Senko rod

[JustinJ]

Here's my dilemma, fishing from shore I've been on a good senko bite. Fishing a lot of submerged milfoil in about 4' of water the grass comes about a foot below the surface In this area of the lake. Ive always fished my senkos and weightless plastics on a medium powered spinning rod with 8lb test. Yesterday I came across a big fish that after a few thumps of the rod buried me in grass and and the fish came off (this one's gonna haunt me a while). Ive caught quite a few 5s and 6s on spinning equiptment with 5" senkos but was clearly undergunned yesterday. What are you guys throwing your 5" senkos on around heavy vegetation? Was thinking of using my 7' MH casting rod with 40lb braid to avoid this happening again. 

Thanks 

[d-camarena]

a mh f will be optimal but id bump up to 50lb braid. 

i use a 7ft medium heavy lews tp1 stick. seems perfect to me

[kschultz76]

I also usually throw my senkos on a M/XF spinning rod, St Croix Legend Xtreme. 

 

Had some occasions like you where I've felt under powered but I like the really weightless fall I get on that slack 7 or 8 lb test. 

 

I just got new Kistler Helium 3 7' Light/Medium Heavy fast. It's got my Chronarch 51E mounted in it and I think it's gonna be a great stick for 5" weightless senkos to give me more reserve power but not me too heavy for slinging that senko. Can't wait to try it. 

 

[JustinJ]

6 minutes ago, kschultz76 said:

I also usually throw my senkos on a M/XF spinning rod, St Croix Legend Xtreme. 

 

Had some occasions like you where I've felt under powered but I like the really weightless fall I get on that slack 7 or 8 lb test. 

 

I just got new Kistler Helium 3 7' Light/Medium Heavy fast. It's got my Chronarch 51E mounted in it and I think it's gonna be a great stick for 5" weightless senkos to give me more reserve power but not me too heavy for slinging that senko. Can't wait to try it. 

 

Totally agree that is why I prefer spinning but unfortunately my 8lb test doesn't cut it around this vegetation and I don't wanna lose another monster because of ut

[Basseditor]

13 minutes ago, kschultz76 said:

I also usually throw my senkos on a M/XF spinning rod, St Croix Legend Xtreme. 

 

Had some occasions like you where I've felt under powered but I like the really weightless fall I get on that slack 7 or 8 lb test. 

 

I just got new Kistler Helium 3 7' Light/Medium Heavy fast. It's got my Chronarch 51E mounted in it and I think it's gonna be a great stick for 5" weightless senkos to give me more reserve power but not me too heavy for slinging that senko. Can't wait to try it. 

 

 

I have a very similar Kistler rod. LMH is a 3 power. I have it in 7' and 7'6" in ZBones and Helium 3. I have both spinning and casting rods in that power and action. I use 15-pound Invisx on the casting rods and 14-pound Nanofill on the spinning rods. I'll fish those around all kinds of cover and grass without breaking off. I think the action is the same as using "sewing thread" i. e., light line. But you can fish grass and light brush. If I get into real heavy cover, I upsize to a 5-power Kistler and 6- inch Senkos on 20-pound Invisx.

[Further North]

I throw Senkos on either the same St. Croix Spinning rod that kschultz76 uses, or on a St. Croix Avid X ML bait casting.  The spinning rod is for wacky rigging, the bait caster is for weightless Texas rigged Senkos.

 

Both have 30# Suffix 832 Braid in the bright green (so it is easier to watch the line move) tied to a leader of Lake Forks hybrid line.

 

Works like a champ.

[clh121787]

Imo. You should choose the power of your equipment relative to cover and structure first and the bait second. If I was fishing a Senko In. A wide open area with no grass I'd probably fish 8 or 10 pound test on a medium fast bait or spin cast. If I was in Okeechobee I'd probably fish a mhfast with 50 pound straight braid. Here at lake fork I like a 7 foot mh fast with  15# flouro

[davecon]

I prefer lighter action rods than most. Favorites are St Croix 7' ML Premier or Avid coupled with a 2500 series spinning reel and 15 to 20 lb Power Pro.

 

I know this sounds too light but I fish for Snook more than bass and believe me, this set up handles bass, Snook, reds, and tarpon up to at least 60 lbs. 

Setup works great on senkos while bass fishing. Can really skip it back under docks and other obstructions.

 

Very rarely do I get broken off. The fish I usually target feed primarily on small baitfish. Use a large lure and the bites are infrequent. Downsize to a 4 inch lure - bingo. Biggest problem is the smaller hooks on these lures pulling free. I guess that's just the price of admission !

[Wagster]

I'm using a Dobyns DX 703SF/Ballistic 2500 with Suffix 832 15# to a P Line XXX 8# leader. If I need to I will go up to a 10-12# leader. For me this setup is the perfect Senko rig.

[roadwarrior]

7' spinning tackle, M/F, #6 Yo-Zuri Hybrid.

 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/lake-guntersville-2012.html

[CTBassin860]

6'8" MXF spinning.2500 size reel spooled with 20# 832

[Chris at Tech]

20 hours ago, JustinJ said:

Was thinking of using my 7' MH casting rod with 40lb braid to avoid this happening again. 

