SENKOSAM

I ice fished this year (after a lapse of 9 years) and correlated a few observations into a theory regarding a fish's perception of food items or the illusion thereof. Human's can also be fooled by illusions and some more than others. If we are thirsty on a hot desert, we want to believe the mirage of water on the horizon, exists. Stereroscopic vision is a visual illusion based on the distance between our eyes and the distance to objects. If we go into a fun house, the floor that seems tilted, is caused by our use of stereoscopic vision, to distort dimensions and distances based on a pattern of lines and shapes. If we see a reasonable facsimile of an object (wax fruit, a resin steak, a ceramic slice of cake), from a distance, we have no choice but to accept the fake as real. But within close range, we discern details (which is part of our nature and mental capacity) and don't try to take a bite of the fake food without testing for texture, smell, hardness, etc. Ice fishing further enforced a few insights about focusing on the details when it concerns a potential food source. At any distance, fish see a live object or the illusion of one. Rather than focus on the details for accuracy or realness, they may stalk the object to target it regardless of visual closeness or object details. Compare it to a baby that sees an object, grabs for it and puts it in it's mouth, for whatever reason (curiousity being primary when he or she isn't hungry). As long as the object isn't threatening, caution hasn't been learned and the details aren't important. The object may be reached for time after time and mouthed over an over, until the human or animal loses interest. A fish may get hooked on a detail (no pun intended) to the exclusion of all other others, because it's involuntary actions predominate it's life. Take a spoon and live grub combo. The spoon is shiny stainless steel; the hook is a metal wire with a piece of moving meat attached and the whole thing attached to a braid leader. (I've used tiny strips of pork rind and gotten bites). The flash and jigging action of the spoon is the attractor; the meat is the main attraction. The bulk and action of a jig and pig is the attractor, the meaty portion surrounded by an action profille (skirt), is the main attraction or target, which becomes the fish's goal to capture. Once in it's mouth, 2 + 2 don't equal 4 and it may carry the object for a distance before ejecting it. The details are lost to an overwhelming aggression/ possession. Regardless of how close the fish is to the object (even when fully it's in it's mouth), the details are ignored and the fish is incapable of discerning real from fake without being caught or hooked briefly. I've had a solitary fish peck and peck at a recast lure through the ice, until it finally worked it's aggression level high enough, to open it's mouth wide enough, in order to get the object in it's mouth for serious swallowing. I've thrown caught fish back through the same ice hole, yet caught 10 more in a row on the same lure! From all this, to me it means a progression of steps that involves gaps in mental ability similar to the baby's action of noticing an object, reaching for the object and mouthing it. Behavior, that is beyond it's control after an overwhelming curiousity is triggered, is the stuff of the bite. Whereas humans learn that the details are important for the sake caution and safety, animals go from watching to charging, (like a bull that has multiple sticks sticking in it's neck), regardless of how much time it's observed the object or regardless of seeing other fish get caught on it. The human brain grows and develops from fetus to it first year and mental abilities increase. The brain a fish is born with, is no different than that which it dies with. To suggest that a curved piece of red wire is interpreted as a real substance of a living creature, is to suggest that all other details that ruin the illusion on close inspection, are voluntarily and categorically ignored. It suggests that the fish can and will believe it's eyes via only one outstanding lure element (i.e. red). It suggests that a color scheme is more than just simply color-that-attracts attention and that simply becomes basic, targeting-information for a fish's simple brain and train of thought. Jimmy Houston and wife used a clown colored jerkbait and caught many plus 2 lb bass. Was it the red, gold or white or the action as the primary trigger? Omouri caught a limit of hogs on a yellow Bagley Killer B balsa crankbait in the same spot. We believe what we want to (as do fish), but the result of catching fish may be the same regardless of our or it's illusions. Sam

