# Least favorite lure?



## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

List yours fellas. That one lure or color you just CANNOT get a fish to bite. 

Mine: Lipless cranks. Any brand. Zero confidence! Well maybe like 5-10% confidence. 93stratos was killing some small bass on em one night and I broke out my only lipless crank.. Chrome w/black back. Caught a couple small gills then put it back in the tackle box. Possibly forever!


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## Dovans (Nov 15, 2011)

football jig...


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## lukejhoward (Jul 1, 2013)

Spinnerbaits...


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## lukejhoward (Jul 1, 2013)

Spinnerbaits...


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Like MB, I also despise Lipless Cranks. Floaters and sinkers retrieved in every conceivable way over the past 20 years and only two bass to show for it with both being caught in Virginia. I am considering casting or trolling the LC's at Alum exclusively until some Musky takes pity on me and bites it off.


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## Bassthumb (Aug 22, 2008)

Carolina rigged anything. Out of my arsenal forever.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

Hate to sound like Captain Obvious, but confidence really is everything in fishing. Your least favorite lure may be dynamite in another mans hands only because he expects it to work and you don't. That may sound stupid, but it's true. Over confidence in a particular bait also costs people fish. What worked one day may not work another. 
My least favorite lure is the last one I took off that didn't catch anything.


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## Buckeye Ron (Feb 3, 2005)

Black/white stripe 800 Reef Runner


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## angler69 (Sep 26, 2005)

Power bait / gulp stuff. Tried it one day never got a bite haven't used it since...lol


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Rooster Tails!  Seems like more than half that I've bought never get the blade spinning on retrieve..

I can throw my old favorite Swiss Swings (Brass beads & spinner) and they start spinning as soon as they hit the water.


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## Dave_E (Apr 6, 2004)

All Eyes said:


> ...but confidence really is everything in fishing. Your least favorite lure may be dynamite in another mans hands...


So true All Eyes!!
I LOVE Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits! 
Can't get bit on a senko style bait though. Wacky, texas, or any other rig. I hate 'em.


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## PolymerStew (Feb 17, 2009)

I don't know that I have any lures I really don't like, but in terms of least success per hour fished I'd say I haven't done well with soft plastic swimbaits. 

It also depends on where I'm fishing. I know when I go back to WI where most lakes have gin clear water, you can do very well on soft plastics Texas, wacky, or drop shot rigged. Here in OH I fish more lakes that are super cloudy green with algae, then I tend to do better on lures that make more commotion like spinnerbaits, crankbaits, topwaters. I do well on those in clear water too, but I don't have confidence using the subtle presentations in cloudy water.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Dave_E said:


> So true All Eyes!!
> I LOVE Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits!
> Can't get bit on a senko style bait though. Wacky, texas, or any other rig. I hate 'em.


 Which is exactly why I started this thread! One mans trash is another mans treasure. I love that dynamic when it comes to fishing. People tend to think theres only one way, or one "right" way to do things and there's really not. I like challenging the public perception 

My first cast ever with a wacky rigged Senko netted me a giant largemouth! I haven't thrown it a whole lot since, but I have a lot of confidence it'll catch fish.

Rooster tails: Keep in mind these aren't all created equal. Might want to try a higher quality brand like Joes Flies(my fav. Muddler pattern) or Panther Martin to get a nice spin on even the slowest of retrieves.


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## Joe.mahan (Jul 26, 2015)

Any Top water other than a hollow body frog. spooks, buzz baits jitter-bugs..... can't even loose them! They just live in my boxes taunting me. Its to the point where I read an article about top water and they make me mad, like it is some kind of conspiracy where nobody actually does this they just put out articles to make me think it can be done.


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## coachfozz (Mar 19, 2006)

yeah right now, my least favorite lure is everything I throw as I am in a huge slump. Most of my fish I caught this year though have been on lipless and squarebill crankbaits. Texas rigged worm would be third.


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## Roscoe (Jul 22, 2007)

Joe.mahan said:


> Any Top water other than a hollow body frog. spooks, buzz baits jitter-bugs..... can't even loose them! They just live in my boxes taunting me. Its to the point where I read an article about top water and they make me mad, like it is some kind of conspiracy where nobody actually does this they just put out articles to make me think it can be done.


 Joe,

Hey Joe, try a Rapala.4-7in.Floating. Good Luck.


Roscoe


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

topwater prop baits like torpedos etc.. I have caught nice fish on them but it seems like most of the time they are tied on and taken off without a bite. Its strange cause I have tons of confidence with other topwaters like poppers and buzzbaits.

