The "why" of Senkos

[billmac]

I'm seeing a ton about how to fish senkos, how they outproduce other plastics.  Roland M. thinks it's the greatest lure ever made.

 

But I haven't seen the why.  What's different about Senkos?  I know they are salt impregnated, but I have no idea what that does for the bait.

[jbsoonerfan]

Them ol bass just can't remember seeing one, it's like they see it for the first time every time. ?

[Fishin' Fool]

Who knows?! It's goofy looking a cigar shaped worm, I get it. However, until you use them, you won't get it. 

[Scott F]

My belief is that the big triggers that Senkos have is primarily the slow fall. Next, is the erratic, jerkbait action when you twitch them. Injured, dying, baitfish sink slowly and will move erratically. Bass prefer an easy meal they don't have to work hard to catch. Senkos mimic that behavior and look like that easy meal.  For me, weighting a senko, just removes the prime thing that makes the bait so successful. Same thing with wacky rigging them. That takes away the jerky movement. Obviously, adding weights or wacky rigging still will catch plenty of fish. But, If I'm using one of those techniques, I'll use a different plastic.

[CrankFate]

I believe senkos taste good to bass. Do we know what they’re made of? They are the only artificial that can be constantly attacked by mini bluegills if you just leave it on the bottom and never move it.

[Heartland]

They are made from unicorn tears.  They taste like a cross between Bald Eagle and a baby seal.  On a serious note, the two prime ingredients appear to be plastisol and salt.

[flyfisher]

10 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

I believe senkos taste good to bass. Do we know what they’re made of? They are the only artificial that can be constantly attacked by mini bluegills if you just leave it on the bottom and never move it.

you must not fish much.  Bluegills will eat pretty much anything left on the bottom if it can fit in their mouth and if it can't, they will still try.  

[CrankFate]

26 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

you must not fish much.  Bluegills will eat pretty much anything left on the bottom if it can fit in their mouth and if it can't, they will still try.  

They don’t eat other rubber worms just sitting there.

[Armtx77]

2 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Them ol bass just can't remember seeing one, it's like they see it for the first time every time. ?

Best explanation we will see in this thread. Someone will geek out and get super technical(please do. I love it).

They help me catch good fish, in highly pressured waters...Im hooked, man.

[flyfisher]

26 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

They don’t eat other rubber worms just sitting there.

yeah they do.  have it happen all the time. they pull the pinchers of jig trailers, tails off worms and I have even caught them on motionless jerk baits,  They eat pretty much anything that doesn't scare them. 

[Munkin]

I have caught bluegills on the drop shot sinker and a open snap swivel.

 

Allen 

[MassYak85]

The reason plastics like Senkos and Keitechs are so highly regarded is because they maintain their action even at frigid temperatures. Their high salt content creates little pockets in the plastic of the bait and makes them very flexible, but also not very durable. The thing that makes any "stick bait" good or not though is their action when sinking. If the ends wiggle subtly back and forth, they will get get crushed on the fall, but if it just sinks like an actual stick, then your bites will go down considerably. And again as the temperatures plummet you want the plastic to remain flexible enough to maintain that action. 

[813basstard]

You’ve never wondered into the kitchen hammered and ate the first thing you grabbed? 

It looks like everything they eat wrapped into one...exactly like what’s in that Tupperware at 2am..burrito? Hamburger? Mac n cheese? 

it looks like food...take a run at it

[WRB]

Glenn did a interview with Gary Yamamoto and Gary explains the why of Senko's.

Basically Gary was trying to make a Sluggo type stick bait and it turned out to be the Senko. 

I ask Iovino several years ago why Senko's work so well and he rig it up and cast a Senko into his swimming pool and said watch closely. Senko has a very unusual tail wiggle as it sinks and Don claims that it's strike trigger.

Tom

   

[RichF]

They catch more bass because 99.9% of anglers use them 99.9% of the time.

[Bluebasser86]

I don't know if I'd read much into Roland swearing by anything, he put his face on the Helicopter Lure afterall.

 

A Senko looks alive and easy to catch, I think that's the simplest reason why fish eat them again and again. They're also easy to fish so a lot of people fish them successfully.

[Harold Scoggins]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I don't know if I'd read much into Roland swearing by anything, he put his face on the Helicopter Lure afterall.

...,but it comes with a bonus video!

[TOXIC]

I know y'all have just been waiting for me to chime in on this.

 

The correct answer is..............All of the above.  

 

I could go point by point and discuss everyone's stated reason (some are good and some are just plain wrong) but to sum it up generally...It's the formula for the bait.  The formula allows it the unique action, consistency and the fall rate.  IF you stop and think about it, what's the only thing about a Senko that cannot be easily duplicated?  It's not the color, it's not the shape, it's not the ingredients because you know the big bait company's have reverse engineered the Senko and it would be easy to identify all of the ingredients, it's not the weight; and just to highlight that, I have mentioned many times that different Senkos perform differently depending on color, amount of fleck and laminate type, there is no secret scent added either so, the only thing left is the actual formula.  And believe you me that is a closely held secret.  I have been to the factory in Page, AZ and watched them being made and I have touched them while still warm (just like a chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven).  I could go into more detail on the formula but it normally just causes heated discussions.  You can call me a fan boi and a talking head for GYCB but I honestly do believe they manufacture the best baits on the market bar none and that they do in fact out produce other imitations.  But like I have always said, it's your $$, buy what you want and throw what you have confidence in and you will catch fish.  

[roadwarrior]

And the beat goes on...

 

 

[NYWayfarer]

Action, salt and fall rate is my theory.

 

Rigged weightless on 3/0 wide gap hook they have a shimmy on the fall that mimics something alive. Same when wacky rigged.

 

The salt helps the drop rate and masks the plastic taste so when they bite they don't spit it out right away.

 

A magical bait for sure.

[Glenn]

8 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

And the beat goes on...

 

[TOXIC]

1 hour ago, Glenn said:

 

It's more like "I Got You Babe" 

[fishballer06]

16 hours ago, billmac said:

I know they are salt impregnated, but I have no idea what that does for the bait.

Touching on "What does salt do to a bait?"

 

Salt does quite a few things to a bait. It makes the bait softer, thus giving it more action. It also makes the bait heavier, thus making it sink faster. It also gives the bait a taste (whether good or bad is up to the consumer to decide). 

 

To clearly see the salt difference between a bait like the GYCB Senko and say a Yum Dinger, take each bait and hold each one in the middle, and see how much the bait naturally folds itself in half. Then, lay each one down and take your pocket knife and scrape (scrape, not cut) the sharp edge along the edge of the bait. On the original Senko, you will see a bunch of salt become exposed from the abrasion. On the Dinger, not so much. 

[Koz]

20 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Them ol bass just can't remember seeing one, it's like they see it for the first time every time. ?

 

Kind of like The Silence (you need to be a Doctor Who fan to understand that reference).

[billmac]

50 minutes ago, Koz said:

Kind of like The Silence (you need to be a Doctor Who fan to understand that reference).

You'll know it's true if you start to see bass with black marks on their fins.