Guaranteed To Catch Bass

[Wizzlebiz]

On 9/18/2006 at 4:03 AM, roadwarrior said:

There seems to be a lot of members that are not catching bass, some are just starting out and a few have never caught one. If that's where you are, then this short piece is for you. If you want to start catching some bass, follow these instructions EXACTLY, no modifications or adjustments.

Equipment:

Medium or Medium Heavy Power/ Fast Action spinning rod and reel.

#6 Yo-Zuri Hybrid, Ultra Soft, P-Line or XL.

Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG Offset Worm Hooks.

1 bag GYCB 5" Senkos, watermelon with black flakes (194)

1 bag GYCB Fat Ika (194)

Place:

A pond at least 5 acres in size, preferably with some bottom features or contour. Or, if you have access to big water, a well defined cove, not a bay. Whether you fish from a boat or the shore, you will fish exactly the same way.

Method:

Start with the Senko. Cast parallel to the bank, 10-15 yards off the shoreline. Let the bait sink to the bottom, count to 30 (as in 30 seconds) then move the Senko 6-12" with a slow horizontal sweep, allowing the bait to fall on slack line. Count to 10, then repeat. Continue all the way back, move ten steps forward and repeat.

Fish the ENTIRE shoreline regardless of whether you see cover or structure. Fish two Senkos and if you are still not catching bass, switch to the Fat Ika and fish it until you lose it. Don't switch back and forth. Fish the Fat Ika EXACTLY like you fished the Senko.

To make this testing fair, you need to spend at least one hour out fishing, two would be better. You can't hurry and you must stay focused. If you don't catch a bass after two trips or four hours of fishing, you need to find new water.

Ok. So you linked me here from the other thread about soft plastics driving me crazy. I followed everything but the spinning rod bit as I dont have one for bass fishing. 

 

2 hours and I got nothing. But after those 2 hours were up I took that soft plastic senko and threw into pond scum. It was so thick the worm basically sat on top of it and worked like a frog. And sure enough thats how I got the bite. I caught that fish but I cheated. I will go again for 2 more hours in a day or 2. 

 

I did end up getting a bite after this dragging but I did not get the hook set. 

[roadwarrior]

Stay with it and you will catch a ton of bass!

 

[Eddie101]

On 9/18/2006 at 7:03 AM, roadwarrior said:

There seems to be a lot of members that are not catching bass, some are just starting out and a few have never caught one. If that's where you are, then this short piece is for you. If you want to start catching some bass, follow these instructions EXACTLY, no modifications or adjustments.

Equipment:

Medium or Medium Heavy Power/ Fast Action spinning rod and reel.

#6 Yo-Zuri Hybrid, Ultra Soft, P-Line or XL.

Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG Offset Worm Hooks.

1 bag GYCB 5" Senkos, watermelon with black flakes (194)

1 bag GYCB Fat Ika (194)

Place:

A pond at least 5 acres in size, preferably with some bottom features or contour. Or, if you have access to big water, a well defined cove, not a bay. Whether you fish from a boat or the shore, you will fish exactly the same way.

Method:

Start with the Senko. Cast parallel to the bank, 10-15 yards off the shoreline. Let the bait sink to the bottom, count to 30 (as in 30 seconds) then move the Senko 6-12" with a slow horizontal sweep, allowing the bait to fall on slack line. Count to 10, then repeat. Continue all the way back, move ten steps forward and repeat.

Fish the ENTIRE shoreline regardless of whether you see cover or structure. Fish two Senkos and if you are still not catching bass, switch to the Fat Ika and fish it until you lose it. Don't switch back and forth. Fish the Fat Ika EXACTLY like you fished the Senko.

To make this testing fair, you need to spend at least one hour out fishing, two would be better. You can't hurry and you must stay focused. If you don't catch a bass after two trips or four hours of fishing, you need to find new water.

Hi RW, thank you so much for suggestion. My problem is a lack of patience, and I think this will force me to slow down. Before I place them on order, I've a few Q's for you; 1)Do I need to change anything on a windy day? 2)I tried GYCB long time ago but their baits - if I recall - would tear up easily, and I switched to BassPro brand. Is GYCB more sturdy now? 3) What do you mean by "Fish two Senkos" please? Thank you so much for your time!

[roadwarrior]

Well, the Senko catches fish, but if you are concerned about longevity, this is not your bait.

Wind has nothing to do with it.

I did not say fish two Senkos, a Fat Ika is my other suggestion.

 

[RoLo]

 

Roadwarrior first recommended the use of Senkos about 15 years ago.

Some things never change, and apparently Senko is one of those things.

Time-honored Roland Martin told Gary Yamamoto that his Senko was an ugly, do-nothing lure.

Today (decades later), Roland Martin's favorite lure is the Senko,

which Roland incurably refers to as a SINKO 

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

[Rico’s Roughnecks]

RW,

 

Thank you.

 

—Rico

 

 

[roadwarrior]

Post a review if it works for you.

 

 

[Rico’s Roughnecks]

10 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Post a review if it works for you.

 

 

I’ve been fishing this lake (more a big, little pond) for a couple of months now.  I’ve thrown everything at it.  Texas rigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimjigs, etc.  Not even a nibble, and it was pretty much turning me off of fishing until next spring.

Last night, I followed half of your guidance.  The rig was the half I didn’t fish the “guaranteed” method: ML-F, 4 lb mono, Size 2 or 3 EWG, 6th Sense Clout.  The cadence and casting is what I did follow “to the T.”

 

The result, 2 fish hooked, but one got off about 8 feet from the bank, and the other broke my line.  2-3 fish toyed with it but I had poor hook sets.

