Am I fishing a senko wrong???

[Stick in Mud]

I was out today wading a small local river and caught about 20 or so smallies on senkos. My problem (if it's a problem) is that 95% of the fish hit the bait before it hits the bottom of the river. I got one or two after the bait had settled or drifted downstream, but almost all the fish hit almost immediately when the lure hit the water.

I have also had this "problem" for largies--the same thing happens. I either catch a fish within the first five seconds of the retrieve or I don't catch one. My retrieve varies...sometimes I snap jig it (this does OK for smallies sometimes), sometimes I drag it like a t-rig, sometimes I life it up off bottom and let it settle, soemtimes I fish it like a soft plastic jerkbait.

So, does the senko just work this way? Or am I mis-fishing it and missing out on more fish-catching opportunities?

[ocf1]

Thats totally right, I fish them wacky and twith them the way to the boat.

[st.crioxfishin]

I guess there isn't quite a "wrong way" to fish this type of plastic, but the way you are fishing it is how I fish it as well. A lot of it depends on how active the fish are, but a majority of the time the fish will hit it before it gets to the bottom if your fishing it weightless. At other times they may want it deadsticked on the bottom, but when they are active they hit it soon after it enters the water from my experience.

[fellowx]

You are having the same experience as I do with the Senko. Probably 3 out of every 4 fish I catch on the senko is caught as soon as it hits water. I keep a close eye on the fishing line for any movement. I'll generally reel it halfway back to the boat before reeling all the way in but it always hits the first drop or nothing at all.

[vikingmeatwad]

When you guys talk of fishing a senko what kind of hooks do you use?

This usually just means that your using it wacky style right?

[bassNspear]

85% of the time when i am fishing a senko, im fishing it wacky style. Reason that i do that, is becuase the fish is going to hit the middle of the bait almost everytime, right where the hook goes through the bait.

I use 3 ot or 4 ot hooks. If your rigging your senko weedless, you might not have to hook through enough to get a good hook set, or the fish are just hitting the end of the bait, where the hooks not there.

Try fishing it wacky, i bet you a bag of senkos you will have a better hook set ratio.

[Slyster]

I find using weighted hooks (EWG with lead built in on near the top) with a wacky rigged senko... the setup is amazingly weedless!

The way that the weight is always pulling the senko down and the hook tip is up.. it just glides over weeks.. even milfoil.. and it also speeds up the action a bit as they sink faster.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I feel the reason you catch a fish right away is this...

At least when I fish, I cast to an area I feel the fish are. And if I get a bite, its often times where I casted...

I either use a finess wide gap gamagatsu for wacky rigging or a 4/0 Mustad ultra lock.

[ocf1]

Ive had good hookups with an octupus hook, 4/0 i believe.

[JP Z]

the reason you get a bite right away is that is the main action of the senko that the fish are drawn to. not the flutter from the bottom or what have you. But the wobble as it is falling right after you cast for instance. The Seductive Senko Slink........breathtaking.

[ocf1]

When I fish docks i tend to let it fall for 10 plus seconds, then do a shaking drag, or a plain drag, Ive had plenty of fish take it when i do that. Not too many fish after the first 5-7 feet though.

[Central Bassman]

I think one of the biggest things people don’t do when fishing a weightless senkos in deep/shallow water is watch there line. I think this is really important and will help you catch more fish. A lot of people will reel down and lift the senko up, by doing this the fish can fell you pull on them and might spit the lure. I have fished Senko from 1 to 22 feet before and watching my line has helped me catch more fish.

[polarsusd81]

I have switched my game to pretty much always have a rod rigged and ready to go with a senko. That rod also spends the most time in my hand. I fish them t-rigged and wacky, but most often wacky. A lot of times I will get a bite as soon as it hits the water, but there are a lot of times as well that a fish will follow it right to the side of the boat. I tend to work them pretty fast and work it all the way back to the boat most of the time. I don't think that getting hit right as it hits the water is unusual, it is the nature of the lure.

