The senko is one of the most popular lures of all time. Most people like to wacky rig one these days but since I’m usually around a lot of grass and cover I typically throw one on a weightless texas rig so that there’s less of a chance of getting hung up. A fun fact about this lure is the lure designer, Gary Yamamoto also liked to texas rig this lure and I’ve found it still can be very effective way to fish with one. I’m honestly not sure what a senko is supposed to imitate but they definitely have a unique action, and while there are a ton of other brands that make a lure that look similar to this one, I prefer to use an actual senko since some of the other versions out there don’t have the same action and do not perform as well as a result.
Making sure you pick a good stick bait is especially important if you do decide to wacky rig it. I’m not going to name any of the ones I wouldn’t recommend, but if you really want to go with a different brand there are a few others out there with a stick bait that I’ve tried and can say will give you a similar action and perform well on this type of a setup. There might be others so please don’t be offended if you know of one and I didn’t mention it here, these are just the ones that I’ve tried and found can actually produce a similar action to a senko on a wacky rig. Here they are (in no particular order):
- Bass Pro Shops Stik-O
- 6th Sense Clout
- Berkley Powerbait Maxscent The General
- Strike King Ocho
I personally prefer to use the Yamamoto Senko. Yes they are a little more expensive and you can go through them quickly, but you can also find them on sale every once in a while and using an o-ring can also help the bait last a little longer. The other thing I’ve noticed is that when you use an o-ring and have the hook on top of the lure that can help a little bit in terms of preventing it from getting hung up around grass and cover, but in my case I personally just texas rig it most of the time anyway. Another thing that’s nice about a wacky rig is you can keep some nail weights on you and easily convert it into a neko rig if you want to fish the lure on the bottom instead. Here’s an image of what one looks like on a wacky rig (in case you are brand new to bass fishing or have been living under a rock):
There are other things you can do with a stick bait besides use it on a texas rig or a wacky rig, but these are the two rigs that I typically use with this lure. Having said that if you want to try it with other rigs you should and as an example these also do well on a traditional texas rig with a bullet weight, but in my case I usually use other lures for that setup and if you are going to add a weight then the action you get on the lure becomes less important and you could throw something like a yum dinger to save some money. Either way these things catch fish so you should add some to your arsenal if you haven’t already.
Lure Summary – Stick Bait
Suggested Rod Length: 6’10” – 7’3″
Suggested Rod Power: Medium or Medium Heavy
Suggested Rod Action: Fast or Moderate Fast
Suggested Reel Type: Spinning Reel
Suggested Reel Size: 3000
Lure Weight (est.): .35oz
Tackle Required (Weightless Texas Rig)
- 3/0 Owner Twistlock Light
- 20lb Sufix 832 Braided Line
- 12lb Sunline FC Fluorocarbon Leader
Tackle Required (Weightless Wacky Rig)
- 1/0 Gamakatsu B10 S Stinger Finesse Hook
- 20lb Sufix 832 Braided Line
- 12lb Sunline FC Fluorocarbon Leader
- O-Ring Tool
- Rubber O-Rings
Suggested Soft Plastic Baits
- 5″ Yamamoto Senko