Help me with my patience please

[airborne_angler]

I have been throwing SENKO type baits for about a month and man its exciting,I have caught more bass on a Senko than any other time in my life......seriously,I feel they are just awesome. But expensive and not too durable. The problem I have is I know theres fish in the pond,I have had so much luck on SENKOS that Im almost afraid to throw anything else for fear of being discouraged by not getting a bite.

      I have a bunch of different length lizards and worms,I T-tigged one today with a light worm sinker and as soon as I felt the weeds and the lure binding I gave up,and put on a SENKO. Then I tried Carolina rig and got discouraged the same way. The fish,no matter if they are bass or sunfish or catfish always strike my Senko. I threw everything at them today and maybe wasnt patient enough but again and again I found myself throwing Senkos,(this is getting to be very expensive)Im sure I can catch em on other things,how can I discipline myself to stay away from those darn SENKOS,and learn how to use a different bait and still have confidence that I might catch something..? Guess the Senko is my confidence bait cause I always have "something" hit it as it falls,but rarely anytime other than that. Thats why I find myself reeling in and recasting my Senko if I dont get a strike of some kind on the fall.Please help.  This is very disheartening and I may just give up.Thanks

[paully]

You are right. Senko's catch pretty much any kind of fish. My fish that I have caught on a senko so far (today and yesterday) were a bass a catfish and a walleye. But thats another story. What makes a fisherman a good one is to diversify your tactics. If you see fish break the surface use a topwater etc. I just started using senkos and sure, they are boring to use but do catch fish. Instead of letting the senko fall once and reel it in, let it fall, pull it up and let it drop again until its about 8 feet away from you and re cast. Another way to be patient is to look around, enjoy the weather, the sounds of the birds and the beautiful sites that the outdoor gives us. That passes up time. Also, you said you t-rigged a worm, if you dont want the bullet weight to get snagged use a tooth pick through the bottom and up the top of the weight so it wont move and get caught.  Another method to try fishing is jigs. they are GREAT for any type of species. You can use the yamamoto grubs on the jig, twister tails, hula grub, etc. They all work great. A great way to fish the hula grub is to let it sink to the bottom and bounce it off the bottom until it reaches you.

I hope I helped,

paully

[Muddpuppy]

One of these days the fish may decide for you. You don't always need to use a weight when fishing other baits. Normally use just as little a weight as possible. If you are fishing the Senko without weight you may be trying to fish deeper with the others. So try them without until you need to fish deeper or haveing to punch threw cover. If you are haveing a bad problem with hanging in weeds and can't find or have tried smaller weights like 1/32 or 1/16 or 1/8 try a nail weight or even just part of one. I don't know what size weights you have. You can also try baits like baby bush hogs and I have read several posts on here about cheaper senko clones. Also trim both ends on the senko if it starts to tear or fray to keep it balanced. You may be able to catch a few more fish off of them even though they are shorter. Some tears can be repaired with a lighter ( we had a post recently)

[paully]

^^ Yeah the imitations are great. I personally like the Yum Dingers ( plastic worms by Yum!) Similar colors and a little more durable.

[rorsborn]

To preserve your SENKO...try using size 6 o-ring and hook thru it.

[George Welcome]

Why would it be disheartening to be catching?

There are places that the Senko will outshine just about anything. It sounds like you found one of those places. Try the Zoom Horny Toad in the same places. Try a split tail fluke - it also can be worked weightless.

[airborne_angler]

I find it disheartening because SENKOS are the only thing I wanna use,but I know theres other things that catch fish as well but I just feel I dont have the confidence or patience to use them and the SENKOS  are costing me a fortune up to this point.

[George Welcome]

Try some of the knock offs: At least the Senkos are getting eaten. Costly baits are those that don't get eaten and you end up tossing them.

[Ben]

If you are constantly throwing those Senko's in the same pond, the bass will make you change.  Won't be long before you can't buy a bite on a Senko.  Here are some things that will work well also.  Try a T-rigged 6" watermellon lizard with a 1/16 - 1/8 oz weight (depends how deep it is) and swim this so it's just above the junk.   A whacky worm also makes a good changeup.  This time of the year a devil horse will draw you a lot of strikes.  Might even try a Rapala repetedly jerked under sharply (use minimal forward movement) and let float to the surface will also get bites, but it's getting a little late for those.  A 1/4 - 3/8 oz buzz bait pulled over or next to cover will get you a lot of fish, fish it so the blades are just breaking the surface with a slow sputter sound, don't burn it.  

