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Senko Lazy Susan
By the Inside Line Staff

Members of Gary Yamamoto's Inside Line Magazine Staff take turns telling you some of their best Senko tips. Sort of a Senko Lazy Susan if you will! 

We'll focus primarily on Senko rigging, tactics and HOW TO achieve maximum results with your Senko. We'll talk less about other secondary factors that may or may not matter, such as color.

"I am on the water all the time." says Larry Hemphill, one of the busiest guides in Northern California. "Last week at Clear Lake I was guiding 3 clients using the 5" Senkos and we discovered there is no such thing as a hot color. The bass hit every color we threw. Amazing!  I am hearing reports that guys are using them at night - I haven't tried that yet."  But it does work, especially with the bigger 6" and 7" Senkos (9L and 9X) for largemouth at night.

Cap'n Chuck Duggins agrees about color. "In Maine rivers, catching smallmouth on Senkos is no problem!  That's a fact.  While guiding recently, I used up my fresh stock of "new" colors in less than four days of throwing them. I was handing my client whatever color Senko I happened to have left in the boat. The client would use it, the bass would eat it!  If the fish wouldn't eat it, it was time to move because the dumb guide (that's me), didn't have them on fish.  It was THAT easy." Even still, the good Cap'n is known to have a liking for cream white (036) Senkos if he's still got any left in his boat after a few days of furious fishing! Chuck's description for 036 is quite colorful. He calls it "bass barf white" because it's the same color as half-digested baitfish that well-fed bass barf up as you fight them into his boat!

Another Sunday morning, I had three clients in my party who wanted to fish with topwater baits like Pop-R's. They caught only a few all morning, but missed more. Time for the guide cheat!!! We parked on a mid-river rock for lunch, right in the middle of a known "Glory Hole". After we ate, but before we pulled off the rock, I made five casts with a Senko and caught 5 fish! Now, I had their attention!!! These were NOT ordinary smallmouth, but 17" to 19" fish! Well, by the time we got back to the ramp at 4:30, the clients had pulled ninety-seven Senko fish into the boat. We all were tired as we could be, my thumbs were RAW from releasing all those fish and the clients will be coming back for more Senko action next year, if not before! 

Now some people might not understand this, but clients are a LOT harder for me to catch than fish. For a working guide, that is just a fact! Clients also cost more to find, if you are recruiting NEW ones, but are relatively easy to KEEP if you help them catch a lot of fish! Now, all of a sudden, Senkos become very inexpensive because they help me keep clients coming back! Senkos WORK!!!

"As a guide, sometimes things happen that aren't planned or rehearsed." says Cap'n Jack Duggins. A few weekends ago, I was guiding with Cap'n Chuck. On the second day, I took our client's two boys out (ages 17 and 15). It started out that about half the time the boys were not into fishing at all. I think they had girls or something on their minds...

Anyway, we were fishing Senko halves. You know, the 5" Senko cut in half. I find this helps inexperienced clients who can set the hook better due to the smaller bait. Well, these young guys were not really paying attention. We were working a shoreline on the Penobscot River, just drifting, and I threw one of these Senko halves up onto the bank. It was a lucky mistake that saved the day! Not wanting to get it stuck there, I yanked it back into the water and it skipped about 10 to 15 feet across the surface. Then I saw a wake come up behind it and SMASH!!! The Senko was heading south! Wasn't a big fish but I stumbled onto a new way to fish these things! But best of all, I noticed through the rest of the day, that the boys got very interested in this new-found and exciting style of explosive topwater fishing!

When fishing this way - the half Senko/Popper with the Split Shot hook - cut them square in half...don't bite, rip or pinch them in half. Then put the Split Shot hook through what used to be the middle. Now, toss them up real close to shore, and "pop" it back to you about 20 feet, then let it sink. I'm convinced it's the sinking after the popping that makes the fish hit so hard, as all poppers float...right? Not so with Senko.

