Drifting away from Senkos

[BassFishingMachine]

Is it just me or have the rest of you drifted away from using senkos? I find myself rarely using senkos, compared to what I used to. I used to pretty much throw them all the time, anywhere I went. They were my go-to bait. But now I barely even use them anymore. When the times are rough I'll throw them here and there but nothing like I used to. I am now using jigs as my primary bait, and if Im not throwing jigs im using spinnerbaits or Fat Ikas, or flipping creature baits into cover etc. And to tell you the truth I have been catching so much more bigger fish now that I don't throw the senko like I used to. Has this been happenin to anyone else? Maybe the senko is just getting old  .

[X-Rap]

Yea happened to me    I think it just mostly has to do with the season and me throwing them non stop for a few months.  I just strayed a little to try some new technique.  Plus bass haven't been taking Senkos good here in PA for a while because of the season change.  But I'll most likely be throwing 'em like crazy come spawn.  Still an effective bait no matter what.

[FishTank]

No way.  Senkos/Yum Dingers are still my go to bait.  I do get bored with them from time to time and I will mix it up by using creature or lizard.  There are so many softplastic choices out there, sometimes it hard to resist the BaitMonkey and you just have to try the new hot baits.  For me, I don't think I'll ever not use a senko when I'm out fishing.

I may get bored with them but I never get tired of catching fish.  

[roadwarrior]

Wow!

I have been Mr. Senko/ Fat Ika for a long time, but after two years of working on the jig, I finally "got it". I haven't fished a Senko or Fat Ika in months. Strang isn't it? I'm sure these soft plastics will always be a part of the mix for me, they have been the most productive lures I have ever fished, but I have moved on to the jig as my main finesse bait.

[SwampMan]

Wow!

I have been Mr. Senko/ Fat Ika for a long time, but after two years of working on the jig, I finally "got it". I haven't fished a Senko or Fat Ika in months. Strang isn't it? I'm sure these soft plastics will always be a part of the mix for me, they have been the most productive lures I have ever fished, but I have moved on to the jig as my main finesse bait.

There's not a better feeling than starting to master the jig!  That's the bad thing about Senkos, they tend to take people away from working on different techniques......to addictive!

[HPBB]

Its probbaly because you have gotten board with them. I to do not use them as much as I used do, but when they are hot I will throw one all day. I did this with other lures before I started tournament fishing. I used to fish torpedos amlost everytime out, not only when its prime, also crank baits , there was a time that is all I would throw. eveybody just goes through a phase. they still are one of my goto baits, a tube is still #1

[Guest muddy]

Not me , My Goal next  season equal time for : ***, Cranks and Jigs.

[joshmb1999]

i've definitely done the same thing!  jig & pig is now my first bait in the water most trips out.  i seem to like to work on new things every so often and keep working them until i feel like i'm pretty good at them - senko is so easy you just throw it out there and reel in the fish!!!  

[Tin]

 In RI on some of our heavily pressured bodies of water senkos just dont work like they used to. I think the fish have figured them out. Tourneys are FINALLY being won again on jigs and other plastics, for about 2 years, every tournament was being won on a senko. It was getting frustrating because people who could never catch fish before would give everyone a whoopin on them. As soon as this happened, it seemed like EVERYONE in the state started throwing them. I remember at one point, both Dicks Sporting Goods, Sports Authorities, and most bait shops in the state were just about out of senkos or the selection was really picked over. But this year, the senko guys didnt do so well and it seems like the stickbait craze is dying off.   :o

Anyone notice that Yamamoto senkos are not as soft as when they first came out? They used to have a completely different feel.

[Fisher of Men]

Wow!

I have been Mr. Senko/ Fat Ika for a long time, but after two years of working on the jig, I finally "got it". I haven't fished a Senko or Fat Ika in months. Strang isn't it? I'm sure these soft plastics will always be a part of the mix for me, they have been the most productive lures I have ever fished, but I have moved on to the jig as my main finesse bait.

Wish I could "get it". Each and every year, I set out to master the jig. I'll fish it for a few hours early in the season with no success, and switch to something else (usually a spinner, crank, or worm). I start catching some fish (not extremely large, but fish none-the-less) and never go back. I'm sure if I would go back to the jig when the bass get more active, I'd gain some confidence.

As far as Senkos are concerned, I've not ever completely converted to them anyway. For the past few years, my seasonal pattern goes from plastic worm to spinner bait to lizard back to plastic worm/senko as summer approaches followed by topwaters. The senkos are good as the fishing slows down going into summer. I'm pretty much in a rut, I'd say.

