Help Me Gain Confidence In The Senko

[roadwarrior]

I'm not reading anything I have not tried or already know.  

 

Hmm...

 

One of the most popular and productive baits ever invented and you can't catch a fish?

 

Maybe this will help: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/

 

 

 

[PABASS]

What size senko are you using?  Your in FL and they can make a great flipping bait since they can go through anything, try using them with a pegged weight.  If its open water you fish them a on Carolina rig, in the shallows fish them weightless tex rigged and work it slow like a dying bait fish, I like using pearl for that.  Have you watch a senko fail through the water column weightless, they have a very subtle action that fish cant resist that is what you need to take advantage of.  Cpt Shane loves using wacky rig senkos in FL and nails them so its not the fish, check out some of his youtube videos as he outlines the colors he uses.

[JellyMan]

Ive tried them in a pond weightless wacky watermelon and watermelon red and tried them weightless texas rig style hook. Got frustrated and slapped on my Zoom Ultravibe worm watermelon and caught fish. Tried the Senko on the lake as well. Nuthin.

 

Maybe I just need to try to fish them more. Some have mentioned using them Texas rigged for flipping with a bullet weight. I may try that. Flip some to cover with a 3/8 weight and see what happens.

 

This was the reason I posted this thread. Everybody swears by them and I don't catch anything on them. I have only met one person in my life that agreed with me. I then meet people who can't catch fish on the baits I catch most of my fish on. This all most likely boils down to a confidence thing and that affects presentation. 

[Felix77]

Not sure if this will help but it's worth sharing just in case.

 

I took a friend out fishing with me at a local pond.  I told him I catch plenty of fish here so there should be no issues for him (a novice) to catch fish.  I rigged him with the exact weightless senko I was using.  I caught about a 6 fish over the 2-3 hours we were hanging out after work.  He caught none.

 

In trying to help him I observed how he was fishing it.  What I observed was the key to his errors.

 

I explained how I was fishing it that day.  Cast, let it sink, pop it and let it sink and pause.  Repeat back to you.

 

When I merely observed him he could not fish that slow.  He always had to so something with the rod or reel and sometimes both.  The worm was never coming to rest and ultimately he wasn't presenting it slowly enough for the fish to bite.

 

I walked him through a cast or 2 and he started presenting it correctly.  After I went back to fishing he reverted right back to his old habits.

 

Morale of the story is that you may not be doing what you think you are doing.  Sometimes your version of slow is not slow enough.

 

Keep working on it.  It's an amazing way to catch fish fast once you get the hang of it.

[lmbfisherman]

Thanks for the feeback guys. I'm not reading anything I have not tried or already know. I guess I've just not been at the right place at the right time. But like everyone says, confidence is everything and I have about 5% confidence in that bait. Maybe I will try to throw it again this year and see if I cant get bit. These senkos are taking up two slots in my worm box lol. 

HAHA Yeah maybe for me too and you have more confidence than I do!  Mine is basically at 0%!  I also have a whole box of stick baits from BPS (Stik-O)  I've tried every color from that stinking box!  I hear they work well too. I definitely will keep trying if I continue to fail, maybe I should just let my kids use them and probably will out fish me after. 

[MCS]

Cut them in half and put them on a small darter or tube jig head, 1/16 oz is what I typically use.

you can fish it so many ways like this and catch. I like the tail to be Blue or Chart when I do this.

[tomustang]

I feel bad for ya JellyMan, generally you could throw a senko in a 1 day old rain puddle and catch something.

Try Black as the color, I have the best results in 5" with it

[thehooligan]

When fishing is really tough and i cant buy a bite, ill wacky rig a 4 inch smoke senko with an owner wacky hook and its usually one bass after the other. I fish 5 inch senkos as well, i like smoke, and all the green pumpkin/watermelon combinations.

