BrianMDTX

There are several threads on this subject but all are 3 to 5 years old. It’s now 2020, so I wanted to see if opinions have changed. I have a Daiwa Revros LT2500 spinning reel on a Fenwick HMX 7’ MF rod. My initial plan was to spool on some backing, fill the spool with 20# braid with an 8# copolymer leader. Just wondering if that’s still my best option, or just go with a straight reel filled with 8# copolymer. I’m fishing ponds so the 5” Senkos are not sinking 15’ or more, nor is the bottom rocky. For my scenario, would you go with braid and a leader, straight copolymer or a straight FC?

This one is fifty years old this year. A Shakespeare 2052. Do I have better reels? Likely. Will they last fifty years? Unlikely lol. These are the last two bass I have caught using this reel on a Cabela's Black Lightning UL rod with 8 lb. Stren mono (both in May of 2020). Not the set-up most would recommend, but it did the trick. I love using that reel!

You can use a selfie stick. But I agree- taking a pic with you, the entire fish and the scale will likely result in a unreadable scale in the photo.

I throw a weightless 5” Senko Texas rig on my baitcaster (12 lb hybrid; 7’ MH fast action rod), but I use a spinning rig for weightless wacky rigs (got a new 7’ M fast action rod coming tomorrow to pair with a Daiwa Revros LT2500 with 20# braid and 8# hybrid leader). I tend to cast the Texas rig out 20-40 yards but flip the wacky rig close with minimal splash. I find it much easier to do with spinning gear.

Was fishing with my buddy in a rental wooden rowboat with two trolling motors on a reservoir (no gas motors allowed). It was a beautiful day and we were probably a 1/2 mile from the rental dock fishing when a severe thunderstorm blossomed out of nowhere. We had to head into the wind to get back and could not make headway. Lightning was crashing down everywhere around us and the “seas” starting rising with waves 4’-5’. The boat started to swamp so we turned tail and headed downwind to shore. We beached the boat and rode out the storm in the open. I thought we were either going to get struck by lightning or be crushed by falling trees. Once it passed, we headed back and halfway to the dock the batteries gave out and we had to row the rest of the way. That was probably 45 years ago and I remember it vividly.

Weightless Texas rig 5” Senko Weighless wacky rig 5” Senko Weightless Texas rig yet-to-be-determined 45 year-old plastic worm I had no strikes on a topwater frog, Jitterbug and a 4” floating Rapala, but haven’t fished them much. I’ve been getting so many strikes and catches on the Senkos that I haven’t put a lot of effort into using other lures.

Search for Eagle Claw Rubber Casting Practice Plugs online. Relatively cheap.

It’s not the size that made me think it might have been the hook. It’s the first worm hook I’ve used without an offset point on a Texas rig. Not sure, may just have been coincidence.

Reloading ammunition (after recouping cost of the tooling) saves money over factory fodder. Handloading ammunition improves accuracy and terminal performance over factory ammo. I would think one would take the time to build a rod to exactly match the end use the angler is looking for, with upgraded materials and the ability to ensure everything is done 100% correctly and to their specs. Building fishing rods just to save money just doesn’t sound logical to me. I doubt the cost is all that much cheaper in the long run.

Of all you posted, I highlighted this. Why? Because many times I’ve hooked a bass, reeled it in and thought “What did I do”? Was I hopping it off the bottom? If so, how much? How fast was the retrieve? I could go on and on. I'm really trying to hone in on what I’m doing on each cast so I can remember what I was doing, and when, I got a strike. It’s easy to get complacent and then Bam! Fish on! But what the &@%# did I do to finally get that bass on the hook?

Old thread, but I am trying to figure out the need for this tool. I simply roll on a 5/16” ID O-ring to the midpoint on a 5” Senko in about 1.5 seconds. It’s not a super tight fit but it stays on and keeps the hook on. Nothing is easier!

