Ok, so just got done using the senko this morning.

Got there about 6 a.m and the very first cast got a snag, not very happy as you can imagine. Once I redid my pole on about my third cast I was playing with it and by the time I could tell I had a bit the poor guy had swallowed the jig. Nice fish but couldnt get my hook or jig out w/o him dying:(. Then me and a few buddies went exploring cause after that fish noone was getting any hits. We found another huge pond and fished that, 4 fish only about 2 were anything were keeping, ended up catching 2 more fish that day. 7 fish caught only about 3 weighed over a pound. My first time with a senko was allright I did catch about triple of what I usually do there but they just werent very big, I used a 4" and I might get the 5" next time

congrats. when i fish senkos i clamp the barb down all the way. it makes getting gut hooks out a lot easier. ive never lost one doing it this way. hope this helps. the 5 inch should get you larger fish too...