Spring Senko Size?

[AJ Hauser]

Hey my dudes - got a quick question to run by you. I went out to a local pond yesterday and got skunked fishing a jerkbait. The water is still really cold in IL, and without all of the muck on TOP of the pond I was able to see just how shallow several areas really were. I assume the fish have congregated out deeper, so I plan to throw a jig and craw trailer and also a Senko this Friday. 

 

This time of year, when the water is still cold, do you downsize your Senkos or actually go with a larger size? Right now I have a 6" on and I'm wondering if that's overkill. I did see a lot of small fish swimming around up shallow, so I'm wondering if the forage is smaller. 

 

What do you think?

 

Thanks!

[TBAG]

99% of the time I fish a 5" Senko.

 

The other 1% is in the creeks, when I'll sometimes use a 4".

[Bird]

I also throw 5" 99% of the time. 

 

Wacky around docks.

Weightless t-rig in heavy cover 

Tungsten weight 1/16--1/8 in head when trying to locate them covering water. 

 

Senko is a versatile bait....good luck.

[Fishes in trees]

Not alot of difference between the 5 and 6 inch sizes, really.   If I was deciding between the two sizes, my choice would be determined by what color I had in which sizes.   Current personal favorite is green pumpkin with black & purple & gold glitter.

[FishinBuck07]

4" here mostly for me, will throw a 5" once in awhile.  3" in the creeks for me.

[Munkin]

3 minutes ago, FishinBuck07 said:

4" here mostly for me, will throw a 5" once in awhile.  3" in the creeks for me.

Same here

[TBAG]

4 minutes ago, FishinBuck07 said:

4" here mostly for me, will throw a 5" once in awhile.  3" in the creeks for me.

 

I might need to give 3" a shot this summer in the creek. What hook do you use and favorite color?

[FishinBuck07]

1 hour ago, TBAG said:

 

I might need to give 3" a shot this summer in the creek. What hook do you use and favorite color?

I use a #1 ewg hook with a 1/16 oz lead bullet weight.  The creek we fish the most the color we have best luck with would be green pumpkin black flake, and watermelon black flake.  We just cast it upstream of to the side of us and let it drift with the current.

[NHBull]

usually 5 inch but often a 6 inch trick worm ( orange or pink)

[AJ Hauser]

Got it - appreciate the feedback @TBAG!

Hey thanks @Bird - could you do me a solid and talk a bit more about what you mean with the tungsten weight and using it to locate fish? How are you rigging / working that? Thanks!

Thanks @Fishes in trees - I appreciate that - I'm going to try out the "natural shad" Friday. Was using green pumpkin / black fleck previously. 

Thanks @FishinBuck07 and @Munkin - noted. Also appreciate the color and size info @NHBull!

[J._Bricker]

@TheMinimalistFisherman, 6” or 7” senkos seem to be the ticket here. Bigger fish wanting the bigger bait leading up to the spawn. 5” work for the males and if you’re dropshotting them. YMMV depending on your local conditions 

[Bird]

2 hours ago, TheMinimalistFisherman said:

Got it - appreciate the feedback @TBAG!

Hey thanks @Bird - could you do me a solid and talk a bit more about what you mean with the tungsten weight and using it to locate fish? How are you rigging / working that? Thanks!

Thanks @Fishes in trees - I appreciate that - I'm going to try out the "natural shad" Friday. Was using green pumpkin / black fleck previously. 

Thanks @FishinBuck07 and @Munkin - noted. Also appreciate the color and size info @NHBull!

That Tungsten weight I was referring is pushed into the nose of Senko so it sinks faster like a bullet weight for T-rig.

It's being presented faster so more coverage.....I also use it in moving water for SM.

It's also used for Neko rig with a different hook configuration. 

[evo2s197]

Killer for me in the spring for decent size fish.

[PhishLI]

In my local spots the 6" Watermelon Black Flake GY senko rules at just about this time of year. Weightless T rigged or wacky, 6"ers through 6LBers will eat it. I've found that the Owner 5132-151 5/0 is a great choice for both hookups and longevity of the 6". Step down to the Owner 5167-141 if you choose a 5" Yamamoto. They'll both last way longer with these hooks than any other that I've tried as the worm tends to not rip as easily where the bend of the hook is threaded though the body. It really extends the life by alot. Definitely step up to a larger rigging tool like "The Brute O-Wacky Tool II" and get the upsized O-Rings with an I.D. of at least .300" or 5/16" for 6" GY Senkos. 6" Stick-Os and 6" Yum Dingers can stand up to the .250" O-rings that come with the standard size tubular rigging tools, but the Yamamoto cannot. Those O-rings will slice them in half way before their time. The upside of the larger rigging tool is that the worm actually fits into it. If you've tried to wacky rig 6" worms with the VMC or Harmony tools it's sucks as the worms barely fit, and you'll end up rolling the rings to where they need to be with your fingers and it's then a pain to criss cross them.

