New to freshwater

[briansnat]

I agree with Kcritch about the Senkos. Check out Amazon, they sell an assortment starter kit at a very good price. Then you can find the size and colors that work best for you and stick with those. I ’ve found best results with green pumpkin, watermelon or black and I prefer the 5 “ with a 4/0 or 5/0 EWG worm hook through the nose and buried in the side (Texas rig style). It’s a great weedless setup. If weeds aren’t an issue then “whacky” rigged with a 3/0 octopus hook is a good setup. I usually fish them unweighted when fishing water LT 10 feet deep. Senkos are pretty fragile so you may go through a lot. Yumdingers are almost identical in shape, a lot more durable but don’t have quite the same action as the real Senkos.

I usually like to fish the Senko slow. Cast and let it drop to the bottom. Let it sit dead stick for about 15 seconds, then lift the rod tip and let it drop and sit again, and reel in the slack. Repeat until you’ve retrieved it. Of course there are other methods but I usually kill bass this way.

Another good rig is the “drop shot” . There are many online videos showing how to set one up, or even easier, you can buy special drop shot hooks. This can be a deadly way to fish plastics. I usually hook the bait through the nose when using a drop shot.

The Carolina and Texas rigs are also great for plastics. Again you can find a zillion videos on Youtube showing you how to set one up. I like the Carolina rig on summer days when the bass are down a bit deeper. I like tossing the Texas rig at docks, stumps, down trees and weedbeds. Here is a link that shows the various rigs for plastics http://www.wired2fish.com/five-for-5...r-should-know/

Everyone has their favorite plastics. I find dark colors generally work best. In the spring I like the Swim Senko. It’s half Senko, half swim bait. Let it drop like a Senko, then retrieve like a swim bait. I like to fish these with a 6/0 EWG hook and a small, screw-in worm weight. Some of my favorite plastics besides the Senkos are the Zoom Trick Worm, Rage Tail Thumper, Rage Tail Space Monkey, Rage Tail Toad, Gary Yamato Kreature, Zoom Super Fluke, KVD Caffeine Shad and the Zoom Speed Worm.

For bass I probably fish plastics about 80 percent of the time. Others prefer jigs, spinnerbaits, or crankbaits, but I do well with plastics and generally stick with them. They are so versatile. Your mileage may vary.