Cgolf

I am sure they would work when calm, but lightweight baits like the Ned as well will get pushed off the target in windier conditions. For me personally the only thing I have ever caught on a Senko is a turtle

My favorite topic:) If you have old issues of BAM I actually wrote an article on it because I love fishing reeds and am choosing my retirement lake based on this preference lol. If you do I can look up the date when at home. As for the baits I generally use slider spider rigged soft plastics like with baits ranging from 5" Kalins single tail, tubes, Menace style baits. Some finesse worms but not a lot. Also fish spinnerbaits a lot and when a front comes through the spinnerbaits really shine. Topwaters work, but I find there are a lot of misses because the reeds mess with their angle of attack, really narrowing the target window. Jerkbaits have really been working well for me at times the last couple of years along with spy baits. For targeting them, I generally work the outside edges first landing the baits right on the edge of the reeds but tight to the base of one or a clump. I find using snaps with plastics and a spinning rod allows the bait to fall straight down to the base of the reed. If you use a knot, for the bait to fall vertically it has to first pull the line down to get nose down and at that point the lure has drifted away from the target. That will impact the number of bites because a lot of the time they are really tight to cover. Once I have worked the outside and if that isn't producing at the levels I want I will either drift through them or use the trolling motor to work through the inside of the reed bed. The baits I use here depend on the denisty. I will throw cranks and jerks in them if there are clear enough lanes to do so otherwise it is plastics and spinnerbaits for dense beds. I rarely mess with swim jigs or chatterbaits, but they are always on my list to try. Scent, I use liquid mayhem, but any gel scent would work with plastics especially on a tough bite day. I just wish every lake was clear and had reeds, they are a lot of fun to fish:) My spinning rods generally use 10lb fireline with a fluoro leader and either 30lb or 50lb braid on the baitcasters. If you snag up troll over to the reed you hung up on and 9 time out of 10 you can free the lure by pulling straight up without uprooting the reed. Tugging from a distance will either snap your line or uproot the reed. Editing to add that the RES in particular, great drop bait, and other lipless baits have crushed it in and around reeds as well.

So in the picture the main difference is no space between the pinchers and I am sure there are more. Hooks seem sticky but broke a point off on a hard snag, not unexpected so not really a negative as I got the bait back. Now I want to say it runs shallower than the Rebel craw, but I believe that I had upsized the hooks one size on the rebel based on a recommendation from someone that used them a lot so that would explain the running depth difference. It thumped pretty good similar to the rebel and I got a tiny smallie on it too. Fishing has been tough of late so any fish is a sign the bait will be ok. Glad I bought all 5, will save me some money on black friday. Also noticed that Wally world is like 2 bucks cheaper than TW on the Rebel teeny wee craw, shocked by that.

Picked up 5 Creme ultralight craw cranks for 1.25 a piece tonight at Wal mart. Will see how one works tomorrow. They do look a bit different from the smallest Rebel craw I have been having luck with, but fingers crossed they work.

I know you use scent once in a while, wouldn't another bait with a baitfish scent do the trick as well or better? I am guessing the scent has more to do with it than the plastic, and/or just the confidence/expectations that people have in the bait.

I have a couple too still in the package that I bought at an estate sale. The line tie is made out of something like carbon fiber if I remember right. I think mine were a different style, would be interested to know how they fish.

Yes spinnerbaits get bent out of shape even when lifting a fish into the boat. I hate that some are using the especially the cheap ones phrase. My most expensive spins, War Eagles bend if you look at them funny and especially when you catch a fish. That said they out fish other spinnerbaits by a wide margin most days. The thin wire that allows them to bend so easily is the secret sauce that provides the right vibration/sound patterns that draws them in most days. Last year during frontal conditions bass were hitting them so hard some of the thicker wire strike kings were bending too. Just nature of the beast with spinnerbaits imo.

Interestingly now that TW has raised their prices on Rage with the 5.99 price for a menace it’s now 5.09 with the sale, while Sieberts everyday 5.29 price is still looking good. TW is getting less of my money because of the high price points on stuff like rage vs other sites. I remember the days I could get Menace grubs under 4 on sale. As far as any store goes I always look at the final price not the discount. Amazon is the worst as you can find multiple listings for the same products with different prices.

So 6 months or so ago I put some pink TRDs in with the green pumpkin orange Zinkerz hoping I would get my orange creamsicle TRDs. Well it was a success. I will have to pick up some more pink TRDs and put them through the coloring process. Hopefully these will be as good as the last one.

Lunkers love nightcrawlers is a book that I luckily bought while fishing facts was still a magazine. Like the knowing bass book, good read but imo not worth the going rate, it seems to be out of print. Like knowing bass, I first read lunkers love nightcrawlers by getting it from the library.

