I make the Senko weight in varying sizes and weights using Hollow core pencil weights! you can see one of the weights in the Senko photo

 

Very nice! I love reading this type of information as a young guy passionate about all kinds of fishing. Do you primarily fish the Columbia?

 

Yes for smallmouth Bass. But I also fish the Willamette River from time to time

 

Sounds like you had a most excellent spring bass festival! Congratulations.

A less expensive soft plastic is the Bass Pro Stik-O. I got 16 of the split tail version at Cabelas for $4. I use it ned rigged and it works just as well and is much more durable than those salt laden sinking soft plastics like Yamamoto.

 

Very nice, where do you find that clear senko? can you give me the size, color and who makes? always looking to add to my bass gear. Thanks!

 

You can come down to the Umpqua, catch as many as you like. As long as you take them home.

 

Roger thanks for the great reports,
Altho I don't get out as much your reports continue to educate and inspire.

 

I still use senko's for most of my fishing, and the knowledge of how to fish them, that you gave me Roger! Especially now that I am retired, more time to fish.

 

I have run into lots of fishermen that would never fish a sissy bait like the 3 inch Senko type bait. I have fished with good fishermen that liked to call them selves Power fisherman. And I said I want to catch every fish there! I landed a 4lb 10 oz smally from the back of the boat and the power fisherman asked if I had a few for him and i gave him a bag full. The biggest limit we have on us as fishermen is often ourselves. Roger The ExBass Guide

 

I gotta admit, 3” does seem kinda small. I think the average is 5”? There are definitely some days where you gotta have the 7” to draw any interest.

 

You will get 10 times more bites on the Senko. You are not going to get nearly as many fish using 6 or 7 inch Senko type bait for smallmouth bass.
I have landed many monster smallmouth bass using the 3" Senko. 6.5 lbs and about 10 smallies over five pound. The biggest large mouth bass i have landed on a 3" is 5lb 11 oz from the waters of the Columbia River. This week I gave a few 3" Senko to a fellow bass fisherman. I saw him later and he wanted to thank me and shake my hand. he got several bass from a pond miles away from where I met him and he drove several miles back to thank me for the lures and information. The three inch Senko is the post productive lure I have ever used hands down!!! and the skirted Ned rid is the second best. I always have one tied on whether i am fishing for large mouth or small mouth bass. But I use the small Senko about 5 to 10% of the time because other lure catch bigger large mouth bass than the small Senko. But if you need to know what the bass are doing like depth cover type and other information that is very helpfully to know, the 3" Senko is the best at getting quality information fast! The small Senko is a very effective tool. If you are pre-fishing for a tournament, you are missing out if you are not using an extremally productive bait.
You will get tons more information with 20 bites and fish over 2 bites and fish. then when you know the fish and what you are doing you can use better lures for big bass. But on tournament day if the bass are shut down you can win the contest using a Senko or even a ned JIG. Like you should have see in this thread I landed 447 smallmouth in May on the small Senko including two five pounders.

 

I gotta admit, 3” does seem kinda small. I think the average is 5”? There are definitely some days where you gotta have the 7” to draw any interest.

I gotta admit, 3” does seem kinda small. I think the average is 5”? There are definitely some days where you gotta have the 7” to draw any interest.

If you have never fished a 3" Senko type lure you will never know how amazing they truly are. You don't know what you are missing! I was a guide for over a decade.
There are lots of bass fishermen that will never try the number one most productive lure ever. Do yourself a favor and get on board with the rest of use on Ifish that use this truly amazing bait.
The most bass i have landed in one day using this bait is 120 P.B. this year I got 95 from my pontoon rowboat and 82 from shore the next fishing day.
What is the most your 7 inch Senko has landed in one day? And the small Senko catches monster smallmouth bass!!!!