To the OP: I just got back into fishing in late April after years away from the sport. I had a Daiwa Millionaire 3H baitcaster, which is nothing like today’s modern low-profile reels. I wasn’t afraid to spend $$, but did not want to re-start fishing again with a high-dollar baitcaster that may have frustrated me learning the casting game again. I did some research as well and decided on a Black Max. Paired with a MH fast action Fenwick HMX rod and spooled it with 12 lb. Yo-Zuri hybrid. I decided that having zero experience with braid (when I really got into hunting and stopped fishing it was so long ago I never even heard of fluorocarbon or braid, other than old-timey Dacron braid), I was going to start with something that was more user-friendly. So far I have not had one backlash casting with the this reel. I’ve had a few trying to flip lol. Not bad ones. Maybe 20-30 seconds to square away and ready to fish again, but I either have a ham-handed approach or need to do a better job of adjusting the brake and/or spool tension. But as far as straight casting it’s been a pleasure to use with frogs, crankbaits and Texas rig Senkos. Good luck with your new combo!

I’d throw a weightless Texas rig or wacky rig Senko. Flip it close with little splash.

That’s some nice fish there! Looks like a heck of a trip!

It’s definitely different. It would be akin if you could “see” every bass and decide if it was big enough to catch. Then again, there is no catch-and-release in hunting!

There are probably a lot of lures made most don’t know about as new ones have become the flavor of the day lol.

The two bass I caught yesterday (both about 2-3/4 lbs.) both had bleeding tails. I’m sure not from me. I’m guessing something to do with spawning?

Third. Especially fat bluegills!

I think you are spot on. I started casting lures without a true plan, caught nothing off the bat and quickly moved on to another lure with the same results. if it’s decent water, the bass are there. I caught a decent bass yesterday casting around the same spot many times. I knew there should be something there and kept at it. I changed the lure but kept working around that spot. It paid off.

I have participated in online bowhunting contests for years, where you can enter one antlered and one antlerless whitetail. You have to submit a pic with the bowhunter, the deer and the bow. Trying to do that holding a handheld phone the pics look bad. I tried a small tripod and a digital camera but getting back, supporting the deer and readying for the pic was a PITA. Then...I got a selfie stick! Yeah, it’s not photography contest quality, but it takes a much better shot than just holding the phone. So if holding a bass by the lip vs with two hands is good enough for your photo, try a selfie stick. I’m going to get mine out of my hunting daypack and put it in my tackle box the next time I fish.

Well, the important thing is...it caught a bass! I’d love to discover exactly what it is, but if I can’t, at least I know they work!

My rod doesn’t get here until Friday, but I cut off some 20# braid and 8# leader to practice knot tying. I tied that Lefty Kreh knot in about ten seconds, and to me, it ended up pretty small in diameter. Quite smaller than I expected. After tying I pulled on both ends after cutting the tag ends off and it appeared pretty stout. Does anyone have any experience using this knot while fishing? True real-world pros and cons? Even someone who stinks at knots (me!) can tie this Lefty Kreh knot without thinking about it.

When I started fishing wacky rig 5” Senkos, all I could find locally were Eagle Claw 1/0 circle hooks. So far so good. Haven’t lost a bass yet.

I forgot to update this thread yesterday. Went home, did chores, clock showed 5:30 pm, so I decided to head back to the pond for an hour or so. Caught a small bass on a wacky Senko, then lost it and the hook in a snag. Dug down in the tackle box and Texas rigged a 40-45 year old plastic worm. Caught this bass just before I called it a day. 17-1/2” and 2.72 lbs.

Sensitivity (or simply knowing what a bite/strike “feels” like) is a subjective thing. I recall reading numerous articles in Outdoor Life and F&S in the 70’s about fishing soft plastics and feeling for the “tap-tap-tap” of a fish taking the bait. If you truly don’t know what that feels like, having a Texas rig bump over structure feels like a strike to many new anglers. It’s not always so much feeling as in knowing exactly what you are feeling.