Procious

Sounds good. Does this mean the "old" models will be going on sale? :)

Summersville is a good smallmouth lake. Known as one of the clearest lakes in the east. Lots of cliffs and is deep. I haven't fished there in years. Water is generally cooler. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies and tips. I will try the sweeping hook-set this evening. If that doesn't work I will definately try the electrical tubing after a visit to the local hardware store. For you guys that use the weedless Gamakatsu hooks what size(s) do you use? I've been using the 2/0 and 1/0.

Before I started this new thread I looked in the Senko FAQs and saw some posts on favorite hooks but nothing directly on point. That having been said... I switched to Gamakatsu Weedless Finesse and Drop Shot hooks a few weeks ago. I switched to try to find a good (or at least better) hook for Wacky rigging a Senko in timber (lay downs) and weeds. While I may have achieved my purpose of finding a better hook for lay downs and weeds I noticed that my hook % has decreased significantly especially with bigger fish. Has anyone else experienced this or am I possibly not setting the hook correctly? Doing something else wrong? I didn't have this problem with the regular non-weedless Gamakatsu Finesse and Drop Shot hooks. What are good hooks and sizes to use to Wacky rig a Senko in lay downs and weeds that will not get hung up nearly every cast but will yeld a good hook %? Basically, I'm looking for a good all purpose Wacky rig hook. The lakes I fish usually have a good amount of timber/laydowns and a small amount of weeds. Thanks for any suggestions?

Take a "mental health" day.

For me it is a jig. I couldn't pay a fish to bite a jig.

You've got me. I don't know if I was fishing to fast, wrong technique/place, or what. Bites just didn't seem to happen for me. After a few trips I think maybe I would get frustrated to fast and switch to some other technique such as crankbaits, c-rig, fluke, spinner, t-rig, etc. I tried it this past weekend at Stonewall, no luck. Switched to Senko and bam, started catching fish.

What lure or style are you going to teach yourself or improve your skills with this year? This year I'm going to teach myself how to shaky head this year. Last year it was the Senko which added more fish to my livewell. In 2010 I tried but failed to teach myself to jig fish. After a few trips to the lake and drawing a blank with the jig it became painful. The Senko eased the pain. What are some good shaky head lures?

I hit Stonewall Jackson Lake in WV April 13 through 16. Largemouth hitting good. Water temp low 60s. Caught good numbers of bass of all sizes. I didn't fish for Musky but I suspect they are hitting good because I raised several while bass fishing.

Thanks, I've checked out e-bay. No luck.

I lost my motor cover/top cowling from my Yamaha 90hp. Where is the best and cheapest place to buy one? The dealers in my area (WV) range in price from nearly $1,000 to $700. Thanks for any help.

That looked painful. I've been hooked with two points of a treble hook before. I/we decided to cut that points and run them through the skin and out the other side. It wasn't as easy as it sounds. They were so deep that just cutting the points was a challenge. We had to leave enough of the hook shank to be sure we could push it through the other side. First one wasn't bad, the second one was touch and go for a while. After it was all over I had some "snake bite" marks.

I've tried several different batteries over the years. I now buy the Walmart EverStart 29. It's not to expensive and it's a good battery. I normally get several years out of a battery before I have to replace it. In fact, I just replaced an EverStart Maxx that I purchased in 2008. EverStart batteries are made by the same company that make DieHard. EverStart is priced lower. Good luck.

I've caught trout and just about every thing else that swims using Hellgramites in the Elk River here in West Virginia. They are a great bait. Hellgramites are big and are available year around so they are a good food source for fish.

I've been thinking recently about changing the round split rings on my crank baits and some jerk baits (xrap, husky jerk, etc.) to oval split rings. Can someone tell me the pros and cons of making such a change?