Im having trouble with senkos

[unhooked]

So Im in California near Sacramento and I went fishing from the shore in a creek stocked with bass yesterday in the late afternoon.

The problem is that I cannot seem to get any reaction from the bass there with senkos.

I saw a hydrilla weed bed and at least 2 bass there(one was splashing in the surface). I cast a senko worm on a texas rig several times in and around the weed bed and got no bites at all. I then hooked the senko through the middle on a weightless hook and got no results either. I'm not playing the bait too actively. I let it sink to the bottom(which is around 6ft deep at the most) and then twitch it and weight another 15-20s before twitching it again). 

The weirdest part is that I saw a 13-15in long bass just chilling 3 ft from the bank under a tree and when I cast the senko near it had no reaction and just swam off as the bait was sinking. I saw the worm jiggle while sinking as it was supposed  to. I tried other less weeded areas and  various dark and light colored jigs, a yellow floating crankbait, and a buzzbait and got no reaction. 

I later saw another angler catch a bass with a popper and talked to another guy who said he only uses spinners and caught several 3-5lbers last week.

 

What is going on? Am I playing the bait poorly, or the bass there just dont like jigs? Note that I am a complete beginner, so should I just use spinners and buzzbaits since they require little finesse?

Edited June 8, 2020 by unhooked

[BrianMDTX]

I’m no expert, but if these bass were just stocked, they probably aren’t used to chasing and eating “real” food. They may not even realize what natural food is until they get hungry and no one is feeding them. 

[nascar2428]

Senkos are great fish catchers, however they will not catch em all. Go get a couple of spinnerbaits to add to your arsenal. Next time you talk to other anglers who are catching em, ask them what time of the day are catching em. Keep fishing, the more you fish the more your going to catch.

[ww2farmer]

If you can see them, they can see you....game over 99% of the time.

 

Make long casts to bassy' looking area's before you get close enough for them to spot you.

 

That's what those guys are doing with their spinner and buzzbaits.

 

One of the best presentations to make with a senko in clear shallow water is to skip the bait like a stone to your intended target....it doesn't matter if your trying to get it under something...do it in wide open water...they can't stand it.

[unhooked]

12 minutes ago, ww2farmer said:

If you can see them, they can see you....game over 99% of the time.

 

Make long casts to bassy' looking area's before you get close enough for them to spot you.

 

That's what those guys are doing with their spinner and buzzbaits.

 

One of the best presentations to make with a senko in clear shallow water is to skip the bait like a stone to your intended target....it doesn't matter if your trying to get it under something...do it in wide open water...they can't stand it.

d**n, i though bass could only see you if your shadow is on the water.

I don't have a boat, so I cannot easily cast along weed beds and trees. The best I can do is try to cast the bait to  the other side of the river which has some shaded areas and drag it directly through weed beds in the middle of the river. is that good enough?

 

The visibility of the water seems to be 1-1 1/2 ft. Is that clear enough?

 

Thx for the help:)

[Baseball 'n Bassin]

5 minutes ago, unhooked said:

d**n, i though bass could only see you if your shadow is on the water.

I don't have a boat, so I cannot easily cast along weed beds and trees. The best I can do is try to cast the bait to  the other side of the river which has some shaded areas and drag it directly through weed beds in the middle of the river. is that good enough?

 

The visibility of the water seems to be 1-1 1/2 ft. Is that clear enough?

 

Thx for the help:)

What color senkos were you using?

[unhooked]

2 minutes ago, Baseball 'n Bassin said:

What color senkos were you using?

Brown with gold flake, green, and blue with blue flake. I put crayfish scent for good measure.

[RoLo]

 

First off, welcome to the forum 'unhooked'  ?

 

Bass have far better underwater vision than humans. When we get the privilege of seeing bass

in their own environment, the chances are better than even, that they're not feeding.

In this scenario, a Senko or any other lure will likely fail to make a difference.

In the bass's world, our best chances lie in meeting them on their terms.

 

Roger

 

 

[Deeare]

cast out and let it sink like you've been doing but then lift the worm slowly about 3-4 feet and let it drop on semi slack line.   Mix up your retrieves.    Id also suggest trying the ned rig. 

[plawren53202]

4 hours ago, ww2farmer said:

If you can see them, they can see you....game over 99% of the time.

 

Bingo. 

 

Pond I fish a lot is pretty clear, and highly pressured. If I see a fish, I can count him (her?) out for a while as having no chance to catch it.

 

In certain places on the pond, I can cast to the other side of the pond (it's where the creek flows in) though it's a long cast. In other places, I can't and so I cast down the bank I'm standing on as far as possible. Don't underestimate the usefulness of weed cover for this. If bass are back in the weeds they may not see you as easily. 

 

Think of these bass as deer hunting. You have to use stealth, approach the bank quietly, mind your shadow, keep a low profile, don't just stomp up to the bank and start casting. 

[ClackerBuzz]

I'll second Ned rig and Mepps spinners.  Highly pressured water and/or stocked fish don't make for a great combination.  A senko can cast a shadow like a bald eagle in those conditions so fish will be more spooked than aggressive.  Also the weather can play a huge factor.  Glassy/mirror calm surface is much harder to fish.  Any wind chop on the surface will work to your advantage.  Also hide behind trees/weed beds/points when casting.  Use nature to your advantage to ambush them.

