The Senko Phenomenon?

[U.L.]

Thanks Bacon, appreciate it! I need all the help I can get.

Cheers
UL

[Canadian Bacon]

[Fishhawk]

Great thread.

Two summers ago Bobber and I started fishing the real Senkos. We rigged them like you would a weedless worm (no weight) and had about as much success as we did with a 7 or 10 inch black worm.

Last summer our lives were changed. It seemed to defy logic, but rigging senko-style baits wacky-style was all I did for a couple of months (August and September) and the results were amazing. I did what Tony explained in his post. Short casts as opposed to long ones, fanning out each cast, letting it sink, letting it sit, and then a very very slow retrieve with lots of pauses. It took some getting used to (the slowing down part) but it works.

I liked the green-coloured senko-style baits. While I like dark-coloured worms (why fish worms other than black?) when it came to Senkos I couldn't get them to take a dark blue or black. Switch to green or watermelon or baby bass and as Float Fishin would say...
"BAM"

Some days you will need to pay attention to the type of senko you toss. While colour is important on some days, likewise you will find that the action of the worm makes all the difference. Some senkos are firmer and heavier than others. Bobber and I fished beside Ransome one evening last fall. Ransome had his favourite bait and was pulling smallmouth in left and right. I couldn't get a hit on my baits even though they were identical in colour to Ransome's. He was going with the Wave worms and I was going with my favourite of the month - Venom. Waves are a little less firm and sink slower. Ransome let me have a couple of his and as as Float Fishin would say...
"BAM"

Good thread!

[Bender]

Has anyone caught walleye or pike on these or are they strictly bass.

[steve-hamilton]

i've bookmarked this thread.

this board is SOOOO good for actual fishing knowledge....

I'm so glad i've found it!

[Canadian Bacon]

I personally have only targeted bass with them...but I have caugth a few Pike...Never a Walleye on them....yet...

[U.L.]

Ok, this is humorous. Drop shotting, my dad taught me how to do this 40 some years ago when I was a kid. We just called it drift fishing. It's amazing how no matter how much the technology changes the old tried and true methods still turn out to be the best. We get hung up on the new and forget the old, which worked anyway. Just my thought. Sorry, Iknow this isn't totally relevant to this thread but struck me as funny.

Cheers
UL

[steve-hamilton]

in drift fishing, aren't you letting the bait constantly tap bottom, letting it flow along with the current?

from what i understand of drop shotting, its more of a verticle fishing style, with no movement of the weight.

from what i understand, it can't be done very efficiently in moving water.

hmmm....

[U.L.]

Steve, you are absolutely right, by todays terminology. I think over time the terminology has become more specific and probably my Dad was keeping it simple for an 8 year old. If you were standing on shore, drift fishing was allowing the bait to do as you said, in a boat (from what I can remember), you could allow it to bump bottom or be suspended as the term seems to imply now. Anyway I just think sometimes simpler is better as it used to be. But Steve you are right, and this is a great thread. I didn't mean to side track it. Take care.

Cheers
UL

[steve-hamilton]

if it sidetracks into five or six different helpful tips, i dont think anyone will complain....

[Fishhawk]

Has anyone caught walleye or pike on these or are they strictly bass.

Is there anything that pike won't bite?

You will catch yourshare of pike on them for sure, but you are more likely to have a pike chomp the bait and hook off your line. Like Tony and Ransome said - watch your line for a subtle "tick" that suggests something other than a free fall has happened to your bait after tossing it out there. Some of those gentle "ticks" will definitely be a pike if pike swim in your waters. Buggers!

Does that mean you use a leader with a senko? I shudder at the thought. I can't think of anything that would kill the intended action of a senko more than a leader.

Other species? We've caught channel cats and walleye/sauger on them in the Ottawa River but they were incidental to our efforts to catch bass. I wouldn't target those species with a senko.

[Bender]

Thanks for the insight Fishhawk

[ontariodreaming]

Like I said I had great success with white rigged wacky style with red octopus hook. Managed to get a small rainbow late last season down here. Suprised a 15 inch fish would even try for a 5 inch senko. Who would have guessed.

[orrsey]

Drop shotting can be done in lots of methods. The idea is meant to keep the bait in the strike zone as long as possible and that doesnt mean holding it still at all times. However that will work in lots of occasions. There are lots of guys that will throw a drop shot rig out and actually reel it in letting the sinking bump on the bottom. The sinker while bouncing on bottom will create noise and stir up the bottom altimately drawing attention to the bait. The trick is to keep the bait on relatively the same plane which takes a lot of practice. When fishing a shoal for smallmouth say, a good way I have found is to throw the bait on top of the shoal and slowly bounce it down. As you bring it down let it sit for a bit every so often and wiggle the line. That would be the only way I can see using that rig to find them on the shoal, outside of letting it sit there and waiting for them to come to you. Once you do find them it may be best to keep stationary, especially if you have already got a fish or two out of the school. As for moving water I dont see why it wouldnt be effective? The water is only going to move the bait so you dont have to, just use a bigger weight to keep it on bottom. I find keeping it stationary works best when I know there is a fish or there is fish present. For example when flipping near trees or docks. Sometimes when fish will take nothing else due to whatever reason a drop shot rig will come through. I think it has a lot to do with the bait staying in the strike zone, typical size of the bait, and unfamiliarity to the presentation. I dont think that just because someone changes the way they use a technique its no longer that, the idea is there just altered a bit.I dont think there is a wrong way to do anything if it works. I try lots of variations with lots of presentations and baits, some times they work some times they dont, I would suggest not limiting yourself to one strict thought about a bait or presentation and who knows you might find the next hottest trick out there. Just my experiences and those I have heard about from others.
Blake

[grumpy7790]

I have heard some drop shotting, but instead of using a sinker they replace it with a jig and pig. Best of both worlds.

Grumpy