Magic Stiks/Fishing report

[Granny]

I ordered some of the Magic Stiks that Dan mentioned in a previous post. This was my first time fishing a Senko type bait so I don't have much comparison to other baits of its kind. This was only the second time fishing this particular lake so it was a lot of trial and error. Saturday we hit the lake at 6:00 am, air temp was 32 degrees, water temp 62-64 degrees. We fished a deep weed line on a point that dropped off pretty fast from 5-15'. The lake was like glass so I T-rigged the Magic Stik weightless with a 2/0 hook. We caught around 15 Bass off of this point but most fish were small. Watermellon green w/gold flakes, Watermellon green w/red flakes, and Pearl white worked well. The baits held up pretty good. I was able to use the same Magic Stick to catch 6 Bass! As mentioned before this was my first time using a bait like this but I will be ordering more.

After a while wind picked up a little and it was tough to feel the bait. How big of a weight do you go with when there is a slight wind?

Thanks,

Granny

[Dan Wood]

Weightless baits and wind don't go well together unfortunately. Adding weight takes away a lot from the concept of a do-nothing weightless bait, but still can be the most effective technique at times.

There are a few tricks to add weight without sacrificing too much action.

Carolina rig
Run a 1/4 - 1/2 oz. slip weight to a swivel, and then run a lighter line in the 18"-36" range to your bait. This allows you to get down to the bottom and work in wind, and the bait still has the same great slow fall action as you work it along the bottom... Just a slow drag, stop, let the bait settle down to the bottom and repeat... Shaking it once in awhile, while not moving, is great too. Don't worry about too much weight on this technique. The weight will be on the bottom for most of your retrieve and with the slip sinker, the fish will not feel a thing. This also is a super technique for deeper weedlines (calm or windy).

Finish Nail(s)
The other way I like to fish these is using finish nails for weights. Insert the nails all the way into the worm. You can do 1 or 2 in the tail end if your T-rigging or one in each end wacky rig, or just one end of a wacky rig. They also sell lead nail shaped weights that can be used to add a little more weight in the same profile.

Split-shot Rig
The other way I like to fish these in wind is a basic split shot rig. Put the weight 8-16" above the hook and work it similar to a carolina rig.

Drop-shot
Use a smaller live bait style or drop-shot hook in the 1 to 2 size. Tie a polymer knot with a long tag end (typically 8-24"). Pull the tag end down through the hook eye after it is tied to keep the hook positioned as horizontal as possible. clip a split-shot or drop-shot weight on the bottom of the tag end and nose hook your senko on the hook (Jack's Worm is ideal for this technique, but the Lil' Stik and Magic Stik work quite well too). Work this slow with the weight on the bottom. This isn't a technique used to cover a lot of water. Generally you know where the fish are holding and approximately at what depth when you use this techique. Slow Drag, stop, shake, stop, repeat. Feel for tension on the line, sometimes that is all you will feel is the line tightening up. I generally use 1/4 - 3/8 oz. drop-shot weights for this technique. The weights are designed to weaken the line where the weight is, so that if you snag up, the weight will break off. Put another weight on and your back in business.

One tip for these -
Work as slow as possible while your bait is in the "strike-zone". Once you feel your out of the zone, pull in quick and put it back in the zone. Wacky work slow, T-rig work much slower (less water resistance T-rig causes the bait to move much more than you think with each move of the rod tip).

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Catch'N Tackle
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Otter Outdoors
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