Jerry Puckett, editor of the Inside Line Magazine thinks it's important to rig the Senko to maximize what he believes is the most positive attribute of the bait - its subtle action on the drop. Due to the natural heavy density of the Senko (salt sinks), the fact is that the Senko does drop unlike any similar styles of baits. As far as the pricing, the cost for us to produce them is high. What goes into all our Senkos is unlike any other out there, and a good part of the reason for their success. Is the Senko best for all soft jerkbait applications? Absolutely not. If a slow-speed, subtle presentation in the upper part of the water column is called for, a Fluke or Slug-go style bait will generally prove superior because they stay up in the water column whereas a Senko does not. We're not overlooking the fact that all artificial baits are tools that work best for different jobs.

Now, with the understanding that the following is my personal observation and opinion, I'll continue....the "correct", or "required" rigging to effect the above mentioned action, on the drop, is a matter of balancing several factors to always achieve a horizontal drop.

Taking a 4" Senko (9S) as an example - with a 2/0 light-wire hook, and a relatively small diameter line, I think (the operative phrase always is I think) it's necessary to rig the hook well back in the body of the bait (Tex-posed or T-rigged) to achieve the desired horizontal orientation. Rig up the same rig on a larger diameter line (say, 20# test) and it would be necessary to place the hook in the extreme forward portion of the bait, and possibly up-size the hook in order to achieve the same results - a horizontal drop - due to the increased buoyancy (actually a combination of buoyancy and water resistance) of the larger diameter line.

Gary Yamamoto fishes his Senko in a very subtle fashion, maximizing the "drop", or even the "glide".  Now, Gary's rigging is a bit beefier compared to the above, due to his preference for thick cover and trophy-sized quarry, (5" to 6" Senko, 16 to 20 lb. fluorocarbon line, and a 5/0-6/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook...a heavy wire version of the Gamakatsu EWG).  Remember, Gary's in Texas and occasionally Mexico where there are bruiser-sized bass living in flooded trees, but his presentation is very similar to what I've described above, and his focus is on the horizontal aspect and the falling drop of the Senko. So should yours.

If the fish are holding in or near shoreline cover, Gary pitches the bait past the bush (often onto shore) and then "glides" the bait out through and past the bushes by simply raising his rod tip toward the vertical - all very methodically and slowly. That's the ticket in shoreline or flooded cover, the "glide".

If the fish are on outer weedlines (or other cover or structure), Gary casts the bait and allows it to sink, essentially on a controlled slack line. In this mode, Gary's a line watcher. He watches the line for a pick-up as the Senko drops. If there's no pick-up on the initial drop, he again uses the "glide & drop" technique by raising his rod tip toward the vertical...slowly....then lowering it. The "raise" is only like raising a flag so the bass can see it. Then on the horizontal drop they eat it.

Again, I think the key to the Senko remains this concept of "balanced rigging" between the hook, the bait and the line keeping the Senko horizontal.

Andy "Cooch" Cuccia is a top Western tournament contender and guide on the California Delta. His opinion is that the Gamakatsu Offset Shank Round Bend 50 Series Hook is better-suited for the 4" Senko (9S) and 5" Senko (9).  They fall differently with this hook versus Gamakatsu's Extra Wide Gap (EWG) hooks. Most guys are using the Gamakatsu EWG hook. I did too. I don't feel anymore that the EWG is the right hook for these two baits. The bend of the EWG hook hangs down below the Senko and acts as a rudder on the 9 and 9S says Cooch. Along with the up and down undulation of the nose and tail, you get this little side-to-side motion when you use the EWG. For some, that may be desirable, but not for me. I prefer the Series 50 which hugs closer to the Senko and let's the Senko have more of its own action and less of the hook's rudder-like effect. As a do nothing bait, which is how I use the Senko, I also notice that with the EWG hooks, when you slowly lift the bait, it acts like a rudder too, and causes the bait to go from side to side too. I want my bait to be slowly lifted straight up off the bottom, about 2 to 3 feet, and then float back down again. I just want that bait to quiver at the nose and tail as it falls, not side to side. The round bend provides that.

Yet another thing here on the differences between the series 50 versus the EWG. I have had a number of guys tell me they are not getting a good hookset. Fish are coming unbuttoned and they're losing fish on the EWG when they use the 9 or 9S Senko. I too experienced this with the EWG. I can't explain this other than it seems maybe too much plastic gets balled up in there on the bite. 

