San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Billy Senko says 4-inch Yama Senko BB #305 and or 4-inch Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Fat Worm BB #305-weightless Texas rigged 3/0 Gamakatsu O'Shaughnessy Bend Offset Worm Hook Bronze. Barrett 26 fish in one spot. That day they would not bite anything else and that was not the only time for that scenario. Barrett, el cap, San V, and Otay caught them the same way and same bait. Definitely most productive single bait. There are other ways but I not discuss here and now.
Hope that helps those just learning and those who want to catch bass.

Go to bait?

Just_Bass wrote: Thu Dec 14, 2023 12:54 pmGo to bait?

Such an underrated bait. Lot of anglers still don’t know about Backglide baits!

It's too bad the senko's and ika's are made with a lesser quality plastic yet you still have to pay more. One little dink bass seems to destroy a senko when before you could normally catch 3-4 on the one plastic.

Fat IKAs are good but I bought almost the entire stock of the regular Ikas BB #305 before they were discontinued by Yama. Same same BB #305 regular Ikas are the bomb along with the fat ikas in the greenish shades they now make. Always wondered why Yama does not make BB #305 Fat Ikas. Unfair to the bass??

professionull wrote: Thu Dec 14, 2023 2:52 pm It's too bad the senko's and ika's are made with a lesser quality plastic yet you still have to pay more. One little dink bass seems to destroy a senko when before you could normally catch 3-4 on the one plastic.

It's not so much that the quality of the plastic is lower. Yamamoto baits have a ton of salt in them, which makes them sink faster. But when such a large percentage of the bait is salt, the bait just isn't as durable.

Maybe you already knew that. But did you know that "ika" is pronounced "ee-ka"?

professionull wrote: Thu Dec 14, 2023 2:52 pm It's too bad the senko's and ika's are made with a lesser quality plastic yet you still have to pay more. One little dink bass seems to destroy a senko when before you could normally catch 3-4 on the one plastic.

The venture capital company GSM outdoors that bought the company, in 2021. will be looking at profits , not baits that last.
Slow selling colors will also go away. The fishing industry has found its way to WallStreet.

My go to bait has changed here and there. Waaaay back in the day for many many years, all I fished was a t rigged 6-12” chocolate blue vein. Any time of year. Very productive.
Then the worm switched to a brush hawg. Water melon red flake. A lot of night time tubing, didn’t need anything else, guaranteed.
About 6-7 years ago, my go to became a hudd 68 weedless. I wouldn’t bring anything else. That bait became my confidence bait. There were a couple recent years at otay, I would wear one out in one morning.
Since shoulder replacement surgery, I haven’t thrown the bigger baits much.
When the bite is tough(or not) you can’t go wrong with a split shot plastic. That has been my go to in recent times.

….2nd on the ika if I’m bank fishing, i usually have an ika soaking on a second rod that I move a couple inches every 5 min or so.

risentidefishing wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2023 2:52 pm T-Rig Green Pumpkin Baby Brush Hog will get bit at any lake in SD! Grass, Rocks, Tules, Sticks it can do it all

I've never fished a Brush Hog. Do you throw it weightless or with a bullet weight? Pegged?
Inquiring minds want to know lol.

For me, it's either a dropshot bold bluegill colored Roboworm, or a standard 5" Senko Texas rigged weightless (Dark colored on overcast or stained water, or green pumpkin in almost any conditions).

Brushhog on a Carolina rig is is a favorite bait of guys who fish El Cap regularly. The smaller baby Brushhogs also slay

1/2 ounce football jig with a craw style trailer, twin tail, rage craw, or flappin hog. Also an lv500...... top lv500 is my lucky one, bottom one is a new one.....

As I said about split shot reapers earlier…another go-to that I should throw more but for some reason don’t, is a basic Rattletrap, chrome with either a blue or black top. I have caught/found fish on tough days for decades throwing this. If I would just dedicate one of the 4,5,6 sticks I bring to this bait…

JWall wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2023 9:16 am As I said about split shot reapers earlier…another go-to that I should throw more but for some reason don’t, is a basic Rattletrap, chrome with either a blue or black top. I have caught/found fish on tough days for decades throwing this. If I would just dedicate one of the 4,5,6 sticks I bring to this bait…

Oh those Rattletraps!!!!! Caught many many bass on those, and never really figured out if the black and chrome was better than the blue and chrome, because they both equally worked. I still have a couple that look like they went through a couple world wars….ha ha
One time at Lake Morena many decades ago, I lost one in the stick ups close to shore and a few months later was fishing and the water was a little bit lower. My buddy and Joe and I were working the shoreline near where I lost it and sure enough I saw something shining a about a foot down on a branch and it was my beat up black and chrome Rattletrap. Of course I had many other traps, but seeing that I caught many many bass on that one and was so lucky to find it. I basically retired it. Your post sure brought back lots of good memories.
Thanks and tight lines

Vinny, funny you mention "retiring" a bait. I was thinking I was alone in doing that, but after a lure has caught a lot of fish, I also retire them. The sad thing here, is that my retirees were in a box that has now been misplaced. I had planned to make a little shadow box of them for my office.

The chocolate/ blue vein worm. Still one of my main colors. Works in any lake and any water clarity. Absolutely love throwing a crawdad color lipless crankbait from now through the spawn!

Moose wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2023 1:46 pm The chocolate/ blue vein worm. Still one of my main colors. Works in any lake and any water clarity. Absolutely love throwing a crawdad color lipless crankbait from now through the spawn!

Back in the 90’s I won the one and only bass tournament I ever entered fishing that exact worm up in the tules at Otay. It was deadly there!

Moose wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2023 1:46 pm The chocolate/ blue vein worm. Still one of my main colors. Works in any lake and any water clarity. Absolutely love throwing a crawdad color lipless crankbait from now through the spawn!

I have quite a few Craw colored LV500s and have added some Craw colored RAID Level Vibes recently. Gonna be throwing those a whole bunch the next few months

CorsoEnthusiast wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2023 7:20 am Brushhog on a Carolina rig is is a favorite bait of guys who fish El Cap regularly. The smaller baby Brushhogs also slay

Well I bought Brush Hogs. Would have fished them today, but wussed out because of the rain. I got all 3 sizes of them lol

Dannicus wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2023 6:10 am

risentidefishing wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2023 2:52 pm T-Rig Green Pumpkin Baby Brush Hog will get bit at any lake in SD! Grass, Rocks, Tules, Sticks it can do it all

I've never fished a Brush Hog. Do you throw it weightless or with a bullet weight? Pegged?
Inquiring minds want to know lol.

Not hijacking his answer but I’ll give my 2c.

All of the above. Texas is the most common. Split shot works good on the smaller ones.
When you are stationary and have the time, fly line works really well with big ones…. Especially for stitching them. I’ve drop shotted the tiny brush hawgs with success. Pegging works for heavy cover.
C rig too.
They work well as a Jig trailer
Heck, they’d probably get bit on an a rig too. Haha