Wacky Rigged Senko Goodness

[hooah212002]

If you read my introduction, you'll see why this is a HUGE milestone for me. Not only did I catch my personal best, but did so by a looooong shot. The only other day I've (edit: successfully) spent fishing was covering a spawn bed one early spring. Maybe 5-6 small LM's. I say small..I mean it. But, we were catching fish and it was on some poppers so it was fun nonetheless.

I've been stoked to try out some of the methods I've learned throughout the week (I can only fish on the weekends). And by gum, I did. I had a spot in mind on the lake: a fallen tree, the only one in the ENTIRE lake. I hadn't fully checked the spot out on our previous adventures, so you could imagine my joy when I got there only to find..... it was surrounded by a wondrous bed of WEEDS! Bluegill a plenty and a few fish nearby breaching the surface. Then, to my right, right close to shore but in the thick of the weeds, a good size splash. I said to myself "that fish is MINE". Tossed my watermelon 5" Senko wacky rigged and BAM first cast. By job I about had a heart attack. My adrenaline was pumping so hard I could barely handle the fish! The only person with me was my 4 year old son and my camera was tucked in my backpack. And the batteries? In my pocket. So I fumbled with my phone (stupidly, right at waters edge.) with my rod under my arm and the fish in the other hand.

And to top it off, it was a beautiful time to fish, if a bit muggy. Sun was setting and I had my boy with me.

This was the first time EVER using a senko OR a wacky rig. Tomorrow morning ought to be a blast.

edit:

There is no camera trickery here folks. I was darn near kissing that fish I had it so close to me while taking the picture. If anything seems askew, it is because I was using the front facing camera while my heart was pounding and I was more concerned about getting him back in the water. HAD to get a pic though.

[hooah212002]

Oh, and some of the local yokels asked if I caught anything. When I affirmed, they asked if I kept it. When I said no, I could hear them calling me an idiot in the distance after they walked away. What am I going to do with a 2-3 lb bass? 6 is the state minimum to keep for largemouth.

[deep]

That is a very decent and healthy-looking fish. Congrats!

[hooah212002]

That is a very decent and healthy-looking fish. Congrats!

Thank you! Another reason it is a personal accomplishment is because my dad and I spent ALL last weekend on this lake and got nothing more than sunburnt. Sure, it's a new (to us) spot, but I could visually see the fish all day but couldn't buy a bite. So what have I done all week? Watch videos and read web articles. Then watched some more. That's how I found this site. The info here has proven invaluable. I wouldn't have even known about wacky rigging OR senko style baits had I not done my research.

Yes, I am still excited. I can't sleep and I have to get up in a few hours to go back out lol.

[hooah212002]

I can't wait to get my baitcaster next weekend and load it up with some braided so I can work this weed bed like it needs to be worked. I want to flip some jigs in there. I lost a whole bunch of hooks because the weed bed goes out maybe 5 or 6 feet then there is a tree about 3/4 feet past that. That's right where I was tossing it and let me tell you, that is t-o-u-g-h with a 6' medium spinning rod with mono that likes to get tangled up on itself (cheap ole' berkeley). Prime cover if there ever was any, that's for sure. Especially since it is the only in-water cover in the entire lake (it's a crystal clear old gravel pit).

[rockchalk06]

Another Cubbie fan that can share the pain.

Your state requires a minimum of 6 pounds to keep a bass?

Nice catch though. My 5 year old loves the Senkos. He catches more fish on them than I do

[hooah212002]

Your state requires a minimum of 6 pounds to keep a bass?

I am trying to find it again, but the other day whilst looking up info trying to figure out whether or not the fish I caught last weekend was a redeye bass (which are not native to WI...not even close), I could have sworn that either WI or this lake in particular had a minimum size of 6 pounds. I will continue my search for that PDF.

[hooah212002]

Oh, my mistake. I was looking here: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/fishing/Documents/IllinoisFishingInformation.pdf at the table down on page 25. I looked at the table and not what it was for. Minimum eligible for some fishing awards program is 6 pounds. Whoops.

[AK-Jax86]

Nice catch man now u gotta get a bigger 1

[rockchalk06]

Oh, my mistake. I was looking here: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/fishing/Documents/IllinoisFishingInformation.pdf at the table down on page 25. I looked at the table and not what it was for. Minimum eligible for some fishing awards program is 6 pounds. Whoops.

