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I'll have to try that sometime! Thanks for watchin!!!

@@fishinwithish Np man! Keep it up :)

I did not know any of that! Very cool, thanks for sharing! Haha I don't go out that way very often,but I'll have to keep searching to find the walleye spot👍👍 thanks!

👍👍 thanks for watchin!!!

With the colder temps tonight, I'm not sure what will happen. But generally speaking, they should be chasing schools of baitfish. So covering water with a spinnerbait or buzzbait would be good, then when you find one slow down and throw a fluke or any finesse bait basically. I like my spiral hooks on a fluke/tube for when you find them!👍👍 thanks for watchin!!!

@@fishinwithish sounds like great advice to me! I’m still trying to get that buzz bait picture for ya lol

​@joshkreutzer9809 may I ask what area you fish? Don't need to be super specific just generally. With the buzzbait, the sooner the better because cold temps will come sooner than you think and at some point it'll be too cold for the buzzbait! Can't say exactly when but it'll come sooner than you realize!!!

Haha you ain't kidding! I cant wait for spring to roll around again!!! Honestly the only issue with that time of year in my opinion is trying to get your bait in front of a bigone before a smaller fish eats it!!! Thanks for watchin!!!!

I dont know what kind of baits/weights/hooks you use but my advice to help with snags when fishing bottom with any type of jig is... 1. use the lightest weight you can get away with and still feel bottom 2. don't drag only pop. 3. pop it up every time you feel bottom until you learn what you can get away with 4. if you fish off of a kayak paddle up to the bait and pull it the opposite direction that it was snagged 5. if your still having issues don't cast up river, cast across or down, again until you figure out what you can get away with because casting up river at times seems to be key to being successfull. hopefully that helps, thanks for watchin!!!

@@fishinwithish yea it happens no matter where u go but I started doing #3 as you stated, it helps a lot

hahah not trying to change your mind joe! I'm mostly just using the wacky n seeing the issues I'm having and seem to be similar problems for some other people. I consider you a pro, you have probably been throwing the wacky since before I was born🤣🤣🤣 wasn't trying to make that an old guy joke even though is sounds like it! I think so far what I'm saying is if there is someone out there throwing a wacky rig every time they go fish, that they should probably try something else and they may be pleasantly surprised by the results lol but I'm also saying there has to be an answer for all the issues I'm having with this bait. So far, I seemed to have solved the losing fish issue and some of the bite detection issue, but I still feel like there has to be a better way. If I figure that out it may help a lot of people including myself with the wacky rig. Joe I think you have more knowledge of fishing then you even realize. The fact you knew about the double davy blows my mind! I have been using it with my 10lb fluoro for over a year and its holding strength is up there with the best knots! I even tried it with 60lb fluoro leader for musky and it held amazingly! Thanks for watchin joe!!!

@fishinwithish Ish..... I am old. Hahaha. I used to do a little fly fishing back in the day, and the double davy knot is know by most fly fisherman, so don't be too impressed that I knew it. Haha. I always thought of it as an easy and quick way to tie on those tiny flies, never thought of it as being a very strong knot, or using it on heavier line for bigger fish. If it's working for you though, that's great.

hahaha. Makes sense that me n mike learned it from that Doug guy at pa fly co then... I do honestly think it's as strong possibly even stronger than any other knot I've used for fluoro!

It's as close to life changing as a knot could be in my book! Thanks for watchin!

Thanks! I think getting away from regularly throwing a weightless wacky rig (if someone regularly throws it) is about the smartest move that person could do. From what I am seeing anyway! Of course, half a dozen trips with a weightless wacky is a very small sample size, but with so many comments confirming my results on this rig is basically telling me what is happening to me is happening to others, and the things happening with this rig are not good at all in my eyes. Thanks for watchin chris!!!

Interesting, didn't even know nikko made senkos!

