Swimming Senkos

[Ky_Lake_Dude]

How exactly do you fish these? Do you do it like the name and swim them, fish them like the original Senko or fish them some other way?

[bass109]

fish it like a original senko, the action is different but you'll get it. 8-)

[George Welcome]

It does not fish like an ordinary Senko. It is designed to be swum hence the name SwimSenko. Here's a little something I wrote about this bait:

YAMAMOTO SWIMMING SENKO

HYPE OR MAGIC

A day of fishing is so much more than just catching the fish. It involves planning, comradeship, (a very important ingredient to me), alternate plans, (always have to deal with weather), bait selection based on conditions, and of course the catching.

This day's planning started with a phone call from Paul Crawford, a fellow Floridian, avid fisherman, and writer/representative for Yamamoto Baits. Paul wanted to try out a relatively new Yamamoto product being introduced, called the Swimming Senko, on Florida's famous Stick Marsh/Farm 13. With date set, I waited with great anticipation, not only for the opportunity to fish with Paul, a fisherman of some repute, but to also see new bait in action. However, as the weather can do, as the day approached, it was obvious that wind was going to alter our plans. The forecast called for winds in excess of 20 MPH, and the strong possibility of rain. As an alternate location, I suggested Blue Cypress Lake. The lake is surrounded with tall stately Cypress trees and would offer good protection from the westerly winds that forecasters were calling for.

I met Paul at the ramp at Blue Cypress at first light. Paul showed me the Swimming Senko that he would be using and we loaded his gear on board. Leaving the ramp area I turned to the south and smoothly applied the power to the motor. The bow rose, however what was normally a good hole shot didn't occur. As fast as the boat leapt to get on plane, she settled back in the water and the motor raced. First the weather and now a spun hub made it time again for another alternate plan. The day seemed destined to offer us some major challenges but we still had great comradeship and a new bait to keep things bright. Since the entire southwest shore is loaded with various grasses I simply announced that we would go on with the trolling motor and worry about getting back at a later time.

Paul set up his rig with a weightless Swimming Senko. I recommended any dark color as the water on Blue Cypress is heavily tannic stained. I rigged a weightless Senko in watermelon with black flake and the fishing began. I have found that the Senko, so often called the "do-nothing" bait, is an excellent top water jerk bait, and with Kissimmee grass, Maiden Cane, and Bulrush to play in, this jerk bait technique would play strongly for me.

The Swimming Senko is designed to be retrieved much like spinner bait, with varying speeds. It casts extremely well, much like the Senko so Paul had no problem reaching well back into the grasses. However, unlike the Senko, it just didn't exhibit a strong catching appeal for the bass.

Around mid-day I reached an area of open shallow water and was able to change out the hub, putting the big motor back in commission. We continued on and by day's end it seemed that the Senko was the better bait over its newly introduced brother, the Swimming Senko. Returning to the ramp we were able to move along at a good pace with the repaired big motor. As we rode we discussed what seemed the pros and cons to the Swimming Senko. Paul left a fair amount of Swimming Senkos with me and headed off to his home and dinner. What started as a day with some minor setbacks had turned into a great day on the water. We had achieved some tests with the new bait, we had caught some fish, and most importantly we had shared the comradeship of two avid anglers with our day on the water. The Swimming Senko had not performed as I hoped it would, but the testing on my part was only in infancy as it was destined to show me Gary Yamamoto had achieved another stellar success with his design.

My next opportunity to offer the Swimming Senko to the bass came on Ansin/Garcia, which is another of the lakes in the Blue Cypress Conservation Area. This lake is one laden heavily with Hydrilla and coon tail, which at the time was about 2 feet below the surface, and one that we use when winds are up as it offers good protection. Wanting the bait to ride just above the grass I opted to add a 1/8 ounce weight to the nose. Also, due to the heavy grass I decided to bury the hook as we do with the Senko, as opposed to skin hooking it. The first cast delivered a hit, however the hook did not push through the bait so it was obvious that skin hooking was going to produce better hook-ups. The Swimming Senko is made of a more durable consistency than the Senko and requires the skin hooking. Today's bite came on a rapid retrieval over the grass as bass after bass fell for its twisting oscillating action. By days end we had landed over 70 bass up to 5-pounds using what has become a staple in my arsenal of strongly producing baits.