On a fun note, last week when out on a north metro lake, I made an underhand cast and it was going to sail about 15' into the pads. Right as it got to the edge of the pads a bass that was about 4lbs or so jumped out of the water and snatched the senko out of mid-air. Probably the coolest thing I have seen on the water this year. By the time I realized what happened and went to set the hook, she was in the pads and the line snapped. I was bummed but it was still an awesome sight to see.

Speaking of which, when you fish a senko, what rod/reel/line do you prefer? I fish them on a 6' medium/medium-fast spinning rod with a shimano reel and 8 lb test. Occasionally I will put one on the heavier casting rod with 30lb spiderwire if I am flipping one into little holes way back in the pads. With my usual combo, I can cast the things way out there. Just about the perfect lure for long distance casting in my opinion, but then there is a lot of stretch in the mono.

[Coach Dog]

Deitz,

Can you, or someone, please post a picture of what it looks like "whacky" style. If you have other pictures of other riggin methods, that would be neat to see as well. As for me, I just rig them texas-rigged with no weight.

Thanks, Coach Dog

[Deitz Dittrich]

one of those is rigged as a typical teas or texpose.. the one with the hook in the middle is a Wacky rig.

[Coach Dog]

Perfecto! Thanks! I know that these baits are not very durable, but the whacky rig looks like it can fall apart just on the cast. Other than "recycling" baits that are torn up from texas-rigging, are there any secrets to keep the whacky ones on longer? Thanks again.

[polarsusd81]

They are surprisingly durable wacky style. I don't go through them nearly as fast that way as I do texas rigged. I can average a good 4 or 5 fish on each worm wacky rigged, unless they really tear at it. Another great thing about wacky style, when you tear it up on texas rigs, you can usually recycle it on the wacky rig, and vice-versa.

[Stick in Mud]

Thanks guys for the info.

Now that we are on a slightly different topic, I'd like to add something. One way to increase the longevity of a senko to rig it backwards after one end has gotten ripped up. This works especially well in rivers (where reaction strikes are more common) or when the fish are active (like when they hit the lure two seconds after it hits the water). Fishing the senko T-rigged "Forwards" and "backwards" before I fish it wacky-style allows me to get 15 or so fish per senko. Another thing I'm sure most of us do (but some may not) is bite off the top of the senko if it gets ripped up and then re-rig it. AGain, this works great in rivers for smallies when the wiggle of the senko isn't quite as important. And the shorter lures seem to catch more, though smaller, fish. But because the end isn't tapered, it does catch a few more weeds and it does lose a bit of action.

One question: Which brands of Senkos are the most durable? I find the yamasenkos to be the flimsiest, though I think they catch the most fish. It also seems to me that the Yum Dingers are quite durable, as are the Tiki baits you can buy at Gander. The Tikis (I'm pretty sure this is what they are called) are pretty big, but they are by far the most durable baits I've found. What do you guys think?

Carl

[JP Z]

Gulp! sinking minnows are probably one of the most durable. The Tikis are great and FYI if you go to their HSOforum they are closing out a bunch of baits. $1.50/pk Shipping up to 13 packs is a total of $6 so under $2/pk after shipping wavefishing is the site.

But I like the Gander Black Magic baits my self. use an O-ring or large Split Ring over the worm then just put your hook around that to increase longevity.

[ole matty]

i liked voodoo. i took rid of reg senko in my tackle box n stock more of voodoo. they are not that durable but cheaper than reg senko. 3.49 at mike bait shop 3.19 on line for 10. 22 bucks for 100. fell in love with them. work good for me.

[skink]

I have the best luck with yamamoto's, but Mann's Hardnose definitely last longer T-rigged anyway. Although, they may last longer only because I catch fewer fish. right? Thank you for the tips on biting off the end after it's been chewed too much. I have a bag full of used senko's that I will try again.

[ocf1]

The most durable, definitaly strike king 3X zeroes!