Senko type lures why popular when it’s inefficient

[Cgolf]

For my fishing I like tossing all lures but a weightless Senko style lure. I just don’t understand the appeal of them to anglers. If fishing is that slow in an area, I look for a new area with fish willing to bite. The slowest I will fish is letting a lightly weighted plastic drop to the bottom, pause it a couple of seconds reel it in and repeat. To me it’s like slip bobber fishing for walleyes where you need a few beers in the boat, not driving, to get through the night;)

 

We get stacked cold fronts when I fish in N WI and I still get a lot of bites on tubes, grubs, Menace, and jerkbaits with the plastics on a 1/4 slider head. What I notice since I fish a full week is the bass position differently in the same general area, but will hit the same plastics, with a touch longer pause on bottom. 

 

Why do you all toss them when you could get more casts in with other baits that will also catch fish?

[Scott F]

18 minutes ago, cgolf said:

Why do you all toss them when you could get more casts in with other baits that will also catch fish?

I fish them because I can use them in places where I can’t use other baits without getting snagged in the rocks or weeds. And, more importantly, I’ll get bites on them from fish that aren’t biting other lures.

[tander]

47 minutes ago, Scott F said:

I fish them because I can use them in places where I can’t use other baits without getting snagged in the rocks or weeds. And, more importantly, I’ll get bites on them from fish that aren’t biting other lures.

I fish a reservoir that has a lot of rip rap. The weightless Senko is one of the few lures that I can can use without getting hung up. BTW, I don't necessary fish them slow. The fish in my avatar was caught on a weightless Senko.

[WRB]

Depends what your goals are; fishing or catching bass.

We are all wired differently, some of us like to strain out a area and catch bass others like to keep moving looking for greener pastures.

Success comes to those who know when to holdem or foldem.

Tom

[fishwizzard]

I like senkos for when I am long on targets and short on time.  I let it sink, deadstick for 5s, pop it once, deadstick for 5s, and then crank it back for a new cast.  Maybe 30s per cast, depending on how far I am casting and how deep the water is.  I do a lot of short 1-3 hour trips pond fishing and a senko is great for quickly target casting to a few key spots with a lure that has a high chance of getting a bite if I happen to get it in front of a bass. Most of these ponds are too weedy for fast cranking and even a spinnerbait will require de-weeding every 2-3 casts.  

 

I agree that trying to cover an area with a senko is very dull stuff, in that situation I use a nail-weighted Fat Impact, again trying to make a lot of casts and only running the lure past high-probability areas slowly and retrieving it briskly in the rest.  

[NYWayfarer]

I like them because they work. Sometimes, like today when nothing else will. 

 

Started out out the day with topwater, switched to a swimbait, switched to a crankbait, nothing.

 

Tied on a wacky rig BPS Stick O and Bam! 2 and a half pound Smallmouth killed it.

[senile1]

A Senko type worm is a finesse presentation for me just like a Ned rig, a drop-shot rig, a shakey head, etc.  If the bite is really tough, one of those finesse presentations will usually be more successful at drawing bites.  If it happens to be the Senko type worm on that day, of course I am going to use it.  As for efficiency, how quickly I can cover an area doesn't matter if it results in no bites.

 

I should add that when using a slow finesse presentation I am usually somewhat confident of where the fish will be located.  I wouldn't typically use a senko type worm as a search bait though you never know what conditions may lead to on the water.

[Cgolf]

54 minutes ago, WRB said:

Depends what your goals are; fishing or catching bass.

We are all wired differently, some of us like to strain out a area and catch bass others like to keep moving looking for greener pastures.

Success comes to those who know when to holdem or foldem.

Tom

 

Probably depends on the lake too.  Our vacation lake I generally have up to 5 patterns I can fall back on to catch fish. My home lake I don’t get out on enough has greenish stained water with very little structure that the weeds aren’t consistent but in huge clumps. The consistent pattern is docks, but being an urban lake I don’t like fishing them as often. It is truly a run and gun lake to find fish especially since I am only out every 3 to 4 weeks. If Iknew where they were on this lake it might work well, but only if my normal baits failed to produce. 

