Senko-Great plastic but questionable durability?

[Mark Christianson]

Anyone else use Senko worms?
Man, it costs 6 bucks for 10 worms, and if you can catch more than one or two bass before it falls apart you are lucky.
But, man, what a great bait!
I can say that even Power baits are more durable. I have rehooked power baits several times, and they may look cruddy, but at least you can use them for a while.

Is it just me?

[Guest]

No, it isn't just you. Mr. Yamamoto has a good thing going. Great baits that fishermen need to replenish constantly.. what more could you ask for.

The more you use them the better you will be able to rig them to stay on your hook. I can sometimes go 5 fish now using the same worm.

Some guys use shrink tubing for wacky rigging to keep the hook in. I don't use anything special, but for wacky rigging I hook it in the worm twice to keep it from shaking off so easy.

[Lunker]

The senko has just through this season become my favorite bass bait. You can fish it in any situation except really heavy weeds, and it has gone unrivaled for numbers and size of my bass.

However, they are not at all durable. Reason is they have so much salt in them that the it tears very easily. It sucks for expense, but the salt is what makes the bait so heavy for casting and taste so darn good to fish(tastes like dump if you ask me Also, if you havent tried them, the baby senkos are also very useful in certain situations. For my last Metro LETS event on Waconia I used green and white baby senkos fished both wacky and weightless to catch quite a few bass, including four of the six we weighed in.

[Lunker]

Oops, one bit of advice, often after some use the end and middle of the worm will get torn up if rigged normally, I use these previously used baits for wacky rigging, the hook can hold the bait together in the middle, and it doesn't matter if an end is split.

[delmuts]

several of the guys i talked to about them said they use both ends for texas rigging and then use it wacky style to get the most out of them. spendy, ok. but just remeber that if you stopped at a bar for a while how far would that money go? ( my $.02 ) del

[EBass]

Senkos are my go to bait recently. Heck ya they're spendy. And have they ever gone on sale? I haven't seen it if they have.

As mentioned before after they get messed up I put them on backwards, or even cut a 1/2" off.

One thing that I have never tried is WACKY style. Can someone teach an old dog new tricks? I understand how to hook them, but what cover would you rig it this way and would you use a bobber? Yes this style is whacky.

[Mark Christianson]

delmuts,
I try to be on the water vs in the bar.

Interesting suggestion on reusing it wacky style. I have never tried that. I have been just biting off the worm a quarter inch or so, and working my way down until there is nothing left. And man, they do taste like s**t.

[catchin'whopper]

I have purchased the Bass Pro Shops Stick-os as a kit and have seen similar success as the original senko. The sticko definitely is a cheaper replication, but as far as productivity i am not sure if i have seen a drop. I have fished in club tournaments side by side with people using the same color senko as the sticko i used and our success was even. We each caught fish that day, neither bait seemed to produce more or bigger fish. The sticko does not have as much salt that seems to make the senko crumble in your hand when you rub it, but it seems to have as much as a Gene Larew salty product, which i think is respectable and good for confidence.

So with that, i suggest maybe trying out the BPS sticko, i believe you can get a 20 pack for $5, or just splurge and try a kit that comes with a 3600 plano for $15 or something like that, it came with multiple sizes and colors.

If i had the preference and deep, deep pockets, of course i would go with the original senkos though. Those baits are what sluggos were 10 years ago on the fishing industry and plastic worms 35 years ago!

[poncho]

I was told once that if you thread monofiliment through the whole senko it helps keep the thing together and makes it last a lot longer. I have not tried this yet. I agree whole heartedly about the lifetime of a senko, it's rediculous! But they sure as hell work!

[Forestlaker]

Senko's have become my favorite but because of the cost I have been investigating alternatives. Things I have run across but have not tried are: Stamina makes a thing called a Salty Sink Worm which looks identical to a senko. You can get 50 for $15.20 plus shipping. Also, check out
http://www.basslurereviews.com/prosoft.asp
its a review of a glue used to reinforce or glue torn soft plastics. I haven't tried it but would be interested to hear from someone other than the reviewer that has.

[EBass]

Wacky is right. I will give that a try if it helps me land a biggun.

[Guest]

This is really WACKY ... wacky rig on bottom of this illustration, T-rig on top...

You don't have to hook in the center of the worm, use your imagination when rigging wacky... Sometimes I hook it 1/3 from an end, but normally towards the center. I hook the point through the worm twice wacky style to keep from losing the worm every cast. Doesn't seem to hamper the action much at all. No bobber or anything. Cast it out and let it sink. Twitch it a few times, pull it up slowly and let it sink again.. they hit on the sink often, so keep your line tight while it's dropping.. They are actually more weedless than you would think. If you have a real problem with weeds, you can also use a weedless hook wacky style or go T-rigged. Good luck!