You are correct, what this technique is starting to teach me though is...I haven't had an issue with catching fish with any setup I have tried, but I have had issues, and these issues are not exclusively my issues, which is what is making me continue these videos. In this series of videos (first to last) was 1. losing Senko's (typical problem) 2 Losing fish (mistakes with rigging)3. cant feel the bite (typical problem) 4.wind knots/line memory 5. gut hooking (new to me but also something that is semi common apparently) I call that semi common because I'm sure if someone is gut hooking fish on the regular with this rig they aren't exactly going to come forward and say so (even tho some actually have mentioned gut hooking being a higher chance with the weightless wacky).The reason I say all of this in response to the idea of, what works for some doesn't work for all, doesn't apply in my eyes. In my eyes this bait has issues that some don't care about (gut hooking), some don't realize is happening to them (missed bites) and/or there is some super specific technique out there to prevent these issues of which I have yet to see or hear from anyone. Thanks for watchin!

Awesome! It really is a game changer!!!! Thanks for watchin!!!

I think all the time away from society, and all the time on the river is turning me feral.... or the wacky rig is just pisin me off🤣🤣🤣 thanks for watchin Josh!!!

Lol for some reason I don't think you made it through the whole video... l said in the video to just use a nedrig, the whole point of these videos is to figureth3 best way to use wacky/figure out why I would even use one. I think with a little luck a bass would eat pretty much anything if you put in front of their face and give it a wiggle lol

Yes sir I did hear you say a ned rig but you are losing your worm .

Hahaha OK yes, in this video, I was losing it sometimes, but the heatshrink would've helped alot but I forgot to bring extra haha not sure what your trying to tell me lol

I almost forgot. The Tactical Bassin guys say ALL of their fluke fish eat the bait head on. If this is the case for Yough Smallies, then the ned/neko make more sense for hookup ratio. I even do octopus (nose) hooks on my flukes and can throw down to ML.

ahhh, okay that makes sense, and actually may give me the best reason to throw the wacky... Possibly as clean up? like you said your already on them, and say the bite dies off...Switch to the weightless wacky n see if possibly there were a few in the area not willing to eat anything else! Tiff has used the ragetail neds and had good luck with them, never knew they had a full senko with the rage tail. I used to watch tactical bassin all the time, haven't watched them in awhile. Another one that uses a nose hooked fluke is that Josh Chrenko, the owner of Achigan, and if I remember correctly he actually throws the magnum flukes nose hooked. That is something I wanted to try at some point but same with this weightless wacky I feel like I need a little weight, which is where I came up with my finewire 2/0 and 3/0 weighted ewg hooked 1/16oz and 1/8oz. I use them from time to time on a scented jerkshad but never tried about a 5inch. Idk I'm sure at this point I will eventually be trying a little bit of everything. Thanks man!!!

@@fishinwithish yes, cleanup and for lake fishing sometimes I can only get em with a slow fall. I might catch the little one on a jerkbait then nothing...I know they're there, gotta change it up.

💯!!!! I appreciate you!!! You're helping keep the channel growing!!!💪💪

Yes! This is the kind of comment that makes me feel like my time with this series of videos is time well spent! I feel you 100% understand what I'm trying to do with these tests. I do admit I am accidently introducing variables that shouldn't be a part of some of these tests, but no matter what each day seems to be teaching me something I never thought of. Like you mentioned, switching locations could have a better result than changing my tactic thus creating a false positive. In my time of fishing, I have found time and time again that location change to find the fish will result in a better day of fishing than any bait change you could ever make. That is actually the main reason the weightless wacky rig just doesn't seem worth being in my bag of tricks when I know a dozen other baits will work just as good with fewer issues. A weightless wacky bite being detected better while floating actually does make some sense to me, along with using mono also makes sense! (I think someone commented on last video n said they also use mono with weightless wacky rig) Thanks for the comment! I Also thanks for watching!!!

