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Old 02-03-10, 02:21 PM   #1
Dr G
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Default Senko presentation

This would be the situation: Fishing clear, northern, nonpressured lakes for smallmouth in late summer using Senko worms rigged wacky and T (8-10 lb test on a spinning rig.) What size(s) and colors would you recommend? And while we're at it any suggestions for hooks given that where I'm going they have to barbless. All suggestions and advice greatly appreciated.
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Old 02-03-10, 03:12 PM   #2
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I have good success in clear lakes with watermellon, colors.
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Old 02-03-10, 03:38 PM   #3
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In clear water I prefer watermelon, or green pumpkin. Every once in a while I'll throw pink in clear water...seems smallies like the pinkies for some reason.

I don't wacky rig them...guess I've never needed to. I throw them on 3-0, or 4-0 hooks. Easy to make them barbless by squishing down the barb.

4 - 5" should work well.
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Old 02-03-10, 04:09 PM   #4
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Just as the other two have said, watermellon - red. You could also use smoke w/ purple flake. Great color for the clear water. I typically only use 5" Yamamoto baits.

I'm different, I toss mine on a 2/0 EWG worm hook. I like to know I have a little more hook in them. Most guys will use a smaller circle hook.

good luck.
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Old 02-03-10, 04:11 PM   #5
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I use t-rigged senkos quite often. I'll use anywhere from 4" to 7" with 5" being the most common. Watermelon candy is one of my favorite colors.

For t-rigs, I use a 4/0 EWG or Offset work hook, been experimenting with both, but haven't made a decision on which I like better yet. For wacky rigs, I use gammy octupus hooks. I've heard good thinks about owner's wacky rig hook (forgot the name, but it's the green colored one). I may try them this year.

I don't think you'll be able to find barbless from the store. You'll have to file the barb off or just squish in down with a pair of pliers, depending on how strict they are on the barbless policy.

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Old 02-03-10, 04:48 PM   #6
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I've heard many anglers claim that there's no technique or skill needed to throw a Senko and catch fish. However, I've found for myself that there are many different ways to use a Senko-type bait and that certain techniques work better for certain situations.

Senkos are not necessarily the first thing I throw when I hit the water, but I definitely use them, especially when the bite is not found on other methods. I've definitely found that in the situation that you are describing, size matters. I fish in the Finger Lakes - two of the more pristine and clear among them, and have had times when the 5" Senko would not work at all, but a 4" in the same color would kill 'em. I use a 4/0 or 5/0 EWG Gamakatsu for the 5" Senko and a 3/0 for the 4" and generally T-rig them weightless. I also always use more natural colors in this situation.
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Old 02-03-10, 09:39 PM   #7
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I fish sandpits that are very clear. I prefer the watermelon, or green pumpkin w/black flake. Yamamoto also make a laminate with these two colors. I fish the 5" rigged with a 5/0 Gamakatsu skip gap hook. Keeps the bait from slidin down on the hook, when you make the long casts, or skippin under branches and docks. I like a 8# fluro line.
Cast it out, let it sit, give it little twitch, repeat.
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Old 02-04-10, 02:41 AM   #8
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I fish Senkos quite often. Watermelon Candy is one of my favorite colors. In clear water I usually use some version of watermelon or pumpkin. I've done well with baby bass laminates too. I normally use either a 4 or 5 inch with a 3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG. Flattening the barb with some pliers shouldn't be too hard.

I often rig them from the "tail" end, the larger "head" end being on the bottom. This gives the bait more of that fall backward movement. You raise and lower your rod tip and it sinks away from you. Plus that way you can use the worm longer, when one side gets torn up just flip it over. I normally fish them pretty slowly with a twitch, twitch, long pause retrieve or a lift the rod tip, lower the rod tip retrieve.

I should add always weightless and always t-rigged.

Last edited by Jrob78; 02-04-10 at 03:34 PM.
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Old 02-04-10, 01:21 PM   #9
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I don't throw them enough to address the bait, but I fish a lot of locations that require barbless.
I have found some online, but it is easier to just crimp your hooks. If your location is very strict on them, then you can file them down as well.
We have one that uses a t-shirt to see if there is any barb. On those, I use the dremmel first.
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Old 02-04-10, 08:02 PM   #10
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Natural colors work best in clear lakes.. watermelon, grass greens, dirt browns and so on... although I have heard some do well with the neon purple and pinks the same way... so maybe pickup a $30 variety pack and see what works best for you.
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Old 02-04-10, 10:19 PM   #11
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I like green pumpkin or watermelon also. 3/0 for t rig and owner wacky hooks for wacky rig.
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Old 02-05-10, 10:56 AM   #12
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Thanks for all this folks, exactly what I needed to know.
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Old 02-05-10, 06:27 PM   #13
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If you take a zoom speedworm and cut off the tail, you have a senko type bait about 4 inches long that falls slowly....no internal salt....I've done very well on Canadian smallies with watermellon/red flake. I like rigging them texposed weightless on a 2/0 worm hook as they cast well that way...honestly going much farther that one would think. I prefer a skipping cast and then slow falling them to the bottom. Having the hook texposed rather than wacky allows the baits to penetrate the weedy pockets very well.

