Senko on a slider head, is it just a worm at that point

[Cgolf]

The waters I fish along with my fishing style don’t allow me to fish a weightless Senko, so I plan on trying it on a slider head. Is this considered worm fishing or still a Senko presentation? Just curious because I have a few packs to use up and cutting them up as a Ned bait seems like a waste of cash. 

[Cbump]

Regardless of whether you want to call It senko or worm Fishing, a weighted t-rig senko works when you can’t do weightless. Go for It. 

[Deleted account]

It's just a worm all the time, all be it a fat salty one...

[JustJames]

As long as it catches fish, I don’t care what it called or recommended by Gary himself. I’ve seen ppl weighted Texas rig Senko and catch fish all the time. 

[Cgolf]

So essentially putting the weight on it won’t kill the Senko wiggle or the unique fish catching action? I guess that is the ultimate question. Looking to try this on a clear water lake. Has worked with swim senkos but that is a totally different beast. 
 

I fish a lot of vertical cover in wind where boat control is difficult and don’t have enough time on target to allow unweighted bait to get to bottom in 6 fow. Have a 16 foot aluminum boat that is blown all over in the wind and doesn’t track well with the trolling motor. 

[scaleface]

Its going to work . I have fished all sorts of plastics on all sorts of jig heads .

[Scott F]

Weighting it definitely kills the unique slow fall action of a Senko. People often think the wiggle is a big trigger, but I believe the slow fall is the reason a Senko or any of its copies is so effective. There is certainly nothing wrong with using them weighted, but if I need a weighted bait, I’d use a different, more durable worm that costs a lot less.

[galyonj]

22 minutes ago, Cgolf said:

So essentially putting the weight on it won’t kill the Senko wiggle or the unique fish catching action?

 

In my experience, it doesn't kill the action so much as change it. Whether that change is good or bad is entirely up to the fish.

[KP Duty]

I watched a bassmaster tv show a couple years ago that featured denny brauer on how he fishes a senko.  He said he only threw the 6" version, black/blue flake, and on a belly-weighted hook.  He'd cast it out and let it glide down.....then pull it back up and let it glide back down.  He said it was a more efficient way to fish the bait and work it back to the boat.  Hard to argue with anything brauer says, but I haven't tried this yet.

[Catt]

11 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

I watched a bassmaster tv show a couple years ago that featured denny brauer on how he fishes a senko. 

 

Larry Nixon when asked which lure would he take back to the 70s. He replied, a Stick Worm, he throws Berkley's PowerBait MaxScent The General Texas Rigged weighted.

 

Wonder where it got that name!

 

[TOXIC]

I’ve given this tip before and will restate it again….If you are going to weight a Senko, save your $$ and buy the cheaper knockoffs.  As for it ruining the action, without a doubt it does.  In order for a Senko to have its trademark shimmy or wiggle as it falls, it has to be horizontal. Any nose weight or tail weight and it will not fall horizontal.  You might still get some action if wacky rigged with a weight.  Will weighting it still catch fish? Of course but you are playing to a different bite when you weight it.  

[roadwarrior]

Weightless only for me.

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I’ve given this tip before and will restate it again….If you are going to weight a Senko, save your $$ and buy the cheaper knockoffs.  As for it ruining the action, without a doubt it does.  In order for a Senko to have its trademark shimmy or wiggle as it falls, it has to be horizontal. Any nose weight or tail weight and it will not fall horizontal.  You might still get some action if wacky rigged with a weight.  Will weighting it still catch fish? Of course but you are playing to a different bite when you weight it.  

Thanks and since I rarely see a calm day any more I will use them weighted knowing this. I love my boat but it is tough in wind. A little jealous of how the glass boats track but can’t justify the cost. 
 

If I knew someone local that used them I might have gifted them but at least this way I will use them. Have had the bags for 8-10 years. 

[OkobojiEagle]

7 hours ago, Cgolf said:

I fish a lot of vertical cover in wind where boat control is difficult and don’t have enough time on target to allow unweighted bait to get to bottom in 6 fow. Have a 16 foot aluminum boat that is blown all over in the wind and doesn’t track well with the trolling motor. 

Anchor up.  If it's a boat tracking issue pull a drift bag behind you, even a 5 gallon plastic bucket thrown over the stern will help.

 

oe

[J Francho]

Call it Herbie if you want.  Herbie catches fish.

[Bankc]

I do this all of the time.  And for the same reason: the wind.  Use a heavier bullet weight (up to 1/2 oz.) and don't peg it.  The bullet weight will sink fast and pull the senko down quickly about halfway through the water column before the weight hits the bottom.  After it does, the senko will fall and flutter more slowly like it's weightless the rest of the fall, so long as you give it enough slack and wait.  You get all of the action where it counts, with half of the wait for the fall.  Then when you jig it, so long as you give it plenty of slack, it'll continue its slow fall.  You want the heavier weight because a lighter weight won't slip on the line as easily.  But you don't need to go full mat punching weight.  

 

Obviously, it's not perfect.  You now have a ton of slack line out, which makes bite detection and hooksets harder.  And the wind (and current) makes all of that slack line even more difficult to control without reeling in your slack too quickly and killing your action. 

[RB 77]

You can weight them no problem, but you might be better off just using something else at that point. I definitely wouldn't cut them up for Neds. I would just buy other worms and save some money and the Senkos for what they are deadly at, weightless presentations. 

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Anchor up.  If it's a boat tracking issue pull a drift bag behind you, even a 5 gallon plastic bucket thrown over the stern will help.

 

oe

I made a pail drift sock and took it one year and the millfoil made it useless. Maybe need to pack it again and see what happens now that the millfoil is under control. 

[RDB]

19 hours ago, Cgolf said:

Is this considered worm fishing or still a Senko presentation?

Is stroking a jig still jig fishing?  A Senko is a brand of stick bait and there are many ways to fish a stick bait.  Just because you change how you rig it doesn’t change the fact that’s it’s still a Senko (stick bait).  Senko’s today aren’t even fished the way they were initially intended.  Though weightless is popular, Senko’s/stick baits does not mean exclusively weightless.

[J Francho]

A senko with a bit of weight, like a wacky jig or otherwise, on a windy day that falls at roughly the same rate as unweighted on a calm day has almost the same deadly wiggle. Just sayin'.

[WRB]

Don’t tell AJay lake Baccarac or guides that a 7” Black & Blue Senko on a jig doesn’t work

Tom 

[txchaser]

If they are biting on the bottom of the water column, consider putting it on a bubba shot/drop shot. You can get down to the last 1-3 feet really quickly, and then get the normal senko flutter for the last part of the fall. Credit to (I think) @Bluebasser86

[J Francho]

It might be his, but it's mine too. It kills. 

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, txchaser said:

If they are biting on the bottom of the water column, consider putting it on a bubba shot/drop shot. You can get down to the last 1-3 feet really quickly, and then get the normal senko flutter for the last part of the fall. Credit to (I think) @Bluebasser86

so ho long is the drop leader. History on the lake I fish is most bites are 1-2 feet off bottom. So is a 12” drop leader too short?

[J Francho]

I usually go 3'.