Unfortunately some of the discourtesy to the non-boater is intentional and due to a hypercompetitive, bass pro-wan-a-be personality that doesn't want to risk being backseated by his partner. It's happend to me as a non-boater many times, which turned me off to draw-type fishing. As a newbie many years ago, I didn't know that you could back the boat up with the trolling motor and needed the boater to do so when I had a 3lb LM pulling me under a log with only 8lb test mono. When I caught the fish, I was closest to it, but the boater said he couldn't back the boat so did a 180, thus putting be further from the fish. Being my first year, I didn't know that I could go to the front of the boat nor was it suggested. The line snapped after about 40 seconds. The same boater did what JT mentioned concerning a narrow channel, but flipped going forward to every good spot for an hour on the best tide. I never got a bite. I told myself I would call in sick next time I got drawn with this clown or his buddies. Winning is not my major goal in a tournament. If you broke down the first prize winnings, it wouldn't amount to minimum wage for a 7 hour touney if less anglers fished. The game is not to beat your partner, but to both weigh in fish. The finest testament to a boater is when both have limits and it goes a long way towards his reputatiom as an angler, a sportsman and as a person. This is a true fishing buddy, relationship, which B.A.S.S. chapter clubs are supposed to foster, but many times don't.

Jerky Lance's grilled cheese cracker sandwiches juice boxes or a bottle of sweetened drink ice water leftover chicken thigh (it also scents my soft plastics) ;D alcohol isn't allowed on board

I have around 35 songs stored on my mp3 player and enjoy dancing to the music on the bow of my boat. Seems it adds a little something to lure action and makes me forget that I haven't been bit in 3 hours! I'm talking 30 years of classic rock, some new age and jazz. And lets not forget Spice Girls! If I wanted to hear the sound of running water, I'd flush a few times. ;D

Some waters have seasonal windows for certain lure types. If you used them during fall, a prime time for spinnerbaits, you should have caught a few. Did you try trailers (soft plastic or pork)? Have you tried short arm and long arm? Tandem willow leaf or tandem willow and colorado; tandem colorado? Have you tried black or just white? There are a lot of choices when it comes to spinnerbaits( ie. presentation is affected by lure size, trailers and blades.) I look for prime spinnerbait areas to work as well as different times of day or cloud cover. Try a Beetle spin just to see if the combo works and good luck. Sam

Don't believe the Yamamoto diehards that claim the Senko is the only stick to catch fish or the best of the best. The lure has been made into exact aluminum molds and the process has been duplicated by hundreds of handpourers as well as small companies like Wave Industries and Assalt. Anyone who has fished good copies knows that it's not only the bait that matters, but the angler using it. When I first started pouring and using my own stick, the thing was stiffer than hardened silicone caulking, but it caught fish because I wanted it to . I worked it different ways, during prime seasons and times, and slew four different species! What's more, the worm wouldn't quit, after having caught 30 or more fish, including pickerel over 20". My first sticks had no salt for weight or softener and had one flat side. So, considering the unappealing appearence and other factors that have made Senko a superb stick, mine still did great. Since then, I found out the secrets of making a stick like the Senko, having the same softeness and salt and thus action. Other anglers have used my stick with equal success and in their minds, can't see paying +60 cents for a lure that is good for one fish or a few casts, when a good copy will do as well with imparted action and is good for eight bass and 30 casts. The other thing about handpouring is the ability to dictate the sticks fall, yet maintain super softness and finesse tip-action. The three major rates of horizontal fall are; floating/super slow; moderate; and rapid. Each matches a different fish's aggressive level and have different presentations especially suited to fall rate. Plastisol is plastisol and that's the primary base for 98% of all worms made. Additives may make a difference, but not universally. Sticks may catch fish for most anglers, but not for everyone and especially those new to worm fishing. Granted, Senkos and the best copies excel in idiot-proof deadsticking and wacky rigging, but that in itself can lead the way to a limited scope of lure types and presentations. When something is too easy, a dependence forms based on a belief that one-lure-fits-all and that a specific brand and style is all that's needed to catch fish anytime, anywhere. Not so. Sam Lurecrafter and designer (For those that may be thinking I'm plugging my handpours, you're wrong. I make them for a select few that know me personally or that I'm acquainted with through message boards. I'm proud of the fact that I can make something that is just as capable of catching fish as any mass produced same-type lure. Here are a few exmples on my blog: http://senkosam.blogspot.com/)