The following day the winds subsided making the Stick Marsh our destination. Moving to the south end of the lake into an area known as the nursery we started to work weightless Senkos. Water depths were in the 2.5 to 3 foot levels with lots of wood to work around. I decided since it was rigged to give the Swimming Senko another try. This time I moved it slowly to get more depth penetration and I increased the weight to 3/16 ounce after a few casts. After three rapid bass made it to the boat, Don Willis my fishing companion for the day made the change. With matching rigs and bait, the catching was on. By days end we managed to place over 80 fish in the boat up to 8.5-pounds and we were firmly convinced that Gary Yamamoto had produced another magical bait and a valuable addition to our Senko line of tackle.

Since that day the Swimming Senko is always rigged and ready on my boat. It has produced 100's of bass up to 12.5-pounds from our south Florida waters. It is a recommended bait to have to all of our clients and I have every confidence that it will produce not only numbers but huge fish also. Mixing the retrieval speeds from fast to slow will quickly show you what the bass want the speed to be. Adjust the weight to achieve the depth you want. The hit and hook set is much like that of spinner bait with many hook sets being achieved by the bass themselves. It is a bait, not to replace the venerable Senko, but rather one to accompany it in your "must have" arsenal of bass catchers. If you can't catch bass with a Swimming Senko in areas of cover, than you probably can't catch bass with anything. If you're wondering about color choice, I have found that the stand-by theory of dark baits in dark water and light baits in clear water work for this bait as it does with any other. If you haven't tried it yet you need to, and as I am saying, you will also: Thanks Gary Yamamoto Baits for another brilliant productive product.

[R520dvx]

Thanks George .... good info

[lubina]

I was never able to make a fish to bite one of them :-[

[igtat900]

I was never able to make a fish to bite one of them :-[

Then you must be doing something seriously wrong with them . Here lately I have been using them all the time from private family 5 acre lake to public lakes and have had great results. I have had some fish hit the tail not let go till we get them to the boat. I have had some nice fish caught with these lately .

Ive been fishing these swimsenkos in stained water and weightless. I have produced more strikes on these worms than any toher worm i have ever tried and I am a true believer in these . Color wise i have every color in the box except junebug.

[igtat900]

heres one of my caught on a senko .

[igtat900]

Here is the other one

[.ghoti.]

I have a few packs of these, and haven't used them much yet. I tried one weightless, and if you move it fast enough to get some tail action, you're pretty much fishing on top. It takes some weight to allow you to get the tail action, and still keep them down. And, if you don't get the tail action, what the point? You might as well be using a regular Senko; it works better.

So, in my opinion, it needs some weight to be effective. My question is, do you peg the weight? In the little time I've spent with one of these on the end of the line, it seems to me that it's easier to keep this bait down, and still get some tail action with the weight pegged. Any thoughts on this?

Cheers,

GK

[Bud]

George they work on Ky lake.  good info

[roadwarrior]

The lure DEFINITELY requires a weight to create optimum tail action. Gary Yamamoto recommends screw in bullet weights, but pegging them will work, too. I have now fished the Swimming Senko twice over structure and caught bass on both days. The bite is very aggressive and I am quite confident this will become a permanent addition to my soft plastics box.

[.ghoti.]

A little update. I've been out twice, Saturday and Sunday evening, just using the Swimming Senko, to try to answer some questions. Caught nothing weightless. Caught four nice bass each evening; two with the weight pegged and two with the weight unpegged each evening. So, I still haven't answered that question. I don't have any of the screw-in weights. I use a bobber stopper and a small bead to peg weights.

I used a slow presentation. I let the bait hit the bottom, than did a slow horizontal rod sweep, moving the bait about three or four feet each time, then let it fall back to the bottom. I tried to move it just fast enough to get some tail action, and still keep it near the bottom. Seven of the eight bites came while I was moving the bait. One hit on the drop. All the bites were the grab it and run with it kind. No doubt at all about it. These were what I'd call aggressive bites.

I was out about three hours each night, so it was a bite every 45 minutes, on average. Not exactly a hot bite, but pretty good for this particular location. If I could do that all year, I'd be a very happy camper.

The rig; 5/0 Gammy EWG hook, 12lb test XL, and a variety of weights. The 1/16oz weight was too small for the depth I found the fish at. Most were in six to eight feet of water. For that depth, 1/4oz of weight was about right. I got six of the eight fish using the 1/4oz weight. The other two were on the 1/8oz weight. I'm going to guess that if you want to target the 12' range, you'll need 1/2oz of weight to keep it down.