Timing is very important on some baits. I used to struggle with lipless crankbaits and had no confidence in them but I learned that water clarity and temp have to be right and then you cant keep the fish off them sometimes.


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## Buick Riviera (Jul 15, 2007)

Any rattle trap type lure is a worthless POS when I throw it and it doesn't matter if my partner just land two 3's and a 4 with it, they don't work for me. I've literally never (ever) caught a fish on one in Ohio. I have in Florida but not Ohio.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Senko. Over priced, and Zoom's Mag Finesse outfishes it 2-1!
Senko-7.29 a bag.
Mag Finesse-3.79 a bag.


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## nicklesman (Jun 29, 2006)

creekcrawler said:


> Rooster Tails!  Seems like more than half that I've bought never get the blade spinning on retrieve..
> 
> I can throw my old favorite Swiss Swings (Brass beads & spinner) and they start spinning as soon as they hit the water.


Put a slight bend in blade and never have that problem again. They are in my top 5 favorite lol


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Which is exactly why I started this thread!


So, then, the question has been answered, and we might as well look to other places for pointless entertainment.

Chatterbaits suck.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

streamstalker said:


> So, then, the question has been answered, and we might as well look to other places for pointless entertainment.
> 
> Chatterbaits suck.


It's been answered by a few anyhow. Pointless entertainment? Another goal was to give people another perspective on what they are struggling with personally. If you have tips or tricks pertaining to a bait someone else is struggling with, please feel free to share! 

I don't think I've ever thrown a chatterbait. I may have aquired one somehow and may be lingering somewhere in my garage? Maybe? Seemed like a bunch of hype to me maybe? How much different is a chatterbait going to be than a large spinner?


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

Jitterbug
Hula Popper
Spoons of any type.


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> How much different is a chatterbait going to be than a large spinner?


None, other than confidence, it seems.

Jitterbugs and poppers are great. Anyone who has ever claimed to catch a fish on a spoon is a damn liar. There was that one dude on here who says he liked them, but I think he has a lifetime ban, so that's that.


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

Crankbaits... not lipless, i do well with them, but hardly ever catch fish on my bandits or normans.


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## Chinook (Apr 10, 2009)

Alright I understand that people fishing in the south on impoundments like Lake Falcon and Lake Toho employ completely different arsenals then us northerners, but seriously chatterbaits make no sense in my tackle box. I mine as well throw rocks in the water and then put out a heron decoy. One cast can literally stop the bite on a 5 acre lake.

For that matter I'll also throw in the Alabama rig. Now when I was growing up I remember the tuna fisherman out of Ocean City, MD using these rigs to slay white marlin and school tuna. Makes sense tow it behind a 60' boat on a Penn saltwater combo on either steel wire or 50lb braid. I mean that's what they're for, catching marlin. When I see someone retrieving one out on a 6' medium action baitcaster it looks like they're pulling in a crab trap or at least a small drift sock. 

Needless to say I consider myself a finesse fisherman and prefer 6lb test, plastics and all kinds of crazy worm rigs, but damn am I lethal with a Pig N Jig on a baitcaster combo and when the conditions are right a large lipless crankbait styled after a crayfish can do some damage.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

The old CP Swings were one of the best spinnerbaits IMO. Swiss Swings are basically a knockoff of them and not the same quality. As far as lipless cranks, Rattletraps were about all you ever used to see guys use for walleye off the rocks in Erie for the night bite. The 5/8 oz. chrome/blue were deadly and caught me lots of big eyes. That was 20 years ago and now you'll be hard pressed to see anyone throw them. It's funny how things change.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

streamstalker said:


> None, other than confidence, it seems.
> 
> Jitterbugs and poppers are great. Anyone who has ever claimed to catch a fish on a spoon is a damn liar. There was that one dude on here who says he liked them, but I think he has a lifetime ban, so that's that.


I can confirm my ex caught a fish on one of those cheapie little yellow spoons with red hearts on em or something. Came in a kit of some kind I forget. I was shocked! I have a box full of Michigan Stingers which will probably never see water as long as I own them so I'd agree.

Jitterbug I love, hula......... not so much. Those early plastic pom pom tails they put on those only ever melted to other lures/plastics.. Maybe that was my problem with em. That and I was always catching fish on jigs/grubs. And I've recently learned that a jitterbug is essentially a swimming bat imitation... The resemblance between the two was uncanny!