[Mbirdsley]

On 3/18/2020 at 1:25 PM, FishinBuck07 said:

I use a #1 ewg hook with a 1/16 oz lead bullet weight.  The creek we fish the most the color we have best luck with would be green pumpkin black flake, and watermelon black flake.  We just cast it upstream of to the side of us and let it drift with the current.

I have had good luck doing that exact thing with ned rigs 

[FishinBuck07]

10 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

I have had good luck doing that exact thing with ned rigs 

Yeah I use the NED rig here and there, but the creek we fish is big boulders to gravel and everything in between.  The T-rigged plastic doesn't hang up as often!

[AJ Hauser]

Dang this is fantastic guys - thanks for the info @J._Bricker, I bet you guys have some real pigs out there compared to IL. @Bird that makes sense - I have never fished a Senko like that. I will give this a try, I feel like I need to cover more water because I have yet to make contact with anything this year... 

 

@evo2s197 when you say spring what water temp or date range does that mean for you? I'm thinking I'm still premature and the bass won't be up for at least a few more weeks...

 

Also appreciate the input @PhishLI - for some reason I just can't get myself to fish a Senko TX style... I don't know what it is, I have a serious mental block about that. I've been used to wacky, but I also missed a really nice fish last year (with snow on the ground) because I horsed a VMC wacky hook out of a big fish's mouth... I think I need to play those a lot more gingerly than an EWG hook - would you agree?

 

 

[evo2s197]

1 hour ago, TheMinimalistFisherman said:

when you say spring what water temp or date range does that mean for you? I'm thinking I'm still premature and the bass won't be up for at least a few more weeks...

Around 60 to 65 degrees for my area in California.

[Zebco202]

5" senko almost exclusively.  I have found the black one's work best for me.  Matter of fact, had a great day on the river yesterday with a black senko.

[basser27]

5” Texas rigged

[MIbassyaker]

If you get hits that don't hook up, downsize. If you don't get hits, try something else.

 

As for t-rig vs. wacky, I go by presentation style:  Do I want to be moving it more vertically, or horizontally?  If V> H, I go wacky. If H > V, I go to a t-rig.

 

 

[Ogandrews]

For actual Yamamoto Senkos I’m about 50/50 between 4 and 5. I really like the 4 for smallies, doesn’t seem like I get any bigger fish with a 5 and I get more per pack, 5’s I like better for wacky rigging for largemouth. I use 3” yum dingers a huge amount on a drop shot for smallmouth, killer lure. I don’t bother spending the money on a real Senko because I don’t think the action on the fall matters quite as much when it’s on drop shot. Any 3” Senko knockoff would work it’s more about profile imo. For t rigging I will sometimes use a 6” Senko but I prefer using a 7” gambler or a 10” magnum baits stick worm. If I’m trying to get numbers I’ll just throw a 5 but if I want to really go for bigger fish I would rather really upsize and weed out the smaller fish.

[AJ Hauser]

12 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

If V> H, I go wacky. If H > V, I go to a t-rig.

 

 

My brain now hurts from all the maths. 

 

Thanks for the feedback @Ogandrews - I appreciate it. When you fish those smallies with senkos do you typically find you favor the drop shot presentation, or you you toss those 4" ones around on a t-rig or wacky? 

[PhishLI]

On 3/27/2020 at 10:24 AM, TheMinimalistFisherman said:

Also appreciate the input @PhishLI - for some reason I just can't get myself to fish a Senko TX style... I don't know what it is, I have a serious mental block about that. I've been used to wacky, but I also missed a really nice fish last year (with snow on the ground) because I horsed a VMC wacky hook out of a big fish's mouth... I think I need to play those a lot more gingerly than an EWG hook - would you agree?

Well, you should give it a shot anyway. It can be fished like a soft jerkbait to deadly effect. I don't know which VMC hook you use, but I use the VMC 3/0 wacky with the leaf spring wire keeper on 6" Senkos. The gauge of the hook requires a hard hookset. I rarely lose a fish that touches it.

[AJ Hauser]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

Well, you should give it a shot anyway. It can be fished like a soft jerkbait to deadly effect. I don't know which VMC hook you use, but I use the VMC 3/0 wacky with the leaf spring wire keeper on 6" Senkos. The gauge of the hook requires a hard hookset. I rarely lose a fish that touches it.

I'll give it a go - thanks!