Senco lovers

[friendlyfisher]

Just curious what the best nockoff brand of the senko is? What works and is affordable out there. I know some companies have em like bass pro, Kinami, Luck E Strike and I'm sure there are more. What works, what doesnt and what should i try. thanks.

[kt]

The only "knock-offs" that i have tried are the chompers salty sinkers. They worked fine for me. They have a different fall rate than the senko, and that can be more effective depending on what the fish want. They also have a very strong garlic scent to them. Also, the chompers tend to be a little more durable than the senko.
I have also tried the kinami flash and i believe that the flash is basically the same as the senko. The senko is sold in packs of ten by gary yamamoto custom baits, while the flash is sold in packs of 7 by derek yamamoto's Kinami company. (Gary's son)

[JoJo]

We started using Tiki sticks last year. Instead of garlic, these are inpregnated with Anise. I actually put a few Senkos in a bag of Tiki's and they picked up the scent. Price is only a little lower than the Senkos, but we like the action of the Tiki's

Give the pumpkin swirl color a try.

Jo

[BigMike]

The kinami brand is the same exact brand as senkos, except for different packaging. They did it for marketing reasons. For one it looks like they are cheaper, but they are really the same price, if you factor in the $/senko ratio. You get 7 in the kinami versus 10 in the yama bag. Plus the Kinami packaging allows them to sell them in larger commercial stores that won't carry yamamoto senkos (ie walmart, target, etc...).

If you read any of Dan Wood's posts, you're bound to read about case magic sticks. He showed them too me down on the 'sippi - pool 4 and they worked really good for smallies. Plus they have a gazillion colors. I'm sure you could find other knock offs, I know I have but because of fm "advertising" rules I don't dare post... . Good luck.

[Mark Christianson]

There is a sporting goods shop, in a town that starts with an "A" and ends in an "a".
This town is in west central MN, and the un-named sporting goods store that begins with a "C" makes their own Senkos for $2 per 10 count bag.
Not nearly the colors to choose from like the original Senko, but it sure beats paying $6 for 10 worms. Especially when the darn things fall apart after just a couple fish.
Sorry, I would love to give the name of the store, but I have been shunned by the moderators on FM because it was considered advertising.

[kt]

Hey big lake,

I know the store you are talking about. I frequent it often in the summer but have yet to purchase any of their senko type baits. Have they worked well for you? Do you fish that area very often? I make it up there quite often in the summer. There are some awesome bass lakes up there that see almost no pressure.

[BigMike]

Biglake, I got in trouble when I was a virgin post-er for mentioning the source by name that you mentioned above. My bad - I guess I didn't understand all the rules of the site, but now that I do, I don't dare mention But the imitations you are referring to are really good, I stocked up on a trip I made up there this last summer.

Again, the case magic stiks which have been promoted on fm are really good & and cheap alternative too

[friendlyfisher]

Biglake,
I appreciate the tip. I will have to try to get out there and buy some one of these days. I live about 50 miles west of the metro so im not there often.
Do you guys find the 3/0 wide gaped hooks work best for senkos or the trueturn style?

[Mark Christianson]

Looks like I have a few questions.
KT
I have very few hours on the imitation Senkos. I got them in October of last year I believe, but I have heard nothing but good stuff about them. I have never fished the general area of Alexandria(oops, did I say that out loud). When I head north, I spend all my time around Battle Lake, and do very well up there.

FriendlyFisher,
I use the Gamakatsu EWG hooks for all my wormin' needs. I think its about a 3/0 hook, but I am not sure without looking at them. I just love my Gammies!!!!

For largies I typcially hook it Texas style for the weedlessness(if thats a word), and for smallies I do it whacky style.

[Dan Wood]

The immitations that biglakebass and BigMike are speaking of looked pretty good from what I could see. The ones I've been using a lot are called the Case Magic Stik. I don't know what the retail pricing is on these, but they are considerably cheaper than the Yamamoto/Kinami baits and much more durable. One thing to be careful on with imitation senko's is the salt content. I've done a lot of testing and the sink rate on the Case Magic Stiks is nearly identical to that of a senko. Quality is also a concern as the salt mixing to that level is not at all an easy process to control. Just something to keep in mind when your looking at immitation baits of this type. Yamamoto baits are made well, but then again you pay for it big time. The Case Magic Stiks also offer a replacement if for any reason you have a bait that wasn't mixed properly. Maybe I'm a little picky when it comes to my baits, but I do want to know that the sink rate will remain constant from one bait to another and one package to the next. The slow natural sink rate is what makes these baits so effective. Once you figure out how fast the fish want it, etc., you sure don't want to lose it because the sink rate on your baits are not matched.

