New Jersey, New Year
Never Give Up! . . . On Weightless Wacky Senkos
January 20, 2009
"Never give up," is the popular catchphrase first made famous by New Jersey bass pro, Mike Iaconelli when, with mere minutes remaining in the 2003 Bassmaster Classic, Ike landed the bass that would give him the Classic win.
So Mike Iaconelli's antics upon landing the winning fish in 2003 Bassmaster Classic is how "Never give up" got into the vocabulary of bass anglers.
Nowadays, "Never give up" is widely and repeatedly echoed across the Garden State (as Jersey's known) by local anglers. It's the triumphant cry you'll hear when someone scores a hard-earned bass on tough fishing days.
"Never give up" is also Bobby Uhrig's attitude toward end-of-year fishing in New Jersey.
Uhrig simply never gives up on Jersey's bass. He continues to fish for and catch them up until the last day on the calendar.
Bobby Uhrig never gives up confidence in the weightless wacky Senko, not even on December 29th in 36 degree water, fishing from a riprap bank.
"It's the greatest bass lure in history, and weightless wacky is one of the greatest ways to use it," says Uhrig of the Yamamoto Senko.
Uhrig manufactures MegaStrike fish attractant gel, Cavitron buzzbaits, Evolution2 jigs and ShakE2 jigs.
You can see Bobby's website and products at www.MegaStrike.com.
Uhrig prefers the classic Eagle Claw #84 hook in either size #1 or 1/0 to wacky rig a Senko. Look closely at the photo, and you'll see how Bobby uses only the hook barb to hold the Senko on the hook. He keeps the point and barb of the hook within the Senko's plastic body. In this way, the hook point isn't exposed to snags. This rigging method is especially effective in super-snaggy spot such as the rocky riprap embankment that Bobby's fishing here.
The Eagle Claw #84 is a good hook for this rigging method for two reasons: 1) the barb is relatively large to help hold the Senko in place, and 2) the hook shank is relatively long. This rigging method wouldn't work as well with a short shank hook. That long shank let's you achieve a powerful 'in-line pull' when you set the hook. When he gets a bite, Uhrig sets hard in order to drive the hook through the thick plastic.
Bobby favors a spinning rod with this rigging method. The weightless wacky Senko would fly off the hook when rigged this way with baitcasting gear. With a spinning rod, you don't really have that problem as long as you're not trying to 'reach for the stars' when you cast.
Bobby is a big fan of the St. Croix Avid AVS66MHF rod. It's a relatively high modulus, stiff, light weight, fast tip 6'6" graphite rod that can handle many different lure types, tactics and techniques.
The water here was 36 degrees, just a few days before New Year's Day 2009.
The classic 'late afternoon time box' or 'golden hour' was what Bobby waited for this day, meaning that just about the time when the angle of the afternoon sun rays dipped low enough to turn the light golden, he moseyed down to the bank and 'put on a clinic' how to catch winter bass on wacky Senkos. That period of the day (say, 3 to 4 PM) can often be the warmest part of many winter days in terms of air and/or water temps, and there's often a brief yet rewarding feeding flurry then.
And yes, Bobby Uhrig yelled "Never give up" at the top of his lungs when he caught and released these nice ones. It's the Jersey way!