@@fishinwithish - good stuff man! For full disclosure, the main reason I gave the weightless wacky to kids is their lack of fishing experience--a bait that wouldn't hang up easily without needing a lip ripping hook set... plus, the smaller 3" one I supplied simply keeps the numbers of fish high to keep them engaged. When I had it set up for myself, it was just in certain situations rather than my main rig. I think it's a really good setup for beginners--especially to river fishing. For my boys, I think the Ned rig keeps them hung up and frustrated even though I believe it to be a superior bait. But weightless is worse for gut hooking--I gave them straight mono so we don't have to deal with another leader knot and they tend to get wind knots. For me, high vis braid to a leader--weightless river fishing means watching the line like a hawk! The eye picking up on line behavior is the bite detector and it isn't perfect by any means. I don't buy many true Senkos because they're expensive and not very durable, but it did catch my 2nd largest LMB ever (PB at the time) which was a 9 1/2 pounder in the Shenandoah River--which is where we go for smallies... in fact, I've caught 3 or 4 LMB on that river in the last several years (2 annual trips) because we focus on the faster water for the smallies rather than the slow water where they stay. Weightless with an EWG.

Understand completely. Fishing with children is very different than fishing as an adult. It is absolutely important to keep them engaged and a weightless wacky will certainly do that. It's important to look at these things in a different manner when it comes to children in my opinion. Like you said a ned will just cause issues with children, and I look at it like this, yeah there is some concern with gut hooking them on a weightless wacky, BUT that risk is WAYYY less then handing them a size 4 baithook with a nightcrawler on it... In this case I say weightless wacky is a good move! I also use high viz braid just like you said, much like fly fishing! A 9.5lb largemouth would more than double my PB largemouth!!!

Hahaha yes! The FU knot sounds corect to me! I honestly don't think a weightless wacky has a place in my book either for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. I literally have multiple kayak trips with my bed with just about any bait you can think of where I literally come home with the same ned and bait after 8+ hours and seems like 100+ casts. Add on top of that basically almost doubling the amount of gullet/gut hooked fish over r years in one day and I just can't see myself using it weightless. I'm glad to hear you don't need a leader with those pike/musky because I haven't managed to catch any on my buzzbaits yet, but ai was fairly certain you wouldn't need a leader! Thanks Paul!!!

@@fishinwithish tried the double davy knot this morning after watching the video you posted. What an easy knot to tie. Can’t believe it had never come up in my searches for fishing knots. It is also strong because second cast I was deep into a tree and the branch broke off but the knot was good. Thanks Ish.

​@pauls3616 I can't believe this knot isn't common knowledge! I haven't met one person that knew about this knot!

🤣 I totally forgot about the rod holders. Do you have a Facebook? That way maybe we can figure out a time/place to meet. I used to use the uni knot along time ago with mono then I tried the improved clinch knot and to me it held more weight than the uni. when I switched to fluoro the improved clinch knot didn't hold good at all so I tried a bunch of different knots and found that as long as you doubled over your line when tying it held strength but was a pain in the ass. So the only single line knot that held good with fluoro was the Palomar but he'll with 3 knots your leader would be gone cause you would have 6" of tag to cut off... once we found the double Davy I haven't looked back and in my eyes is the best knot I have ever heard of.

​@@fishinwithishim what you would call "anti" facebook lol ill have to make a fake rock to put them in and leave them on the trail for you hahaha

​@sammydewitt4498 I understand that completely! I have been keeping my phone number out of the publics view, cause believe it or not there are quite a few people who apparently hate what I'm doing on youtube lol. I do check my comments fairly regularly and I have a fairly open schedule, so maybe just send me a comment when/where you would want to meet, or honestly leaving them under a rock and sending me some GPS coordinates would be hilarious and would prolly make for great video content😂😂😂😂

@@fishinwithish hahahaha dude that would be too funny! now i HAVE to do that :) hahahaha trying to go tomorrow morning starting from smithton, if i actually get to go ill pick somewhere not far from where you parked in your last few vids,i know the area well.

