Dock fishing swimsenko

[The Mike]

Hey guys,

I do a lot of dock fishing this time of year, mostly skipping in 4-12ft of water. Senko-type plastics work great (weightless), as probably everyone knows, but hook-sets are a bit tricky and of course the line-watching technique is just monotonous (IMO!). I look for a good skip, a fall to ~50% depth, twitch, repeat until out of perceived strike zone.

But lately I've fooled a bit with the swimming senko and it's been great. Much higher hook-up ratio and, over a sample of 1-2 weeks, more fish. A lot of these fish bite on the swim in 3-6 feet of water. Weightless I'll allow the same initial sink and follow with elongated twitches and shorter secondary falls. (Side question: is a small screw-in weight an improvement for this kind of fishing?)

Could it be dumb luck or poor technique that's causing my better-than-expected swim-senko results? I guess I'd like to keep throwing knock-off senkos on a daily basis but am a bit dazed by recent results and lacking confidence in the old reliable (I own tons of these things).

Any thoughts?

Also, I'm using Yamamoto swimsenkos and Gander Mountain knock-off senkos. Are they any decent knock-off swims?

Thanks, and good luck out there.

[cccsguy]

I fish them T-rigged with a screw in bullet weight 1/8 oz. I like to swim them near the bottom. Fish can't seem to leave this bait alone.

I do like the 5" senkos too, but I fish those mostly weightless.

Durability, IMO, is questionable with the senkos due to the very soft plastic. They do catch fish pretty regularly so I ain't complaining.

[The Mike]

Definitely. I was thinking even 1/16, but I'll try both.

Went out last night and split-shotted some swims & regular senkos just to see, and while both produced the deeper-striking fish did seem to be larger.

Durability is a mess, especially since a hook-set forces the actually bait 12-24 inches above the hook and more often than not they end up in the water. I just don't see a good alternative.

I saw Cabela's makes a knock-off swim senko, something called "Cabela's Aquaglow Swimming Glo Stick," but I can't find a word about it.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

This is what The Man has to say:

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

8-)

[ib_of_the_damned]

Haven't had any luck on the swim senkos yet, but from what I hear about the Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper they are pretty effective.  Bass Pro has a bait similar to the Skinny Dipper, its called the Swim Stiko.  They have decent reviews on Bass Pro.  Try those out and see!

[cccsguy]

Haven't had any luck on the swim senkos yet, but from what I hear about the Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper they are pretty effective. Bass Pro has a bait similar to the Skinny Dipper, its called the Swim Stiko. They have decent reviews on Bass Pro. Try those out and see!

I fish with both baits. The skinny Dippers have a larger profile but the action seems to be similar in my opinion. Its a good bait, especially here in FL. I think its a little easier to set the hook on the smaller profile swimsenko.

[Josh Bassman]

Hmm...

This is what The Man has to say:

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

8-)

Hey RW... Your link isn't working.