Senkos, Why Spend The Extra $ When Cheaper Out There

[desmobob]

A fishing buddy and I did a comparison test one afternoon.  I fished my usual Yamamoto Senko and he fished another brand (I don't recall what it was, but I know it wasn't the Bass Pro product).  We both agreed that the Senko seemed more effective.

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[hatrix]

I haven't used that many brands of senkos as I kinda despise that bait. With that said I actually was fishing them just today for a little bit. I know it's crazy. Anyways there is without a doubt something about them that puts them above all others. You can side by side then with another brand and they always win. If you know a fish is there as soon as it hits the water it's going to grab it. One brand that I like and has worked well for me is the BPS ones. About the weight on senkos and them being heavy. I. Would have to say the BPS ones are heavier and cast way better then actual senkos. They are also a million times more durable and who doesn't like that.

[tcbass]

I've tried 2 other Senko knock-offs (Yum Dingers, BPS Stickbaits) and haven't had nearly the success. I guess Senko's just have the right amount of salt that makes them soft and sink at a rate that fish love.

 

I used the method below with a Senko that I've used on over 7 fishing trips and it lasted from the end of last year to this year and caught over 60 fish on in including sunnies, crappies, rockbass, and perch that are notorious for pulling at the bait and tearing it up and swallowing it because they are too small. Eventually a little perch tore it in half.

 

 

The Secret To Not Losing So Many Senkos - Here's The Solution

 

 

 

So I've gone through about 11 packs of Senkos this year with the help of my brother and friends. At about $7.99 a bag that's $87.95 in Senkos and 110 indivual Senkos. I've found that Walmart has them cheapest standard price which is $6.99 and that sometimes Dick's Sporting Goods has them on sale for buy 1 get one 1/2 off.


Either way, it adds up. So, I tried some tips from here on how to save some Senkos. I've tried the O-Ring with O-Wacky tool, surgical tubing, Zip ties, heated shrink tubing, O-Rings crossed over each other, different types of hooks including Skip Jack Hooks, and Finesse Wide Gap Hooks, and others. Nothing really worked.

Sometimes you'd make your first cast with a Senko and see it launched off into space, or you'd land on a dock and recover your hook but the Senko was still on the dock. It was extremely frustrating and expensive, although I'm sure that Gary Yamamoto would couldn't be more pleased.

UPDATED:

Well, I finally found a solution and it is a cheap one. I didn't come up with the zip tie idea nor the vinyl tubing idea. "thebig1" is the one who showed me the tubing idea....and to give credit where it is due, I know someone else said something about it before in another thread. I've tried it on 5 trips now with other people also using it and it's worked extremely well. It's a combination of a 5" Senko, Gamakatsu 1/0 Offset Shank Worm EWG hook, and 1 small 1" inch piece of vinyl 3/8" inside diameter-1/2" outside diameter tubing (the kind you get at Menards or aquarium tubing). I've found that anything less a 1" inch piece of vinyl tubing doesn't seem to work nearly as well.

After making this thread the "thebig1" posted that vinyl tubing works better and that he's had the same Senko for 8-9 years. Well, I tried his method for 2 trips on my own and then a guys fishing weekend. We all used 5" Senko's with the vinyl tubing and worked even better than the method I had tried before with the zip ties. We caught 94 fish over the weekend, bass, northern, sunnies, rock bass, and perch and did not lose 1 Senko. I still have the Senko from that trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of the components:  1 Senko, 1 piece of vinyl tubing cut 1/2", and 1 hook of your choice.

And the other secret....buy Senkos in bulk! lol. From some helpful posters on bassresource.com I learned that you can buy Senkos in bulk 100 packs for $54.82 at Tackle Warehouse during one of their 15% sales and get them for $46.58 which makes them $46 cents apiece versus the normal $79 cents apiece. The only sad part is that I had to order them in green pumpkin, my favorite color is cinnamon brown. The 3/8" inch vinyl tubing cost $2.86 for 10 feet. Enough to last a lifetime.

 

 

Now that the "thebig1" showed me how well vinyl tubing works, I don't know what I'm going to do with 100 Senkos. I bagged them up into 7 original packages. I already gave away a pack to my friend. So that leaves me with 6 packages left. At the rate I lose Senko's with the vinyl tubing I guess I will be giving the other bags to friends and just keep 1 or 2 for myself. Thanks "thebig1"!!!!

 

 

I've come to the acceptance that Senkos are like livebait and gas, you buy them and to get used up. It's just life (Unlike a lifetime lure like a KVD Sexy Dawg, that as long as you don't lose, you can just keep sharpening the hooks or replace the hooks and have the lure for nearly forever.)


I hope this helps some of you save some cash. Good luck and good fishin'. Try it out, it's only a $2.86 gamble and I bet you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

 

 

[Brett Strohl]

You can get stick baits even less expensive than dingers on Ebay.  I think they're all about the same, unless you are interested in some extremely technical differences. 

[SirSnookalot]

Zip ties have been used for years to secure flukes to jig heads fo snook.

[slimshad]

Confidence.

[jbrew73]

senkos do seem to catch a few more fish but i usually buy dingers for price and durability. if the money is on the line I'll take senkos every time. they just seem to shimmy better than the rest!

[nascar2428]

I'm in the weightless t-rig camp, 98% of the time that's how I fish em. IMO nothing compares to a senko when it is fished that way. 

