4 hours ago, RRocket said:

I know at a local pond that's the reason a wacky does NOT get bit.

 

Because it's been thrown a bazillion times there. I know this because I watch it happen in real time.

 

I effortlessly out fish the guys throwing wacky there. 

Another good point. 

On 8/19/2025 at 7:25 PM, Big Hands said:

My (current) dedicated weightless wacky Senko rig:

• Daiwa Elite spinning rod: 7'6" ML-M/F 
• Daiwa Caldia LT 2500S-XH spinning reel
• 10 lbs hi-vis braid (8 carrier)
• Daiwa Samurai Camo Fluorocarbon leader (anywhere from 5 to 12 feet): 6, 7, or 8 lbs test
• 5" Senko, some shade of green, and several other more natural colors
• Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse: Size 4 or size 2, hooked lengthwise under the o-ring from the skinny end toward the fat end of the Senko; probably not that critical, just the way I do it.
• #11 o-ring placed two rings below the egg sack on a 5" Senko
• I use scent (hot sauce gel)

There are none of the bullet points above that couldn't be altered anywhere from a little to a lot.

 

Senkos get bit in myriad ways. Anytime from dead sticking to while you're retrieving them when you think the cast is over, and everything in between. With that said, "on the fall" is what they built their reputation on, and that reputation is not unfounded. 

 

Default: I like to give them a slack line to fall on so they fall kind of straight down with no action imparted by me at least until they hit bottom. I often feel the bite, even on pretty slack line. Or, I see the line jump or moving in a way it wouldn't when something hasn't tried to carry it away. But you do have to pay attention to maximize your chances.

 

I get bites from the absolute water's edge to thirty feet deep, and everywhere in between. Casting 100' away from the boat and bounce it off of a rock and fall into the water, or lazily fling it fifteen feet in front of the boat and wait for it to slowly do the "wooba-wooba" all the way to the (deep) bottom. I can skip it under branches easily, I can drag it across a "cheese mat" and bass will come up through it to inhale a Senko (I LOVE doing this in the spring when the water is high in the back of coves). I have had a pattern where I would throw it into a small stream as it entered the lake and let it wash in by the force of the current. I've had countless bites where it gets slammed when it pulls free from some sort of structure or cover.

 

It's an incredibly versatile rig, but the bottom line is that I would try to cast it to places where it will fall NATURALLY and UNIMPEDED into an area literally ANYWHERE the fish are lurking below. When you have determined that a fish may have inhaled the bait, point the rod down, reel in at a medium rate until you feel some weight. Then keep reeling as you FIRMLY lift upward Lift, don't swing, or you may pull the relatively small hook through their lips before it has a chance to sink in.

 

One last thing that I highly recommend is a pair of long needle nose pliers. My favorites are the Booms F05. They have an especially effective bend to them that makes them incredibly good at removing small finesse hooks that are deeper in their mouth. Sometimes I can carefully go through the gills to grab onto them and greatly minimize the negative impact. 

Excellent I learned a LOT! Thanks, I don't wacky enough, will do more! 😁 

Well I was out earlier today fishing from the bank and I cast to a dock piling and sure enough I got one! He hit it on the way down as it was sinking. Felt good to finally get one on the wacky! 

On 8/20/2025 at 11:55 AM, TOXIC said:

I sometimes have to remind myself that I am so tuned into Senko fishing (I even notice different fall rates and actions by color and flake content) that some of my suggestions come off as nonsensical but I can assure you they have all been proven over and over.  

 

Fascinating! I make my own soft plastic baits and I have never experienced different fall rates associated with colourant colour. I certainly don't have as much experience, or as tuned in to senkos as you, so could you please expand on how colourant colour affects fall rate? Heck, even adding flake, because it's so light, has no effect on the fall rate of my baits. I have to add salt to change my fall rates, so I'm very interested in learning more.

I noticed that no one suggested sticking a nail weight in one. It then becomes heavier and it’s referred to as a neko rig. I caught dozens and dozens of quality largies from mid June to late July with this technique along a deep weed line.

 

Most of the bites come on the initial fall.