One of you mentioned that the "stick bait craze" is passing. . . remember Slug-o's?  Someone's always out to re-invent the wheel, until we realize, "Hey, this IS a wheel!!"  

[Shad_Master]

I too was a Senko fanatic about three years ago - but two things have caused me to drift away:

1) there are so many "knock offs" that I find that are useful, it is hard for me to concentrate on keeping my stock of pure Senko's up to date.

2) here in Nebraska you have to battle the wind all the time and this makes fishing Senko's weightless (the only way I really fish them) almost impossible ("hey, my Senko won't sink").

[roadwarrior]

Anyone notice that Yamamoto senkos are not as soft as when they first came out? They used to have a completely different feel.

Nope.

I still have a couple of bags from 1997. They are EXACTLY the same as new baits.

[Raul]

Is it just me or have the rest of you drifted away from using senkos?

Actually I never drifted into senkos.

To the point where I just finished my 2nd pack ( overall ) of several I purchased three or four years ago.

[mike bat]

me too ,,, the senko was a bait i could rely on .... i would fish them every where ,,, and seem to catch bass every where too. then i just seemed to move to different bait choices .... now it seems i focus on my JIG < FROG < SPOOK <SWIMBAIT < and spinnerbaits ...  ???????  i dont know why ,, i still feel i could load the boat with that ol senko ... maybee this year ill fish a senko a little more ..... i will say i tend to pick a jig before a senko ,,, i feel i can cover water quicker with the jig ....

[rondef]

I used to fish exclusively with the swim senkos, they work great.  However the colder water has forced me to fish with crankbaits and I find them much more effective in catching the bigger LMBs.  I will most likely fish swim senkos again next spring when the LMBs move back into shallow water around here.

[BassFishingMachine]

I have to agree with tin2win, the fish just seem to catch on to them or something, cause I've also noticed they just dont catch in the lakes I fish like they did when I first started throwing them. And yes, everyone around here who bass fishes, mostly the beginners, throw senkos and thats about it. Im tellin you the fish have finally caught onto them, no one around here throws jigs, I don't think Ive seen one person throw one in all the years Ive fished my local lakes, so maybe this is why they love it so much.

[Jake.]

I still use senkos, but only during the spawn. Bedding fish at the pond I fish at can't stand them. I rarely use them during any other part of the year though.

[Terry_]

 I'm trying to push myself away from senkos and work more on the jig. I think I'll catch some bigger fish, but it has been hard the senkos have always produced so well. I guess I'll never leave the senko.

[LCpointerKILLA]

If I'm fishing on the lake in a boat with several rods rigged up, one will always have a senko. It has been this way with me for a pretty long time, and it still produces.

*On the other hand, If I'm fishing ponds, I am just tired of the senko because I have mastered it. In a pond I would rather throw something I am practicing with, testing something new, or a lure I am trying to get better at.

[grimlin]

Senkos rarely work for me.The fish seem to want jigs or minnow type lures more.Since i fish a heavy pressured lake and everybody fishes with worms,the bigger fish seem to be wise of it.

[BassFishingMachine]

All . You guys saying you kill em with the senko during spawn, my opinion is the most natural looking baits work best during spawn, so next time your throwing a senko on nests put it down and rig up a GYCB Kut-tail, weedless/weightless, in natural colors such as cinnamon, or greenpumpkin you'll see what im talking about

[FivePoundBluegill]

I used to be able to catch loads of fish on the senko when i first started useing them in the summer. Now the senko bite has died off and I am catching more fish on lipless crank baits. I will start useing my senkos again in the spring time when the fish are bedding though. I recon those fish on beds will hamer the old senko...

[Munkin]

My opinion is they have become so popular that the fish are use to seeing them? They do not work as well for me but I still use them. This year a GP finesse worm outfished all senkos by like 4 to 1 and I still have the same bag I started the year with.

Allen

[David P]

I don't think fish are necessarily becoming smart and getting used to senkos. It's more the seasons and how bass are feeding. Most of the Senko threads and the Senko hype seem to be around spring/early summer. They work GREAT at these times, but then winter and such when the temps are much colder and the fish are deeper, there are so many other baits to be thrown that work as well if not better.

I fished a senko exclusively for a month or two, now I don't even have one tied on 90% of the time.

[5bass]

I went through the "no senko" period this past season. I threw it occasionally but I was catching my bigger fish on other things, mainly the shaky head worm and the jig. Both were puuting bigger fish in the boat.

Now last season I threw senko's nonstop....things just didnt work out this year like they did last year with the stickbaits, so I had to find some different go-to baits. Finding a different go-to bait happens about every season for me.