Hahaha yes! This is awesome! You can out it anywhere you like, I'll glady go find it!!! I'm excited, kinda reminds me of an Easter egg hunt! 🤣🤣🤣

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 never thought of it that way, that's hilarious 😂😂🤣🤣🤣

Yeah, at this point, going back to straight Fluoro was terrible. Braid is superior in pretty much every way in my mind. Yeah, texas rigging a senko is another way to use a senko, but I haven't really tried it in the river, I know it works well in lakes and ponds. 4/0 ewg prolly weighs enough to help feel bites the same as having a 1/16oz wacky hook, and texas rigging a senko will more than likely last longer than a wacky rig, so yeah I see what your saying.

@fishinwithish yeah I've used that in the river all the time gor the smallies depends on the current I have 50lb monofilament attach to the hook with a worn bullet sinker I'll send you Pic of it it works, I really never messed with wakie Riggs to much

I remember!!! I'm pretty sure I got your pics on my website now. You definitely had a successful trip!!! Thanks for subscribing! I think that is the price I bought mine for when it was on sale, it's good to know it's on sale again! It's a pretty sick boat for sure, it's capabilities are insane. I can literally take me and another full-grown adult on my boat with the motor and still be able to stand up and fish!!!

Haha I agree, I know people make it work for them but i just can't do it haha what I will do with my reels I have all fluoro on is just spool it back onto something n use it for leader material haha thanks for watchin!!!

I think your 100% right about the wacky style being dependent on water conditions! I'm slowly figuring that out as I go. It's funny how many years of finesse fishing I have under my belt, but this wacky rig (at least for where I fish) just seems to be a pain in the ass and I keep asking myself why would someone choose this weightless wacky rig over throwing a jig head style or a ned rig style bait that has some weight on it. Thanks for watchin chris!!!

I think that may be one the answers I'm learning from these tests. Far casts/higher current with fluoro isn't good. Thanks for watchin!!!

haha I'm sure it was. No way you felt that thing bite, 100% you only felt it swimming off. Unless you were sight fishing it or somehow managed to hook it at your feet. As fun as it may be using a setup like that is a very risky move in my book, often leading to gut hooked smallies. Without feeling the actual bite to set the hook, a lot of smallmouth will swallow soft plastics (and the hook) within a few seconds.

@fishinwithish I see your point it was a one off experiment. Basically what I did was put a wacky on my blue gill rig. Im on a learning curve my self and realizing how important sensitivity of the rod is. I love my ugly stiks, my pick up a GX2 rod.

@fishinwithish Oh your right I didn't feel that bite at all, thought it was a snag while reeling in till it moved.

oh yeah nothin wrong with havin some fun, I get it! I havent tried this BUT I bet if you put some 10lb braid on that 5.6 it would improve the sensitivity a ton! Of course a carbon rod helps as well BUT just throwing some braid on is cheaper then buying a whole new setup. Just make sure to use some mono/fluoro leader on your braid so you don't end up leaving half spool of braid in the river when you get a snag. The leader will break before the braid if you use same or slightly less poundage than the braid. Albright/Alberto knot for your braid to leader! I think I use albright I always get them confused.

haha hopefully!!! Whatever I figure out I'm definitely going to show it on a video! Thanks for watchin!!!

Can't slow down more than not moving it at all(Which is basically what I was doing, thats why I had so many snags), if you keep your line tight you're pulling it (which wouldnt be slowing down now would it?) and can't watch the line if you can't see it...(Used straight fluoro in this video) The point of these series of videos isn't just to catch fish on a wacky, if that was the case all the videos would be a win because I caught fish every time, Its more about perfecting it and maximizing the amount of fish landed. Also these tests are coming from suggestions on prior videos from subscribers. Thanks for watchin!

For sure, Thanks man I appreciate it!

