FISHING WITH SENKOS AND OTHER PLASTIC WORMS
Posted on November 30, 2009
If you fish for Bass or almost any other type of fish then you need to be able to use “senkos” and other plastic worms in several different ways as they have been responsible for catching many many many bass as well as almost all other fish species. I cannot personally think of one species of fish that I havent caught with some sort of worm.
 Green Senko Worm |
 Plastic Worm |
As I am sure you know, all bass especially largemouth bass will for the most part hide in the shadows or in and around underwater structure such as rocks, stumps, fallen trees etc. They will sit in wait for some sort of food to pass by so that they can rush out and ambush their prey. As previously stated, if you can put a bait in close proximity of a waiting bass then you stand a very good chance of catching a fish. Second to location in importance is presentation. By this we mean how the bait is presented to the fish. This includes the color, size, shape, and movement.
A senko is a type of plastic stick worm and is probably one of the most popular worm type bait for bass fishermen. It has been responsible for catching many winning bass. The biggest key to the senko is its very soft plastic and its very realistic drop rate. As a result it looks and feels like a real worm falling through the water column. Plastic worms can be used to catch almost any kind of fish. You may be fishing for bass but catch walleye, pike, musky or even panfish as they will all take worms. Plastic worms are a cheap bait, easy to use and are your best go to bait for children.
There are many ways to fish with plastic worms. When using a plastic worm especially the senko style worm you should usually let it sink down on a slack line all the way to the bottom. That means that your line shouldnt be tight forcing the worm to glide forward in an unnatural way. But your line cannot be completely loose either as you will miss the hits that take place as the bait slowly sinks through the water. Let your line have a small amount of slack as it sinks so that the bait can fall straight down as it would if it was a real worm. But watch your line to see if the bait stops moving or the line moves in a different way. IF ANYTHING DIFFERENT HAPPENS – TIGHTEN YOUR LINE AND THEN SET YOUR HOOK
Once your worm is on the bottom just twitch your rod tip very slightly to give the worm some slight movement to attract the fish. If you dont get any bites after a short time then reel your worm in slowly trying to give the worm an action that will attract fish as it is retrieved. It can be by hopping it along the bottom, swimming it back or twitching it like a jerk bait then letting it sink to the bottom once again. If you are fishing close to structure like docks then you will probably just want to cast out to very specific spots and let your worm fall to the bottom and then retrieve it to cast to the nest good looking fish holding spot as that will produce the best results. AGAIN IF YOU FEEL SOMETHING DIFFERENT ESPECIALLY THE WEIGHT OF THE FISH – THEN SET THE HOOK !!
WAYS TO HOOK WORMS
Nose hooked – simply put a smaller hook through the front or nose of the worm
Standard - Tie on an offset worm hook using your favorite fishing knot.
- Insert about 1/2 of an inch of the point of the hook straight into the top of the worm.
- Push the point out the side of the worm
- Slide the worm down the hook toward the eye, rotate it around the hook so that the point of the hook is facing the worm.
- The eye of the hook should be just at the top of the worm.
- Allow the worm to hang straight down and mark the point that the bend of the hook reaches with your fingers.
- Keeping your fingers on that spot, insert the point of the hook into the worm while keeping the worm straight.
- Push the point all the way through the worm. (The worm should make a straight line between the point and the eye of the hook.)
- The tail of the worm will move behind the hook acting as an attractor as it is pulled through the water.
Weedless – To set your worm up to run weedless you simply hook the worm as stated above. Once you have the worm properly on your hook you push the top of the worm in front of the hook very slightly forward and then set the point of the hook into that small piece of worm that you had pushed forward. Once you release that piece to cover the point of the hook your worm should run through the weeds without getting caught up. Even when running your plastic worm weedless the hook will still easily penetrate the fishes mouth if it is bitten.
Wacky – In the middle of most stick worms there is a thicker piece which is meant to resemble the worms egg sack. Just take a hook like a circle hook and hook the worm through that thicker area in the worms middle. When pulled through the water, the two ends of wacky hooked worm will act as the attractor. Some people will use a small rubber o ring or similar device that they place around the middle of the worm. They then attach the worm to the hook with the o ring instead of piercing the worm itself.
REMEMBER – If you are using a circle hook you dont pull back sharply to set the hook. Once you feel something on your line, tighten your line and sweep your rod tip back and to the side until you feel the fishes weight then just keep pressure on the fish
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