 

Do this -- You just answered your own question.

 

Spinning gear will be ok around sparse grass, but you're bringing a knife to a gunfight if you try it in heavy grass.  One compromise could be re-spooling your spinning rod with 15-20 lb braid but that rod will still be unlikely to be able to horse a big fish out of the salad.

[Fishes in trees]

There is such a thing as heavier duty spinning gear.  I've got a Fenwick HMG spinning rod - 7' MH with an extra fast tip.   A spinning reel with 30 lb braid and I haven't seen any vegetation here in Missouri that rod couldn't handle.  (Haven't been to Florida or similar climates with this rig, so I can't say how it would deal with that level of vegetation.  This rig can throw a senko as far as necessary.

 

I've got lighter spinning gear that I throw senkos on from time to time, as well as different bait casting rigs.   It just depends.

[fishnkamp]

The way I see it you have a few good options.

Respool with Power Pro Spectra braid like 30 pound test.  I like Suffix 832 too but Power  Pro spectra cuts vegetation like a weed eater.

 

Consider a serious weapon of a spinning rod. Look at a Dobyns Sierra SA 704 SF. That is a MH Fast spinning rod. I would use a slightly larger spinning reel like the Pflueger Supreme 35 or 40 series reel and spool it with 30 to 40 pound braid.  I like to start with a half of the reel filled with Stren 12 or 14 pound test Original Clear Blue mono.  If you ever feel like you want to fish a leader look at say 8 pound P Line CXX as it breaks closer to 16 or 18 pounds.  I probably would just fish it straight, but you would be best off if you tossed it in clear water and observed its action using both methods  I would use no more than a 5 foot leader.  For comparison,

my wife's frog rod is a Dobyns Sierra SA 705SF. That thing is a beast. It has a really nice tip to throw a frog and plenty of backbone to get the fish out of anything.  It is considered to be a heavy fast action.  Not too many spinning rods list for 3/8 to 1 1/4 ounce baits.  The sensitivity is awesome so she can use it for fishing a carolina rig or a big jig too.

 

Your last option is the mh/fast baitcaster.  Dobyns rods run a little lighter than speced so I would use a 734C in either a Fury, Sierra or Champion series depending on your budget. The 734 is one of he most versatile rods in all of hi series of rods.

[OnthePotomac]

I fish Senkos and other plastics on a BPS 7' Carbonlite MH fast tip with InvizX 15lb Flouro on a Curado 70XG (fast) reel.  The reels have changed over the years, but the rod has always been a 7' MH fast tip.  I prefer a fast retrieve reel for plastics.

[Mike L]

Depending on cover, either a Loomis MBR 843C GLX, 100SF Chronarch spooled with 16# Sniper or 

Fenwick Techna AV, Curado E7 spooled with 50lb braid.

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[new2BC4bass]

On 8/13/2017 at 0:12 PM, Fishes in trees said:

There is such a thing as heavier duty spinning gear.  I've got a Fenwick HMG spinning rod - 7' MH with an extra fast tip.   A spinning reel with 30 lb braid and I haven't seen any vegetation here in Missouri that rod couldn't handle.  (Haven't been to Florida or similar climates with this rig, so I can't say how it would deal with that level of vegetation.  This rig can throw a senko as far as necessary.

 

I've got lighter spinning gear that I throw senkos on from time to time, as well as different bait casting rigs.   It just depends.

 

I was going to suggest something like this.  Or you could either respool with some 30# braid or purchase an extra spool for the braid and keep the one you have with  8# mono if you want to continue using your current rod.  Personally my MH spinning rod hasn't seen water in years.  I prefer a baitcaster whenever possible.  A 5" Senko is easily handled by a MHF baitcast rod.

[wet_dream]

I've been throwing senkos and yum dingers a lot recently and it's really the only thing I've been able to consistently catch fish on. I also predominantly fish from shore. The set-ups I've been using are:

 

Weighted T-Rig (90% of the time)

-Orochi XX EMTF, Chronarch MGL, 15lb fluoro

 

Weightless T-Rig

-7' Mojo Bass Medium Fast, Lews LFS, 10lb fluoro 

 

I like the longer EMTF and weight to make longer casts from the bank especially in windy conditions. I also just recently started experimenting with fluoro and prefer it over braid for worms.

 

 

 

 

 

[fishindad]

I agree with the folks replying to use a MH baitcaster and braid. If all you have are 1-2 lbers in the thick grass the Med power gear will be fine but as you experienced, hook a 4-5+ lber in heavy milfoil or coontail and you better be ready to winch that sucker up and out. I have lost my share of big Senko fish on spinning tackle that buried into the grass and by the time I tried to get to 'em they were gone. Heart broken too many times. You answered your own question with your last sentence.

[bowhunter63]

7 ft m,xf with 8 or 10 lb Big Game.So far no problems.I went to the o rings with Gama Whacky hooks.Really improved my hook set ratio.

[Dtrombly]

7'3" MH/F casting 

[JustinJ]

Thanks for all the replies. I have settled on a st Croix premier MH spinning rod (ps70mhf) that i had laying around that i have used for inshore fishing. Seems like it's going to work well