I like fluoro for a leader but that's basically it. You have a very valid pont about using mono to help keep that thing just bouncing off bottom real slow!!! I havent thought about that at all! Thats a very interesting way of throwing a wacky rig but honestly it does make sense and the senkos are definitely heavy enough to be thrown on a baitcaster for sure! Im not sure how many more wacky rig videos I have in me but there are aparently many more ways to throw it!!! Thanks for the tips and watchin!!!

I will have to keep a lookout n give the 3" a try! Those smallmouth do love tiny baits!

Absolutely. In this video I think I went too far the other direction from the previous video! So the beginning I had too heavy of a rod with braid and now I have too light of a rod with fluoro, seems that way anyway! In the river, it's hard to keep your line tight without pulling your bait some, which imo affects the action of the wacky rig since your pulling it. In my mind if I'm throwing a wacky rig it's meant to just slow fall n let the ends of the senko wiggle. I do agree if you keep a tight line it will help you feels bites 100%, but if your pulling your bait, why not use a different bait/bait style?

I think with you fishin lakes / smaller streams fluoro wouldn't be that bad, but I'm a mad man and like to make super far casts in the river. I use #10 braid and I use 8-10lb fluoro leader 6-10' long. I usually start with 8' n then cut a new leader when it's down to around 3' or so. If it's super clear in the summer I'll usually make a new leader once it's around 4'. I use albright/alberto knot for my leader to braid (not sure which one it is I get them confused all the time). Sometimes I'll tie an fg knot for my leader knot if I have an half hour to waste, cause that's usually how long it's takes me to get it right🤣🤣🤣 I have been using the double Davies knot for the last year or so and it is insanely simple and strong, might have to make a video on it it's so good haha. Would be a cool video to see you try braid! Thanks for watchin Joe!!!

The double Davies would be the knot for the hook, sorry should've specified

Yes, that is actually how I learn the river and find holes and pockets. Alot of times i wait for the long slow scratch feel so i know I'm on top of a large rock/boulder and then when I feel the scratch stop I drop my rod down so that it falls directly behind the big rock right in front of their face haha.

I'm not too picky with braid, I've tried both high and low count braids, and I kinda like low count just cause it's loud through the guides🤣🤣🤣 I usually stick to 10lb tho. My latest test was with berkley fireline 10lb, and so far, that is the first line I've tried that I don't personally like. I haven't tried the shad worm,but I do throw a scented jerkshad from time to time with my belly weighted ewg 2/0 1/16oz sometimes 1/18oz. They are made with a fine wire hook so technically adding the 1/16 makes then just a bit heavier than a weightless heavy hook ewg. Works pretty good on those days they don't want to eat! I have been lookin to find a 1/0 hook that I can fit in my mold to add that 1/16oz weight to it but haven't found 1. Alot of companies don't make a 1/0 ewg. Thanks for watchin marc!!!

Hahaha to be honest, I will cast as far as possible in every situation. I honestly believe that BIG smallmouth will see you long before you see them, so if you can make a 100' cast so they don't see you it helps your chances! I think braid is the way to go, as long as you throw a 6-10' leader of fluoro on there, it can't be beat IMO! Thanks for watchin Chris just shipped your order out this morning!!!

@@fishinwithish Braid to fluoro has been great for me. Honestly i cannot see flouro that well, I always end up slack lined and miss bites.

Yes! Same for me!

Yeah adding a little weight will definitely help get that wacky out farther! I don't know of that will work with the regular senkos tho, I imagine they will fall apart, those zmans will hang on tho! Haha maybe that is what he said, we were both going to fast for me to understand😂😂😂 thanks for watchin Chris!

I'm not sure where this series of wacky rig videos are going for me. May end up in a change in my overall finesse setup or at the very least I may hone in on a real good wacky setup for when fishin gets tough. After this trip with straight fluoro I don't think we'll ever see me do that again😂😂😂 thanks for watchin!!!