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

Don't get me started on casting/jigging spoons. As you can tell I love them.  Learn to use a spoon and you'll wonder why you waited so long.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

nicklesman said:


> Put a slight bend in blade and never have that problem again. They are in my top 5 favorite lol


Awesome! Helping each other out. Love it.  Never would have thought to do that. When my mepps used to not spin, it was usually the wire was a little bent. Haven't actually used a Mepps in a loooooong time though.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

All Eyes said:


> Don't get me started on casting/jigging spoons. As you can tell I love them.  Learn to use a spoon and you'll wonder why you waited so long.
> View attachment 192256


Was waiting for this post.... Heh. Nice collection!! Those sure are purdy! Brand? Care to give a source? Can PM if you want. I'd like to pick up a few.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

Got hooked on spoons for walleye/saugeye many years ago by the late great Jim Corey. Hopkins No=Equal's were what I learned with and then started making my own versions out of copper and brass tubing filled with lead. Here are some of my creations. Lots more pics of these in my photo gallery. I've caught 13 different species of fish with my homemade spoons so far.


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## Skippy (Dec 2, 2009)

Right time, right place most any lure out there will work. I'm just never in the right place at the right time.

Just started throwing more blade baits this year and I'm pleasantly surprised with them.

All Eyes, your right. Things do change. Hedden super sonic, lazy ike's, jitterbugs, cream rubber worms, delong black witch. In there time they all worked and worked good. The old c.p. swings, that and a piece of nightcrawler were all you needed to catch eyes out of Mosquito. The old Rapala count down minnow. Couldn't even guess how many white bass and s/m's I caught on those out in the big lake.


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## nooffseason (Nov 15, 2008)

All Eyes. Those are awesome. What kind of presentations do you employ? Casting and hopping along, trolling, vertical jig? All of the above? Would love to learn more about those. Also, I'm assuming a snap swivel is needed?


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## Nightcrawler666 (Apr 17, 2014)

streamstalker said:


> Chatterbaits suck.


Hahaha! One of my favorite prespawn and late fall lures. Everyone else is throwing swimbaits, I put one on a chatter and usually do very well. My biggest bass and pike have all come from chatterbaits. This is a funny thread...

My least favorite lure would probably have to be med-deep diving cranks. 60% of the time I'm in less than 10 ft of water, so that is probably a major contributor in that. But even fishing reservoirs and trying to find them deeper, I never have any luck.


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## Buzzy (Jul 2, 2011)

Football jigs. It is a myth that anyone catches fish on them. To you point eyes I fish lures hard because of what you say. But I get more and more upset every time I cut off a football jig because of no bites


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## Dave_E (Apr 6, 2004)

streamstalker said:


> Anyone who has ever claimed to catch a fish on a spoon is a damn liar.


LOL. All Eyes is right man. If you learn how to use them they're deadly. Daredevil's, Cleo's, and Kastmasters. Look out. I guess I should take my own advice and commit to learning Senkos.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

nooffseason said:


> All Eyes. Those are awesome. What kind of presentations do you employ? Casting and hopping along, trolling, vertical jig? All of the above? Would love to learn more about those. Also, I'm assuming a snap swivel is needed?


Thanks! Like blade baits, they are effective both vertical jigging and casting. The retrieve is a lift and fall just off bottom. They dart erratically on the drop and trigger a reaction bite. And yes, I tie these with a duo-lock snap and a barrel swivel on a leader.


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## jamesbalog (Jul 6, 2011)

anything thats behind a jet or a tru-trip


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

jamesbalog said:


> anything thats behind a jet or a tru-trip


We did really good with True Trips this year out east!


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## Roscoe (Jul 22, 2007)

Those Red & White Daredevles are great for Muskies whether they are suspended or when they are feeding on White Bass or Crappy.When is the last time you heard anyone say they were throwing Daredevles?



Roscoe


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

streamstalker said:


> Anyone who has ever claimed to catch a fish on a spoon is a damn liar.


LOL, spoons are not just for your cheerios.