When I use the Series 50 Round Bend, I thread it almost a half an inch deep into the nose before I pop the bend of the hook out. The hook sits a bit further back into the nose  than most guys do it. I get a little better action this way and the stress of the hook and line's point of contact is not located right at the end of the bait, hence I get less tearing of the bait at the nose. 

The next thing I do is bury the hook point in the middle of the bait - but I don't bring the point back out - just like you would a traditional Texas worm rig. This puts the hook point a little further down the bait. It also does not create the channel in the middle of the bait that occurs when you pull the hook all the way through and expose the point. Most guys bring the hook all the way through and expose the hook point. I don't do this. Doing this creates a weak spot in your bait. I see a lot of guys doing this and it really weakens the bait to the point that it will tear quickly. Your going to tear a lot of baits up, hooking it all the way through, especially with an EWG hook. You will get a much longer life out of the 9 and 9S Senkos with the round bend 50 series hook by not bringing the point back out versus the EWG hooks "tex-posed" with the point laying on top of the bait. Give what I say a try, I caught 30 fish on this Saturday and only used 6-8 baits all day.

So, try using the series 50 Offset Round Bend Worm hook by Gamakatsu. The 3/0 & 4/0 work great for the 9 and the 2/0 works wonder on the 9S. 

Now let's talk about the much thicker-bodied Long Senko (9L) and Extra Long Senko (9X). Short and sweet -and totally opposite of what I said above. The EWG works great on the 9L & 9X baits.

Russ Bassdozer is also a registered Senko-maniac. Where he's from in New York, the bass are heavily-pressured. I think the new 4" 9J Slim Senko will make a nice addition to the 4" 9S Senko in my arsenal. I am attaching (see below) a comparison image of the 4" Senko (9S) to the Slim Senko (9J). Note that the photo may not necessarily appear as actual size due to differences in computer monitors - but the scale between the 9S and 9J is accurate.

The bigger 9S is still the workhorse for castability when rigged weightless. It excels under all normal fishing conditions when fish are comfortably feeding. The wider head of the 9S allows more of a multitude of rigging options than the thinner 9J. You can also use a slightly bigger hook and a slightly stouter line with the 9S than with the 9J. Yes, the big Baby (9S) is best for normal everyday conditions.

But when a tournament's been in town or when everyone's pounding the water on the weekend, the new 9J is required. It's designed for extremely tough conditions, for highly-pressured waters, for spooky fish in crystal clear waters - or for close-mouthed fish after cold fronts, for example. You are generally using a lighter line and occasionally "doing nothing" in terms of rod action to entice these fish. Even still, the thin tail of the 9J will squirm and quiver enticingly even as it falls to the bottom on a semi-slack line, which is when to expect to get bit.

Have you ever tried our series 53 Splitshot hooks? "Splitshot" is a misnomer for these hooks. They are designed by Gary and made exclusively for him by Gamakatsu. They're extremely strong yet thin stainless circle style hooks. In fact, I prefer to call them "Sugoi Circle" hooks. Sugoi means perfect in Japanese, and the Size 6 is truly perfect for the Slim Baby. Rig it through the nose of the Slim Baby (in one side and out the other - about four "ribs" back), or you can wacky rig it through the back of the egg sac. With either hooking option, fish it weightless. On a semi-slack light test line, the Slim Baby will flutter to the bottom quickly due to the high salt impregnation and plastic density. 

Proper line selection is the third (and often overlooked) ingredient for success with Senkos. First, the bait itself. Second, proper hook selection, plus the right line choice results in maximum action and attraction. When all three are matched, a Senko will flutter as it falls and the tail quivers. Expect to get bit when this happens!  Occasionally twitch the rod tip during the descent to stimulate these body movements. Upon twitching, the Senko will dart forward unpredictably, then dart BACKWARDS in a way which infuriates even the most wary of fish. Then the Senko will stabilize its movements and continue to fall more horizontally as it quivers and flutters. 

When a fish strikes while using the "Splitshot" hook (or Sugoi Circle hook as I call it), merely reel in line or sweep the rod tip upwards slowly. If you do this, the Sugoi Circle will ALWAYS slide inside the mouth cavity, then rotate until it catches in the thin membrane behind the jaw hinge. Never set the hook hard or quickly. That'll only serve to bounce the circle hook out without rotating or catching behind the jawbone.

