ive never used a Senko but the way yall describe them there miricle baits. Soft Plastic wise i love my ribbon tail worms.

bought some gary yamamoto senkos today gunna tyry thhem out, they are black with chartuse tail.

While I was in Walmart today I noticed they just started selling Gary Yamamoto soft plastics including the senko....

ROFL maybe at ur wally world but mine is cheap.....................

I have onl gotten 1 keeper fish on a senko. i would rather fish with a creature bait or ribbontail worm, i live up north and senkos are supposed to work in cold water but really i dont think so.

Someone told me that the Tiki Stik is actually made the same place the Senko is made.  Is that true????

I fish the Senko's weightless, but Tritonman had a nice one while fishing it Texas rigged.

For all of you that fish the senko wacky style. Have any of you used a split ring around them? They help hold the hook, and now with the red rings you get that bleeding look.

phisn_phool,

To the best of my knowledge, the baits you mentioned are not made at the same place that Senkos are made.

JT Bagwell

Tiki Stacks were born and raised in Texas. I believe they are still made there. Yamamoto I thought was Arizona but I'm not sure if their poured there.

John, you are correct about Yamamoto.

I have never touched a Tiki stick in my life so I know nothing about them.

JT Bagwell

Samething as a Senko but not the same if you know what I mean. They all seem to look the same as a Senko but none of them seem to fish like one. There are 50 companies now making thier own version of the Senko and none of them seem to catch fish like it.

Yeah I knew what a Tiki stick was, I had just never touched or used one.

You are right on the money with all of the Senko Knock-Offs on the market. I guess Gary Yamamoto should feel flattered that they are all copying his idea.

JT Bagwell

I just bought some Senko's over the weekend, but have never fished them yet.  Do you really think the differecne is in the product itself, or the "confidence" of the angler with the sENKO'S?

Don't believe the Yamamoto diehards that claim the Senko is the only stick to catch fish or the best of the best. The lure has been made into exact aluminum molds and the process has been duplicated by hundreds of handpourers as well as small companies like Wave Industries and Assalt.

Anyone who has fished good copies knows that it's not only the bait that matters, but the angler using it. When I first started pouring and using my own stick, the thing was stiffer than hardened silicone caulking, but it caught fish because I wanted it to . I worked it different ways, during prime seasons and times, and slew four different species! What's more, the worm wouldn't quit, after having caught 30 or more fish, including pickerel over 20".

My first sticks had no salt for weight or softener and had one flat side. So, considering the unappealing appearence and other factors that have made Senko a superb stick, mine still did great.

Since then, I found out the secrets of making a stick like the Senko, having the same softeness and salt and thus action. Other anglers have used my stick with equal success and in their minds, can't see paying +60 cents for a lure that is good for one fish or a few casts, when a good copy will do as well with imparted action and is good for eight bass and 30 casts.

The other thing about handpouring is the ability to dictate the sticks fall, yet maintain super softness and finesse tip-action. The three major rates of horizontal fall are; floating/super slow; moderate; and rapid. Each matches a different fish's aggressive level and have different presentations especially suited to fall rate.

Plastisol is plastisol and that's the primary base for 98% of all worms made. Additives may make a difference, but not universally. Sticks may catch fish for most anglers, but not for everyone and especially those new to worm fishing.

Granted, Senkos and the best copies excel in idiot-proof deadsticking and wacky rigging, but that in itself can lead the way to a limited scope of lure types and presentations. When something is too easy, a dependence forms based on a belief that one-lure-fits-all and that a specific brand and style is all that's needed to catch fish anytime, anywhere. Not so.

Sam

Lurecrafter and designer

(For those that may be thinking I'm plugging my handpours, you're wrong. I make them for a select few that know me personally or that I'm acquainted with through message boards. I'm proud of the fact that I can make something that is just as capable of catching fish as any mass produced same-type lure. Here are a few exmples on my blog: http://senkosam.blogspot.com/)

Tiki Sticks are made right off the west branch of Lake Fork a little north of Little Mustang. I dont think senko's will ever entirly go away, I beleive they will be a lot like tubes kind of a lost art for most but those who still use them will attest to their value.

      I think senkos are great. This style of bait catches way to many fish to be considered a fad. Zoom's Z nail and the Yum Dinger are less as exspensive and work great. Texas rig them in cover or wacky rig them in the open. As long as you don't fish them to fast, they will catch fish.

Senkosam you proved my point. You found the same softness and salt as a Senko. So in all actuality your making a Senko. I've seen and felt alot of the spin off Senko that are to lite have little or no salt or have a flat side from a hand poured mold. In my opinion the Yamamoto has the right action, softness and salt content that separates it from the others I've used. So if you can duplicate this in your Senkos and add a little twist your versions are probadly AWESOME.

I caught as many fish with the senko this year, as I did with all other baits combined.

The don't always work, but when they work they really work.

I usually use the Kinami stick baits you can find at Wally world here in North Carolina, and they seem to work just as good as the original Senkos.

One of the biggest things for me concerning the Senko is that you can catch big fish or numbers of fish with them.

If there's no wind the best way is to fish them weightless, but if there is a little wind I texas rig with a very small bullet weight so I can feel the bait.

The reason that your Kinami Flash will work as good as a Yamamoto Senko is because they are the exact same bait.  ;D

Kinami is a division of Yamamoto enterprises that is ran by Derek Yamamoto (Gary's Son).

JT Bagwell

When I fish senkos, I catch way more small fish than I do big ones. It could just be the locations that I fish, or it could have somethng to do with the aggresion level of the fish, either way it would be grounds for another topic. I have caught some big bass on senkos and other knock offs, but they seem to come after precise coverage of a given area. As for the small ones, I don't think they think twice before inhaling a senko. I once literally tossed a senko right into a small bass's mouth, or at least it seemed that way, right on top of it's nose; before the ripples spread a foot and a half I had a fish on. And like earthworm said "they may be responsible for retarding the learning curve of an entire generation of bass anglers", I may fall into this category myself. I don't think I went fishing at all in '04 without casting senkos first and foremost. They did produce well while my partners were getting skunked, but I wish that I would have spent more time with other patterns.

JT-

I figured it was something like that, cause there was the name Yamamoto on the package.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

I think I'll keep buying from the son, he doesn't charge as much. 8)

Dumbluck, don't forget that they are less expensive but they are only 7 count bags. Senkos are 10 count  bags. So it's almost the same price.

Quote:

Senkos are excellent baits but I do think that guys rely entirely to much on them. I'll go as far as saying that they may be responsible for retarding the learning curve of an entire generation of bass anglers.

We should all be careful not to get locked into one particular bait. We still have to let the fish tell us what they want. If its a Senko, then I'm cool with that.

I think that senkos are a large reason why bass fishing has enjoyed the explosion of popularity.  It is so easy to fish, and so good at catching bass that virtually anyone can go out their first day and catch a boatload of "keepers"  before the senko the killer baits like the sluggo, or plastic worms required some angling skill.  On most days the senko will outfish the best hardbaits.  So GYCB deserves every dime he makes.  

PS. a knockoff is a knockoff.  Yes they may work well.  But Gary Yamamoto invented the thing and deserves the profits as well as the kudos.  

Is it a fad?  No more so than the original rapala, the ratltrap, or spinnerbait.

Is a Tiki stick the same as a senko? - No.  I have tried them and in my opinion are not as good.

do other soft plastic manufacturers make products as good as the senko?  I think the answer is yes.  roboworm makes outstanding soft plastic worms.  they are not cheap and if anything are even more fragile than the senko, but wow do the bassies love em.