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I caught my first snook today. Initially had a T rigged senko, after a couple hits but no fish switched to wacky rig. And to my surprise I caught a snook. I didn’t even know this lake had snook or connected to the ocean anywhere. I knew they could be found in brackish water but not freshwater. I was wishing I had a scale to weigh it, but I would estimate it to be about 8-10lbs. And of course immediately after releasing I found a perfectly good scale someone left behind. I’m pretty satisfied, new species for me. Never imagined I would catch my first snook in a random canal/lake. Having trouble posting pics, keeps saying file size too large and I can’t seem to make it fit

The bait monkey got ahold of me this blackfriday season and just wouldn't let go. It somehow found out my wife likes to build Legos and decided to strike a deal with her. If i purchased her some Lego sets, I could spend the equivalent amount on fishing gear. One week later and now I'm waiting on an order of roboworms, senkos, keitechs, zman finnese frogz, jigheads, a cl8bait mighty mouse, some floro and braid, and a 3640 stowaway.

Hey Bass Resource, If I could only have 5 baits to fish with these are the 5 Must Have Baits in my boat! Hope you all like it! James Niggemeyer

ok i fish the Charles river dock in Watertown and i have been for the past 2 weeks every day for at least 1 hour each time and i havent even seen a bass yet should i leave it or no it looks good and all and it has bait fish perch sunfish and all that stuff and i might have seen people catch a bass there but ya. also this river is either murky or murky clear it has weeds and logs in the water i have already lost like 4 lures there and it has alot of green stuff that gets on my lures any tips i normally go there around 245 at latest arive around 4 and fish until 530 and no bass. i have fished it all top water senko crankbait spinnerbait crawfish and no action on anything at all except for some sunfish and 4 inch bass looking things that i can drop my lure right infront of them since they camp the dock and they will nibble it and swim away every time thats the most action i ever got. i dont know what to fish it anymore what lures to use how to use them and all that i think i need a complete refresh of knowlage and tips can yall help me out.

I use orings that are od 3/8” and id of 1/4” and this year started to use two crossed to increase hook ups and they seem to not work as well and cut into the senko so was wondering if anyone knows if using oring size 1/2” od and 3/8 id double crossed would work without cutting in the senko or if they would be too big

I was curious what size oring for senko was big enough to not cut into the senko currently use oring size od 3/8 and id 1/4 it works well with one but want to increase hookup ratio as it seems ive lost more senkos with 2 orings Was thinking about getting size 1/2” od and 3/8” id but do you guys think its too big or what

Does anyone have a specific hook size and brand for wacky rig without weed guard and texas rig hook that i can get a lifetime supply off

I got the wrong size orings and i was wondering if anyone could send me a link to a lifetime supply of the right size orings (3/8”) because I couldn’t find any

I have been trying the double oring trick this year to increase hook up ratio and it seems the senko fly off or get torn in half or they come off when the fish jump does anyone know why and what i am doing wrong and what I need to do to fix this

I know in the st Lawrence the goby colored senkos will work well for smallmouth but for pike will the goby or perch work better because pike eat perch and there is too many perch in the st Lawrence

Hey i was looking at some other posts and videos and ive seen many people using the wacky rig tool and i would just like some info and input on what you think about this device before i go out and buy it

So I finally set up my baitcaster to a point where I don't backlash very often(Thanks to bass resource forum for the tips). And now I want to focus on getting more distance. I have a pretty beginner setup so I know I won't be able to cast as far as a supertuned $300 reel, but I was wondering how far you can cast a wacky rig senko usually without any wind. I've been measuring my distance using google maps and I would say I can cast a senko around 25 yds, 70-80 feet usually. I tried an even lighter spinnerbait 3/16 oz and I could cast further, around 30 yds maybe approaching 100 feet(I literally casted to the ground on the other side of the pond). It was weird since this lure is in fact lighter than my previous lure. My rod is 7'1 medium extra fast and rated for 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz so a senko fits that range better than the spinnerbait even. My reel has dual brakes and I've turned the magnetics off completely since they seem useless and I keep 2 pins out of 6 on for the centrifugal brakes. I heard most people generally cast 30-40 yds on average but honestly I don't know if I could get a senko that far. The tension is as loose as it can be without the spool wobbling, and the only other thing I can do is turn all the brakes completely off, but then I would backlash more frequently. I feel like maybe I have unrealistic expectations...maybe a senko doesn't travel as well as a spinnerbait or such? I know I might be able to get 30-40 with other baits and lots of practice, but even getting 30 with a senko seems like a challenge. Is there something I need to change in my casting motion, because I've tried to cast such that the bait spends a longer time in the air but it doesn't really net me any more distance. Any thoughts?