 

If you have never fished a 3" Senko type lure you will never know how amazing they truly are. You don't know what you are missing! I was a guide for over a decade.
There are lots of bass fishermen that will never try the number one most productive lure ever. Do yourself a favor and get on board with the rest of use on Ifish that use this truly amazing bait.
The most bass i have landed in one day using this bait is 120 P.B. this year I got 95 from my pontoon rowboat and 82 from shore the next fishing day.
What is the most your 7 inch Senko has landed in one day? And the small Senko catches monster smallmouth bass!!!!

It was actually a phallic joke. I normally use the 4” and 5”. I do bubba-shot the 3” quite a bit.

 

I fish the 3" Senko most days I fish for large mouth bass. But I normally only fish it in more open water. If there is a fish in a spot it WILL hit the tree inch Senko and I will land more bass than if I done use it. I guided for bass at Silver Lake Washington. And that lake gets a lot of pressure from very skilled fishermen. So as a guide to get more bass in the boat for my clients it was an outstanding tool when fishing spots others have pounded earlier. I would regularly fish behind tournament boats and we would land bass that did not bite their lures. It is what I call fishing against the grain. Fish a bit different that all the other fishermen and catch the fish they never landed. I often fish deeper, shallower, faster, slower, bigger, smaller. do this and you will be
surprised at the results! I also fish when many others do not. In the rain, Wind, Heat, Cold and dark or very low light. The small Senko is fishing in a way 95% of the fishermen do not!!!
So if you are a tournament fisherman before you leave a spot toss a baby Senko and catch more bass!!!

 

A 3" Senko is a very effective lure but they are fragile. When I wacky rig them I use a small piece of surgical tubing which helps some. That being said I now tend to throw a Ned rig with a Zman TRD instead of a Senko. I can catch a lot of bass without having to re-rig and I think it it is at least as effective of a presentation. Plus I like that I can feel it ticking on the bottom.

I think the key takeaway is that bass will gladly suck in a small, slow moving morsel even when they are not super hungry.

While I do always have one rod rigged up with a Ned rig I do prefer to fish faster if the fish are agreeable. A great day of fishing is one where I never have to pick up the Ned rod

 

Zman TRD is really tough but a bit more expensive. I've found the Coppertreuse to be a great color.

I find the Columbia bass really cant resist an inexpensive (16 for $4) Bass Pro Stik-O split tail baitfish color on a Ned rig. Recently on Lake Umatilla, I had a hard time getting that to drop down to 25' deep without it getting caught up in a bass mouth. Lazy man fishing by just dropping off the side of the boat and catching bass after bass.

 

Zman TRD is really tough but a bit more expensive. I've found the Coppertreuse to be a great color.

I find the Columbia bass really cant resist an inexpensive (16 for $4) Bass Pro Stik-O split tail baitfish color on a Ned rig.

Zman TRD might be a little more expensive but elaztech is so durable your bass per bait cost is probably lower. Plus it floats, so you ned rig stands up off the bottom.

Speaking of bass per bait... for wacky rigging senkos I'll give a very positive review of the VMC Crossover Rings. It's rare I don't get 10 bass off one senko when using them. They actually make Yamamoto affordable to use. I think my hook up ratio might be a little better too.

 

Yes the Senko Brand is Fragile, but the other brands hold up MUCH better and at a cost of about 10 cents you can get a lifetime supply.
I use Ned skirted Ned jigs a lot but they cost an arm and half a leg.
for my fishing style for small mouth bass the Senko brand and Ned rigs take a back seat. Ned TRDs on SALE are #0.35 each and the jigs are $1.25. So one rig is almost two dollars and my Senko are under $0.40 total and are more productive. I use the Ned more for large mouth and I also use my Senko depending on cover.
The skirted Ned jig and TRD are mt best cold water Fish catching tool of all time. My # 1 color of My Senko TYPE Bait is Clear/white or solid red. Lots of colors work great but the two colors are definitely better than any other color I have ever tried. 447 bass in one month is the proof. and 120 smallmouth bass in one day fishing alone is my P.B. numbers