 

My ultra finesse bait are spybaits, Love those things. 

[The Bassman]

Calm, clear water today dictated using a weightless Zoom finesse worm dead sticked. Sight fished several that I would have never caught with most other methods. Wasn't a Senko but same idea.

[FishTank]

I have fished Senkos for years.  

 

During most of the tournaments (any pretty much anytime) I have fished in, the Senko is the best producer.  I watch guys moving quickly within a few feet of the bank pitching the same jig over and over again and all I do is chuckle because I know at the end of the day, I will smoke them. Sometime slower is better but not always. In the end, I think you have to know the conditions and understand what the bass are after. 

 

I also think of bass as cats playing with a toy....  Some chase it and others don't.   Maybe it's the way the bait is presented and how much confidence you have in that particular bait. 

 

 

[MIbassyaker]

Senko inefficient?  I can't even comprehend that phrase.

 

The Senko is about the most efficent bait I can think of. Can be fished vertically or horizontally, weedless, jerked across the surface like a topwater, under the surface as a jerkbait, dragged on the bottom, can be made to fall fast or slow, or somewhere in between depending on added weight...

 

And very often when I'm fishing a senko, I'll get strikes--including topwater blowups-- while just reeling it in fast to make the next cast.  Nothing inefficient about that.

 

 

[Cgolf]

17 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

Senko inefficient?  I can't even comprehend that phrase.

 

The Senko is about the most efficent bait I can think of. Can be fished vertically or horizontally, weedless, jerked across the surface like a topwater, under the surface as a jerkbait, dragged on the bottom, can be made to fall fast or slow, or somewhere in between depending on added weight...

 

And very often when I'm fishing a senko, I'll get strikes--including topwater blowups-- while just reeling it in fast to make the next cast.  Nothing inefficient about that.

 

 

I get the weighted Senko, I have done well at times with a swim senko on a slider head. Although I never thought to rig a standard Senko on a slider head, but have had success with a Zoom Mag finesse so it should work. 

 

I just don’t understand fishing them weightless and that to me is where the inefficiency comes in. I might try it yet this fall, I have a handful of bags, and see if I get anything. I also think many would already consider my 1/4 or 3/16 tubes or Menace on sliders a bit of a finesse presentation already. Rarely do I go heavier. My swim jigs usually only go 5/16 so I am not a power fisherman. 

[5/0]

I was one too who couldn’t be patient fishing a weightless Senko, still am to a degree! But I see guys catching fish with it and am determined to keep trying it.

[jr231]

There is nothing inefficient about catching bass and thats exactly what the senko does. 

 

It was designed to be fished weightless.. on semi slack line.

 

Cant even begin to count all the bass I've caught on senkos of seemingly every color. There's nothing boring or inefficient about it ?. Throw it where you know the bass are, Pop it , and set the hook. I've had so many 15+ fish days on senkos it's ridiculous.

 

And I only fish it weightless. If I'm going to throw a weighted rig there are plenty of other options .

 

Seems you just enjoy the ol run and gun. Which I agree is very fun... But they can't resist that senko !  

 

We are probably discussing the best bass catcher to exist to this date.

 

The weightless senko. 

 

Top 3 hands down. 

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

In a one hour span a senko has been more productive for me than any other lure I have ever thrown. 

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, Yeajray231 said:

There is nothing inefficient about catching bass and thats exactly what the senko does. 

 

It was designed to be fished weightless.. on semi slack line.

 

Cant even begin to count all the bass I've caught on senkos of seemingly every color. There's nothing boring or inefficient about it ?. Throw it where you know the bass are, Pop it , and set the hook. I've had so many 15+ fish days on senkos it's ridiculous.

 

And I only fish it weightless. If I'm going to throw a weighted rig there are plenty of other options .

 

Seems you just enjoy the ol run and gun. Which I agree is very fun... But they can't resist that senko !  

 

We are probably discussing the best bass catcher to exist to this date.

 

The weightless senko. 

 

Top 3 hands down. 

