Berkley The General

[Heartland]

Got on a dynamite stick bait bite tonight as was going through Senko's like Shite through a goose.  I remembered that I had picked up a couple packs of a Berkley "The General" stick bait.     I rigged one up on my 4/0 skip gap hook and got bit immediately.  When I inspected the worm and re-rigged it appeared to have held up bettter than the Senko, I continued to fish that bait and caught 6 fish on it before I could no longer use it.

 

The good is they catch fish and may be a little more solid after a few catches than the Senko.  Downside is they cost just about the same as the Senko.  

 

Anyone else got any experience with these?

[Mbirdsley]

I just discovered these last weekend. I bought them on Thursday and hit up the Saginaw bay last Saturday.  I was fishing in the cat tails of wild fowl bay ( a bay shelterEd by islands on the Saginaw bay).  Water was clear like you can see down 8 feet with glassss plain as day.  Using a general in baby bass I caught a crap ton wacky rigged. Lost a Couple of really nice fish at the boat which, was my fault.  Usually a pumpkin mag swamp crawlers is my go to on the bay either, wacky or very light tungsten like 1/16 or 1/8 t-rigged 
 

Any how I should have bought more.  Like you said kinda expensive and I didn’t want to be sitting on a bunch if they didn’t work.  I was able to milk my last one for 6-7 fish with an oring.  Needless to say I’m buying 2-3 packs of baby bass and maybe that purplish color tommrow when I get paid. 

[FishTank]

I have good luck with them wacky rigged but T-rigged, they hold the same a Senko.  I do tend to catch more fish with Senkos but the General overall is pretty good. 

[RoLo]

14 hours ago, Heartland said:

The good is they catch fish and may be a little more solid after a few catches than the Senko. 

Downside is they cost just about the same as the Senko.  

Anyone else got any experience with these?

 

I've fished with Berkley's 'The General', and I agree, it's a great stickworm. 

Just wondering if you've ever tried a 'Gambler Ace'. The dimensions are identical to a Senko,

and more importantly, it has the identical seductive shimmy (about 28% cheaper than a Senko). 

 

Roger

[JustJames]

Ive only tried a pack, it catch fish but not as good as SENKO. It might last a little bit longer than senko but not by much. I mostly wacky rig it no weight. I don’t mind if I can get it at discount price but not full price.

[Bluebasser86]

Walmart cleared them out for $2.57 a pack a while back. Not sure how many packs I have, but it's a lot. I'd already fished them and knew they were good, wasn't passing on them for that price. 

[Jleebesaw]

Thats my go to t-rig bait. They last a lot longer than yamamoto's do. Around here they are cheaper than them as well. Also, they are heavier. if you are fishing weightless, they provide a different action. Not necessarily better at a given moment, but different. They fall faster than a yamamoto, but arent as wiggly. Sometimes bass prefer that. 

[nascar2428]

Smaller than a standard senko, it is my down size bait. Favorite color combo , green pumpkin/watermelon. Lasts as long or longer than a senko . 

[FishinBuck07]

I have a bag full of them, around here they are no where close to the same price as the senko.  Senko is almost $8 a bag and the General is $5.  Unless you are buying the Maxscent ones!

[Mbirdsley]

Max scent generals are $5.50 here in Michigan pretty much every where 

[Hawkeye21]

I'm a big fan of the General and all of the Maxscent baits from Berkley.

[EzyEric]

I did underwater comparison videos (in a bathtub) between various wacky rigged stick baits and these had the least amount of action and they sank like a rock.  Obviously they still catch fish though.  I have found MaxScent baits to be more durable as well.  

If you want a faster fall without a weight these may be a good option.
I also wonder how much that extreme scent helps. 

 

Though I have not fished The General yet (I also picked them up at a discount) I have been killing it on a MaxScent Creature Hog this year.  Specifically Black and Blue in both clear and dirty water.

