Went fishing yesterday and caught several nice fish with senkos. It got me wondering why they illicit strikes so well. Anyone know?

What about when they don't?

What about when they don't?

^^^^ This is very true ^^^^

Well Senkos use that real soft rubber and they load them up with salt. Part of the reason they get strikes is how they sink. They will fall parallel to the bottom and have a subtle wiggling action. For whatever reason this drives the bass crazy and they hit it. I think the real benefit of using a Senko is the fact that bass will hold on to them just that bit longer, due to the softness and salt. This translates to a little more time to set the hook.  

Because they cost more .

They are just another tool in the box. Guys that use them, and nothing else come in with there tail between their legs just as much as guys who do nothing but fish frogs, or just jigs. I may be a lot of things, including a jerk, but a one trick pony I am not.

The first two times I used them late spring I couldn't keep fish off the hook. Now that they're in a summer pattern, they can't buy a strike.

 

But I think part of the reason is that most people simply don't use them so they're new to fish and fish are curious creatures. After every fish in the pond has either bitten or seen one they won't produce as well. They're a great bait if you're in the back of the boat. You'll get some fish that just ignore the more traditional baits he's throwing.

time and place for them much like everything else...  seems like when they're eating it you can catch a truck full and other days they wouldn't bite it if it fell right in their mouth.  sounds like every other bait i own.

Bass bite or strike a lure basically two reasons, feeding and reaction.  There are multiple reasons for a reaction strike, one of which is opportunity. A Senko presents itself to both as it represents something injured. If you pay attention to the way a fish takes it, you can tell which is the reason, but does it really matter?

I love to fish Senkos, but as the fish move out, scatter and settle into deeper structure I fish them less.

They just have that helpless floppy wiggle that looks oh-so-bottom-of-the-food-chain along with a certain plumpness...  I can see why they work, but I'm not a fan unless I'm wacky rigging them- and even then I will only use Z man, because senkos are garbage and have the approximate durability of cheap grape jelly.  

101 degrees yesterday afternoon. I couldn't buy a bite. Decided to get out this senko worm thing I've read so much about. Landed four fish 2.5 - 5lbs in about 30 minutes. I'm a believer

Reaction. Like all the best lures for bass. The sight of it triggers something primitive deep in their little visual cortex the same way a flashing spinnerbait does for a pike or... a glimpse of nice cleavage does to us... Does it even make logical sense to chase these things? No. But that's evolution.

I think what senkos have is a lifelike response to slow currents as they're sinking. Any thing any shape any color that wavers and flexes like that as it drifts down is to bass = alive, meaty, and helpless.

time and place for them much like everything else... seems like when they're eating it you can catch a truck full and other days they wouldn't bite it if it fell right in their mouth. sounds like every other bait i own.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^

But I think part of the reason is that most people simply don't use them so they're new to fish and fish are curious creatures.

You are kidding,right?

Confidence....

 

I am only guessing but for me I would say the way it wiggles and falls when weightless. 

Nothing wipes away confidence like when a bait stops working.

They're not the crank and wind power fishing lure that everybody has to throw . The slow as you go presentation of the Senko is usually a last resort for a lot of guys. Fish definitely do not see slow presentations as much as fast. IMO. 

You are kidding,right?

No, not where I fish. But then I primarily fish private properties.

For me it is a bait of last resort, if I have to wait for a bite, I would rather look for active fish first and then come back and try a senko like bait if I couldn't find any active fish. They just aren't that efficient to fish. If I have to use them I will, but really not my style of fishing. Now that I have started Ned rigging when the bite is tough I don't see myself ever making it to a Senko anymore in my lure progression.

90 percent of my hits on a Senko are when they pick it up off the bottom, I have had very few hits while the bait is being worked/sinking.

Senkos and soft stick baits are best fished weightless or light weight, wacky, or drop shot.

They have a wiggle and action that triggers bites. Ribbon tail and trick worms have a different action that works sometimes better but in more situations than not its easier to get bit on Senkos than any other worm. I say this as IMO but I fish 100 days per year and have found this to be true everywhere I fish.

You are kidding,right?

Ha ha,I know! Everyone uses them!

You are kidding,right?

 

I know Senkos are pretty well known on the forum here, but out in the rest of the world, there are A TON of guys I know personally who have been bass fishing their whole life, who would not know what a Senko is.  And if they did try one, they would T-rig it with a weight, not wacky, not drop shot, not weightless, etc...

 

These are just guys who fish for fun, not tourneys, don't read articles or internet forums, etc...they walk among us, and in great numbers  

 

 

Also, as far as the oiriginal question, I think RoadWarrior said it best:

 

"From a human perspective, they're like twinkies"

 

- I haven't ever asked him, but I'm pretty sure that's a reference to Senkos  

Ha ha,I know! Everyone uses them!

Really? Nobody I know (besides all of you) fishes them. I'm all alone. 

Really? Nobody I know (besides all of you) fishes them. I'm all alone.

Well that's good for you!