Five Lures You Need In Your Tackle Box To Ensure Bass Fishing Success. Part One Senkos.

Tue, Jul 1, 2008

Top 5 Lures For Bass Fishing Success…

Many novice fishermen and fisherwomen ask me how I always know how and where to catch fish. In this series of articles I will attempt to address the first question by giving you my top 5 lures that I always have in my tackle box and would never want to be on the water without.

Number 1: The Senko

This lure is an absolute must have. It has completely revolutionized the artificial bait industry, and has made the old fashioned rubber worm obsolete. The senko was originally created by the Yamamoto bait company, but has been cloned by almost all major lure manufacturing companies. Here are the names of some of the senko knock-offs: Stick-O by Bass Pro Shops, Kinami Flash, Wave Tiki Worms, Mann’s Hard Nose Freefall Worms, Berkley Gulp Sinking Minnow, Chompers Salty Sinker Worms, Netbait Salt Lick Worm, Strike King 3x Plastic Zero Worm, Yum Dinger Worms, and the list goes on and on!

The characteristics that set this bait apart from the rest are its fishability, durability, and multitude of rigging options.

Fishability - This lure is extremely easy to fish, casts like a bullet, and is an appropriate bait choice for almost any weather condition, season, or body of water. Most of the time you will get a hit simply by throwing it around cover or structure and letting it sink. All you have to do is set the hook and bring in your catch. Sometimes it requires a twitch or two, but even that is a simple way to catch fish.
Durability - Built to last, you can easily land 5-10 fish on a single bait depending on your rigging method and brand of choice. The Mann’s Hard Nose Free Fall Worms tend to hold up the best since the tip of the bait is made of a harder material. Even if the top of a senko type bait gets torn, you can snip it off and the bait functions as normal, and continues to catch fish. Try that with a normal rubber worm!
Rigging Options - The senko is possibly the most versatile bait on the market today. It can be rigged texas style, wacky rigged, carolina rigged, or jigged. Whether it’s shallow shoreline, under docks (you can easily skip a texas rigged senko), deep structure, or around fallen trees, the number of rigging options with a senko allows you to fish any conditions you are faced with.

If you haven’t tried a senko yet, you don’t know what you are missing! Here’s a couple tips if you are going to try one of these baits for the first time:

Fish it slow and keep you line tight so you can feel when a fish picks up the bait. Set the hook if you are texas rigging, jigging, or carolina rigging. DO NOT set the hook if you are wacky rigging with a circle hook. If you don’t get a hit within the 10 feet of the structure you are fishing, reel it in and cast again (most fish are caught on the initial drop). Now get out there and catch some fish!

Up Next is the Spinnerbait… Click Here to Continue Reading!