[PondBoss]

Thanks for the feeback guys. I'm not reading anything I have not tried or already know. I guess I've just not been at the right place at the right time. But like everyone says, confidence is everything and I have about 5% confidence in that bait. Maybe I will try to throw it again this year and see if I cant get bit. These senkos are taking up two slots in my worm box lol. 

Exactly the same here, I have read and read and tried and tried.  Almost zero results, I have caught 2 fish on senkos.  Both of which hit as soon as it hit the water, so I'm thinking any bait would have done the trick.

[rockchalk06]

Exactly the same here, I have read and read and tried and tried.  Almost zero results, I have caught 2 fish on senkos.  Both of which hit as soon as it hit the water, so I'm thinking any bait would have done the trick.

I am in the same bait here. I dropped about 100 bucks on Senkos, hooks and on rings am my son has caught one Dink at Guthrie. Me, notta

[run23]

sometimes i'll thread the senko down a little deeper on the hook just to change it up. always weightless though for me. also, something i always do when i grab a new senko out of the bag: just grab the head and tail and gently tug them apart. you're basically stretching it. it will noticeably feel different. grab a new one and compare if you have to. this might just be a mental thing for me, but i swear it gives the senko much more waggle on the drop. 

[The Young Gun]

The hardest but best way to gain confidence is just fish it. Once you get one, you'll get two and find the patten. That 7$ bag of plastic will be gone before you know it.

[TrapperJ]

"Son, you don't work for them they work for you!"

[Darren.]

Only one way that I know of:

 

 

Image source: http://realart.blogspot.com/2010/08/star-trek-spectre-of-gun-from-wikipedia.html

[DogBone_384]

Suggestions:

1. Use a 7-foot mecium heavy spinning rod and reel setup.

2. Use 8 or 10-pound flourocarbon line.

3. Rig Wacky using a #1 or 1/0 weedless hook.

4. No added weight on the Senko.

5. Throw out, let fall to bottom, let sit on bottom, move very slowly back to you by lifting your rod tip. Make it float like a butterfly on the way back to the bottom.

6. 1 inch of rod tip movement = 6 inches of bait movement.

7. Always watch your line. If it moves to the left, right, away or towards you, reel in the slack and set the hook.

8. Keep a finger on the line coming off the spinning reel at all times to feel any hits.

9. Small taps can be bream or bluegills.

10. When setting the hook do so above your head and throw your self to the ground or out of the boat.

11. Always have needle nose pliers to remove the hook.

12. Take a pic for us and release bass back into water.

 

Senkos tear easily so use the shrink wrap tubing when setting up your Wacky rig. I will PM you the details but the guys on this site know it. Will do later today if  I don't forget.

 

Greenpumpkin with black flake (297) works great in all water conditions. You can use a 4, 5 or 6 inch Senko.

 

Just remember, if the bait stops on the way down; if the bait feels "heavy;" or your line moves, SET THE HOOK HARD OVER YOUR HEAD!

I didn't know 1" rod movement equated to a 6" bait movement... Might be my problem, thanks very much, I'll give it a try next time I'm out.

[Hogsticker]

When in doubt, dead stick it. If the area you're fishing is void of fish it really doesn't matter. You're likely moving the other soft plastics along the bottom where fish generally feed, covering a larger area. If I don't get a strike on the drop and after one twitch once it sinks it's time to reel up and cast it in a slightly different location.

[jaybird71]

Suggestions:1. Use a 7-foot mecium heavy spinning rod and reel setup.2. Use 8 or 10-pound flourocarbon line.3. Rig Wacky using a #1 or 1/0 weedless hook.4. No added weight on the Senko.5. Throw out, let fall to bottom, let sit on bottom, move very slowly back to you by lifting your rod tip. Make it float like a butterfly on the way back to the bottom.6. 1 inch of rod tip movement = 6 inches of bait movement.7. Always watch your line. If it moves to the left, right, away or towards you, reel in the slack and set the hook.8. Keep a finger on the line coming off the spinning reel at all times to feel any hits.9. Small taps can be bream or bluegills.10. When setting the hook do so above your head and throw your self to the ground or out of the boat.11. Always have needle nose pliers to remove the hook.12. Take a pic for us and release bass back into water. Senkos tear easily so use the shrink wrap tubing when setting up your Wacky rig. I will PM you the details but the guys on this site know it. Will do later today if  I don't forget. Greenpumpkin with black flake (297) works great in all water conditions. You can use a 4, 5 or 6 inch Senko. Just remember, if the bait stops on the way down; if the bait feels "heavy;" or your line moves, SET THE HOOK HARD OVER YOUR HEAD!