In soft plastics: rootbeer and green flake chartreuse and black or gold flack pearl laminates (red shad, tequila) sour grape Oxblood with black string (my own pour) Topwater: clear or any light color white spinnerbait black and a light color combo skirt for jigs Sam

To add regarding the wacky rig, hook size can make or break the hook set. A small gap is okay for a thinner stick or worm, but a centerhooked-thick plastic must have a widegap hook of at least 3/0. If the worm balls up, at least there will be enough barb to go deep enough. As far as fishing the wacky rig, rod twitches imparted while the bait is on the way down or in-place just off bottom, is a large part the Senko's horizontal fall. Allowed to fall with no rod tip action, the bait rocks & rolls and the tips quiver,(driving fish nuts). When twitched, the tips flutter and the body flexes (driving fish nuts). The rig is as effective in 3' as it is in 23'. When the cast is out 25 yard on the horizontal from you, hit the weed edges and let it fall. Twitch the bait vigorously and let it deadstick and then twitch the bait on the retrieve and deadstick every 5'. You'll be surprised at how many 8" bass choke on 5 1/4" Senkos and won't let go after blasting a wacky rigged soft stick. Again, weed edges are primo. Rock flats and points with decent size bolders are also primo wacky rig areas. Docks come in third for me, but may be numero uno for someone else, depending on how much pressure they receive. Never give up on the Senko or other great sticks. It is a classic lure style. Sam

Have to agree with Marty.The simple design and unique action of the weighted stick on the horizontal drop, is here to stay. Knockoffs work almost as well, so it's to be expected that paying over $.70 a worm will become history soon enough. Handpourers have gotten the recipe down and many anglers have started buying from them. Wacky Worm, Tiki Stick and Assalt Sticks are a few of the finest made. Even Stik-O's have their place in the jerkstick market, though qc is wanting for a good % in the bag. Senko-type baits, like all baits, have intermittent success. Like EW said, when the Senko bite is off, you better know what bite is on, or be prepared to go fishless for hours on end. The soft stick is a tool, but with limitations. Other lures do it better sometimes and many cover a lot more water, faster. When activity levels are high, the Senko is the last bait I'll cast. Even smallie anglers don't do as well as largemouth anglers on Senkos and opt to chuck slimmer design worms, grubs and jigs. They may have taken a huge chunk of business away from Zoom and Berkley, but only the category of soft plastics has more sales than any other and can be called number 1 as a category. Sam

Stickling, you betcha! When I first started using the J & P, I wasn't convinced that something so ugly and unrealistic could catch a bass. One day (at midday), I decided to give one a try. I cast a black and blue jig with #11 black pork frog, into about 3' and let it sit on bottom. I hadn't gotten a hit on it in 2 hours and started casting a grub with another rod. Having forgotten about the jig, I started moving the boat with the trolling motor and heard the rod behind me being pulled overboard. Crap! must be snagged on a rock, except the rock began to move sideways!! A small bass would not let go! That was my initiation to jig and pork and I caught 5 more bass that day on the same bait. One thing I noticed on closer look, was that when I swam the bait, the delta shaped tails fluttered super fast, finesse-like, and the skirt did the same with rod twitches. I figured that the action might be good for tree stumps and vertical cover in shallow water, worked as fast as you would a jig and grub or spinnerbait. Ambush time, big time!! Considering the fact that a spinnerbait is nothing more than a jig with and overhead blade, I figured, "why not add a pork chunk on the back of a spinnerbait and run it in the same areas and in the pads". An all-white rig using a #11 or #1 frog, caught my largest bass for the next few years when used in the fall and late spring. (I used a #4 or #5 willow leaf blade to get a maximum visual.) I also followed Bill Dance's advice and cut 1/4 of the fat off the chunk. For the fluttering action, the chunk must be rigged in the down position and the skirt should not extend more than 1/4" past the hook bend; trailer hooks may be used to insure a hook-up. Sam