[Guest]

Although I have not tried fishing these things "wacky-style" I saw an interesting rigging method on TV...The guy threaded an O-ring onto the Senko (it is necessary to get e tight fitting o-ring). He then just hooked the o-ring. When he caught a fish the Senko slid up the line like when you catch a fish on a worm rigged texas-style. I can't speak from experience but the guy caught a lot of fish and the Senko was always 1-2' up the line...It's all ball bearings and O-rings these days!!!

[This message has been edited by bronzeback88 (edited 07-25-2003).]

[Guest]

Yea I've seen o-rings used as well as shrink tubing. I myself don't use either, but I'm sure they would increase the life of the bait when wacky rigged. I figure if I can catch on average maybe 3 fish on a worm, that isn't a bad investment. Once you get the hang of them, they do last just about as well as any other worm. Once in awhile I can go 5-10 fish without changing to a new worm. I also really like Berkley Powerbaits and Gulp, but same deal with those (expensive and not very durable). I'd say that senko durability is better than some of the Berkly baits (paticularly some of the Gulp baits and bungee baits). It seems if you want a soft bait full of scent and/or salt that the fish will hold, you will need to sacrifice on durability.

If you want pure durability, those 3x and snap-backs are good in that regard.

[EBass]

You know, it's like we need something right in the middle. Something that has the salt and action, yet a little more durable.

I can't say that I really like the 3X. I like how they float, but don't like how I can't use the FL screw in weights. And that action isn't the best.(jerk shad) Maybe I wasn't using the right rod, but I'll stick with Zoom, Berkley, and Yamamoto. Maybe some others but those are my brands for the most part.

[Lunker]

EBASS, the wacky rigged version is a great alternative because sometimes the fish will want one way, sometimes the other. It seems weird to me, because the senko is designed to fall like a wacky rig even when not rigged wacky, but I don't argue with results.
On a recent trip up north I was fishing on one of my bass lakes that sees very little pressure. We were fishing the edges of the pads with a variety of lures, but I was stuck on my green and white baby senko. I was catching some fish, but the strikes were scattered and I wasn't getting good hooksets. I switched the same lure to wacky, and in the first 5 casts I caught a 2 lb bass, a 3lb pike, a 1lb rock bass, and a 4lb bass. The hooksets are better as well because the hook is exposed, and as far as where to used them, weededges and docks are good, but not in the weeds cause they are not weedless like that. Good luck

[mickeyg]

I manufacture my own Senko bait: Pachinko.
It is more durable and has the same sink rate.

Feel free to post questions/comments.

One advantage with purchasing my baits instead of mass production is that I will produce them to your exact specs (as far as the color and scent) you want.

Mickey

[This message has been edited by mickeyg (edited 07-26-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 07-28-2003).]

[Pherris]

Mickey,
I have purchased many "imitation Senko's" and have been very disappointed in the catch rate compared to the real thing so I am very skeptical however I have not tried yours and I would love to find a less expensive alternative so I have a couple of questions. Could you produce a 7" model? Also what is the cost if I was to order a 100 qty of a particular color? Do you offer samples to try? You can contact me at [email protected]

Thanks

[Guest]

guys heres something for you to try dab some superglue on the hook eye then slide your senko upand over this will help conserve the amount of senkos you use in a day..

[EBass]

Lunker, that seems like a whacky story to me just kidding, I did give it a try, but it just didn't feel right. Oh, I'll give it another shot.

Later,
EBass

[Guest]

I've had better success in general wacky style as well. The water resistance is greater, so that helps keep the worm from moving too fast and also keeps it deeper. Plus you have the action on each side of the worm rather than just the one end.

You would be suprised at how well they go through the weeds with the exposed hook wacky style. If it is really thick, I'll switch over to T-rigged or sometimes a weedless hook wacky style.

[irvingdog]

Yum makes a laminated Senko-style called a "Dinger". I like it.
For me, wacky never met a weed it wouldn't grab onto..........

[Guest]

Try rigging the hook parallel to the worm - instead of crosswise. Hook it down and back up through the worm and you will stay out of the weeds better. Not weedless by any means, but it does pretty well.

I've tried the Dingers and the Stiko's, but prefer the original senko's over all others I've used.

[dan sexton]

One suggestion I have not seen is: using both ends of the Senko, as long as it is not too baddly torn in the center. The Senko works as good if not better when threaded through the "pointy" end as well.
I found this out one time because I used about 4 bags of Senkos one day and I had no choice. I was very pleased with the result to say the least.
I have also heard (but haven't tried this)that you can boil the used Senko in water and the salt and plastic would mend itself. Agian, this is heresay, since I spend any free-time I have fishing!

Hope this helps,
Dan

[mickeyg]

I have used a lighter to remelt torn noses and midsections. It works in a pinch on tourney day...you'll get another fish or two!

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[This message has been edited by fishnAddict (edited 07-31-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 08-05-2003).]