# How to work a Senko?



## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

How do you guys fish the Senko? I seem to have no luck with it.


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## ThunderHawk7 (May 3, 2004)

The best advice is to not "fish" a senko...Let it fish itself. By that I mean let the built in action work for you. Make sure that when you rig the Senko that you hook it "in the seam" of the bait. This seam is visible for you. The best way to fish it is weightless on a "slightly" slack line...Watch it closely...Fish it slow. The senko will work wonders for you on weed edges and around submerged timber and even docks....
Anyway, I hope this helps you....

Hawk

PS Try throwing it on as light of line as you are comfortable with...just be ready to adjust drag quickly...


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## kernal83 (Mar 25, 2005)

You can fish it a lot of ways. I think the best is to rig it wacky style with the hook right in the middle and just let it fall like thunderhawk said. Just watch your line and if it starts going side to side you got a fish. I also like to rig it texas style. I'll fish it like a jerk bait and let it fall every now and then. I also rig it this way if I am fishing weeds. 

Try it out in a pond sight fishing. I guarantee you will catch fish with it.


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## Pigsticker (Oct 18, 2006)

I always rig mine wacky style. I use a Gammy size 2 Octopus hook and a 5" senko, usually white. I always go weightless and use a line you can see well since you basically fish it with a slack line. I use Fireline Crystal, it may disappear underwater but its just like white kite string out of it. It also has no stretch and it's easier to set the hook even though you may have some slack in your line. 

I just toss it out there with pretty short cast toward structure mostly, either permanent or seasonal. Since its weightless you don't know when you've hit bottom.To me its important that every cast does in fact hit bottom and stay there for a few moments. After the initial fall of the lure I gather all the slack up tight and then make a big slow sweep upward with my rod to bring it back to the top again and start let it fall again. Using a white lure helps you be able to see it come to the surface every time. I just repeat this yo-yo approach till it gets back to me. 

If im not getting any action on the 5" senko i'll sometimes bite off an inch or 2. Its amazing that the same group of fish that just saw the 5" senko for an hour with no interest will suddenly start tearing up a 3-4" model. I don't mean just small fish either. The big boys act the same way sometimes. 

I never rig them Texas style because if im going to do that id much rather use a Slug-go or fluke and dart it thru the weeds. I also think the Texas rig with the big wide gap hook make the worm fall headfirst and not horizontally like they're designed to do to get the most action out of them.


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

my preference is to fish it texas style and position the hook more toward the middle of the body to make it fall horizontaly. Just run the hook farther in when you first insert it into the head of the bait. I think 4 inch ones get way more action than 5 inch. I even use 3 inch sometimes. My favorite color is black. I basicly cast it out let it sink to the bottom and the drag it a foot and let it sit, and repeat. Always catches fish like magic. I never work a senko fast.
If the fish want it fast I use a sluggo or fluke style bait, they have better darting action.


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

Thank you for all your insights. I am just working the worm too much I think after reading all your inputs. Just have to be more patient!


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## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

What I do is rig is texas style, cast out, let it sink, and when i reel it back it, just flick my wrists up. I can catch fish all day on Senkos.


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## TheSonicMarauder (Mar 9, 2006)

i fish mine pretty much like fishing miller says.... i basically just twitch it off the bottom and retrieve it as slow as possible


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## big fish (Oct 9, 2005)

i fish senkos many ways. i will fish it waaky style over grass or structure, i will throw out a worm texis rigged with one split shot about 3 feet up and work it back fast with jerkes on top of the water in the shallows. i will fish them deep with a carolina rig. but what i find to help the best is to fish it slow (except for when i jerk it on the top)


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## kmb411 (Feb 24, 2005)

Big hook 4/0 or 5/0 and no weight. Cast it out count to 20 and twitch. Count to 30 twitch. I also fish it top water. Cast twitch,twitch.


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## Skarfer (Jan 27, 2006)

How do you guys keep the wacky rigged senkos from hanging up in the weeds then???? I've never tried it this way, but see alot of you guys fishing it like this.......

I've wanted to try different ways, just haven't yet. I always fish texas rigged, all day every time out. I want to start fishing senkos, drop shot and shakey head - just kinda don't know how!


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

they make several styles of weedless hooks that can be used for wacky rigging. even some newer octopus weedless hooks.

Im not sure that senkos are especially effective on a shakey head rig.
Generally that is a 4-6inch straight tail worm, sometimes a floater. So that the tail lifts up off the bottom and waves with each twitch or shake.


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## Webman27 (May 31, 2007)

I agree with Joshy, I am a huge fan of the 5" Senkos on a EWG #2 gammy hook texas style but they won't work well for shaky or drop shot. I am just getting in to shaky head this year and played with drop shotting last year. I had a bunch of luck the other weekend using a Davis Shaky head worm sight fishing. You need a worm that floats for sure to make either technique work well


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

I beg to differ, my brother puts a hurting on the bass drop shotting a wacky rigged senko.
Seems to be the only way he catches fish with those.