Sweet.

[Sam]

Hooah, congrats on a great catch.

You have proven to us once again that:

1. Fish all wood you can find.

2. Wacky Rules!!!!

Don't forget to get some "weedless" hooks for future presentations in the wood and grass. Weedless hooks can help prevent snags. Not totally stop them but reduce them.

Use a Trick Worm rigged wacky, too. No weight just the Trick Worm and let it fall s-l-o-w like the Senko. If you want, you can add a small bullet weight but I usually throw them without any weight.

There are a number of methods to rigging a wacky Senko to help preserve it. One is with electrical shrink tubeing. Another is with O-Rings. A third is with dental braces rubber bands. Just look them up on YouTube and select the one you like best. I use the shrink tubeing so PM me if you want to know how to use it.

Also check out WayneP avatar. He has a photo of how he rigs the wacky Senko which is a little different than my method.

Suscribe to Gary Yamamoto's E-Zine, www.insideline.net. Send an email to ezine@baits.com

and suscribe. I am sure you will like the newsletter.

And note the "Senko" thread on this Forum. Lots of great information.

Keep on catching the beauties and posting photos.

[00 mod]

Congrats on the beauty!

Jeff

[Rumslo]

Wacky is a great technique. But don't assume if you don't get bit on the wacky rig, the fish are not biting. What you offer is important, but also how you offer is equally important. Give the fish what they want, how they want it and you will catch every time.

[ClackerBuzz]

there's nothing like catching a fish on a new technique let alone your PB. nice job!

[deep]

Thank you! Another reason it is a personal accomplishment is because my dad and I spent ALL last weekend on this lake and got nothing more than sunburnt. Sure, it's a new (to us) spot, but I could visually see the fish all day but couldn't buy a bite. So what have I done all week? Watch videos and read web articles. Then watched some more. That's how I found this site. The info here has proven invaluable. I wouldn't have even known about wacky rigging OR senko style baits had I not done my research.

Yes, I am still excited. I can't sleep and I have to get up in a few hours to go back out lol.

Your enthusiasm is contagious lol. I wanted to fish a simple wacky rig so bad today (I don't really fish much other than jigs and swimbaits these days) that, well, I went ahead with it, Too bad my local lake is closed to fishing right now; I didn't know that beforehand. So I hit a secondary target. It looked something like this :

Totally unsuitable for spinning gear and 8 lb line, but a spinning combo, wacky hooks and senkos were all I had. Pulled out a couple of fish, and lost three in the mat. But it was a lot of fun. Chasing trophies and chucking big baits is a high; but sometimes I tend to forget the simple pleasures that fishing offers. Thanks a lot for your post yesterday; it brought back a lot of memories when catching anything- even a tiny bluegill- was something to be celebrated.

This is the bigger of the two fish that I landed; around 15 inches I think.

[hooah212002]

Thanks a lot for your post yesterday; it brought back a lot of memories when catching anything- even a tiny bluegill- was something to be celebrated.

No problem. We went out again yesterday and I've noticed my 4 year old son picking up one more new thing that he's willing or able to do each outing. Just last Saturday he was skittish about even handling worms. Yesterday though, he was pulling the worm out the box and baiting his own hooks. We got him a spot with some small LM's and some gills (that was clear from weeds. He lost countless hooks and bobbers lol) and I showed him how to flip his crawler in there. He landed his first bass on his own (my dad and I have let him reel in a few little ones we've caught)! I ran over and held the hook steady and told him to stick his thumb in the mouth but he wanted to just grab it lol. So he held the fish while I removed the hook, then he tossed him back.

That said, we are on a roll. You'll recall how I said my dad and I have TERRIBLE luck. However, the last 4 consecutive outings we have caught at least 1 fish, small as it may be. We've caught almost as many fish in the past 4 outings as we have since we started fishing....and I'm 30 years old.

edit:

I realize I contradicted myself with this post by saying that we've caught something the last 4 outings, but I posted earlier saying last weekend we only got sunburnt. Allow me to clarify: last weekend all we caught were some gills right near shore that were visible with the naked eye. To me, that's not fishing, not the fishing I prefer to do anyways. It seemed so cheap, so I don't count it. On the flipside, it helps (I think) my son in wanting to go out because what kid wants to go fishing when they don't catch anything?