Gary Yamamoto Senkos are worth the money.

[colin519]

Just thought it would be fun to discuss this again. 

Senkos catch fish when Yum Dingers do not. The salt impregnating causes them to fall differently, and the fish hit them harder. I change to Yum Dingers after I’ve found the fish and it’s clear they are in the mood. Even then they will catch fewer fish. 

My favorites are anything brown/green with red fleck, but I always keep ‘nitro tip’ Senkos or chartruse with black fleck around for those sunny bays. 

I have a friend who swears by the blue and black Senkos but I’ve found that they work best in the 6” size for some reason. Could just be random, I don’t fish enough of them to know for sure. 

Finally, any other brands that people like? I think there’s a KVD? 

[Lape0019]

I do not fish senkos often but do have a few packs in the boat. They work great for texas rigged but I fish a worm wacky rigged 90% of the time. For that, I prefer the powerteam lures sick stick. It is a little softer and doesn't break as easily. The are designed to be neutrally buoyant so they really need a weighted head to got the most out of them.

[Reef Runner]

I find nothing wrong with the YUM brand.  They catch fish and I find go on sale more than the other leading brands.

[OhioFisherman]

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/netcraft-dominator-baits/520415.aspx#FullDescription

5 bucks for 20 5 inch

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/yamamoto-soft-plastic-baits/515301.aspx

7 bucks for 10 5 inch

Doesn't every tackle maker have some spin off of the Senko?

Colors can make a difference and it's pretty easy to get a different fall rate.

 

[Weeds]

I’d have to agree with the post title. When in doubt,  Senko it out! It could in part be just a confidence thing for me. I know Senkos work so I use them and have invested far less time using others that didn’t catch me fish in a short span of time. 

[AKRISONER]

theres absolutely 0 doubt that yammys outfish dingers and pretty much any other senko. But i save my $10 a pack senkos for when it matters and find myself throwing the $3 a pack ones when it doesnt.

[aplumma]

senco all the way. I like to go catching instead of fishing

Art

[jimmer]

I was hooked on senkos, but got turned off when the price kept going up.  There is one specific colour that I prefer and no other company replicates it. I have found another brand that sinks the same and is much less expensive and they have a variety of colours that seem to work well.

[AKRISONER]

24 minutes ago, jimmer said:

I was hooked on senkos, but got turned off when the price kept going up.  There is one specific colour that I prefer and no other company replicates it. I have found another brand that sinks the same and is much less expensive and they have a variety of colours that seem to work well.

care to share?

[jimmer]

I like the orange pumpkin senko, but just can't justify $12 for a pack.  I have been experimenting with X-Zone baits, but I'm sure the price will eventually increase on them too once they are secure in the market. Maybe not, though.  I find YUM sink too slow for wacky rigs in anything over 4 feet of water, but I do like them for texas rigs.

[smithy97]

I've never found a bait that flutters on the fall the way a Yammy Senko does. It's the original, and still my confidence stick bait.

[Chuck Enwinde]

12 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

theres absolutely 0 doubt that yammys outfish dingers and pretty much any other senko. But i save my $10 a pack senkos for when it matters and find myself throwing the $3 a pack ones when it doesnt.

Yup, me too.  Really notice a big difference with wind.  It's damn near impossible to fish a dinger properly in anything more than a slight breeze.  

[aws]

I have been using senkos for about 10 years.  Yum dingers did not work. Watermelon cream is my go to in the river, Black for ponds and bubble gum in the lake around the Bruce peninsula.  They catch fish when others around me get nothing.  at a buck each they are far cheaper than any hard lure

[AKRISONER]

13 hours ago, Chuck Enwinde said:

Yup, me too.  Really notice a big difference with wind.  It's damn near impossible to fish a dinger properly in anything more than a slight breeze.  

absolutely agree, if you are fishing them weightless yums just dont work in the wind.

Ive been a huge fan of the buckey flick it whacky hooks, you can even fish a dinger on them in the breeze, they seem to stay up and allow the senko to swim still, but give you a bit more control

[colin519]

Interesting point about the wind, I hadn't really thought about that part of it!

I used to be all about the Carolina rig and Texas rig when I was learning as a kid and I really should go back to it. I never thought long about a bait like the senko working well that way. it was introduced to me 'wacky'. I've fished artificial worms  but I'd always liked the results with thinner worms because of the action they get so it just didn't click to me to use the fatter stick bait that way. Also the smaller bass sometimes can't reach the hook on a 5" worm so I thought they'd just tear them in half. I've fished wacky side by side with someone using them weedless texas rigged but I was getting cleaner hook up wacky rigged and just dealing with the weeds and we had the same kind of results.

This thread has shown me a few new jig heads and a let me see that people are using them effectively without feeling like an idiot. I dunno about you guys but there's something that makes me feel weird about the senko on the wacky rig.

For me, my 'confidence bait' is often a 2.5 or 3" Gulp alive minnow in Black Shad or Smelt on an 1/8 jig head. Nothing beat it in terms of being able to search new smallie waters, hook up with fish of all sizes, and it is more castable on an ultralight. The wacky Senko is on my longer rod usually for follow up casts to targeted fish or if I'm not catching anything I'll target the shore with it or long distance cast to known cover/structure. I guess in a way that makes the Senko the confidence bait, but to me, confidence means I can fish it the same way for anything, anytime, anywhere without worrying about colours or conditions of the day and thats a jig and minnow for me.

[singingdog]

It's easy to reduce the cost of senkos 10x if you fish them wacky: shrink wrap tubing. 

[adempsey]

There are a number of underwater videos comparing various brands of stick baits to the Senko. Most don't have the same subtle action, but the Bass Pro Stik-O is actually pretty close IMO. Also the Kinami brand is the same as GYCB and a bit cheaper, just fewer color and size choices. If you can even get them still, haven't looked in a long while.

Edited August 6, 2019 by adempsey