well, i found a new way to catch bass at carneros. i thought that deserved a report on the site. if for no other purpose than to inform pete and brian of my findings. here goes- my family and i had a barbecue to go to at some friends' house who live right near the lake, so i thought, why not get in some fishing. we were supposed to be at their house at 6 so i went to the lake a couple hours early and got in some fishing. i kicked over to the usual spot (southern flats) to find a large growth in weed population and the clearing full of that floating weed stuff. it was like 2, 3 inches deep on the surface of the water. this stuff was everywhere, all along the shore all the way out to the brush line going from southern flats to the south side canal opening. i didn't even attempt to throw the flat tail grub because i knew it wouldn't even make a disturbance on the top of this stuff. so, i brought out the senkos. watermelon/red flake 5" weightless. i picked up one small fish letting the bait just sit there. i was actually fishing a spot in southern flats that was a little thinner in the floating stuff so it actually sank. that fish was like 13" and fat as a turkey in november. no more fish out of there so i started flippin the senko on top of the floating weeds, working my way over to the canal opening. i was just flipping it on top of the floating weeds and twitching it back, much like the old powercraw technique. missed a couple fish who exploded on it and made my way over to the shallow area on the shore side of the canal opening. i noticed some disturbance on the water and what looked like a bass working some shad up shallow, so i flipped it in there and pulled out a 2 pounder. started working my way back the way i came, toward the southern flats and found the honey hole. it's where i used to catch almost all my fish before i discovered southern flats. within the first couple casts, twitching the senko over the floating mats, got a taker. this fish jumped about 3 feet from the boat and threw the hook, about a 3 pounder. a couple casts later, got another taker. these weren't savage attacks, the lure would just suddenly be under the weed mats and you'd be like, what's going on, and then you'd feel the twitch twitch and the fish would be there. well, i pulled this next fish out, 3 pounder. sweet. a couple casts later, got another 3 pounder. just about every cast was either a missed strike, premature hookset or a fish it was sweet. well, a couple casts later, another 3 pounder. alright, 3 3 pounders out of the same spot. well by now it was like 6:30, so i had to take off. i finished the day with a nice limit that would've gone about 18 lbs. not bad for carneros. anyway guys, senkos. ok, there's the bi-weekly report from carneros. see ya tomorrow rob.<BR> -Brian<BR>

Brian,<P>Way to go. It looks like the typical "May Slump" might be over. This is about the time they turned back on last year.<P>I may be out of the loop a bit or in my own little world but what the hell is a Senko? I've used this technique (of twitching stuff across the floating crap) before with pretty good results but I've done it using the flat tail grub with no sinker.<P>The fish always seem to be really fat this time of year probably because they're eating all those billions of baby bass. The picture below is one of the little fat ones I got last June.<P><img src="http://www.geocities.com/leapin_bass/pics/lcbass_9906.jpg"><P>Pete<P>You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

<center><font size="1" color="#ff0000">LAST EDITED ON May-31-00 AT 03:27 PM (PST)</font></center><p>pete,<BR> yeah, the senko is made by yamamoto. i believe it comes in 4, 5, and 6 inch. i was throwing the 5 inch. they JUST came out with the watermelon/red flake. it's basically a big fat straight tailed worm that doesn't look like much, but this lure is incredible. it sinks, it doesn't float. when it sinks it kind of rocks back and forth when it's rigged weightless. you can also wacky rig it (stick a hook in the exact middle of the bait). these lures are HOT up north at clear lake and the delta and such. up there they can't keep em on the shelves. in fact for the last bunch i bought, my buddy pete at wilderness outfitters in arroyo grande actually saved me a few packs. he got in a new shipment and didn't put em out till after i'd gotten there. (thanks pete). but, yeah, that's how hot they are right now. places literally sell out within a week at most. if not a couple days. before i started throwing senkos at carneros i'd do the same thing with the flat tailed grubs like you said. it worked pretty well, but there was so much crap on the water on sunday or whenever i went, that i needed a bigger bait to make a bigger silouhette and make more of a disturbance on top of all the stuff. it seemed to produce, so i'm gonna try it a couple more times and see if i'm on to something. i got one small fish while the lure was falling to the bottom, so i guess they do like the look of it, and they're not just eating it cause it's movement on top of the weeds. ok, we'll see what develops. i don't know how much fishing i'll be able to do this week. i NEED new waders. there was water up to like mid thighs last night. this weekend i'll probably fish. later.<BR> -Brian<BR>

Senkos ARE the hot bait all over right now and I did manage to get some of the newest colors that are not even mentioned in the Yama. catalog. That fish you picked up while the bait was sinking was not a oddball, Brian, that has been the hot ticket for suspended and crusing fish, just a dead fall with a twitch or two until it hits the bottom. then twitch it up again and let it fall. These baits are heavy enough to fish them pretty deep where they can also be fished as a soft jerk bait, only unlike a Fluke that has to be fished with weight they have incredible action as they are fished with no lead, and as you noticed they don't stick in the weeds. Fun stuff! There are some shad colors available, too, for the deep twitch technique. Sounds like some really good fishing for Brian! Keep it up!<P> Pete