As the water warms up more, the fish are going to get tougher to catch so you need to start looking for deeper cover or a creek channel you can  work with a worm.

[Marty]

First, be proud of yourself for the ability to find fish, since you say there's always something hitting the Senko. Finding the fish is supposed to be the hardest part of fishing.

Always start off with a different lure and give it a fixed amount of time before you switch. I'd also follow previous advice to try one of the knockoffs that cost half the price. If none of this stuff works, I can think of worse problems than always getting hit on Senkos.

By the way, me answering a question about patience is akin to Saddam answering a question about human rights!!  :

[mtangtong]

I dunno man, why stop a good thing.  If senko's are working I would sell your other lures to buy you some more senko's.

[roadwarrior]

I have caught my biggest bass on Senkos, but for the last two seasons I have caught more bass over 5 lbs on the Fat Ika. I have just recently fished the Ika (smaller version of the Fat Ika) with much success. I fish these baits weedless and weightless only.

For deeper water where weights are needed, I like the Kut-Tail rigged with a jighead, the Kreature T-rigged and Gitzits.  I'll occasionally throw a lizard, C-rigged.

The soft plastics I mentioned are all very effective and give bass something with just a little different profile and action. I think you will find that some variety in your presentation willl produce more and larger bass. I'm a Senko man too, but these other baits produce for me.  

[Fishie]

I use to be the same way until they stoped hitting the hell out of them around here. THen it was the dropshot and now I am back to standard texas rigging this year. ;D

[Brad_Coovert]

I have caught my biggest bass on Senkos, but for the last two seasons I have caught more bass over 5 lbs on the Fat Ika.

Geez RW, he already said he was going broke with Senkos, now you want him to fish the Fat Ikas too?

Then he will have another dillema, which one of these baits to throw. ;D

Of course, he could buy some Sweet Beavers too. They work great weightless over grass also.

Sounds like a wacky rig will work on all those fish as well.  Get some rubber Orings and some wacky rigging hooks.  Catch a lot of fish and save baits.

Brad

[BuckeyeStateBass]

I once saw a twilight zone where a guy dies and goes to hell, only hell isn't what he thought it'd be.  He wins at every game he plays, has all the girls he wants and all the money.. the only problem is that it gets boring after a while when you win every game of blackjack...  as much as I hate to admit it, maybe alot of the fun in fishing is not catching something everytime, that way it makes it more special when you do.  Ok, that's enough fish philosophy for one night.

[abelfisher]

... as much as I hate to admit it, maybe alot of the fun in fishing is not catching something everytime, that way it makes it more special when you do. Ok, that's enough fish philosophy for one night.

Yeah, that's the ticket.  That is exactly why I Like fishing because, catching them is so difficult! ;D

[Marty]

maybe alot of the fun in fishing is not catching something everytime,

Perhaps, but I'd love to catch something every time so I'd get first-hand experience in determining how boring it really is.  :'(

[Redtail]

I have the exact same problem.  I fish a small private pond and catch a ton on Senkos.  I'll try something else, but give up too quickly because I know the Senko will catch fish.  I'm not complaining because I love to catch LMB no matter what I'm using.  But man, I feel your pain!  I'm not rich, but I pay the extra for the Senkos because I have so much fun.  

Suggestion: When the ends get torn, save them for a whacky rig with an O ring.  (Extend their usefullness).

A close second is the Tiki Stiks from Wave worm.  They are less than $3 a pack and are very effective and look just like a Senko with more salt.

One other suggestion-You can buy Senko imitations on Ebay usually 50 for about $7.  The look the same and are more durable - I just don't know how good they work.

[deep_waters]

If Senko's are getting expensive, I agree with other posters, try some knock offs.  I use a soft bait that I get at a local Wal-Mart called "Edge Speedfall".  They are $2.96 for 20 pack.  Seem to fall like a Senko, but they have a little more density and durability.  Give them a try if you can find them.