[J Francho]

If I'm gonna quit trying to fish, then I'm gonna use the legitimate senko, lol.

[CWB]

I'm like alot of others. Love Senkos, hate one and done. Always on the lookout for sales. I also like BPS Stick-O's. They are pretty darn close in weight to Senko's. But here's the weird part. I have to take one out of the bag and feel it. They are not consistent. I look for baits that are soft and don't snap back to shape instantly. The right ones work every bit as well as Senko's. Same for S.K. Shimee Sticks. These are a little more consistent but a tad lighter. One bait I think out wiggles the Senko is the Havoc Flat Dawg. Awsome wiggle but very light and flimsy. I do not believe that a bass will see a Stick-O wiggle down in front of it and leave it alone and then nail a Senko all other things being equal like color, line etc. I fish them T-Rigged weightless 90% of the time and Wacky the rest. Everyone has their own opinion and just go with what works for you.

[kcdinkerz]

It's voodoo man I'm sure those senkos got black magic casted on them lol

[Scorchx1245]

Nothing moves like senko in my opinion. If course only time I use them is to fill a bag quick. Or in a pinch. Kinda my fall back lure. I can always skip docks with a senko and catch 5.

[J Francho]

Sometimes I think it would be cheaper to throw a few rolls of quarters into the lake than any of my lures.

[Choporoz]

Nothing moves like senko in my opinion. If course only time I use them is to fill a bag quick. Or in a pinch. Kinda my fall back lure. I can always skip docks with a senko and catch 5.

Do they only catch small fish for you?

[Last_Cast]

I buy them for $3 a pack In January.

what brand?

[hoosierbass07]

 I own a few packs of Senkos but I'm not a hard core fan like I am Yum-Dingers.  I have to admit there might be something special about that Senko though considering Yamamoto doesn't seem to hype up his Senkos the way other companies hype their crankbaits and other lures.  Success should speak for itself and apparently there is something special about the Yamamoto Senko.   

[tcbass]

 I own a few packs of Senkos but I'm not a hard core fan like I am Yum-Dingers.  I have to admit there might be something special about that Senko though considering Yamamoto doesn't seem to hype up his Senkos the way other companies hype their crankbaits and other lures.  Success should speak for itself and apparently there is something special about the Yamamoto Senko.   

 

 

Often imitated, never duplicated apparently.

[Scorchx1245]

Do they only catch small fish for you?

I've caught 5s and minnows on a senko, perch, crappie, sunfish, and a turtle. It's just a numbers bait for me. Or last ditch haha.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

They do work but im not a senko guru,i will buy them half price or lower but not 7$ a bag.i find them at yard sales often for 25 cents to 2$ a bag off course i grab them up.Matter of fact i found a shoe box full of the 3 inch ones i think it had 18 full bags for 5$

[atcoha]

Will pick some up if I HAVE to have a certain color/size. If the yums/other brand is in stock with similar color/size, I go for the cheaper ones.

But will splurge on the senkos sometimes. All brands have worked pretty good for me. The yums last longer.

[Preytorien]

I'd like to give the BioSpawn ExoStick XT. They claim its very durable, and the Cabela's that just opened near me has them. I'll probably try them sometime soon.

[Bluebasser86]

I'd like to give the BioSpawn ExoStick XT. They claim its very durable, and the Cabela's that just opened near me has them. I'll probably try them sometime soon.

You won't be disappointed, they're an awesome bait and they are more durable than most sticks. 

[Comfortably Numb]

I actually prefer a slightly stiffer stock bait. I find (wacky rigged) I can twitch/quiver it in place easier without it moving in much. That is more important to me then the wiggle on the fall.

[Darren.]

I looked at the senko thread and this wasn't there. What I am curious is why do you buy senkos when alternatives are available that run a lot cheaper including the yum baits I just got for under 3 not on sale.

I will say I am guilty on the swim senko as I have a deep 3700 box filled with my go to colors. Since the new yum swimming dinger has a different tail design and doesn't come in smoke purple, I may be stuck with the swim senko fo a while. I just need to compare the side by side and see how they work.

Are these baits that much better, brand loyalty, the mystique of the bait? I just have a hard time plunking down that much cash for a one fish bait. 15 on a crank you catch 20-100 fish worth it, 80 cents to a buck a bait for hopefully one fish seems crazy to me.

Not trolling on this one, just curious, because people do buy them, they always have a big display in most shops.

 

While I do believe there is a difference in GYCB

Senkos vs. knock-offs, I no longer believe that

in order to catch more, bigger, better bass I have

to use them.

 

A year or two back I purposefully went out and

bought a bag of 4" BPS Stick-O worms and only

took that bag out with me for a day of fishing.

 

Boy was it a great day. Since then, I've come to

rely on Stick-Os of different colors, lengths and

keep catching plenty of bass.

 

But I still buy a bag of Senkos when they're on

sale in particular colors that I can't find in other

brands.

[Cgolf]

Part of me has always wondered why the price of the Senko hasn't come down with all the competition, but it seems that everyone is willing to pay the premium for the bait and Gary is laughing his way to the bank.

This thread kind of summed up for me though why he doesn't need to lower the prices.

It has just a sad trend to see bass bait prices rise pretty much across the board, not by a little bit either, while the economy has tanked.