All about fishing Senkos

[smithy97]

I just started fishing senko's a lot more and have seen a lot of success. I'm using Yamamoto 5'' in purple and in baby bass colour. I've been mostly throwing them wacky style. I'm using a spinning setup and would like to switch to a baitcast setup. I prefer to use baitcasters over spinning gear, and I'm more accurate with baitcasters.

Any suggestions on what length or power of rod to use? Longer, shorter, fast or moderate? Also how do you like to fish senkos (wacky, weightless texas rig, etc)?

Edited August 11, 2017 by smithy97

[ecmilley]

Use. 68 med heavy fast all-star with a chronarch for weightless Texas senko for wacky still like my spinning uses Croix legend 5 11 skipping rod with a ci4 for skipping under trees and docks when weighting use my flipping gear all 7 to 76 heavy mod action with braid and fast with mono fliuro

[adempsey]

St. Croix makes rods specific for bass fishing and tossing Senko's. I'd check them out. The Mojo line is reasonably priced if the Legend Tournament's are too pricey.

 

http://stcroixrods.com/products/freshwater/legend-tournament-bass

http://stcroixrods.com/products/freshwater/mojo-bass

[smithy97]

I've been looking at the mojo lineup - lots of options that could work. I'm not sure whether to go with an x-fast or fast action. I think it will be a 6'8'' length for pitching short and accurate casts, just not sure on which action would be better. Any suggestions would be great.

[OhioFisherman]

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yamamoto_Senko/descpage-YAS.html

 

LOL, dang! 86 colors! That could get as complicated as the tender gender makes shopping for a purse or heels!

[smithy97]

Haha no kidding! Thankfully I can keep it to 2-3 colours that just work without making my brain explode!

[OhioFisherman]

Being a geezer smithy, I remember when people carried two colors of plastic worms, purple and black!

 

The color thing can make you crazy? I was fun fishing with my regular tournament partner one time, at a place we fished regularly, flipping and pitching plastic worms to cover, shallow clear water. We were using the same brand, style, and size worms, fishing the same spots with our casts, the only difference was color. I was using junebug, which had always worked well for both of us in the past, that day he put on a watermelon blue, and had 3-4 fish in the boat and I didn't get a hit, that was enough for me to go to that color! As soon as I changed colors bites happened and fish were caught.

 

After that incident we almost always used different colors when starting, dark and light. If we had been fishing alone? we might have stuck with one color and just figured the fish weren't there or inactive?

[adempsey]

I've been looking at the mojo lineup - lots of options that could work. I'm not sure whether to go with an x-fast or fast action. I think it will be a 6'8'' length for pitching short and accurate casts, just not sure on which action would be better. Any suggestions would be great.

 

Either would work just fine, especially if you use braid. If you're primarily fishing wacky without weights, I'd probably go extra fast, but fast would still be good.

[smithy97]

adempsey - I had planned on using 12lb fluro or copolymer, but would consider braid to. I'd be mostly throwing weightless wacky and weightless texas rigged. If x-fast is best for those than that's what I'll get. What's the advantage to braid for those setups?

 

ohiofisherman - yup colour does make a difference, I use the june bug and the baby bass colours, and if neither of those work it's watermelon that does the trick. Easy to get caught up in thinking that you need to own every colour out there. Once I found my confidence colours there's no turning back

[Garnet]

Go with the copolymer great abrasion resistance.

[msp]

I like to have two rods set up. One for texas rig and one for wacky.

Once the texas rig senko gets beat up you can re- use the worm on the wacky rig. Expensive baits, so anytime you can re- use the bait saves $.

6 ft 6 med. heavy. 20 pound braid with flouro leader. I prefer spinning gear so I can skip trees and docks

[OhioFisherman]

Sometimes you are paying for a brand name

 

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/netcraft-dominator-baits/520415.aspx#ItemImage

 

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yamamoto_Senko/descpage-YAS.html

 

5.15 for 20 vs 7.49 for 10?

[AKRISONER]

im using a g loomis GL2 jig n worm 7 footer with a Shimano Ci4.