Depending on where I am fishing, lake Erie, smallmouth and perch, it is often the first lure I pickup


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

Lundy said:


> LOL, spoons are not just for your cheerios.
> 
> Depending on where I am fishing it is often the first lure I pickup


Your boy, James T, liked spoons too. Maybe you should rescind his ban.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Tell ya about spoons. Won a tournament for my cousin and I at High Rock in October 1999. It was a cool day, we had three keepers two hours from weigh in. The fish had stopped hitting anything. We pulled up on a point near the train tracks and Rick chunked a Rapala Minnow Spoon near the rocks, and got hammered by a five pounder. We sat there for forty minutes and caught nine bass, several over three pounds. Just yoyoing the bait back to the boat, they were hitting on the fall.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

My faith and confidence in spoons began before I even tried them. The same goes for blade baits. I fished with guys who knew how and when to use them and saw first hand how productive they were. From there it was just a matter of getting the techniques down. They work best when they are somewhat straight up and down on the fall because they swoop to one side and mimic a fleeing bait fish. You just have to learn how to make them fall right. Some days they work best with a fast snap 3 ft lift and fall with some slack, and other days they want a real gentle 1 ft. lift on a semi tight line. The real learning curve for me was keeping them in contact with bottom and not getting them hung up. That gets frustrating real quick.


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## jamesbalog (Jul 6, 2011)

Misdirection: on the tru trips and jets I'm pretty sure it's just a confidence thing with me. Never did well with them and pretty much refuse to run one unless everything else won't go


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## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

I can't seem to get a bite on spinnerbaits.


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## Bassthumb (Aug 22, 2008)

Fish your spinnerbaits on cloudy and windy days. Never on bluebird calm days


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Bassthumb said:


> Fish your spinnerbaits on cloudy and windy days. Never on bluebird calm days
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Ohub Campfire


Absolutely. Same for jerkbaits.


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

The only thing useful about a spoon is for throwing at pleasure boaters that are too close! 
Blade baits however have been great! I've caught bass, pike, walleye, and steelhead on them!
Spinnerbaits have been useless too except for that one day in Canada when I caught 2 walleye and then got bit off by a muskie! Beetlespins on the other hand have been great! 
Most any crankbait has been bad for me except a rebel craw and a rapala countdown minnow. 
Hula poppers suck, but I've caught bass on jitterbugs, skitterprops, and hollow body frogs.


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

bdawg said:


> The only thing useful about a spoon is for throwing at pleasure boaters that are too close!


Throw some at me Dawg! I'm getting low and the spoon bite is coming up.


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## Flannel_Carp (Apr 7, 2014)

My least favorite lure is small curd cottage chee...oh man, I'm lost!


For me though, that's about all a spoon is good for. I'm definitely a novice when it comes to them.


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

All Eyes said:


> Throw some at me Dawg! I'm getting low and the spoon bite is coming up.


I guess you'll have to take me out and show me how it's done!


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

bdawg said:


> I guess you'll have to take me out and show me how it's done!


Sounds good to me.


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## jrose (Jul 16, 2012)

I'm pushing 50 years old and fished in over 20 states and two countries. I've caught fish from tuna and dorado, to bass and bluegills and every thing in between. ( I consider my self a bass fisherman first) Can't get a bite on a tube to save my life! I'm almost to the point where I don't believe people when they say the caught it on a "Tube" LOL!


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## kparrott154 (Mar 26, 2007)

Lipless crankbaits/rattle traps are my least favorite. I have a box full of them and can't catch fish with them.


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## gph19 (Apr 27, 2014)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> List yours fellas. That one lure or color you just CANNOT get a fish to bite.
> 
> Mine: Lipless cranks. Any brand. Zero confidence! Well maybe like 5-10% confidence. 93stratos was killing some small bass on em one night and I broke out my only lipless crank.. Chrome w/black back. Caught a couple small gills then put it back in the tackle box. Possibly forever!


 I love my kvd lip less cranks with dual rattles for walleye. My favorite night lure but I don't really use it other than that. And so far as my last favourite~ blue! I hate it, I have never caught a single fish on any of my blue lures.


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

It's hard to beat a Rat-L-Trap for schooling fish in fall. Not just largemouth either, stripers, white bass, even white perch cannot resist it!


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)




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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

streamstalker said:


> Your boy, James T, liked spoons too. Maybe you should rescind his ban.


Free James T!


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## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Free James T!


Oh boy! Wonder what he would have to say about cottage cheese? You can always tell when the bite gets slow around here.


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## Flowie (Jul 2, 2015)

I am terrible with senkos/yumdingers any kind of rubber worm...but I mainly fish the St. Joseph river in Indiana and its pretty fast. I think If I was fishing lakes/ponds I could do more with them.

For the spoon haters...a 3/8 or 1/2 ounce Kastmaster spoon makes a great search bait for smallmouth bass. Casts like a bullet so you can really reach out to spooky bass!


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## BuzzBait Brad (Oct 17, 2014)

Everything listed here are some of my favorites to use lol I can't use a senko if my life depended on it


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