These are a bit more durable the the regular Senko. I caught four fish on one bait and three on the next. Caught one fish on the last bait; he swallowed it, and I tore up the bait getting the hook out. So, the price is a bit more palatable, knowing that I'll get more than one fish per bait, which is about all you can expect from a Senko.

Wished I'd tried them out earlier.

Cheers,

GK

[rbrick]

Ghoti,

What kind of rod are you using?I can fish the swimsenko very slowly weightless and feel the tail swiming.

[.ghoti.]

Ghoti,

What kind of rod are you using?I can fish the swimsenko very slowly weightless and feel the tail swiming.

Hi rbrick, I first used my regular Senko outfit; 6'3" Team Daiwa Light&Tough rod, Energy PT baicaster, 5/0 Gammy EWG hook and 12lb test XL. I tried it next on a 6'6" Setyr rod, Daiwa Millionaire reel, same line and hook. I changed rigs because the Millionaire is quite a bit slower than the PT. I could feel the tail action on either rod. It just seemed to me that the bait has a loft of "lift", and to fish at the depth I knew I needed at that time was going to be a very tedious process.

I caught nothing fishing the bait weightless on previous outings. The latest trip, detailed above, was all about trying to determine if the weight needed to be pegged. I didn't fish it weighless on this trip; I rather wish I had.

I haven't given up on the idea of using this bait weightless; I've read the comments here, and had enough positive reports from some buds and some locals about using this bait weightless, that I'll still be trying it. This sounds like an application for flourocarbon line. What do you think?

Cheers,

GK

[JCrzy4Bass]

All of my bites have come while I was swimming it. Slow retrieves work very well allowing it to sink while you reel (I use weightless most of the time). By slow I mean so slow the second hand on a clock ticks 3-4 times per rotation of the reel handle. I've caught a few with a split shot pegged about 6-8" away from the hook (large split shot). I find that this is enough weight for me as I normally fish it around fallen trees close to shoreline or inside of grass and weed cover.

I agree with it being more durable than the regular senko. I only find myself replacing the bait once per 2-3 fish depending on how hard the bite is and what happens with the worm after the bite. My favorite colors are Pumpkinseed, Dark Green with Yellow Specs, and White with Blue Specks. Another great plastic production brought to you by none other than GARY!!!

[roadwarrior]

Well, I'm not opposed to experimentation, but if Gary recommends a 5/0 Round Bend Hook and a screw-in or pegged weight to get the best action out of the lure, then that's the way I think you should start:

http://www.insideline.net/articles/swim_senko.html

[Guest avid]

i have had mixed results with them

they are the best chatterbait trailer i have ever used.

have not had much luck using as a swimbait.  meaning a 1/4 oz or so of pegged sinker and a steady swimming retrieve.

But have had decent results fishing them like a T-rigged worm.

Something tells me this is great bait.  Just gotta find the right trigger on the right day.

[wagn]

Used them for the first time, in watermelon and red fleck. pegged weight and fished in a pretty slow presentation. I was pulling it through lilly pads, and a got a couple of good fish. Not a replacement for a Senko, but if it stays consitent for me i'll probably keep one of my rods rigged with one of these

[Sam]

Have thrown the Swimming Senko one time.

Caught one bass on it.

Don't know who was more surprised.  Me or the bass.

Have not thrown it since but may do so as the fall approaches.

George, thanks for the article on fishing the bait.

As usualy, you are "da man"!

[igtat900]

I have tried both and for me not much diffrence in action weightless or weighted . I have actually had better results weightless than any other way .

[Wild Bill [NY]]

I have had vvry good luck with them, fishing them on belly- weighted EWG style of hooks, swimming them steadily along.

[roadwarrior]

Straight from the horse's mouth:

http://www.insideline.net/articles/swim_senko.html

8-)

[scbassin]

A weighted hook works for me.

[bassman31783]

Straight from the horse's mouth:

http://www.insideline.net/articles/swim_senko.html

8-)

Haha.  Beat me to it. 

My personal favorite soft bait.  So many ways to fish it.  Killer C-rig bait 

[John O]

I love them (black & blue or watermelon/red flake) in the shallow creeks off the main river on the St. Johns River in central Fla.