The mystery of senkos

[SturgeonKid]

Well, I personally hate using the darn things but they've caught more than their fair share of bass for me...but if the fish are eating another lure like a jig just as good as they're eating the senko...I'd much rather use something else to catch the fish. Senkos are BORING! LoL! Anywho, I'll start from the top...a senko is a soft plastic bait made by Yammamoto that was the first of its kind. They're now calling this type of bait...a stick worm. The senko is not a type of jig in any sense. Just thought I'd clarify that. But yes, now there are many different companies making senko look-alikes. On the package of senkos now I think they're calling them...Yamasenkos. And don't kid yourselves thinking that a senko works best in spring and in clear water. I slaughter the LM Bass at Utah Lake (2" visibility) using a wacky-rigged senko in the fall. Senkos work all year long in all water clarity types, but yes, there are certain conditions when a senko will work better than other baits. My favorite way to rig a senko is wacky-rigged. I like to do this mainly because it gives the senko just a bit different action than how most everyone else fishes their senkos. You cast it out around cover and structure and let it snk. Once it gets down there I just barely twitch my rod 3 or 4 times then let it glide back down again. A lot of the time though the bite will come on the first drop down to the bottom just after you cast...so watch for that line to jump or pick up speed suddenly! I would personally advise against giving the fish a few seconds to allow them to eat the whole bait...this is because if you give them a few seconds...they will EAT and SWALLOW that senko. LoL. You'll gut hook more fish if you allow them too much time to eat it. Senkos are just so good to them they don't waste time in eating them. As soon as you detect a strike...set that hook. This is just my favorite way of fishing a senko, but different conditions will dictate how I rig them and my techniques with them...it's an incredibly versatile bait and can be fished a number of ways...you can rig them texas (weighted or weightless), wacky, carolina, drop-shot, split-shot, darterhead, or even as a jig or spinnerbait trailer. I've caught fish using them all of those ways. Right now in the hot sommer months...my favorite way to fish them is to wacky-rig them and cast/skip them underneath of docks or overhanging trees or brush way back into the shade.
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