@@fishinwithish yeah FC sux on a spinning reel. Spend all your time and $ figuring out what works and it's time to change your line...no thanks. I also remember a study where line diameter was the main factor in stretch. Kinda a salespitch lie for FC. When my Dad wills me his bulk spools of yellow Stren, I'll hook you up!

haha sounds right, I will say there is a little less stretch with a heavier fluoro but it still stretches quite a bit...and yeah If I threw this on 20 fluoro it may not stretch as much but there goes your casting distance and on top of that the price...braid is so much cheaper and honestly Idk how long it lasts but I have reels like braid on it from 5 years ago still goin strong haha

For braid to fluoro try the Alberto knot. It’s easy once u practice a little. Key is to make the big loop with the fluoro and the wraps with the braid. If u go the other way it usually snaps in my experience. It’s ridiculously strong, when I break off its seldom at the knot.

​@@Jeff-lm9tgabsolutely, I'm not sure which one but I use albright/Alberto. I feel like there basically the same. Lately, I have been trying the fg knot but man it isn't easy!

It is as close to heaven as I could imagine! I don't venture up here that often cause honestly I've had a few scares and the older I get the more It makes nervous being up there alone, even at 35 years old haha. Thanks for watchin!!!

Hahaha I am definitely getting my money's qorth our of that duck quack!!! I've been working on not cussing for years now and it has been terribly hard to stop. Thanks for watchin!!!

Awesome, glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for commenting! The noodles work well but ai have found that they don't last a whole year. I had some left over from when I made these in my box that I went to use almost a year later and they fell apart. So my suggestion is just make what you can use and they should last a few months! Thanks for watchin!!!

I will basically agree, I have been catching fish on it and I have a few more videos with tests to fully try to understand it and make it work properly but honestly so far I have 0 reason to keep a senko in my bag with Me. Thanks for watchin!!!

Very rarely. I feel like adding a trailer makes the hook/trailer portion run on the side instead of underneath the blade. Which if you get a bite from the side it rolls up towards I feel it never hooks up.

Yeah, I'll be honest. I am really using senkos to try and understand them. So far, I see 0 reason to even use them, but I have collected plenty of reasons why not to use them. I am talking all stick baits, not just senkos. Spent years throwing baits on jigheads and now my ewg ned hooks and I literally can go 2 or more fishing trips on the kayak for 8hrs+ each trip and never lose a single bait and catch just as many fish lol. I'm not saying a stick bait doesn't work. I'm just saying the negatives outweigh the positives greatly in my book, lol thanks for watchin!

@@fishinwithish yea but there r times when weightless can’t be beat. Have to sometimes fish them slow and that’s where the senkos r admittedly good because they sink faster than most. I fish a small titanium weight that has a little metal loop on the end. U poke it thru the worm and the hook goes through the loop. Put a little piece of rubber band over the hook point to keep the weight from flying off. The senkos last forever that way and allows u to cover more water but sometimes the fish want that super slow sink rate. I fished them literally exclusively for 4 years and doesn’t matter the water sometimes weightless is the only way they’ll bite a stick bait. U just need to figure out a way to get the bait into strike zone. Learn something new all the time. Lots of smart people out there willing to teach. Nice job on the channel, very entertaining. From NY but just started fishing PA streams last three years or so. Tons of beautiful rivers down your way

Hahah very possible, those Fayette County girls can be dangerous😂😂😂 do you use braid? Or do u just use straight fluoro/mono? To me with braid and a heavy rod I use a leader partially to give it some more stretch, but the trade off is there potentially isn't enough stretch.

I have thought about saltwater reels, haven't bought one yet. I almost did last week because cadence makes a saltwater reel but the issue is I use 6.2 to 1 retrieve rates and for some reason they didn't state their retrieve rate. Anything less than 6.2 is too slow for me and anything more feels like it takes too much effort to reel(feels like there's something wrong with it, Aka bad bearing feeling to me)

Yeah, mike actually got me a pair awhile back and I always forget I have them. When I leave my house to go fishing I rarely ever have an actual plan I just kinda go🤣🤣🤣

Nice! I haven't even tried to go that way on the bike trail at all I just assume they would stop me lol.