[Choporoz]

16 hours ago, unhooked said:

d**n, i though bass could only see you if your shadow is on the water.

It's worse than that, I believe.   I'm convinced that bass in certain ponds go on high alert just from the vibrations of someone walking along the bank.  I have no real evidence, just my rather weak powers of observation; but it seems to pay to be a bit stealthy.

[BrianMDTX]

2 hours ago, Choporoz said:

It's worse than that, I believe.   I'm convinced that bass in certain ponds go on high alert just from the vibrations of someone walking along the bank.  I have no real evidence, just my rather weak powers of observation; but it seems to pay to be a bit stealthy.

Be convinced. I try to be stealthy, but have stumbled on exposed roots or slipped on a muddy bank and watched even 6” bass take off. 

[Team9nine]

Way too many posts for me to quote from the above conversation, but let me be the dissenter and say don’t put too much stock into the theories of, ‘if you can see them/game over.’ I’m north of 1100 bass for the year already, and you’d probably be surprised by how many of those were sight fished, whether cruisers, bedders, wolf packs, scared off the bank individuals, etc. Literally hundreds of “shot called” catches when I can see them and watch how they react. If you can see them, they can see you. The real question to ask is, “do they care?” You’ll be surprised how many times that answer is “No.”

[Primus]

In addition to what's been said keep in mind drop speed can be a big factor in provoking strikes, sometimes a quick falling craw, tube or creature bait behind a heavy sinker can get the Bass to react when a slow falling bait at times like a Senko will fail to get a strike. Of course the opposite can be true as well which is what makes Bass fishing with lures a rewarding but at times challenging avocation. 

[unhooked]

Update:

So I tried texas rigged senkos in the same creek 2 more times. I spent 5 hours each day and not a single bite. However it turns out that the creek was probably at fault because when I went to another small reservoir I caught my first bass(around 8inches) ever with a 5'' green pumpkin texas rigged senko.

Unfortunately because I dont have a boat or wading gear my tackle kept snagging on to tule reeds and I couldn't unsnag it.

https://imgur.com/a/J6QVyxL

Edited June 14, 2020 by unhooked

[papajoe222]

You didn’t mention what your location is. In northern states like Minn. and Maine, bass are just now in their spawn cycle and that behavior is typical of some pre-spawn activity.  

[FishTank]

If I understanding this correctly.....  you can see the bass and as stated above they can see you around weed beds.  So what time of day is it?  It may be that they you are just to late to the party and fish have shut off for a bit.  I would suggest 30 minutes before sunrise and go from there.  Senkos will catch anything.

[ATA]

On 6/8/2020 at 3:30 PM, BrianMDTX said:

I’m no expert, but if these bass were just stocked, they probably aren’t used to chasing and eating “real” food. They may not even realize what natural food is until they get hungry and no one is feeding them. 

Brian is right, keep hit the same area for another two days and they will start to bite. also if it was me I would try drop shot there as well and keep the bait on their face till they cant resist and react.

[MGF]

On 6/9/2020 at 2:29 PM, Team9nine said:

Way too many posts for me to quote from the above conversation, but let me be the dissenter and say don’t put too much stock into the theories of, ‘if you can see them/game over.’ I’m north of 1100 bass for the year already, and you’d probably be surprised by how many of those were sight fished, whether cruisers, bedders, wolf packs, scared off the bank individuals, etc. Literally hundreds of “shot called” catches when I can see them and watch how they react. If you can see them, they can see you. The real question to ask is, “do they care?” You’ll be surprised how many times that answer is “No.”

Hey a question from a northern Indiana guy. What type of lakes/rivers are you fishing that you can see so many bass?  I guess I've done very little "sight fishing".

[Team9nine]

26 minutes ago, MGF said:

Hey a question from a northern Indiana guy. What type of lakes/rivers are you fishing that you can see so many bass?  I guess I've done very little "sight fishing".

Most of what I’ve done this year has been walking the banks of subdivision lakes. That said, some of our reservoirs are clear enough to sight fish for bass in spring, and the northern natural lakes are especially good for this. Always lots of spawners in the canals, and most tourneys this time of year up there are won bed fishing/sight fishing. 

[Lobocito]

I don't find the senko to be the end-all-be-all lure it is sometimes made out to be. It almost never works for me in creeks or ponds that get fishing pressure. Even 3 years ago I had a lot of confidence in the senko but it has dissolved pretty quickly.

 

On seeing fish - I'd say ~50% of the fish I can see have no interest in biting. If you can very clearly see a fish and he rejects your lure 2-3 times, its a safe bet he's seen you and he's wise to your game. I think another poster suggested just.. ignoring fish you can see, I definitely always give them a few casts, but if a bass can see you and rejects your lure, it isn't necessarily the lure. 

 

If you know there are fish in there, I'd definitely try changing lures. If its a stocked pond it probably gets a lot of pressure and the fish probably see a lot of senkos (and most probably have a few sitting in their bellies). So being a little different will be beneficial. I agree that the Mepp's inline spinners and ned rigs are very good tools to add to your shore fishing bag for when your senko is getting rejected. The Mepp's will let you cover a hell of a lot more water too.