A Senko a Day Keeps the Skunked Away - by Steve Socko

A Senko a day keeps the skunked away - By Steve Socko Through the fifty plus years of tournament bass fishing, a “new” lure or technique comes along every year. I’m sure all of you can remember the very first time you were introduced to a slug-go, gitzit, stickbait or jig, etc... In the category of everything old is new again, some “old” lures have been rejuvenated once again to produce record breaking bags in today’s tournaments, i.e. plastic worms. Our tackle box(es) are chuck full of the “next best thing” from 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and so on. Our confidence grows with every purchase of what that guy caught the 6-pounder on last week with. We stuff our Plano boxes with every size, color, and weight being offered on the shelves, just to go in a completely different direction next year, and start the process all over again Yeah, its fun going into a tackle store anywhere and view all the offerings on display. It is like going to Santa’s village every time for us grown-ups, lol. I admit I fall for this affliction like anyone else, My tournament bags are bulging with plastic worms, crankbaits, spinner baits, jigs and the like, and each at some point have their applications , and a successful angler knows when and where to open up and grab the right lure. Saying that, to this day, I have found no lure more versatile that consistently catches bass then a senko. There is almost no bad way to use it. I’m not fond of trolling one, but allow me to tell you about a fishing trip I took with my wife. My wife, bless her heart likes to fish, but at the time, she wasn’t a very good caster, more of a lobber. The senko, has enough weight to it, that no additional weight is required to prevent tangling from the memory of the line. I was just starting to use a senko and to be honest; I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it, so I Texas-rigged it. Texas-rigging is a perfectly good way to fish a senko, but I thought you would have to fish it like a plastic worm, little to no movement. My wife on the other hand would slowly and constantly reel in the line. I mentioned that she should let it sit, and as I was saying this she got a strike. Long story short, within 25 minutes, she caught a 2-1/2, 4-1/2 and 6-1/2 pounder out of Swan pond, by constantly reeling in a senko. I no longer “tell” my wife how to fish. Anyway, I have so many senkos in so many colors and sizes I am embarrassed to admit. I will just say once when a friend of mine was unloading a cardboard box full of my senkos, he started singing, one ton of senkos, I have a one ton of senkos, all together now, we all know the song. And I still keep buying more. As I said before, you can Texas-rig a senko, drop-shot, cast and slowly retrieve one, use a senko as a trailer on your jig or spinnerbait, and God knows how many other ways to use it. I personally like to wacky style my senko. The undulation of both ends of the senko as it slowly descends is just too appealing for a bass to resist. I don’t like to add any weight to it, but have seen others quite consistently catch bass, by adding weight to the line, the hook, or even putting a finishing nail in one end of the senko itself. Some add scent, I haven’t in a while, nor do I use a small o-ring in which to place the hook in. The o-ring may extend the life of your senko, but I have found if you are diligent in observing the wear on the senko and re-hook as required, you can extend the senkos life enormously, before that cast where you see your senko going half way across the lake. I also believe, the more times you re-hook, making the senko looking more and more haggard, it somehow entices a better bite. I’m not sure if it looks wounded, or that bubbles trapped in previous hook holes are released as it descends, or if by penetrating the skin it releases more scent. But it does work? I watch the line on the descent, looking for that tell tale tap. If the senko falls all the way to the bottom I eventually, slowly raise it or at times give it a short twitch, always looking at the line for movement, be it to the side, a bump (like a jig) or that heart stopping one where the line shoots out away from you, like it had just taken a ride on a jet-ski. Of course, there may be no apparent movement at all, and all there is will be a feeling of more weight on the hook, which in case this happens, just pull back and enjoy the fun. I let it sit for as long as possible, obviously the standard rules apply to water temp; when colder, the slower, the hotter, the faster, but this is like everything else in bass fishing, that it is not set in stone, but it is a good place to start. Once again, if the wind conditions, the boat op- eration allows, I like to soak the senko, some have called the extended time I leave a senko in the water as “ghost fishing” I don’t know why they call it that, but I kind of like it. I have found that in most cases, the longer you leave it in the water, the bigger the bass will take it. Perhaps this is because smaller bass tend to be together and therefore must react quickly before their brethren gets the chance to bite, whereas a big momma is alone and usually examines your offering before consumption. I have seen big bass in clear water shoot to my senko and watch, as if it was de- ciding what to do with it, before it sucks it in, sometimes a very slight wig- gle entices the bite, but if you move it too much, I have seen big bass swim away from my offering. As I retrieve my senko I usually jump it out of its stationary position, real in a few times and let it drop down again, three or four times before I completely bring it out of the water and cast again. This is a fairly good technique in sparse weed where clumps are apparent or where there are holes in the weed. The bass may not see your first offering and when you bring the lure over the weed and drop it to the fish it doesn’t know nor does it care how that offering got there. This technique also saves time, and energy, by cutting down the time you have the lure out of the water, and going through the process of casting a forth of the time. When you are through jumping your bait, twitch it a few times vigorously, let fall a few milliseconds, pull in some line and repeat the process until you have brought it all the way to the boat. The versatility of a senko is its most alluring commodity. Few lures can be used in as many different climates, conditions or circumstances. Light cover, moderate cover or dense color will dictate what if any minute changes in rig design will suf- fice. Skip a senko under the trees, the dock, it all works. Use the senko as a jig, a tube or plastic worm. Whatever way you are most comfortable with, you can, in most cases, apply it to a senko presentation. As I have said before, my personal favorite way to use a senko is wacky style, Specifically, I use a EWG hook in sizes 2, 1/0 or 2/0, I like owner hooks, in red or nickel, 8 pound test fluorocarbon line from Bass Pro Shops, no swivel, nor additional weight, using a heavy-medium action rod with a fast tip, with a good open-faced spinning real. I have used different sizes, I usually fish the 5” size and have at least used 25 different colors and or combination of colored senko, but my favorite three, are green pumpkin/black flake (297), black/blue flake (021) and what they call pearl (234), even though it looks like purple to me. I have used the word “senko”, which of course is manufactured by Gary Yamamoto, which is my personnel favorite based on its density and rate of fall, but I also like the “venom” brand. As success brings along various forms of imitations the world of senko like designed lures are manufactured by an increasing amount of manufacturers, who’s to say which one is best, when and where? On a calm mirror finish day, I cannot imagine any lure giving me the confidence and therefore the positive results I have enjoyed for many years that I have experienced when using a senko. It certainly is my go to bait. I hope you all have simi- lar experiences with it. - Steve.

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