senkos just got ignored. If I walk a bank here in Cali. I won't go 100 yards without seeing someone's discarded senkos - everyone uses them everyday here. I sort of hate them for that reason. I also think fish here might grow shy to them, if not already. I am experimenting with drop shotting the 3" model today. For worms I just love the action of the roboworms - they look incredible in the water. Rigged in a variety of ways they can do almost amazing actions. As a new guy to bass I still struggle with the idea that a 2lb fish, which seem to be the average daily bass catch size, will actually pick up a 6" or 7" senko - seems just to big. I can't help feeling they want to gobble down a nice small easy pickings worm or grub. Also, right now I would rather catch 12 small fish for experience than go 2 months to catch one 5lber. I do need more experience though.

As far as using them goes, well I love finesse at the moment, so I've got the 3" senkos going. So far the roboworms are working better, but its a limited test since I don't catch much. basically, I hate senkos and any thick heavy worm like a cigar. I try to use everything else I have first. I nothing else works I will grab a senko.

Hmm yea, I can see that problem even after I miss hook it and re set the hook in the worm and feel like its about to fall apart. I thought perhaps it was the style of the lure that the above posters were objecting to rather than the quality of the plastic. I forget that senko is a brand, rather than a style. Since I'm new to bass fishing I have been thinking of it as a lure style rather than brand.

Out of interest - those that stated "never" can you say why? This is such a tried and tested lure - what's the reason you seem to so strongly dislike them?

Can any of you recommend highly, from experience, custom soft plastics vendors (worms, grubs, etc) that really work and deliver something unique and special?

interesting point on the line. I got 8lb test p-line 100% flouro. I have had a few issues with it, well, going crazy and tangling on the cast - nothing major, but odd to me. I love the line though.

My Ray Bans work well for me in almost any water and conditions. I will probably go for a specialist pair at some point, but my RBs are my universal ultra comfort everyday shades. They ran about $200.

This is an important thread - I actually live in California as well, and, coincidentally, I am looking for work and happen to have spent my career in high tech sales and strategy consulting. Anyways, its a pretty rough time for me right now for a variety of reasons and to boot I wasn't catching any bass. I started bass fishing this season and really only picked up fishing again seriously this year having never freshwater fished in my life. To be honest until today (I caught 2 small bass) I was ready to quit because I simply wasn't in the mood to deal with feeling like I couldn't catch anything - you get my drift. Anyways, today I did catch as part of a well thought out and executed strategy for fishing - when will I catch again - no clue, point is I set out to do it and I did - why - because I didn't quit - I worked and worked until I got it. Applying this to life gives me a renewed confidence and removes the skunk from more places than simply fish bragging rights. Fishing, like many other life pursuits teaches us who we are and how to fight for what we want. We should never forget this in what I call our "squishy personality type, self-service dollar menu world." Fish on!

OMG! Finally, the skunk is off. I settled my mind to work finesse style almost exclusively, unless I really can't get a bite on it. So I bougtht a new spinning rig, and a bunch of 3" - 5" soft plastics. Wen out today and bam - 2 in 20 minutes - loved it. small fish - 2lbs about, but I'll take it Now to analyze what I did and repeat it...then improve it. I caught them in high wind off a point on a drop shot rig, 7' med-light action 8lb test p-line fluro. I drop shotted aarons magic roboworms in 4.5" size. About 10am. Was great Thanks for all the support during skunk-stock.

thanks guys - I ended up with a Shimano Clarus 7' med-light fast action spinning rod with shimano sahara reel. I hope this does the job.

I have a baitcaster and enjoy it now the backlashes are getting fewer. I love the idea on having one good all around combo rod - this one is med-heavy action 7' shimano clarus with exceller reel. Its fine for me right now, I don't need a $300 blank just yet. My question is this: if I want to alternate light to heavy rigs can I buy another b/c reel and rig it with lighter line - say 10lb Yo-Zuri hybrid for casting cranks, drop shot etc? Then when I am out fishing I can simply change up the reels instead of having 2 rods with me. Or, do I have to buy a spinning rig for light stuff?

Good point - thanks. Maybe a mod can move it.

My spinning rod broke and now I use a Shimano Clarus baitcaster with 20lb test for jigs and heavy spinner and heavier T-rigged plastics etc. I have found my lighter cranks simply don't work anymore on this setup - they don't have any action anymore, not sure why. Anyways, I want to have a light spinning setup with me also. I would love to be able to crank with it, finesse fish it (drop shot etc) and maybe even trout fish with it if I feel like it. So, what would be a good setup to allow for this - I am looking for something in the lower budget range. I already have a diawa spinning reel (if that will work - its a cheapy ). Thanks.