Of course, you may also "tex-pose" or "tex-skin" the Slim Baby with an offset shank hook.  In open water, you can simply "tex-pose" the point so it lays parallel on top of the Senko, or you can "tex-skin" the hook by slipping it back under the skin of the plastic. In "Tex-skinning", the point should look just like when you get a splinter under the skin of your big toe! With the hook, what's important is a big gap. There has to be enough gap so the plastic can be pushed down and away from the point when the bass bites it. There's such a diversity of manufacturers and models of offset shank hooks, it's more difficult to pin down (pun intended) the best one. A 1/0 is about right for the Slim Baby and a 2/0 for the big Baby. With the right hook, the tex-rigged Senko quivers and flutters as it falls horizontally on a semi-slack line, then darts and squirms unpredictably when you twitch it, after which it rocks backwards tail first. If it's not doing this, re-rig the offset hook back farther on the body than most people normally do. You'll know when you have the right hook in the right place because the Senko will sink horizontally and waver back and forth slightly as it sinks. Simply cast it out, let it sink and expect to get bit. Let it lay for the longest time on the bottom, then twitch it. That's it.

I'd like to give you some information about the 5" Senko (9) too. Of course, it can be used weightless Texas rigged on wide gap 4/0 offset shank hooks as most guys do. But I like to do something totally different here. I use the 5" Senko rigged "weedless wacky" in treetops, weed beds, or brush cover. Weedless wacky is something that I've never seen, heard or read about anyone doing unless I showed them. I'm sure it has probably been done, just that I've never heard of it. It allows you to fish a Wacky Senko in places that no wacky has ever attacked before. Places like weeds, wiry brush piles and sunken treetops. As for line, we'll be going into cover, but not flipping or pitching extremely far back into the cover, and we won't be plummeting to the bottom below cover like you do with flippin' jigs or bullet-weighted Texas rigs. The weedless wacky will perch on top of weedy, brushy cover rather than penetrating deeply into it, so 14 to 17 lb. test is a good start for the weedless wacky 5" Senko. Just pitch it on top of shoreline-oriented cover or simply drop it on top of deeper submerged cover. Right onto the highest point of the cover - be it an underwater weed clump, bush, rock ledge or whatever. Then slowly pull the weedless wacky across the sloping "roof" of the cover until it gets to the edge. The weedless wacky has got the hook right through the middle, so the two dangling ends of the Senko work like flexible prongs that catch against any irregular feature of the cover. Fish will notice this for sure! They sometimes barrel up through the weeds or brush to blast the Senko as its tips catch the cover and cause an erratic action as you drag it. Most often, bass will not pounce so soon. They stalk it until it gets to the edge of the cover. Then you pull it off the top of the cover slowly. It bangs, bounces and rolls end-over-end all the way down the side of the cover. A fish will usually dart out and grab it then. If not, let it lay motionless on the bottom and watch your line. A fish will eventually come out of the cover and gobble it up which is when you'll notice your line start to move off. There's no such thing as leaving it lie there too long.

Now the hook I like for the weedless wacky 5" Senko is our series 49 Gamakatsu Straight Shank Round Bend 4/0. Put the hook straight through the middle of the Senko as if you were putting a straight pin through it. Now, if you were fishing open snag-free water, you've just made a regular wacky rig. You would stop right here. But where snags are present, you then continue by pulling the hook back up towards you so the point goes back in the bottom but does not come back out the top. Test it to see if it drops horizontally in the water. If not re-position the hook until it does. That's it. You've just made the weedless wacky rig.

This is Pat Xiques. You hit my soft spot, Russ. Wacky riggin' a Senko is one of the deadliest techniques for bass in my opinion. Thank you for giving me my opportunity to ramble on about it now. Beginning in the spring, I throw a Wacky Senko real shallow (obviously) because that's where the fish are. The amazing part is that I have seen bass travel from long distances away just to get it. Much further than other baits.