 

Not run and gun per say, I have spent 7 hours fishing a series of Reed beds smaller than the size of a football field. I do however like to keep reeling and casting as much as possible. I am actually a pretty good stick walleye jigging deeper water, but I can only take it so long especially with light jigs in 20 to 30 feet of water. The line watching helps some, which you need to do with a Senko so there is hope for me. 

 

I will say I have had a few 15 fish hours with the Menace and Baby Menace on a slider head, it has been more effective than the Ned rig for me on flat water. 

 

Probably just how I am wired. 

[jr231]

I like the power pro hi vis yellow. 

 

And I've been running a fluoro leader while senko fishing for many reasons. 

 

The braid stays on top of the water which helps in the strike detection A TON. AndI like braid for the main line for the lack of line management you need compared to fluorocarbon and the casting distance / sensitivity also. the leader helps the bait sink a little faster and I can break off easier if I get hung up really bad... And it's supposedly much harder to see! Is for me anyway ? we won't open up that can of worms here but I like spinning gear , braid to leader  for senko fishing .  

 

I remember the first time I used a weightless senko. It was a farm pond about 3 acres and me and my buddy had never used them before. We must have caught 30-40 bass between us and one of them went 23" . I've been sold on senkos ever since and they continue to produce for me year after year. 

 

Like all lures bass will get conditioned to them. I've seen the studies blah blah blah the worm is the only lure a bass can't get conditioned too. I have a pond at my home. They aren't a fan of the senko like they were when I first moved in.

[PhishLI]

I'm a chuck and wind type by nature, so I get how certain techniques can seem ponderous.

 

We've had a 40 degree swing down in temps since Wednesday. Hit a very productive lake today with my brother. It still has healthy sections of grass and pads, and good overhanging cover. We threw the kitchen sink at them: Glides, wakes, chatters, lipless, cranks, you name it. Zilcho. Not a sniff. That's until I ran the boat over to yet another sunny bank and started chucking 5" weightless T-rigged and wacky rigged senkos inches from the shore which is lined with brush. Nabbed two 2 pounders, one on each rig, within minutes of each other and the skunk was off the boat! A few two pounders? No big deal, but better than a kick in the you know what. Thank you Mr. Senko.

[Deleted account]

I would rather watch paint dry than fish a senko, but I'd rather catch bass than watch paint dry, so....

[TnRiver46]

I would rather dead stick a senko than cast and reel crankbaits and spinnerbaits, some people like to fish slow. Jordan Lee won the bass master classic skipping one weightless under docks on Hartwell so i wouldnt call it inefficient. He won the previous one slow dragging a jig, letting it soak for quite some time. I would consider driving around casting and reeling more inefficient than soaking a worm, to each his own  

[roadwarrior]

9 hours ago, FishTank said:

During most of the tournaments (any pretty much anytime) I have fished in, the Senko is the best producer.  

I think more club tournaments are won fishing a Senko than all other lures combined.

 

[Sam]

Senkos work, especially wacky rigged.

 

They resemble a bait fish or a crawfish to the bass and they are soft enough for the bass to hold them in their mouths for a few seconds longer.

 

Smear some MegaStrike on them and have fun.

[LonnieP]

I absolutely hate fishing a Senko. I’ve caught fish with them and even a couple big bass but I find fishing them to be boring and I just don’t have the patience for it.

[keagbassr]

You can put me in the no senkos camp. Or weightless anything except the occasional sluggo/fluke. I'd rather just get a bucket of shiners,probably cheaper ands just as effective. 

1 hour ago, Frog Turds said:

take 50 people throwing a weightless wormie and 50 people throwing a jig for an equal amount of water time and see who ends up with the biggest fish of the bunch...my moneys on the jig every time all the time...

Definatly agree with this. As I've said before I'd rather try and catch 5 that weigh 20 than 20 that weigh 5. 

[Dwight Hottle]

2 hours ago, Frog Turds said:

take 50 people throwing a weightless wormie and 50 people throwing a jig for an equal amount of water time and see who ends up with the biggest fish of the bunch...my moneys on the jig every time all the time...

How are you going to bet when a guy rigs a wacky wormie on his jig. ? Best of both worlds?