[Hawkeye21]

Just now, EzyEric said:

I did underwater comparison videos (in a bathtub) between various wacky rigged stick baits and these had the least amount of action and they sank like a rock.  Obviously they still catch fish though.  I have found MaxScent baits to be more durable as well.  

If you want a faster fall without a weight these may be a good option.
I also wonder how much that extreme scent helps. 

 

Though I have not fished The General yet (I also picked them up at a discount) I have been killing it on a MaxScent Creature Hog this year.  Specifically Black and Blue in both clear and dirty water.

They definitely sink faster.  The creature hog is an awesome bait.

 

[FryDog62]

Closest in Shimmy/weight/action to the Senko for me is 5 inch Kalin’s Wac-O-Worm.  More scent though (Garlic).  I primarily use The General in the 4 inch when I drop-shot wacky style, durable and they can’t chew it off as easily. 

[Glenn]

Yup, I fish them, and they work well. Here's a video I shot during July using them (you can even see one in the thumbnail):

 

 

[Heartland]

9 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

I've fished with Berkley's 'The General', and I agree, it's a great stickbait. 

Just wondering if you've ever tried a 'Gambler Ace'. The dimensions are identical to a Senko,

and more importantly, it has the identical seductive shimmy (about 28% cheaper than a Senko). 

 

Roger

Roger I have not tried the Ace, but on your advice I will get a few bags and give them a try.

4 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

I have a bag full of them, around here they are no where close to the same price as the senko.  Senko is almost $8 a bag and the General is $5.  Unless you are buying the Maxscent ones!

Yes, I was using the Maxscent, I think I will try the regular ones next time.

3 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

Max scent generals are $5.50 here in Michigan pretty much every where 

I am finding the max scent generals here for 6.99

[Heartland]

2 hours ago, EzyEric said:

I did underwater comparison videos (in a bathtub) between various wacky rigged stick baits and these had the least amount of action and they sank like a rock.  Obviously they still catch fish though.  I have found MaxScent baits to be more durable as well.  

If you want a faster fall without a weight these may be a good option.
I also wonder how much that extreme scent helps. 

 

Though I have not fished The General yet (I also picked them up at a discount) I have been killing it on a MaxScent Creature Hog this year.  Specifically Black and Blue in both clear and dirty water.

Thanks, I was looking for another bait to try in this line, I will give the Hog a try also.

[Heartland]

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Walmart cleared them out for $2.57 a pack a while back. Not sure how many packs I have, but it's a lot. I'd already fished them and knew they were good, wasn't passing on them for that price. 

That's a good deal, were they the max scent?

[Bluebasser86]

4 hours ago, Heartland said:

That's a good deal, were they the max scent?

Yes they are.

[Heartland]

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Yes they are.

Good score!

13 hours ago, nascar2428 said:

Smaller than a standard senko, it is my down size bait. Favorite color combo , green pumpkin/watermelon. Lasts as long or longer than a senko . 

Think they are available in three different lengths 4.25, 5.25 and 6.25

[shootermcbob]

Guys...please listen to me. The powerbait general ...especially in green pumpkin...does NOT catch fish. It is a horrible plastic bait and I for one think the rest of you should toss them all away...and NEVER speak of this again!

[Way north bass guy]

52 minutes ago, shootermcbob said:

Guys...please listen to me. The powerbait general ...especially in green pumpkin...does NOT catch fish. It is a horrible plastic bait and I for one think the rest of you should toss them all away...and NEVER speak of this again!

Yup, definitely not a good bait to catch a ton of good sized smallmouth. 

[Luke Barnes]

I have a bag of Gambler Ace and SK Ocho. Ive thrown the Ocho on a weightless t-rig and that's it. Dont yell at me, but ive never fished a wacky rig, so no idea how the action is on them. 

[Primus]

My favorite stickbait that's not named a Senko would be a Reaction Innovations 5.5" Pocket Rocket . Because it's narrow in the middle I use the small size Mustad O ring that has a hook slot that keeps the hook more perpendicular to the bait. The G7 worm tube pliers is what I install it with.