 

Fast tip as i dont think you need extra fast for wacky, its not like drop shotting where you need that power right off of the hit..usually i like to let the bass eat the worm for a sec before setting the hook meanwhile while you are drop shotting especially deep, your hook sets are a lot shorter and can be required immediately if you get a good tug.

 

 

I prefer to rig my whack rigs weightless using a gamakatsu whacky hook...they just seem to hold up better than anything, especially the wire. I pick apart pockets and edges, the bass cant seem to resist that slow wiggling fall.

[bobowski]

Senko fishing wacky rigged can and has become addicting for me. Watching your line twitch or slowly getting pulled away and anticipating the hook set really gets the blood pumping. IMO its more about finding the fish and putting it in front of them fishing this way rather than the colour of the senko. Usually if the bass can see it on the fall they will hit it. With this being said I do try to stay more natural with my colour selection the more clear that the water is and use brighter colours in stained water.

[misfish]

I have never had an issue using straight braid, I find when fishing bass, it,s a reaction bait. The spots I will fish them, are in heavy cover or under docks, floating swim platforms. If they want it, they will take it. I will make long casts, and just watch the line. I rig it weedless. I will run the hook through it and up the line, and work it til 3/4 down the worm. Pop it through, and then just press the hook through the worm. I can drag it over pads and heavy cover. When I see an open hole, I just let it drop down. I find this method has a better hook ratio for me. Hook in the middle, they can grab either end and the fish and you, miss.

 

Just my experience with the worm.

 

As for colors, well, I like pumpkin seed and white with black or gold fleck.

[BassMan11]

I fish them on a Loomis 6'8 E6X medium x-fast paired with a Ci4 with 15lb power pro hi vis yellow line and a 12lb floro leader. I like a weighted wacky hook as I believe its a bit or versatile fishing shallow or deeper water. Lots of clear smallmouth lakes in the Ottawa valley and the fish are a bit deeper during the summer. I find on high pressure lake the wiggle of a Yamamoto might trigger a few more strikes then the other brands. If I am heading up north and bass are around I would get some Yum dingers as they are half the price and a bit more durable.

 

I have caught more numbers of fish on this bait than anything else. Although after a week of fishing it's tough to look back and see you went through over $100 in plastics worms.

[AKRISONER]

If I am heading up north and bass are around I would get some Yum dingers as they are half the price and a bit more durable.

 

 

 

This...

 

i literally used 1 single yum dinger for an entire weekend and caught over 15 fish on one worm.

 

Its true the yamasenkos have that ridiculous wobble, but i get p-oed when i cast and they rip in half.

[KawarthaAngler]

I have found it to be quite difficult to cast a weightless wacky worm setup on a bait caster because of the backlash. The reel needs to be set pretty loose to get any casting distance on such a light lure and backlash was too common for me. All my rods are bait casters, but I have one spinning reel setup and that is for wacky worm (which I usually have setup weightless because the lakes where I fish aren't very deep (less than 20ft)).

[boombap]

I use baitcasters 90% of the time but I use a mojo bass 'wacky style' spinning rod for both my wacky and shaky heads. Works great.

[bobowski]

 

This...

 

i literally used 1 single yum dinger for an entire weekend and caught over 15 fish on one worm.

 

Its true the yamasenkos have that ridiculous wobble, but i get p-oed when i cast and they rip in half.

Are you using an O-ring? Using one will extend the life of your worm immensely.

[AKRISONER]

Are you using an O-ring? Using one will extend the life of your worm immensely.

 

yes sometimes, but it has actually reduced my number of hook ups...sounds ridiculous but i notice a difference for sure.

[KawarthaAngler]

It makes sense there would be less hookups due to the positioning of the hook in relation to the direction the fish attacks the worm.

[SaugaPikeSlayer]

Are you using an O-ring? Using one will extend the life of your worm immensely.

 

Use two o rings..cross them over and stick the hook where they cross...the hook will also sit perpendicular to the worm, not parallel like it does with one ring.

[manitoubass2]

Use two o rings..cross them over and stick the hook where they cross...the hook will also sit perpendicular to the worm, not parallel like it does with one ring.

Must try this! Great idea!

[SaugaPikeSlayer]

Must try this! Great idea!

I also use the clear rings, not the black ones.