Welcome to the UBFRG. It's a nice site with tons of information. The article section has more usefull information than many sites and the articles are well written. Most important, there is no hype from a used car salesman to buy this or that product, but angler opinions that help us decide the merits of using different things. Sam

You got that right! 3/4 of the fun of fishing is believing in something, the rest is just plain common sense like keeping the hook sharp, using good line and a proper drag setting. Who really knows what a bass is tuned in to perceive? Science has whittled it down a little and dispelled some myths but not others. It can never explain why fish will bite one lure for hours, better than any other, and then turn off to it forever. It can't explain why crappie turn away from craw scent, but not anise. It hasn't explained why a bass's markings are sharp in clear water, but pale and silvery in pea soup. Maybe salt is a universal taste for all animals with brains and forage animals do exude trails such as urine and hormone releases. In any case, it's a grand ol' mystery that has us all wishing and waiting for more. (unless I get out on the ice. ) Sam

The spin about fish being attracted to and liking the taste of salt (blood origin or otherwise), began with Gene Larew adding it to hot plastic, patenting the process and advertising the myth. Anymore, the only thing salt is good for is adding weight to soft plastics, like Senkos. Attractants and flavor are hotly contested subjects and one of personal belief. Many posts on many message boards have gone back and forth without resolution, the same as for matching-the-hatch. It's only an opinion, but I think pork (or any trailer) adds something to a lure's profile and action. The soft materials of skirt and trailer, cause a bass's mouth to clench for a longer period. I would like to believe that a bass can taste the difference between a once-living trailer and a piece of plastic, but a majority of anglers have switched to plastic, indicating it's success. Sam

Concerning taste or scent, Dr. Jones, a phd fish biologist working at Berkley, maintains that fish cannot taste or smell oil or fat. Water soluble scents and protein based solutions are the only substances bass can detect. If that is the case, bass might only hold on to pork for the same reason they hold soft plastics longer - softness. Some anglers believe that salt is also an attractant, but bass aren't deer and don't have the brain power to expect salt in their usual forage, the same way they don't expect earthworms to swim. Plastic trailers have been as popular as pork for warm season jigging and account for many a big bass taken on a jig & trailer. Uncle Josh has been around years and is sold just about everywhere fishing tackle is sold, but it's a pain to use and unusable when it dries out. Given the supersoftness and texture of salted plastics, it seems plastics will dominate from here on as jig and spinnerbait trailers. The new Bass Pro catalog has some new designs that offer a different profile to a jig and in smaller sizes than those usually attached. Small jigs and trailers for pressured water, seem to be growing in poularity across the country, though I still throw a 1/2 oz. jig with large chunk plastic or a #1 black pork frog, much of the time. Sam

Toys for boys - much have something to do with breast feeding or the lack of. ;D

Horatio Hornblower - a series by Forrester. Fast moving and historical. Sharp's Rifles a series by Bernard Cornwell. Both are based on actual land and sea battles during the Napoleonic war and gives information never learned in history class. Get the videos if the books are not suitable to the type of stuff you read, but the writing is fast paced and many of the character, real people. They should be read in chronological order. Sam

You're right, it was Yelas that won the classic on all Berkely products. Got them mixed up.

Lately Dance has gotten much better and is giving me more original ideas and information. Roland is beyond hope and is the latest angler pimp of the century right up there with Shaw G. Sam

You never know if a new style of a lure will be superior or even catch fish. The Booyah spinnerbait seems a little farfetched, as does Rick Clunn's latest crankbait. Are the lures that are listed in Bassmaster, the ones used to actually win tournaments. Did Rojas use only Berkley products to win the classic a few years ago? Bassmaster and BASS are major advertisers for big companies and rarely do I see unknowns like Joe Schmoe's crankbaits or Clyde's plastic critters mentioned as the winning baits. It's always the big names. I make many of my own lures and know they will catch fish as well as commercial lures. The only difference is that theirs comes in a nice package with a much bigger price tag.