 

Planning on another outing with 8 lb line on my MH-F spinning rod.  I know, it’s not the guarantee, but I’ll fish what I have for now.  

Things I learned:

1.  The tempo to fish baseline slow.

2.  It’s easier to be patient when you know what you’re supposed to be doing.

[roadwarrior]

The "Guarantee" is EXACTLY as described.  If it doesn't work your way, try mine.

[Firstoutfisher]

How do you rig the senko when using this technique? I beleive that was never mentioned in the original post.

[roadwarrior]

Texas rig without the weight.

 

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/worm-fishing-1.html

[Christopher Carroll]

I know this is old but I switched from catfish to bass 6 months and a couple thousand dollars ago with zero success. I mean 0. No catches, no bites, no nada (I may have had a couple bites; I can’t really tell). Went to the pond by my house that I’ve fished 6 or 7 times with no luck, followed these directions, and bam; caught me a bass. Thanks RW. Your word lives on. 

[mikey z]

On 9/18/2006 at 7:03 AM, roadwarrior said:

Let the bait sink to the bottom, count to 30 (as in 30 seconds) then move the Senko 6-12" with a slow horizontal sweep

I haven't followed the entire thing to a T, but I have used the retrieve technique you described as a guideline when the fishing is tough with good success.  One question I've been thinking about recently though: is the idea to have the lure rise a little in the water column and sink back down, or are we trying to sweep it so slowly that it is essentially dragging along the bottom?

[roadwarrior]

No, a more natural swimming motion on the rise and than free fall like it is dead.

Most bites occur when you move the "dead" Senko, with the drop being a distant

second.

[Dave0408]

Nice

[Bubba 460]

 

Yes, listen to these guys advice, they are like Mr. Miyagi... "Sand the deck, a'wax on, a'wax off. Paint the fence, up, down, up down" You keep it up and it will all come together. Soon you will be a  Shaolin Bass Master. It is then you will be worthy to have theses burned into each forearm, Grasshopper.

 

[simko]

On 9/18/2006 at 7:03 AM, roadwarrior said:

 

 

Start with the Senko. Cast parallel to the bank, 10-15 yards off the shoreline. Let the bait sink to the bottom, count to 30 (as in 30 seconds) then move the Senko 6-12" with a slow horizontal sweep, allowing the bait to fall on slack line. Count to 10, then repeat. Continue all the way back, move ten steps forward and repeat.

Is there a point where i reel in slack line? If so, when do i do this?

[roadwarrior]

The Senko is fished on semi slack line. When you move the bait reel in a bit of the excess.

[simko]

12 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

The Senko is fished on semi slack line. When you move the bait reel in a bit of the excess.

Thank you RW!

I tried this technique out last night with a fat ika (no senkos on hand) and landed a nice bass! going back to the same spot tonight (river, no pond nearby)

 

[Thembones]

On 9/18/2006 at 7:03 AM, roadwarrior said:

Start with the Senko. Cast parallel to the bank, 10-15 yards off the shoreline. Let the bait sink to the bottom, count to 30 (as in 30 seconds) then move the Senko 6-12" with a slow horizontal sweep, allowing the bait to fall on slack line. Count to 10, then repeat. Continue all the way back, move ten steps forward and repeat.

Great advice that has stood the test of time. 

 

the 6-12” slow horizontal sweep is that toward the shore or toward the body of water? I am trying to visualize what to do later this evening 

toward the water ie away from shore makes sense but don’t you then move away from the actual 6-8’ zone where the fish seem to be hiding?

 

is there a video?

I am very much a visual learner 

[the reel ess]

On 5/30/2020 at 7:41 PM, RoLo said:

 

Roadwarrior first recommended the use of Senkos about 15 years ago.

Some things never change, and apparently Senko is one of those things.

Time-honored Roland Martin told Gary Yamamoto that his Senko was an ugly, do-nothing lure.

Today (decades later), Roland Martin's favorite lure is the Senko,

which Roland incurably refers to as a SINKO 

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

Well, if they wanted it pronounced Sank-o in English they should have spelled it correctly. ? We say the same thing about crappie in the southeast. Someone from Minnesota made fun of my pronunciation. I told him to spell "crap" and spell "crop".

On 6/13/2014 at 7:24 PM, JickleFish said:

While I love Senkos, if you are just starting, and don't have a high budget, go with some YUM Dingers. They have the same action as Senkos, but don't rip as easily.

I recently took up the old stick worm and it has been about the only consistent producer for me in the dog days. I caught an 8.0 lb. earlier this summer on it. I've been using it with an 1/8 oz. weight, pegged on straight 30# braid. Fish are just crazy about black and blue here. I was using SK Ochos because my bro-in-law gave me some in junebug. I burned through several bags of 10 that cost $6 or more. I found a bag of 100 Yum Dingers for $26 on Amazon. The real deal, not a knockoff. https://www.amazon.com/Classic-All-Purpose-Plastic-Fishing-Pumpkin/dp/B086TNY2BJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14RA71X8S6XYF&keywords=100%2Byum%2Bdinger&qid=1663159447&sprefix=100%2Byum%2Bdingers%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-1&th=1

[Luke Barnes]

My local BPS usually sells bulk bags of Dingers, Ochos, and Stick-Os. I think the first two are 30 packs for $10 and the stick o is 100 for $20 I think? Maybe? They are bulk and cheaper. I use different brands but like the max scent general alot, but in the same boat as the actual Senko. More costly and tear really easy. But I have alot of nice Ned rig max scent baits now!

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

On the one hand there is the Senko...

On the other hand is everything else.