Turkey sandwich

Any reason to not try throwing them on a spinning rod? I kinda look at Senkos as a finesse technique and usually throw them on a MF spinning rod with solid control and distance. To keep them from tearing, there's a simple trick with a stick bait tool. Place two overlapping rubber rings around the bait to form an X. this will allow you to hook perpendicular to the bait without hooking through it by simply hooking underneath the intersection of the bands.

Glad to see the good news!

I think the backwards paint job is silly (and can be improved upon), but I also fish a crankbait fast as a reaction bait. So long as the color and patterns look like a crayfish, I think it's close enough. We also fish spinnerbaits that look like coat hangers with hula skirts. Reaction baits, dude.

Welcome! Some suggestions on where to start... Those rods will cover a lot of basic soft plastic applications, and if you spool the bait caster with mono, it'll take you a ways with spinnerbaits and walking baits as well. But enough about Rod spcialization.... if I were to start over tomorroW and learn everything from the beginning, I'd ask myself a few questions, first. 1) what types of water will I be fishing? - There is a lot of crossover in bass fishing, but generally, your high percentage techniques for fishing smallmouth in a river are going to be different from the ones used pitching heavy mats for largemouth, which are different from the ones used in ultra-clear water, etc. 2) how much time do I want to spend really learning versus just catching a few fish for fun? - There's a lot you can spend time on when it comes to learning specific techniques for specific conditions... Or if you just want to catch fish most of the time, learn to throw basics like a lipless crank, a wacky senko, a Texas rigged curl tail worm, and a 3" grub. 3) How much am I looking to spend? - Fishing can be as expensive or cheap a hobby as you want to make it. Having tools like a boat, sonar, and lots of combos are great, and open up lots of opportunities that don't exist from the shore. They also greatly influence which baits you can fish well. If you you can provide some feedback to those questions,. You'll get some really good answers.

Thanks for the heads up. That is awful.

So, I've searched the entire site to figure out how to stream videos and no luck. When I click to watch a video, it doesn't play and displays a photo instead. I see there's a login option, but nowhere to register an account. Am I missing something? I love the show, and would love to stream from the site since my cable package is stupid. Any help?

Way to break in the new gear!

Clear water and overcast conditions in late spring - fall will get you bit. Using walking baits like a spook as a search bait on lakes can be a blast. Smallies will smash them, even if suspended well below the surface. On rivers, topwater is a great way to search runs with no visible eddies/cover for active fish. You'd be surprised what you'll find sitting around the one boulder in a 400 yard run of river in 6'-10' of water you'd never even know was there unless you ran directly over it. Even despite lower hook up rates, topwater presentations can be a day changer because they'll find you some of the most active fish on any stretch of water.

I try to stay organized by the body of water I'm fishing and what I'm targeting. So, the plastics I'm throwing in a river for smallies are typically a lot different than the ones I'd Carolina or Texas rig for largemouth. (I probably won't be C-rigging 10" curl or ribbon tail worms on the Susquehanna and I probably won't be pitching 2.5" tubes in pads... Probably.)

I've probably boated more smallies with grubs or tubes than anything else... And they're still a lot of fun on light tackle. Still, nothing beats a 3+lb smallie exploding on a Skitter Pop, Pop-R, or X-Pop once it starts to cool off or clouds roll in on a summer evening. I love the same explosion on a spook, but it's so much more fun on lighter tackle with a smaller popper. That said, I also get really excited whenever I hook a solid fish with a new technique or presentation.

I've never fished the Susquehanna with these kinds of weird conditions, but I'm pretty curious. Growing up, I avoided the river with crazy conditions like this because it would get pretty dangerous in the Wilkes-Barre area. What is the water temp like? Are the ramps clear of ice? Generally, smallmouth are tough in muddy water, but you still might have options. If the weather stays crazy warm like this, I wouldn't be surprised if walleye are already moving up to spawn within the next few weeks with the smallmouth not far behind in early April. If the water temp is rising and I was looking for the most active fish, I would focus on flooded shorelines, staging areas between deep and shallow water with moderate current (any kind of boulders are a big plus), and anywhere clear water is flowing into the stained stuff (fish the seam). If it's all chocolate milk, that's a tough day on the water.