Thanks for all the thoughts guys - I love the - crash into stuff idea - since I have been avoiding them - mostly I have been trying to avoid hangups. My take on the high end cranks is this: the paint job is mostly irrelevant unless you in shallow super clear water. The action is the key to me - if the action is better the lure will catch more (assuming you have the right technique). This is what I believe, but it's only based on intelligent research, I really don't know for sure. What I do know is at depth colors fade and disappear and thus I can't believe the extra paint detail matters at depth because they are based on light and light fades the deeper you go ultimately going to compete black and white. I also feel that if a bass can't tell the difference between a real animal and a "kreature" bait with a lead weight stuck on top then it sure won't be drawn the a super artistic paint job. Again, I think the action of each lure dictates more of the catches. This also makes sense from what I know of how bass prey and hunt. Thanks again for all the input, I can't wait to get back out and crank it up some more, it really is my favorite rig to date.

So, I wen tot a local lake and under good advice came to a nice area to fish from shore. I was there to test out my jig setup. True to the advice there was a nice 5lb/7lb bass sitting in about 5' water over some submerged weed and rock and right beside her was a small male. Couple guys much more experience than me couldn't catch them and left. I tried for about 1 hour and nothing. I would cast in my jig behind her and she would hear it and move, I would cast again near her and she would move again. I even ran my crank so close it hit her in the side a few times, she simply looked at it and moved again. The male did nothing and mostly moved away. When the big female was still again she sat facing me directly and simply watched me. Eventually they both moved into deeper water. I tried cranks, jigs, spinners, worms, brush hog etc. Nothing would interest her at all. If I am fishing from the shore where I can see the fish and have no hope of catching her what hope do I have if I am fishing 90% where I am not even sure fish are holding? Any ideas on what was going on here? :'(

Again, thanks guys for the information - the vid was great. I wish there were more like this on technique and rig setup. I really love life imitation type baits - reaction types mostly - like spinnerbait, jerkbait, cranks etc I love the activity of it - I really hate something like nightcrawler fishing where it just sits there on a float waiting for a bit or bell ring. Even when I trout fished I used spinners almost exclusively. The jig grabs my attention because it seems like something you can really experiment with (trailers etc), use anywhere, and catch any type of bass on. In my mind this type of fishing keeps the day interesting - which in my case is great because I'm not catching anything. I am wondering though - is there a depth at which these don't work - for example, can I hit 40+ feet deep with it and drag it along the bottom for suspended fish or deep water fish? Such as off a point... Thanks again. I am going to buy a football jig for my next outing and throw on some interesting trailer.

I don't mean dancing either - my local bait store has told me to ignore these baits because they are too hard and only good for catching big fish. Is this true? How and when do you use a jig - are they shallow/deep etc - time of year etc. I have never used one and am also not cathcing anything so I'm open to ideas - thanks.

So I do love cranks - even though I don't catch fish I can make even the cheap ones "swim" really well and can guide them easily over many types of cover/structure with ease and little to no hangups. I used speedtraps mostly which retail around $7 each. However, I don't catch fish, the only one I did catch was caught on a bluegill pattern speedtrap crank from a boat. So, why would I buy a $14+ crank from a brand name - I can see right away they look nicer, but do the bass really care - I mean they can't tell a bullet weight and plastic bead on top of a brush hog or "kreature" (which species is a kreature again?). So, why would they be picky over a better paint job on a crank? Thanks.

I'm not a big fan of luck - I don't really believe in it - I classify luck as the intersection of opportunity and preparedness - the skill is in 1. identifying a valid opportunity within the correct parameters and 2. understanding the process required to capitalize on that opportunity and following through with it. In such a case randomness is eliminated, and luck is simply another word for randomness. When a beginner catches fish they do so because they meet the above pattern, even if it is done in ignorance of what composed the pattern. Their lack of awareness of the pattern doesn't eliminate it's existence and validity. Just my .02c - thanks for yours.

hmm a season - lol - thats some messed up stuff. Gives me an idea though - since I'm not catching any fish anyways maybe I should check out the guns section and see what I can shoot here

Ok so about plastics - I went out today and of course skunked, but I didn't go really long - couple hours and 30 mins was spent cutting out the worst backlash yet. I tried plastics mostly - drop shot, T-Rigged, weightless - used brush hog, roboworm, and 7" dark colored senko. The problem was it was super windy so the line was blowing everywhere but I stuck with it and still absolutely nothing from the point I was fishing. I went home early after my line broke with a brush hog and weight attached. My question is this - when you say - try a 4" senko in dark colors etc - what do you mean "try"? Do you mean wacky or t-rigged or weightless and do you drag the bottom slowly etc? At what depth - sorry for the detailed question, but I am clutching at straws at this point. Thanks again.