I had the privilege of fishing Rice Lake, Ontario three years in a row and loved every minute. Probably not very far from where you are in Toronto. Stayed at Godfrey's Cabins and had a grand time....really nice folks running the place and a lot of smallmouth and largemouth, even though the lake is widely known for the gills.

Last edited by Mac2; 02-05-10 at 06:34 PM.
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Old 02-06-10, 01:04 AM   #14
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I've really learned a lot about stickbaits, and Senkos are my absolute favorite.

I rig them mainly Texas style, and also wacky style with the o-rings to help prolong their life.

Green Pumpkin and Smoke w/ black flake are my go to colors, anywhere from 4" to 6".
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Old 02-07-10, 05:21 PM   #15
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I had the privilege of fishing Rice Lake, Ontario three years in a row and loved every minute. Probably not very far from where you are in Toronto. Stayed at Godfrey's Cabins and had a grand time....really nice folks running the place and a lot of smallmouth and largemouth, even though the lake is widely known for the gills.[/QUOTE]

I know Rice Lake pretty well. It's about 150 miles north east of where I am in The Big Smoke which may not sound that far but it's a world apart. Rice Lake is just on the southern edge of Canadian Shield which is a kind of vast granite plate out of which the thousands of Ontario Lakes were carved as the last Ice Age receded. The cottage country lakes like Rice tend to be pretty pressured. That's why I'm planning on going up into Quetico next summer. It's pretty much a wildnerness park accessible only by canoe. But from all the accounts I've heard, the fishing is spectacular (I'm told the smallies there are the stupidest fish this side of heaven.)
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Old 02-08-10, 03:38 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by screwballl View Post
Natural colors work best in clear lakes.. watermelon, grass greens, dirt browns and so on... although I have heard some do well with the neon purple and pinks the same way... so maybe pickup a $30 variety pack and see what works best for you.
Where can i find this kind of package deal ?
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Old 02-08-10, 09:07 AM   #17
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Most likely, they won't be Senkos. I know BPS has their senko knockoff in a kit with a few different colors.

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Old 02-08-10, 05:54 PM   #18
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here is a $25 set with 6 different colors and 2 sizes
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ylmsesn

here is a $15 "bass bucket" which has a larger variety although they will not be senko brand:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yknsb4z

and here is a separate swimbait worms http://preview.tinyurl.com/yh8k6z3

then ebay has some mixed bag type of setups like this:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ygjm735
and
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yfkvepv

Last edited by screwballl; 02-08-10 at 06:03 PM. Reason: fixing the formatting
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Old 02-08-10, 10:04 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr G View Post
I know Rice Lake pretty well. It's about 150 miles north east of where I am in The Big Smoke which may not sound that far but it's a world apart. Rice Lake is just on the southern edge of Canadian Shield which is a kind of vast granite plate out of which the thousands of Ontario Lakes were carved as the last Ice Age receded. The cottage country lakes like Rice tend to be pretty pressured. That's why I'm planning on going up into Quetico next summer. It's pretty much a wildnerness park accessible only by canoe. But from all the accounts I've heard, the fishing is spectacular (I'm told the smallies there are the stupidest fish this side of heaven.)

Rice Lake is definitely fun to fish. Me, my dad, and 2 brothers go up to Rice every summer for a week of fishing. We usually target walleye because bass season usually hasn't started when we get up there. It's just a great all around lake for many species of fish.
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Old 02-12-10, 01:07 AM   #20
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A recent Infisherman has a pic of a wacky rigged Senko under a bobber. Thats a new one!
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Old 02-12-10, 01:17 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeaverIslander View Post
A recent Infisherman has a pic of a wacky rigged Senko under a bobber. Thats a new one!
There has been a new move towards "baits under bobbers for bass"... theres a new "float and fly" technique which is basically a modified jig under a bobber... Since a senko and a nightcrawler are close enough in appearance, that is not that big of a stretch.
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Old 02-12-10, 03:35 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeaverIslander View Post
A recent Infisherman has a pic of a wacky rigged Senko under a bobber. Thats a new one!
I've done this, and it works. I rigged it up for my niece and nephew, weedless, and they both caught fish.
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Old 02-13-10, 06:11 PM   #23
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We throw them at Powell weightless. 4" Senkos were designed to be used with a 1/0 EWG. I haven't thought much on using a bigger hook to sink them faster til now. I do use a 3/0 on 5" Senkos. I like to drag them with no weight. They don't get swallowed as much as wacky rigging. Also, we've been changing it up by using Dinger, Sinkos's and other copycats. There are lots of cool colors coming out every year.
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Old 02-18-10, 10:59 PM   #24
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I use green pumpkin w/ gold and purple flake mostly for smallies. I like the 4" or 5" version.
For a hook it's usually a t rigged EWG 3/0 or 4/0 weightless.
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Old 02-22-10, 05:43 PM   #25
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Hello DrG;
In OnTerrible I use Watermelon, Rootbeer and Carolina pumpkin.
I believe the green worms represent LM Bass and Perch, while the brown tones represent Sm. Bass, Rock Bass and Crayfish. These are the main forage in most of our lakes.

I don't know anything about barbless hooks, but you can crush the barb on any hook with needle nose pliers.

On Texas rigs I use 3/0 EWG's. Wal-Mart has cheap ones that work fine, but any brand will do.

For Wacky I like 1/0 or 2/0 red Mustad weedless hooks available at CTC.
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