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## stonehands (Apr 20, 2005)

I've went through a whole pack of senkos, tried texas rig, tried wacky rig, have only had 1 bite while working it, but have caught a few that smack it right on the cast before it reaches the bottom, I think I'm doing something wrong. Most of the time I'm casting it out waiting for it to sink to the bottom and raising the rod about 6-8 inches and waiting for it to sink again. I've tried varying the speed that I raise the rod from a sweeping slow motion to a quick little pop up off the bottom. I have even tried longer sweeping pulls and then kind of twitch, or shake the rod tip as it begins to sink, looked deadly in the pool, but no results on the water. There is a nice amount of bass in the pond I've been fishing and I see them cruising the banks, but they won't hit the senko when I throw it at em, tried throwing it past them and working it over em, and tried throwing it on top their head, but they look at it and take off the other way. The price and lack of action is beginning to turn me against the goofy thing. Today I did manage to catch a bluegill while working it, appeared to be a green sunfish I think and it was huge compared to what I've seen in the water there. I did manage to pull out a 17 1/2 incher earlier in the year off a senko, I casted it up against the corner of the bank and shook it loose off the bank and it flew back at me and dropped about 5 feet in front of me and as I raced to reel in the slack to recast the fish came out from under some moss and thwacked it on the drop. Just wish I could figure out how to do it, I'm more succesful with swimbaits and zoom lizards, if anybody wants to break down their technique one step at a time speed of retrieve, speed of twithces/pumps/whatever I'll give it a try before I run out of pack 2, might be the last ones I ever buy.


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## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

I've heard wacky rigging is awesome, tried it once and didn't get squat.

stonehands- what i do is Texas rig it, cast it, let it sink, then retrieve it at slow or medium speeds, giving it a jerk or raising my rod up, just basically flicking my wrist up...hope that helps....could u help me with swimbaits? i want to get better with them. Is all you do is cast it and reel in?


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

The problem may be your hook size, line diameter, or senko color.
On a 5inch senko ive done best with a 3/0 wide gap hook. If the water is ultra clear, use a 4 inch model. Like the kinami flash.
Ive never caught squat on bright colored senkos, havent tried much either.
I like dark greens, blacks and blues. 
Sometimes fish just arent triggered by senkos. Sometimes its all they will hit.
Ive noticed this year as the water warms they seem less effective. In hot water you need speed to trigger bites. Even if that just means the speed of a texas rigged weighted worm bouncing along the bottom.

The bottom line is, when fish want senkos, and you have the right color and hook. Its hard to work them wrong.


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## stonehands (Apr 20, 2005)

vary it, sometimes just cast and reel, vary speeds. sometimes you crank 3 times pause to let it drop into weeds, 3 more cranks pause, sometimes I'll pump it like a worm, sometimes I'll crank it and twitch it causing it to dart around like a minnow trying to escape/hide in the weeds. Storm swim shads are my swimbait of choice any size, I've caught bass that wore only slight larger than the bait before.


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## senkothrower (Feb 4, 2007)

Stonehands one of two things you are doing 1)fishing where there is no bass or 2) fishing way too fast haha Just have to force yourself to slow down. Throw it out & let the bait do all the work, just watch your line. Like someone said in early post that sometimes you have to change up between 4-5" Senkos to find what they want but this bait will always catch fish.


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## FlashMan2702 (Jun 2, 2006)

Well after reading this thread, and the "Favorite Lure" thread I went out and bought some 5" senkos(all they had left at Gander Mountain) in Red Shad Laminite and got some 3/0 offset hooks like someone recommended so hopefully I can get out there and catch some bass with these babies.

My main question is, do I have to rig it a certain way, or can I just snap it on the swivel and go?


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## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

FlashMan2702 said:


> Well after reading this thread, and the "Favorite Lure" thread I went out and bought some 5" senkos(all they had left at Gander Mountain) in Red Shad Laminite and got some 3/0 offset hooks like someone recommended so hopefully I can get out there and catch some bass with these babies.
> 
> My main question is, do I have to rig it a certain way, or can I just snap it on the swivel and go?


Either Texas Rig it or Wacky Rig it. I use to use a swivel, but now I just tie the line to the hook.


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## FlashMan2702 (Jun 2, 2006)

Fishing-Miller23 said:


> Either Texas Rig it or Wacky Rig it. I use to use a swivel, but now I just tie the line to the hook.


And how would I go about Texas rigging, or wacky rigging it? Could someone explain it, or post a link where theres an explanation on how to do it?


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## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

Texas Rig- http://www.catcherman.com/features/rigging/texasrigging030602sportmn.htm


Wacky Rig- http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/pierce/wacky_worm.shtml


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