Now, in my defense, I don’t fish them very much, BUT, I finally caught a fish on a senko. I know, I know, blah, blah, blah…

 

Anyway, I stopped by a local pond the other day. A kid I umpire in baseball was fishing there so we talked a few and he was catching a few on a pink trick worm. I grabbed my stick and threw a senko. Second cast, got a bite…a few more casts, again. Caught about a 8” bass on a 5” senko. I had a hard time setting the hook. Was fishing on a Daiwa 6’6 arid x spinning, mf. It felt reallly, really noodle-like when trying to set the hook. Is that because it’s a M?

15 minutes ago, Smirak said:

Caught about a 8” bass on a 5” senko. I had a hard time setting the hook. Was fishing on a Daiwa 6’6 arid x spinning, mf. It felt reallly, really noodle-like when trying to set the hook. Is that because it’s a M?

It can be.  I have two spinning rods, a 6’8” Shimano Sellus and a 7’ Daiwa Tatula XT.  Both are Medium power, Fast action rods.  The Sellus is rated from 1/8oz to 3/8oz.  The Daiwa is 1/8oz-3/4oz and is noticeably a bit stiffer.  
 

The moral of the story is not all medium rods are created equal.  Sometimes even within the same brand but different lines you’ll notice a difference between rods that have the same nominal rating.

What hook are you using and how is it rigged ?

Tom

 

The Aird-X rods from my experience are more a Mod-Fast than a true Fast - that can contribute to the 'noodle' feeling...and yes, I have that exact rod in my back-up arsenal.

17 minutes ago, WRB said:

What hook are you using and how is it rigged ?

Tom

 

Tom - I’m using the spear point wacky/neko hook. Recommended to me by the guys at lakefront on Guntersville. I just have it rigged wacky style, no o-ring, hooked through the middle of the senko…

That happens sometimes I’ve had that issue with jigs recently on dinks. Can feel them on it but they are just too tiny to inhale it. Keep at it. You’ll know when a bigger one bites. The thump is there.  

Not a fan of hooking a Senko through middle without a o-ring. Reason the Senko gets tossed when fighting a bass.

If the bass are 3 lbs use Owner weedless wacky hook size 1*, smaller bass use mosquito hook size 1. The Senko is fat body a mouth full for small bass so the smaller hook works a lot better.

Tom

#4109 is 2X gap if the size 1 mosquito hook.

On 4/25/2025 at 4:50 PM, Smirak said:

Now, in my defense, I don’t fish them very much, BUT, I finally caught a fish on a senko. I know, I know, blah, blah, blah…

 

Anyway, I stopped by a local pond the other day. A kid I umpire in baseball was fishing there so we talked a few and he was catching a few on a pink trick worm. I grabbed my stick and threw a senko. Second cast, got a bite…a few more casts, again. Caught about a 8” bass on a 5” senko. I had a hard time setting the hook. Was fishing on a Daiwa 6’6 arid x spinning, mf. It felt reallly, really noodle-like when trying to set the hook. Is that because it’s a M?

Welcome to the club. I went to the Sportsman Classic show in Columbia, SC many moons ago and there was a pro seminar going on . I made my wife sit through it. I can't remember the pro but the bait was a wacky stick worm. I bought the bait (big baits Trick Stick). I tried it the first time out in late winter/early spring. I pulled up to a stump on a point near a creek mouth and tossed it and got a bite on the first pitch. Maybe the only bait I ever got a bite on the very first cast.

 

BTW, setting the hook on tiny bass is very difficult. They just come with the bait and you never set the hook past the barb.

Setting the hook wacky rigged shouldn’t be a problem since the hook is exposed.  Texas rigged I moved up to a medium heavy 7ft bass pro carbonlite.  It’s what I use for longer casts and/or for weighted Senkos. The extra weight or distance makes the hookset harder.  I don’t wacky rig.  I’ve never encountered a situation where a Texas rig wouldn’t catch the same fish or skip as well.  I also use a 4.0 ewg hook to reduce gut hooks.