Finesse?

 

The accepted definition of "finesse" is light lures, a 5" Senko is far from "finesse/light".

 

If there is a " proverbial" idea lure for casting long distances a Senko is one, streamlined with not much resistance in the air.

 

Watch Glenn video again!

 

Long distance casting is rod & technique, your reel on only holding line. Many will argue the need for super high tuned Japanese reels.

 

Do yourself a favor & Google "American Casting Association", tournament casting. The most popular reel for distance casting are Abu Garcia 6500s.

 

Watch Glenn's video & learn technique

10 hours ago, OCdockskipper said:

One time I cast a Senko so far that it circled the earth & hit me in the back of the head.

Did you even bother reeling it in to save your line?

Depends on what size senko too.I can cast a 5 inch quite a bit further than a 4.

I use spinning exclusively with a 4. Anything 5-7 inch I sometimes use casting.

I would say I can cast a 4 with spinning around 125 feet,which is more than enough distance for me.

With spinning ,I can cast a 5 inch another 20 feet or so further.Not so much with casting because I dont use them as much.

I throw my Senko's on a 6' M/L with 15lb braid and a 14 lb flouro leader.  I shoot docks for crappie with the same rod in the spring without the flouro.  I can throw it far enough that watching the lines for bites becomes very difficult.  I rarely feel the bites on my Seko's, I just see the line jump.

1 hour ago, Shak Muscles said:

Did you even bother reeling it in to save your line?

 

Worse, after it hit me, it fell into the water & a 28 1/2 lb bass inhaled it.  Because of the amount of line out, I didn't get a good hookset and lost her.

14 hours ago, Glenn said:

 

What dis. line do you have on  that reel?

 Thanks David

Far beyond the fish.....

 

40 yards is generally fine.

just far enough not to backlash! I too like a spinning rad as a second

Not sure how many people can set the hook 40 to 50 yards out, and expect to boat the fish. That's just a long ways out there, you're not throwing a 10XD. Casting distance doesn't mean squat, unless you're getting those 50 yard fish in the boat, not always likely, oh and I can cast a weightless senko into next week.

It's not how far, it's where.

3 minutes ago, J Francho said:

It's not how far, it's where.

 

That depends. In open water flats, The farther you can cast, the more water you can cover. Where I fish, the clear water means the farther from your target you can get, the less chance you have of spooking the bass. Positioning the boat too close, even with a perfectly accurate cast, means no hits.

Senko is a do nothing drop bait.  It's a spot on the spot tool.  If you need to cover more water, then you need a different tool.

I throw a weightless senko on a Duckett Ghost 6'10" M/F casting rod with a Daiwa Tatula CT.  Although I am normally pitching to cover, I can cast it plenty far if need be.  I think I read they are 5/8oz-ish with a hook.

On 4/29/2017 at 0:49 PM, OCdockskipper said:

 

Worse, after it hit me, it fell into the water & a 28 1/2 lb bass inhaled it.  Because of the amount of line out, I didn't get a good hookset and lost her.

 

Should have been using braid with a leader, tied with a uni knot 

I can typically get a good 5 feet tossing a senko into 100 mph winds.

On 4/28/2017 at 10:14 PM, .ghoti. said:

I can cast a senko farther than i can set the hook.

 

The first time I learned this was very disappointing, the fish that hit my very distant lure right as it hit the water, it looked like someone threw a cinderblock in there.  

 

I have never given senkos much time, but am currently playing with them on an L action casting rod and a small finesse reel.  Rather than go for distance, I am working on accuracy, trying to be able to hit a dock piling at 50-60' on every cast.  I know I don't have the gear to pull a large fish through much if any cover, so I need to be able to hit spots where I have a clear lane to land a fish.  

 

I have tried to see how far I can fling one, I can get it down to the backing on my spool, so around 40 yards or so.  But that is a long bomb cast with the brakes way way looser then I would ever really try to fish it.  

On 4/28/2017 at 10:14 PM, .ghoti. said:

I can cast a senko farther than i can set the hook.

 

The first time I learned this was very disappointing, the fish that hit my very distant lure right as it hit the water, it looked like someone threw a cinderblock in there.  

 

I have never given senkos much time, but am currently playing with them on an L action casting rod and a small finesse reel.  Rather than go for distance, I am working on accuracy, trying to be able to hit a dock piling at 50-60' on every cast.  I know I don't have the gear to pull a large fish through much if any cover, so I need to be able to hit spots where I have a clear lane to land a fish.  

 

I have tried to see how far I can fling one, I can get it down to the backing on my spool, so around 40 yards or so.  But that is a long bomb cast with the brakes way way looser then I would ever really try to fish it.  

I have put them 15 feet into trees so I suppose I can cast them too far!!  But I use a spinning rod most of the time and try to hit a target.  Not too concerned about distance. 

I can cast them further than I can get a good hookset.

I don't know how far I can cast Senko since I've never tried and don't see if I need to try ever. From bank most of the fish I caught are within 30'. Too long of a distance take too much time to work it back. I'd rather use different lure for long distance.

Shak, trying to determine distance on a body of water is very difficult.

 

Distance via your estimation can be way off.

 

I suggest getting one of those laser distance meters and use that device for a more correct estimations.

 

To answer your question: I have marked off distance by casing in my field and then walking to measure the distance.  I forgot what it was as it is not important.

 

Putting the Senko exactly where you want it is more important.

You don't need a $300 super tuned reel to get distance with a senko. I use primarily  $100-160 range Lew's reels and can cast a senko almost to the knot/spool. 

21 hours ago, J Francho said:

Senko is a do nothing drop bait.  It's a spot on the spot tool.  If you need to cover more water, then you need a different tool.

 

Exactly. I couldn't agree more. I couldn't even wrap my mind around this question. I don't think I've ever thrown one more than about 30 feet.

 

You fish something very specific with a Senko. You can cover water with a wacky jig head but that's a different technique.

As far as I need to, I guess?

 

11 hours ago, Mosster47 said:

 

You fish something very specific with a Senko. You can cover water with a wacky jig head but that's a different technique.

 

eh, I do sometimes fish a t-rigged senko a bit like a fluke, working it across pads and letting it fall into holes.  They are a bit fragile for it though, the stouter stick worms like the Keitech or BioSpawn one's work a lot better for that use.  

I fish Senkos — a lot. I have several perfect setups for distance.

 

I mostly use 6" Senkos. But I have two nearly identical rods/reels. One for 5" and the other for 6". 

 

Kistler Z-bone 7'6" rods (3-power, but one is spiral wrapped, macro guides for the 5" and micro guides for 6"), Lews LITE reels, Seaguar 15-lb Invisx.