Hi BR, Here is a video of a recent afternoon fishing trip from the bank of some nearby ponds where I go over wacky Rig and Neko rig fishing from A to Z. hope you like it!

I know this is a heavily brought up topic, but after doing research for the last 2 weeks, I’m still no closer to making a decision. Throughout my fishing career I’ve never really given a tremendous amount of thought to my rods. I could always catch plenty with average gear. I’ve been looking to get a new rod and cannot make a decision to save my life. I’m looking for a sensitive 7ft-7’3ft / medium or medium/light fast action spinning rod for senko fishing. I’ve been looking in the $100-$200 range. A lot of threads with this similar question say a Dobyn Fury, St Croix mojo, etc... I’ve found other people who swear that Duckett triad or Falcon Bucco sr are way better. I thought maybe I should just bite the bullet and get a G-loomis imx, but still there’s people who say even that isn’t worth the money. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. -Thanks

Hey BR, Got a new video on ways to rig soft plastics that I wanted to share that have been great at getting bites. Hope you like it! Good fishing, James Niggemeyer

I started really bass fishing about 12 years ago when a friend got me onto it. He got me onto Senkos and everything else I learned on my own. Two things that came standard for me were buzzbaits, specifically Cavitrons, because they are awesome and produce. The other thing was the KVD Sexy Dawg (basically a Zara Spook knock-off). I love topwater as you can tell. Both buzzbaits and KVD Sexy Dawg/Zara Spooks are famous/standard topwater baits for many people and for me were replaced by the Whopper Plopper. Over trial and error I've really paired my tackle down to 4 lures that for the last 2 years have killed it. Because of this I no longer even bring any buzzbaits and I've haven't taken the KVD Sexy Dawg out of the box in 2 years. The second is the Whopper Frog which has been even more productive because many places I fish have topwater vegetation making the Whopper Plopper a poor choice. I used to walk-the-dog with hollow body frogs and did well and also used toads specifically the Strike King Ragetail Toad which was even a better producer but got caught up a lot after a few fish because the toad would get torn up. Also, you could go through a lot of toads quickly in a day adding up in cost. So my two new baits replaced buzzbaits, walk-the-dog style hardbaits, and frogs/toads which are famous and standard baits for most anglers. What are these two lures that made famous/standard lures obsolete for me? 1.) Whopper Plopper - replaces Walk-the-Dog style hardbaits and buzzbaits (KVD Sexy Dawg/Zara Spook and Cavitrons) The Whopper Plopper has been awesome since I started using it. Even though the KVD Sexy Dawg caught a ton of fish I catch far more with the Whopper Plopper and it covers a lot more water faster. No more walk the dog, simply casting and retrieving and awesome blowups. My favorite size is the Whopper Plopper 75 followed by the 110. 2.) Whopper Frog (Homemade Teckel Frog) - replaces Hollowbody Frogs/Toads (hollow body frogs and Ragetail Toad) The Whopper Frog which is a homemade Teckel Frog is a Booyah Pad Crasher (I've tried almost all other commercial frogs and the Booyah Pad Crasher was the best one and fortunately also one of the cheapest and most readily available) with a Teckel Frog Tail made with a 3 way swivel and Owner CPS Centering Pin Spring. It, like the Whopper Plopper vs. the KVD Sexy Dawg is great because it is a straight retrieve bait that covers far more water, faster than a walk-the-dog style bait. I do catch a lot of fish on the landing also. I caught a decent amount of fish with hollow body frogs and more with Ragetail Toads but I've caught a tremendous amount more with the Whopper Frog. The Whopper Frog also has a much higher catch ratio than hollow body frogs and I think it's because the frog is moving forward fast causing an instant hookup where with a regular hollow body the fish may hit it and knock it away rather than get hooked. Went on a weekend fishing trip with friends and tried 3 different lakes. The fish have already gone deep but we wanted to concentrate on topwater. So we fished docks, shoreline, and lilly pads and we caught 90% of our fish on the Whopper Frogs and a few on the Whopper Plopper, only 2 on Senkos. My friend who only fishes a few times a year said the Whopper Frog is his new favorite bait so I made up a few and left them for them. For open water top water my bait is the Whopper Plopper and for weeds my bait is the Whopper Frog. For underwater I use Wacky Rigged Senkos and Nose-hooked Zoom Superflukes. Those are really my 4 basic lures that I use now and they really work for us. * Honorable mention: Berkeley Choppo (Whopper Plopper knock-off). We actually caught quite a few fish with this lure also at the same time as the Whopper Plopper so I'd say that the Choppo is a cheaper alternative to the Whopper Plopper that also works. This was the smaller size Choppo also. Also, I tried the Teckel Sprinker Frog and Booyah Toad Runner and just couldn't get consistent hookups, with the Whopper Frogs we have about a 90% hookup ratio. Lastly, common thinking is that topwater is for morning and evening but on many lakes in different regions in MN we have caught fish on topwater all day long which is nice. So, what lure's have made famous/standard lures obsolete for you?

which catches more fish, a weightless t rigged senko or a texas rigged ribbon tail worm?