The Case Magic Stiks will soon be available from TJ's Tackle online. They can be seen on the Case HSOforum. TJ's Tackle is also a sponsor for FM and will be donating tackle prizes for Metro LETS this year.
http://www.madtoms.com/ms.htm

As for hooks, another vote for the Gama EWG's.

[This message has been edited by Dan Wood (edited 01-06-2004).]

[fisher98]

biglake & Kt,

i used the imitation senkos that you have metioned in your previous post all summer long this past year!!! They worked great!!! And you can't beat their price either. The action is pretty close to the same, they are a bit more durable , but do not have the numerous colors that the others have. I think this spring everyone is coming out with their own versions of the senko, so it will be interesting to see how they all compare!!! You can't beat this bait, but enough people are fishing them that the fish will get conditioned to these as well, its only a matter of time!!!

fisher98

[kt]

Hey fisher,

I caught the senko fever last year. They are one of my confidence baits and i always have one rod rigged up with a weightless senko. What colors do you like to use? I mostly use watermelon, smoke, or variations of pumpkin/rootbeer.
Do you fish that area very often? I spend quite a bit of time up there in the summer. I know a couple lakes pretty well. This year im gonna make it a point to fish the chain more often. I fished it a couple times last year and did ok the first time, but i really hammered them the second time. There are some unkown lakes up there that are just loaded with bass.

[fisher98]

kt--

i fished it a lot this past summer in depths ranging from 1 foot all the way down to 20 feet, on 8 pound test and 25 pound test lines. In my Bass club i know of people that used that lure 95 % of the time!!! I preferred a lot of the same colors you liked, but also i used a few more!!! A clear with metal flake worked really well, as well as a crawdad color....these colors seemed to work on largemouths as well as smallmouths....for the smallies i dropped down from the regular 5 inch to the 4 or 3 1/2 inch models..sometimes rigged texas or wacky style.
One thing that i did since these baits can be expensive,is that after i am finished using one texas rigged and it gets beat up, i throw the used ones in a seperate bag that i use later for wacky rig fishing..the fish don't seem to mind, and i can get 2 different uses out of the baits..try it!!!
In the Alex area i had a chance to fish the chain last year in early june and nailed the fish...i caught them on a lot of different baits, but the lure that produced the larger fish, was the senko knock-off!!! There are some many good weedlines to fish that it would take weeks to go thru the whole chain. It is just a tremendous fishery!!!

fisher98

[BigMike]

If you are really concerned about prices for senkos... think about using them for t-rigged and then when they get ripped too much to fish'em t-rigged, save them for those wacky rigged situations and once that is done, you can even use it for drop shot (from both ends of the senko). The senko style is a great plastic for drop shot technique (especially the 3 to 4 inch ones).

Although if you actually used it for all three, you may have a really beat up senko and since the real senkos are so soft, they do deteriorate faster...but you can definitely save $$ and maximize your senkos potential by using the above mentioned techniques.

[bassin]

Fleetfarm (can I say that?) had the senko's on sale in September. They were $2 off the original price. Not sure what they are selling them for now. It might be worth a stop in to check it out. They discount a lot of their summer gear over the winter.

[friendlyfisher]

Theese tips sound really good. I was going to resort to eating my brocken senkos, I thought maybee spinkling them on a salad or deep frying them. Or even using them as a fertilizer. Now I don't have to, I can wacky rig em. thanks.

[troutstix]

Another vote for the Case Magic Stiks, I have had very good luck w/them (and Charlie is a great guy!). He also makes a couple of my go to river smallie baits: Sinkin Salty Shads (a Sluggo type bait that falls horizontally like a Senko), and Case Madtoms (there were days I couldn't keep the walleyes off of them!).