Garden Lake Park, Creswell OR

NKlamerus · Jun 6, 2021

Had a few hours to kill so I launched off the west side of the park down the steep embankment, not a lot of good places to put in so be careful on the banks.

Water on the west lake is super clear as usual, and the east lake is pudding color and weedy.

Caught 3 small largemouth, all on a senko, but I was also throwing a frog, spinnerbait, and bluegill swimbait.

There's some bluegill beds up on the rock flats near the bank, would be a great spot for evening or morning bites, but I was out there about 3-4:30pm

bass · Jun 7, 2021

Nice! The fish may not have been big but they look super healthy.

Hard to beat a Senko on tough days. Definitely saved my butt on my last trip to Hagg. Do you ever try a light swim jig in those situations? I have been throwing one this year and have done decent in clear water (weedy, rocky and woody). They come through cover really well and are a somewhat selective on larger fish.

NKlamerus · Jun 7, 2021

bass said:
Nice! The fish may not have been big but they look super healthy.

Hard to beat a Senko on tough days. Definitely saved my butt on my last trip to Hagg. Do you ever try a light swim jig in those situations? I have been throwing one this year and have done decent in clear water (weedy, rocky and woody). They come through cover really well and are a somewhat selective on larger fish.

I have tried some smaller keitechs with Ned heads but end up fishing them more like jigs, I have had some success with 5" keitech baits on a weighted swimbait hook. I really should throw them more

Just didn't have them with me yesterday!

I wasn't planning on fishing there at all, planned to creek fish for smallmouth and took as bare minimum as possible

Also I refer to them as keitechs, but I use a mix of them, strike kings, and the BPS brands

Same think with a senko, 99% of the time I throw the BPS stick-o, caught thousands of fish on them. Only break out the Gary Y. Versions for super clear and pressured water

The stick-o's cast better and last longer, and they are much much cheaper

bass · Jun 7, 2021

I like your idea of a swimbait on a weighted weedless hook but I meant a swim jig (with a skirt) and not a swimbait. I always do well with swimbaits on the Willie but this year I have started to throw a skirted green pumpkin swim jig with a baby brush hawg trailer and done fairly well with that (and had a better average size with that).

A number of years ago there was a site called alluring baits that had super cheap soft plastics and made a nice Senko knock off. The site went dead for a number of years. I think someone bought that name and started running it again but I have not tried the new products (and I am not sure that it is still in business on the reboot).

One thing I do with Senkos is put a thin band of surgical tubing wear I am going to hook through (for wacky-rigging) and then hook into the tubing through the worm and then out the tubing on the other side. I can often catch a ton on a single bait. That only helps if you are wacky rigging but it is a good trick. In my Hagg video (my last post) I walk through the procedure.

NKlamerus · Jun 7, 2021

bass said:
I like your idea of a swimbait on a weighted weedless hook but I meant a swim jig (with a skirt) and not a swimbait. I always do well with swimbaits on the Willie but this year I have started to throw a skirted green pumpkin swim jig with a baby brush hawg trailer and done fairly well with that (and had a better average size with that).

A number of years ago there was a site called alluring baits that had super cheap soft plastics and made a nice Senko knock off. The site went dead for a number of years. I think someone bought that name and started running it again but I have not tried the new products (and I am not sure that it is still in business on the reboot).

One thing I do with Senkos is put a thin band of surgical tubing wear I am going to hook through (for wacky-rigging) and then hook into the tubing through the worm and then out the tubing on the other side. I can often catch a ton on a single bait. That only helps if you are wacky rigging but it is a good trick. In my Hagg video (my last post) I walk through the procedure.

My bad! I miss read it

I do have a couple of swim jigs, had some mild success with them at Alton Baker last year, about a subtle as you can get which is perfect for out there.

I think they are all bluegill color, I did also just pick up a heavier version with a willow blade trailer, should be nice to offer something the fish haven't seen before, but still has some flash for the tannic water at Ford's pond

Garden Lake Park, Creswell OR

Similar threads