6 hours ago, 4n2t0 said:

 

Fascinating! I make my own soft plastic baits and I have never experienced different fall rates associated with colourant colour. I certainly don't have as much experience, or as tuned in to senkos as you, so could you please expand on how colourant colour affects fall rate? Heck, even adding flake, because it's so light, has no effect on the fall rate of my baits. I have to add salt to change my fall rates, so I'm very interested in learning more.

Certain colorants stiffen the plastisol, others soften it. The stiffness and movement affect the fall rate. Different flakes will affect the movement as well. 

 

There’s a local guy here that adds ground glass to his, gives them a different wiggle than just salt. 

6 hours ago, 4n2t0 said:

 

Fascinating! I make my own soft plastic baits and I have never experienced different fall rates associated with colourant colour. I certainly don't have as much experience, or as tuned in to senkos as you, so could you please expand on how colourant colour affects fall rate? Heck, even adding flake, because it's so light, has no effect on the fall rate of my baits. I have to add salt to change my fall rates, so I'm very interested in learning more.

In a nutshell, there are colors that are better for skipping because the amount of pigment either helps or hinders the ability to skip.  As far as fall rates, with Yamamoto there are different size flakes, combinations of flakes and no flakes which all can change the characteristics of the Senko and its fall rate as well as action.  More flakes makes the bait stiffer.  The unmatched “shimmy” of a Senko is very, very, delicate and for the very reason it’s so hard to duplicate, makes it susceptible to minor changes.

I’m with @Pat Brown I wacky a trick worm More. Always have. I usually target pockets in filamentous algae with it or grass edges and such. I don’t try to blind cast it. It takes forever to cover water. 

36 minutes ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Certain colorants stiffen the plastisol, others soften it. The stiffness and movement affect the fall rate. Different flakes will affect the movement as well. 

 

There’s a local guy here that adds ground glass to his, gives them a different wiggle than just salt. 

 

10 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

In a nutshell, there are colors that are better for skipping because the amount of pigment either helps or hinders the ability to skip.  As far as fall rates, with Yamamoto there are different size flakes, combinations of flakes and no flakes which all can change the characteristics of the Senko and its fall rate as well as action.  More flakes makes the bait stiffer.  The unmatched “shimmy” of a Senko is very, very, delicate and for the very reason it’s so hard to duplicate, makes it susceptible to minor changes.

 

Thanks! You guys are on some next level (slow motion video with time stamps? lol). I guess I don't notice because I use the same colourant and flake brand all the time, just different colours? To be honest, I don't even notice any change in effectiveness within stick bait brands (lucky me, I know) and for that reason, if I had to buy them, I would just buy Yum or BPS because they're much cheaper. I know they have different characteristics (e.g. Yums fall much slower) but "my fish" don't seem to care much.

Ok I am going to tell you the secret to get bite with wacky rig. First use only senko (you need the weight). Second if you use 5” and you don’t get bite it means they are not interested in hen they see it visually.
So the secret is use 4” or even 3” senko(not fat one) and cast and let drop and then jerk it up as hard as you can and you’ll need to feel your senko is vibrating. And again let it go down and jerk it again and promise you, You’ll catch your wakey rig bass by this technique.
Enjoy and good luck.

I refuse to believe they can resist the wacky senko.  It's the closest thing to a guarantee in bass fishing.  If they'll bite they'll bite that.  

On 8/21/2025 at 9:20 AM, JRD_fishing said:

Well I was out earlier today fishing from the bank and I cast to a dock piling and sure enough I got one! He hit it on the way down as it was sinking. Felt good to finally get one on the wacky! 

 

Classic!

@RRocket I agree with you. If you aren’t getting bites on a WR, it’s likely due to it being an overfished bait in that body of water. 
 

The pond I frequent was a WR bass magnet years ago. Now I rarely throw one as it’s difficult to get a bite on it. Why? Because after COVID, more and more people started fishing there and one bait that was used heavily was a 5” Senko WR. I’ve had better luck using a Zoom Trick on a WR than I have a Senko. 

On 8/19/2025 at 6:38 AM, JRD_fishing said:

Catch a bass almost every time out that way.

Doesnt sound like you are tearing them up on a Texas rig either. just keep plugging away and the fish will come.