Guess it depends on the presentation and lure. If you're a power fisherman, scent is not going to make much difference because the angler is after the reaction strike. Someone with slow reflexes may need scent for longer retention even after a reaction strike, but most people I know react easily within the 2-3 seconds it takes to take in line and set the hook. Using scent on pork or flavored baits, like Yum, seems redundant. Using them on Senkos, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, in-lines, spoons (weedless or Hopkins), topwaters, finesse baits, fast retrieved C-rigs, for school fish, for fish-gone-wild in spring fish and current fish, it seems like a waste of money. Either the baits are super soft and salt impregnated or going too fast to be munched and the fish hook themselves 75% of the way, with not even a power hookset by the angler. Deadsticking neutral bass may be improved with scent, but for most of my presentations and lure types (mentioned above), scent is not needed or proven to catch more fish in my experience. If it works for you, no there's no arguing the fact of whether it works or not. Sam

Good going bquittem and Trivib1! Would like to see a few pictures of your creations. Sam

Do you post on TU, Whittler?!! That's one mighty pretty crank. What do you sell them for? Sam

99% of all worms I ever fished were action tail (grubs also). But then I discovered the rat tail grub (fluke) and began catching fish. But before that, I found out that I could catch fish on the old Flip Tail worm and Mann's Jelly worm, which have small paddle tails. Yamamoto's Kut tail worms have a semi-paddle which really does have a unique action on the worm's horizontal drop. The cut tail is useless as an action tail since it does nothing for a salted bait used on bottom. The largest sickle tail I've ever used is the Gator Tail by Ditto. The bass smash it on the vertical drop, near tree limbs and vertical cover. We're talking major water displacement with that big, fat whipping tail. I've even used the 5" model as a jig trailer and caught bass in rivers. I haven't used the Phenom in years, though I know I can catch fish with it. That style is for bottom-hopping, which for me is a last resort technique. I lean toward power fishing, except when using grubs. Grub tail action, like profile, can be anything from the flutter of white bucktail or maribou, to the wide action of a Kalin.

Worm'n is as diverse as you need it to be. The plastic worm has more diverse uses than any lure made and many factors decide how to use a certain style. Senkos are not C-rig lures nor any other heavily salted plastics. Their main attraction is the horizontal drop. They are not used for dropshot rigs by anyone I know. C-rigged worms should float or almost float so that they are above the mud and weeds that the sinker is plowing through. Can Senkos work well horizontally as a jerk worm. Most definitely! They're soft enough to snake back-&-forth and then drop, deadstick, to the bottom. It's said that any (unsalted) soft plastic can be used dropshotting. Power dropshotting calls for a 6" slim worm that can be shortened if fish want a smaller lure, but 4 1/2" is the norm. Different styles can be dropshot as long as they semifloat. Worms, 5" or better, can be T-rigged with a bullet wt. Anything smaller is usually split shot or light C-rigged. The decision to forward-weight a lure and how heavy a weight to use, depends on weed density, depth, speed of retrieve and the lures fall rate. Flukes, creature baits and lizards have many uses, but when and where is something only the angler can guess at. There are no universal rules, just options, decisions and experimentation. That's the best thing about fishing - you can find a way that's different from anything read or heard about, and do well. Sam

What you bring up about mood is a key consideration concerning bait size, profile, action, vibration, (sometimes color) and retrieve. Sometimes small baits are rejected over larger ones because fish are reved up to the challenge of taking down the big stuff. If I find that a 6" Senko or a 7" Culprti are the preferred size, I won't bother putting on a small version of either. The same for jerkbaits in spring. Fish seem to attack 4-5" models far better than 3" and under, which have better chances once the water temp rises to over 65. I've caught many crappie and small bass on large bass baits, especially when the school is mixed. When the fish are excited, bigger can be better, but erratic, from slow to fast to dead stop, get more bites for me than steady and fast for all non-blade baits. Steady medium to fast, is my preference for buzzers, spinnerbaits and inlines, the exception being for short arm spinnerbaits. (In my opinion, shortarms are nothing more that a jig with a spinner and superb for vertical fishing.) Sam