How to avoid deep hooking with senko's?

[trx250]

Yesterday me and a few friends tried senkos for the first time, and honestly, i am no great fisherman by any stretch, hell, descent would be giving me too much credit! But i love it and try to get better all the time.

It almost seems to easy to catch fish with these things!  We caught so many fish, i got tired of taking them off the hook.

Most of the hooks were swallowed, I feel horrible when they have a good chance of dying from my hooks as i am sure most people on here feel the same way?

After reading posts and tips on how to most effectively fish this bait i have found that when fishing them very slow with a mslack line, the bite can be undetectable at first, which is what allows them to swallow hooks.  How do I fish it properly and at the same time know when to set my hook in time before they swallow the bait?

I was using 2/0 offset hooks with 4 and 5 in senko's

would bigger or smaller hooks make a difference?

Sick of hurting the fish!

[Raul]

Watch your line, "feel" your line and you 'll deep hook a lot less fish.

"FEEL" YOUR LINE:

Most people when you talk about "feel" the line immediately think about actually what you can feel ( thump, tap, scratch, pull ) on the line, it 's importat, however, what you don 't "feel" is equally important. When you cast a bait like a senko as it sinks the bait drags the line along with it, you can ( if you 've got practice, a good line and a good rod ) really feel the drag, but let 's say you can feel it for whatever reason, you can see the bait pulling the line as it sinks.

If you are out there and don 't pay attention to what the bait is doing from the moment the bait touches the water and until it hits the bottom you are missing 50% of what is happening as the bait sinks, bass do hit the bait as it sinks, a lot more oftleny than what you think, so you are not paying attention, ny the time you actually feel that 's something 's going on the fish already has swallowed the bait, obviously when you set the hook you gut hook the fish.

Watch your line ( the line no longer sinks )

Feel your line ( you don 't feel the bait dragging the line )

Any of those happen, set the hook, more often than not you 'll find you hooked a fish.

[bigfish88]

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!! Every time I hook a fish with a senko, it is in the gullet!!

[Sfritr]

Try using octopus hooks....   You will hook 95% of them in the top or corner of the mouth.  Rarely do I deep hook one this way.  #2 size is perfect.  Don't worry, its NOT too small.  ( I can't believe I said that )

[Grey Wolf]

Smash the barbs on your hooks down.

[bassin is addicting]

these are what i use.  and i fish wacky 70% of the time from the bank.  before i used these i was having the same problem, even watching close.  i don't have that problem now.  these always get corner hooked in the mouth.  and i use the 1/0 size

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The weedless Wacky Worm Hook has an extra-wide gap for deep, sure hooksets.

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ok... i can't tell if the pic came through before i post this.... sorry if if didn't.  

[dmac14]

Watch the line, any weird things going on just set the hook, as you fish it more often you will notice how as it pulls line down, if that rate increases or decreases, reel the slack and set the hook...hook sets are free, and if something is going on and you don't set the hook it could potentially be a fish and thus swallowing the whole bait.

[Jake.]

Use circle hooks. You will save a lot of fish.

[BrnzeBckStalker]

IMO if you just pay close attention to your situation with your line in the water you should be able to get away without gut hooking a fish. for instance when you throw your line out and there is slack from the sinking lure watch or feel for taps in the line. bass usually do a tap tap kind of action to your lure. you will be able to feel it or see you line move tight and loose when this happens. the bass usually peck at the lure a few times to see if they actually want to eat it. when you feel or see this action slowly reel it in to remove the slack and slightly bring the rod back making sure you keep a sense of feeling and when you feel straight weight and no pecks set the hook and make sure you do it quick. that means he is usually decided he is going to consume his food and then its fish on! also you will have some bass that just hit it hard when it hits the water and do not even bother to test the lure. that is why you have to pay attention to your sight and sense of feeling. hope that helps you a bit.

[tritz18]

Set the hook faster, as everyone said watch your line and really pay attention to your senko

[DINK WHISPERER]

I have yet to gut hook one with a Senko! I use one of my most sensitive rods and fluoro to fish them though! Sometime you will see the lure stop dropping two ft down in 5ft of water! Other times it's just a "mushy, alive" feel to the line! This is one lure that requires 110% of your concentration IMO!

[crankbait2009]

Smash the barbs on your hooks down.

smashing the barb down, im assuming this is the little "barb" just past the end of the hook?  is it wise to do this with all crankbait hooks as well?  why is that barb even there?

[islandbass]

Smash the barbs on your hooks down.

smashing the barb down, im assuming this is the little "barb" just past the end of the hook? is it wise to do this with all crankbait hooks as well? why is that barb even there?

The best thing crimping down the barb does is making the hook easier to move, especially if the hook is in the gullet. I know that most people don't do that. I have done so with loss of fish no greater or worse off.