Dad and I are going to try out luck with Senko's on Friday :)

[BillM]

Going to take the day off work and hit the Pool with my dad. We are going to get into the thick stuff and drop some senko's for the first time. Any hints or tips I should know about? I picked up some nice 5" ones at JB's in some natural colours, along with some circle hooks. Should I run a long flouro leader or can I tie directly to some 30lb Suffex?

 

I am actually pretty excited about this, completely new way of fishing, plus I just love getting into those back bays, thinking about what's lurking underneath....

[timmeh]

Fluro leader really depends on water clarity. I've never fished there so i don't know what it's like. I personally usually use a fluro leader but have caught fish without it. Just a suggestion would be to have 1 of you use a leader and the other not at the start. That way you'll see if the leader makes any difference.

 

If you're going to be fishing the thick stuff you may want to think about getting some offset worm hooks and rigging the senkos weedless. If you're in more open water you can wacky rig them with circle hooks.

 

The best tip i can give is to work them slowly. throw them out, let them sit, and twitch them slightly, then let sit etc. When i first started using them i worked them too fast and got much better results when i slowed down. As far as colors go i almost always use natural.

Edited August 7, 2008 by timmeh

[oncogene]

If you're going to be fishing the thick stuff you may want to think about getting some offset worm hooks and rigging the sencos weedless. If you're in more open water you can wacky rig them with circle hooks.

 

Definitely.

 

I use 4/0 offset wide-gap worm hooks for senko, texas weightless. You can actually cast it for quite a good distance.

 

 

If you gona wacky rig, use o-rings to make the senkos last ALOT longer.

 

 

 

The first time I tried senko... FIRST CAST, I hooked and pulled in a fish of decent size. Lost it tho when I got it a few feet from shore... but boy was I excited about the senkos

[mikeh]

if you are going to wacky rig them with an O ring I'd suggest casting them into shore and letting them sit maybe give them a couple jerks. I move around quite a bit covering water to try and find fish. If you are going to fish them in thick cover where you want your bait to go thru you'll need some bullet sinkers, at least 1/2 inch , I like the gambler ones with the rubber in the middle.

Edited August 7, 2008 by mikeh

[salmon]

Bill

Use a 20lb FLuro leader and keep an eye on your line. One good thing about braid is that you can see any pickup.

Also remember with the circle hooks that you do not have to set the hook. After a pickup just reel in the bass will hook itself. The big buckets will inhale the worm and start swiming off with it, give it some line. Smaller bass tend to nibble on the worm. You can tell by the pickup that a big bass will run off with the worm.

BTW remember to pick up the smaller elastics at the dollar store in lieu of using a o-ring

Good luck and post your results

Jose

[BillM]

Thanks guys! I think the plan is to just rig them wacky and drop them down inbetween the lilypads, holes etc. Unless you guys think I should Texas rig them to give them a bit more weight?

 

Jose, I'll pick some of those elastics up before I head out! BTW, that reel is smooth as butter man, I can toss even a 1/4 topwater a mile!

[muskymike]

Good Luck out there Bill.

[BillsTheBassMan]

Your choice of 5" Senkos is something that I strongly agree with. I have had much more success on the 'bigger' 5" as opposed to the 4".

 

I fish with timmeh regularly, and I can confirm that fishing the Senko slowly has been a much better way to go for us at least. It seems that everytime I just let it sit on the bottom, turn around to get a drink or check some tackle - BOOM - a strike. Granted, you have to let the lunkers know your worm is there, so give it the odd pop.

 

Good Luck and watch those Senko hook sets - the bass really hammer them and if your slow to the draw you can gut them easily.

[Reef Runner]

All good remarks here so far.

 

As you are using natural colours and it may be tough to visually follow the bait to the bottom, I would suggest leaving a little bow in your line on the drop. This will allow you to see when the bait hits bottom or a twitch or change of direction in the line indicates a strike from a fish.

 

Small bass nibble, big ones take it sideways from my experience.

 

Good luck out there!

[BillM]

Thanks guys! Looks like the weather is going to hold out atleast until tomorrow afternoon, so we should have a couple of hours to mess around with.

 

If I don't pick up any o-rings, can I just hook the senko in middle and be done with it?

[Reef Runner]

Thanks guys! Looks like the weather is going to hold out atleast until tomorrow afternoon, so we should have a couple of hours to mess around with.

 

If I don't pick up any o-rings, can I just hook the senko in middle and be done with it?

 

You could, but every hit and fish on will tear your senko and you'll go through a bag in no time. It'll save you senkos and $ in the long run.

[BillsTheBassMan]

Thanks guys! Looks like the weather is going to hold out atleast until tomorrow afternoon, so we should have a couple of hours to mess around with.

 

If I don't pick up any o-rings, can I just hook the senko in middle and be done with it?

 

I really prefer going without an O-Ring myself, granted it will run you through more Senkos. In some cases, my O-Ring says it fits 4" and 5" Senkos . . . . until you try and put them on the Senko itself. They can fray-tear the material, make all the impregnated salt come out, and even change the colour of the bait itself.

 

I have landed 3-5 fish on the same Senko on more then one occasion. I figure, if I get that many on a 50 cent worm, I've got my moneys worth. I'm also not sure how natural it is for a worm to be wearing a big black belt . . .

[salmon]

Thanks guys! I think the plan is to just rig them wacky and drop them down inbetween the lilypads, holes etc. Unless you guys think I should Texas rig them to give them a bit more weight?

 

Jose, I'll pick some of those elastics up before I head out! BTW, that reel is smooth as butter man, I can toss even a 1/4 topwater a mile!

 

Bill

I just picked up some clear elastics from a dollar store.

You think you like your current set up Calais200/Avid 7MF, you should try my Calais 100 or my Steez

Jose

[BillM]

The weather wasn't to bad on Friday morning, although the wind was our enemy...

 

Gotta admit, this type of fishing is really fun, getting right up in the pads and hitting the holes and edges. I caught a few small largemouth, biggest maybe 1.5 pounds. The dang rock bass loved the 5" Senko's alot and I almost used an entire bag in about 4hrs!!!

 

I think the colour of the day was flourescent green flake. Even the smallest largie I picked up absolutely inhaled it. I'd like to find a lake with a bigger population of largemouth and try this tactic. Maybe I'll have to make it out to the Kawarthas again and give this a shot. Thanks for all the tips guys, they really helped!! (Although I found myself setting the hook a few times :) )

[muskymike]

Pictures??????

[BillM]

Pictures??????

 

I don't swing that way man, sorry to disappoint you

 

Fish were tiny, camera didn't make an appearance! You get out ski fishing this weekend? I was down in St.Catharines, didn't get out at all except for friday.