When I fish my local river 3/16 means I am bouncing of the rock and when I snag up most times I can pop it free. When I fish 1/4 on that same river I will snag up more than I bounce off the rocks and nine times out of ten I lose the jig when I am snagged up. So for me it makes a huge difference.

I do understand for some that the durability of Zman baits has it advantages. Having bass fished for 20 years and getting at least 1-2 orders a year along with trips to tackle shops, I need to lose some plastics and crankbaits lol. So for me if a Ned bait lasts 20 fish vs 50 I don't care and might lean towards the bait that lasts less. I also have many bags of TRDs and Zinkerz stocked away too. The tackle shortage due to the pandemic really didn't impact me at all;)

I finally pulled the line off the reel today and I am looking to spool it with 10lb big game backing line and 50 or 60 yards of 30lb 832, it holds a ton of line. Well not only was the reel super clean, the person that previously owned it was on top of his reel care. The drag was fully loose so the washers weren't compressed. This is something I do with all my reels over the winter, but not a thing more casual anglers do. A little oil on the paddles and can't wait to get this reel on the water.

A couple of blade baits for fall fishing and the popper frog was under 4 bucks so I figured why not.

This is my number 1 river smallie soft plastic and no other bait even comes close. I mainly fish the 2.5" crawbug on a slider spider head with a 2/0 hook. For the 3.25" I would use a slider spider head with a 3/0 hook. Not sure what it is about these, but the fish just eat them. I have a big stash of these, but the durability is extremely good.

Another trick with them is to put them in a jar of water for a day or two after they are stretched and cut to help dissolve the salt. Only thing I can figure that is different between the two is maybe the salt content is higher in the Zinkerz which means it will be more porous once the salt disolves and that is why it moves more. I have also had the TRD's tear where the hook comes out after they are used a bit. Must be a slight tweak in the plastic formulation, which for me saw the TRDs last a shorter amount of time than the Zinkerz.

I am with you on the river thing. I river fish from shore 3-4 times a week and there can be stretches where it feels like the bait monkey resides in the river. I have a fairly large stash of Bandit cranks bought on sale because they work great, but I know I will lose many a year.

What I found with the Zinkerz is once stretched, they seem to have more action than a TRD. So I prefer them for performance issues vs cost issues.

If this is Berkley Fireline I have used it for years, probably since they first released it, and have had no knot issues unless I was snagged up solid. The line I used this morning is probably 10 years old and still holding strong. Like Glenn I use a Uni Knot when tying direct and a modified alberto when using a Flouro leader. If they ever discontinue this line I will have to buy up a lifetime supply. Also wanted to add that when new the line can be a bit stiff. After some use it is great and performs like most braids.

First off I know that Elaztech lasts longer than other baits for the most part. That said my style of fishing puts me into a position that I lose my fair share of baits. So baits like the goat and there new craw only including 3 in a pack doesn't do much for me because I am more likely to lose a bait before I wear one out. Anyone out there have the same issue? The Zinkerz is probably one of the best deals going though as you get 12 Ned baits for 4 bucks. IMO a 1/2 Zinkerz is a better bait than the TRD. Guessing they are just capitalizing on there success, but it kept me from trying the goat for sure. To be fair the rising prices of Rage baits is pushing me to other baits as well. Thrifty angler by choice at this point in my life.

My favorites are a yum crawbug on a slider spider head with the 2/0 hook and weight that allows it to bounce off rocks but not snag up hard every cast. Other baits are the bandit 100, rebel teeny wee craw, and of course a ned rig. A sleeper bait on the Ned rig for me has been dropshot worms like the missile baits bombshot and the big bite smallie smasher. The smallie smasher on the ned got me a 20" smallie this year. Always judge the weight of jig by the current, you want to bounce off the rocks with the occasional snag you can pop free most of the time. if you break off the jig every 10-20 casts on the bottom you are too heavy.

Does anyone still use Captain Hooks? https://www.captainhookswarehouse.com/

The Ned rig is something that many of us have fished for years without knowing it. It just has some rules around the weights of the head, size of plastic, and hook size. Removing the bail must be an old school thing as it is mentioned in the slider fishin book as well.

I have a bunch of plastics that are 15-20 years old in Plano boxes. Used some 15 year old BPS tender tubes this summer and they fished like new.

So I need some help on if I got a good deal or not. The books were a great deal 3 for hardcovers and 1 for paperbacks so I got 5 trout and 1 bass book for 10 bucks. Then we get to the reel. It is an older aluminum framed 3 bearing black max 3600 that is made in Sweden for 10 bucks. The spool spun very free and it turned over super smoothly, the paddles were just sticky when they rotated. The 3 bearing count doesn’t bother me because my Abu Musky round reels have the same and they are just awesome reels. Did I get a decent deal on the reel?