Just buying a bag of senkos and tossing one on a hook and casting wont work, unless your very lucky haha. Read some of the articles, learn what wacky means, learn what t-rig, carolina etc mean and how and when to use these presentations. Read up on how fish hold, where they are, how to fish certain structure, what colors to use when. Then apply the two together, presentation for the structure your working.
You will do so much better when you understand the principals and how to apply them. It's very hard, and frustrating to just go out and cast and get skunked day in and day out. Granted if you increase your knowledge, you will catch more fish.
When I started my reading / research to fishing ratio was about 5:1 hours. I just soaked up all the knowledge I could, asked as many questions as I could think of and things eventually started to click. When I hit the water, I wasn't even really caring to much if I caught a fish, yeah it would have been a nice bonus but I was practicing the techniques that I had learned and tuning them, adjusting as I saw fit.
The pro's study a lake for days, practice it for days then take a month off before a tournament.
I started looking at maps a lot, where the drop offs are, running crank baits along the bottom to feel out the ridges and structure, where the rocks were etc. I loved Ike's book especially when he explained the preparations he went through before a tournament. It clicked for me to start this type of study of the water I fish.
Hope this helps at least a little.