In the summer, it really catches bass when you flip it into weed pockets. It also tears them up when you have suspending fish. I like to use a #4 Split Shot hook when I'm fishing the new Slim Senko or a #9S. When I'm throwing a 5" #9, I use an Octopus hook from Gamakatsu (#1 - style #02410). I think you need a little more "hook" on that bigger Senko - that's why I use that bigger Gammy with the #9 Senko. I typically use a light action baitcasting rod (6'6" TD Light and Tough, 3 power) rigged with 10 lb. flourocarbon. The flouro really is necessary for me with wacky-rigged Senkos. Flouro, unlike mono, sinks fast. Mono sinks much slower - believe me that effects the presentation. I throw it out, shake my rod tip a few times, and let it fall. It is very important to just leave it alone as it falls. The bait has been designed to fall with a side to side motion (when it's left alone to do its thing) kind of like a piece of slate dropped into the water. This really gets them going. The fall is the most important segment of the presentation. My theory is that the initial SHAKING of the rod tip makes the bait appear to be nervous or wounded. I cannot tell you how many fish I have caught just as the bait hits the water. Suspending smallies are notorious for coming up to grab the bait on the initial shaking motion. Back to the presentation - as the bait is falling (anywhere from 2 to 30 feet), be aware of the amount of drag and weight that is on the line. It really helps if you are a line watcher. As the bait falls, I check with the rod tip to see if there is more weight on the line than what was there before. The hits can be completely undetectable if you do not have constant bait awareness.

As the bait hits the bottom - leave it there - motionless for at least 5 seconds or so. So many times, a bass will follow the bait to the bottom, then gently suck the bait up in the most unaggressive way. I guess they figure its an injured baitfish that has fallen helplessly to the bottom and isn't going anywhere quick. I then snap my rod tip twice, and let it drift to the bottom again. If I still don't have any takers at that point, I reel it in - stopping at least once on the way up for a second or so - then start winding again. I honestly believe that fish follow our offerings for quite some time (in clear water mostly) before they strike it. That's why I stop it on the way up like I do.

Okay! It's Bassdozer again. We told you we wouldn't talk about color in this article, but there is something we do. It's too deadly not to tell you. We dip the tips of Senkos in bait dyes. Blue tips or chartreuse tips on translucent smoke, brown pumpkin or green watermelon Senkos. On the Bass Barf White too.

One last word, and we don't mention this much - if at all. We're telling you now because we're being straight up with you in this article. We mold scent into Senkos. It's a powerful blend of natural ingredients including amino acids and proteins of  baits commonly eaten by bass. It's the same attractor we sell in our squeeze bottle. If you've ever used our squeeze bottle, then you know we mask the scent with anise so it smells good to you. If not, it would smell somewhat horrific - and your wife probably wouldn't let you bring your gear bag into the house any more. You'd have to keep your gear out in the yard with your dog and hope it doesn't rain. There's nothing that smells worse than a wet dog.  And if you know anything about us by now, our scent itself is saturated with salt - as much as can be kept in suspension. It took three years in the laboratory and on the water to perfect our attractant. We mold it into Senkos.

Then there's the patented heavy salt impregnation in our plastic.

Why don't we talk about the scent in our Senkos? We don't talk about the scent because we don't want anyone to mistakenly think that scent is the mystery secret to Senko's wild success. Quite the opposite. We don't talk about the scent in them because the scent is NOT the attraction.

There's only one universal truth in fishing -- big fish eat little fish, especially confused and disoriented little fish. Gary's Senko design is focused on that truth! The Senko is shaped like, drops like, glides, jerks and falls like some kind of hapless baitfish.

The action is the attraction. No fish even bit a Senko because it smelled good. The Senko is designed by Gary  to have an appealing action - not an appealing aroma. Yes, the scent is there. The patented heavily impregnated salt is there also. But the bass bites the Senko due to the action produced by Gary's design. Once bit, the bass holds on to savor the salt. The scent smells natural. It tastes good. The bass just won't let go. This gives you more time to set the hook properly. And if you jerk it away from the fish, he'll bite it again and again because he's tasted the salt that's in the bait - not on it - and that's so important!

We hope we've given you your ticket to sensational Senko success. That's all we know, and we don't know no more.

The rest is up to you and your Senko.

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