Your last line here is $ for me!! I hadn't tried a senko for a couple years but recently decided I needed to nurture my experience with it, partially because I have a 6'6" MH spinning setup dedicated to walleye fishing that was feeling neglected & wanted to repurpose. I figured this technique rigged weightless would allow the bait more "flight time" along the edge of a weed line I've been concentrating on lately. Casting just beyond, swimming it just over the top to the edge, then letting it drop and do its magic dance. It took me several misses before I realized how light the bite can be and watching for any line movement/changes is crucial! After that epiphany, I realized my right arm hook setting (I typically fish BC's in my left arm) was too weak (trained more for ultralight spinner fishing for trout when too windy for fly rod). After losing several fish, I made a conscious effort to muscle up my hookset and started landing fish! So if I were to offer any advice to the OP, is it possible you ARE getting bites, just going undetected and not seeing the subtle bite? I mean no insult or disrespect to your angling ability, just a question based on my personal trial/error.

[Drewski73]

Youre not alone OP. Senkos and me dont get along either. I can fish Zoom finese worms, or 4.5"/6" roboworms the way described to fish a senko, and I catch a lot of fish using that method. But, with a Senko fished that same way in the same colors, nothing. I fish them on spinning gear with braid and a flouro leader, watch the line for twitches which come often with the other baits Ive mentioned, and never with a Senko. I had one day on Big Bite Baits stick worm, where I got em, but nothing before or since. Really frustrating!

 

Its ok though, Ive been bitten with the jig bug and thats more fun!

[bigbill]

I started off using a 1/8oz Carolina rig with a brass weight and a ticker with a 20" or so leader with a weedless hook wacky rigged. The only colors I have used so far is the Amber red flake or a red with gold flakes. I do cast it out and either follow it down as it falls keeping the line snug while watching the rod tip for any bites or twitch it as it falls letting the ticker call out. I just purchased all the colors they offer at mister twister there comidas are on clearance.

The bites as it falls seem to be a double tap on the rod tip.

In twitching it as it falls they just inhale it.

[5fishlimit]

Senkos are like candy bars for bass! You just have to learn to let them sit. I always had trouble with throwing them out and wanting to start retrieving it, but once I realized that if I let it sink and sit for a minute or two I would start getting strikes it made sense.

I almost exclusively throw a senko when fishing around docks now.

[SGT Rico]

I have one tip for you. well, maybe three.

 

Slow down, slow down some more, and then slow down even more. Fishing it so slow, its painful. The fish will tell you how they want it. Just start slow, and up your speed as you fish. You will find the sweet spot.

 

The only time I haven't had much success with stick baits is when I've fished murky or dirty water. 

[bigbill]

I think we need to use brighter colors in stained & muddy conditions. Like chartreuse colors. Having a rattle and using scents is a plus too.

I use just the salted senko by itself I clear water to slightly stained water at first. In using a weedless hook with a hit and miss the weed guard on the hook will be open if it's a strike/miss. One shot of scent on the next cast is a definite hook up. The scent will make the bass hang on long enough so we can set the hook.

I think we forget the color & size rules with the hard baits also applies to plastic baits we must adjust them to match the water conditions.

[Basseditor]

I got several nice ones today on Senkos. But mainly, IMO, some lakes just aren't Senko lakes. I'm not saying you won't get bit on them, but sometimes it's the lake.

Example, one nearby lake is a very consistent Senko lake and the other is a better fluke lake. Go figure.