When I have a topwater strike on a Whopper Plopper or other topwater I've noticed that if I throw a follow-up Senko or Zoom Super Fluke I have a good chance of catching the fish however, if I just re-cast that same lure and retrieve it over the spot again there is a good chance it won't get hit. So, when a regular topwater gets missed I definitely want to throw a Senko or Super Fluke as a follow-up bait rather than the same lure. When I throw a Whopper Frog (Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog) I've found that it is better to just keep reeling but reel slower and you have a very good chance of catching that fish. Sometimes recasting the frog again also works. It seems that by reeling slower you give the fish time to re-position and strike again. I've attempted to throw the Senko as a follow-up to this and have only caught the fish once. I've caught at least a dozen fish on Whopper Frog when they miss it by simply continuing to reel slowly and hooking the fish on the 2nd strike. So, why does just reeling slower work with the Whopper Frog but with any other topwater bait like the Whopper Plopper I appear to have a much better chance with a Senko or Super Fluke follow-up bait instead of just reeling slower? Maybe it's because the fish get stuck a little with the treble hooks of the topwater bait and not the double hooks of the frog, I don't know.

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I have used Ned Rigs and Senko plus Senko knock offs. I have caught exactly two on the Ned and 2 on the name brand Senko. All dinks. I have given it a fair try. I have gone right back with a trickworm in the same location and caught decent fish. I am fishing Senko weightless, weighted , Texas rig and Wacky. NO luck. I have used the Ned with Gopher jigs and Zman, with TRD baits. No luck. Is this because I fish muddy water, or am I just not getting it?

I can’t bring myself to use Senkos. I try them once in awhile but never have any success. I read all the articles about how good they are and watch the fishing shows that recommend them. Does anyone actually have luck with senkos and if yes, what kind, how big and what color?

I know all the fishermen go crazy about the action, the "wiggle" of stick baits and such. I was wondering have there been any studies done with bass in a controlled environment presented with lures with different action to see if the bass react differently. I did a quick Google search but couldn't find much. I ask this because to me it seems more that fisherman are more enamored by the action of a lure than a bass might be. The ever so slight different in the wiggle between say a senko and dinger drives fisherman crazy! But do they actually drive bass crazy? For me personally, I seem to catch the same amount of fish on any stick bait, and the more important factor is probably sink rate because it sinks to the bottom faster, and since I'm relatively impatient this helps a lot.

So, while I have fallen victim to my share of broken lines and lost lures, I often wonder whether or not I’m pairing my line with the right tackle; obviously not! In my search for answers, very specific answers at that, I’ve come across what seems to have been the most thorough and yet efficient article on ‘bassfishin’ website titled fishing-line-guide [I couldn’t add link for some reason]. I mean, yes!!! Finally, a very detailed article, but... wow! I couldn’t help but feeling like my three rod, three reel arsenal will get me no where. I realize that there ideal setups per technique or presentation but where’s the middle of the road? How can I make the most out of a reel without having to switch out the line with each lure change? For example, if one of my rod and reel combos can work many techniques and handle (obviously) the weight of many lures but technically based on the article requires a different line for each, how do I get around having to switch out the line? Does anyone have better recommendations? I fish (freshwater) with monofilament because I’m fairly new to fishing and that’s what’s always recommended to me. My current reels and rods are as follows: G.Loomis Mag Bass 782c 6’6” Med Fast Mag Bass 844c 7’ Heavy Fast Crankbait 864C DF 7’2” Med-Heavy Mod Shimano Chronarch 200E7 7.0:1 Curado K 6.2:1 & 8.5:1

So I'm looking into this rod and I want to be able to throw big lures such as the whopper plopper 130 and the river2sea S-waver, but I also want to be able to throw some weightless senkos good. Currently looking at the Daiwa Tatula Elite Signature Series Bass Crankbait Casting Rod; would that be a good choice??? Looking for advice and help from anyone