There's some really good advise on here. Some of the best, I think, is to figure out what you want to fish and buy what's versatile and will last. Braid outlasts mono or flurocarbon as a mainline (can last several years depending upon use, sun exposure, etc), has better sensitivity and can be high vis for line watching. You can get a lot of rod for under $150 now. (St Croix Mojo, Abu Veritas, Duckett Ghost) As for reels, you can get decent spinning reels without going broke, but going cheap on a baitcaster can create a lot of headaches. Lews, Abu, Diawa, and Shimano all have some pretty solid casting reels in the $150-$200 range. If you spool with braid, consider softer tips for anything with treble hooks and reaction baits.... So, a decent MH moderate makes a great stick for Crankbaits, lipless cranks, and spinnerbaits. It's also a good option for larger walking baits (Spooks, etc) The moderate action will also help launch them a mile. (For Crankbaits, a slow gear ratio reel is pretty ideal) A 6'6ish Med moderate spinning rod is a great option for fishing jerkbaits and even small shallow running Crankbaits. For Texas rigs and jigs over 1/4 oz, a 7'-7'3 MH fast/x-fast action casting combo is ideal for getting maximum feel and getting good hook sets with heavier wire hooks. (I like a high gear ratio reel) for flipping, taste matters, but with braid, a mod/fast tip on a 7'6-8' rod makes for a good start. ( you want an high gear ratio reel to get fish out of tangles fast) I like a 6'6-6'9 ML x-fast rod for fishing drop shots, and weightless finesse plastics. A 7' M Fast spinning combo is great for throwing tubes, Senkos, and shaky heads. From there, you can specialize a ton, but those are the basics. Depending upon the water you fish and your style you might want to make some small changes, or pick up more of one combo than another, but with those 6, your bases are covered and you haven't broke the bank (too badly).

The leader should never be so long the knot winds up on spool. I'll fish them typically on a 7' Rod and my leaders are usually 5-7". Some folks go shorter, but I like longer leaders for two reasons. 1) if I'm bumping rocks in current, I want flouro or a copoly line like Yozuri Hybrid (my first choice around rocks) making contact instead of braid that will shred. 2). Since, I'm bouncing rocks, I'll likely be re-tieing a bunch as my leader gets scuffed. If I start with 6' of leader, it gives me a lot more to work with throughout the day, versus tieing a new 2' leader every time I have to re-tie. Oh, absolutely. If I were fishing anywhere near trees, windfall, stumps, etc, I'm going to be T-rigging or fishing a jig w/craw trailer instead.

I have Keen Newport H2s that I got on sale about a year or two ago and they've been excellent. The only criticism has to do with the rocks mentioned above, but if you're getting in and out of a kayak, you'll easily be able to drain them/clear rocks. They're also great for trails.

10 or 20lb braid will suffice, ideally in high vis. I also suggest a flouro or copolymer leader to decrease visibility and add a ton of abrasion resistance. I texas rig only around vegetation. When I'm fishing rocky rivers, I have almost no trouble with VMC tube Jig heads, or any tube heads with up to 4/O hooks. Any snags are easy to remedy either by paddling, wading, or using the trolling motor to un-snag. Last year I put literally hundreds of smallies in the boat and lost less than a dozen jigs. Jig heads = rocks, T-rig = weeds

I have a 7" M Fast Premier spinning rod that's almost always rigged with a 1/8-1/4oz tube if I'm on the river. I also fish the Susquehanna, which is way more boulders than weeds. This allows me to just use tube jig heads instead of T-rigging. I also have an Avid X ML XF drop shot rod that I can substitute that throws tubes well, though I usually keep that rigged with a dropshot. Both sticks fish tubes well, and really, to me, it would come down to conditions and just general preference.

I keep a short light or ultra-light rod rigged with a grub anytime I'm fishing a river for Smallmouth. It's great for throwing those grubs super accurately as a follow up bait for missed fish, or aggressive smallies that'll chase a hooked fish to the boat competing for food. Also, it's a ton of fun playing smallies on a light/ultra-light spooled with 6lb test.

My eyes are kind of **** right now, but is that paddle tail upside down? Any reason, if so?

Same advice. Also, the rest of the thread is great, too. I've caught lots of bass over 4lbs either working topwater (frog across, popper or spook across the edges) or pitching jigs and Texas rigged plastics into the jungle. With pitching, pay attention to how you break down the cover. Emphasize working the deep edges of the pads, but also any pockets or areas that seem abnormally thick. Anywhere pads meet changes in the bottom or other types off vegetation or cover are worth special attention. That said, if you find a change in structure in that clear water off of the pads with any real cover on it, that might well be your sweet spot.

welcome!

What I've seen has been really good.

The St Croix Mojo II is going to be similar in price and likely has the best blank for the price point.

The Informative Fisherman and Navionics channels are two of the best out there for information that you can actually put to use on the water. Some of the information that they cover is really, really good. Also, Jeff Little and the Kayak Bass Fishing channel are really good and cover a lot of great info on patterning river smallmouth.

To cast them well, I've found that either a M crankbait rod (casting), or M fast spinning rod work best for me. In either case, I spool braid with leaders. For me, they both have applications. I have a 6'6 or so M F casting rod that I've replaced with a 7' M F spinning rod for a lot of jerkbait fishing. I'm finding that personal preference plays a huge role in jerkbait tackle.

I have a Chronarch 50 that I use for jerkbaits and shallow running Crankbaits that casts well. I'm also in the minority (maybe) that sometimes prefers throwing jerkbaits on spinning gear in certain conditions like into wind.