[BIG D]

a few years ago the tube bait was rarely mentioned.everyone fished jigs topwater spinner baits.if u flipped a tube you were in rare company.now it seems everyone is using tubes.if it were not for the senko the tubebait would be used even more than it is now.i am a firm believer that fish get conditioned to a bait.i think the senko will eventualy slow down as well.i wonder what will be the next fishing fad.so as a long time tube fisherman do i look for another bait to use.what do u guys think.
good fishing dennis

 

[joe p]

I think the senko is more than just a fad. Like a jig or a Spook, knowing how to fish a senko is a must for all levels of bass anglers. Most of us fish the senko the same way, either wacky style or t-rigged weightless. But there are different styles of rigging and retrieves which can make a senko more effective. Saying this, it'll take a while for fish to be conditioned to a senko, if ever that happens.

Surely, the tube has garnered less publicity than the senko but it has been a mainstay in most angler's arsenal for a long time, especially back West . Back then, anglers from out West were catching bass on finesse tactics headlined by the Gitzit.

Light line anglers like the Hibdons brought the tube finesse tactics back East of which was not readily embraced by power fishing Southern anglers. Then guys like Garrett, Nixon and Cochran discovered that a fat tube , bigger and bulkier than the Gitzit, coupled with powerfishing techniques proved to be highly effective catching bass. This technique was amplified by Denny Brauer's back to back wins, the Classic at High Rock Lake and the Potomac, both wins on a black neon 4 inch tube, flipping and pitching style.

Then of course, our Northern brothers and sisters on waters like Erie, catch monster smallies on tubes, with insert weights.

Especially on a team style tournament, fishing a tube and a senko is one potent combo that can catch fish , from top to bottom.

So, should you abandon the tube and senko because everyone is now using it? Surely, I would not. Doing so, you eliminate two highly effective baits of which bass will bite, from now till eternity.

Joe

 

[Gregg]

To much credit

I think we give a bass's feeble brain to much credit. Just how will bass become conditioned to a certain bait. A Pavlov dog type response "I've been caught on that before I'm not biting it" How many times must this happen to be learned, and how does it translate to the other bass. Bass have been caught on tubes for a long time and there not conditioned yet! So the Senko has nothing to fear.

The Senko, again a case of to much credit. And to much use. "I caught all my bass on a Senko" well if you only fish a senko that's bound to happen! Yes there are times they will only take a tube or only take a senko. But there is just as many times that one plastic bait can be substituted for another and as long as the same action in employed.

 

[got_A_way]

Still green but improving

The fish in my small pond have been caught over and over, and over. I know a couple by name. They love the senko. I believe if a bass is hungry ( they always are ) and you present a tasty morsel properly the bass will feed IMHO.

This year Ill use top water poppers and walkers, diving cranks, jig&pig, and tubes. I hope to sharpen my knowledge and tactics to use all of these baits more often this year. I fish to have fun.

 

[JOHN G]

very good points have been made by all! finally, a new thread with meat! LOL...

Dennis: I think what makes senkos so special, is that they really weren't a variation like most things are, but really started a whole new type of presentation, not unlike when sluggoes first came out....

Senko is a heavy salt laden sinking do nothing drop bait.....

again, a whole different style of fishing altogether......

comparing them with tubes is like apples and oranges of course, but that is not what you were doing, as I understood your point.....

what got me throwing tubes again , was about 3 or 4 years ago, when I was introduced to Snoozer's smelly tubes by Travis, who was at that time, a representative of Snoozer....then of course, Snoozer became our first real sponsor of the board, and I got to know the owner, Todd, very well.....I have thrown tubes on and off throughout the years, but I didn't feel the method explode until I started using the Road Kill Camo specials of Todd.....

in a sense, Tubes were sort of re-invented: thick wall, different appendages, again, salt, and a very strong garlic/craw odor......these newer tubes looked very different in the water than old styles......

naturally, as in all things, there are many many variations of them, as there are only so many companies that even make these style tubes.....

the ones sold by Earthworm, our Micro Munch sponsor are really almost identical to Todd's and as anyone who has fished with them knows, work very well......

but ditto for Viper and many other companies out there now...

the main advantage I believe to Earthy's is that he has the scenting process down pat!

 

[earthworm77]

"I caught all my bass on a Senko" well if you only fish a senko that's bound to happen!


Gregg, and about 95% of guys you see fishing are throwing....only a Senko!

 

[Gregg]

Gregg, and about 95% of guys you see fishing are throwing....only a Senko!

exactly my point!

John you talked for 5 minutes and didn't say anything LMAO

Senko is a heavy salt laden sinking do nothing drop bait.....

Too us but not everybody fishes it that way, it's fall is what I think makes it special

 

[joe p]

everything runs in cycles in bass fishing. To me, 2003 was a soft plastic year, tubes, brush hogs, the venerable Powerworm etc.

Last year was jig year, but this year, jigs didnt produce consistently enough for me to fish it more. And I can count all my spinnerbait fish for this year, in one hand.

Who knows, maybe the senko bite will slow down, but I doubt it. To me , a senko exhibits everything a bass wants to eat. Bulky, looks weak and vulnerable.

Although fished in a different way, the tube represents the same quality a senko has.....

 

[Bink]

I have said this before and I will say it again(much to somes dismay)The Senko is dumbing down a whole bunch of fisherman,dont get me wrong it's a great bait. In a River T this fall another team came over to us at about 11am both throwing wacky rigged Senko's and asked how much luck we had been having. I told them we had 5 fish and even showed them the Spinnerbait I was throwing and my partner told them he was throwing a Lucky Craft Pointer(jerkbait) they thanked us and went on tossing that Senko. At the weigh in we had 7 fish for 12+lb and they had 2 fish for 2lbs(barely 2lb) and I asked them why didnt you try a moving bait as the fish were eating baitfish(perch+Shiners) had they switched they might have cashed a check like us(2nd). 4 years ago after hearing of Senko's at places like NYBass and Bronzeback I was the only one at Tourneys throwing them now like EW said 95% of guys use them in T's. BTW the reason those clowns from the T didnt listen to me and switch because they figure we had gotten lucky cause if they arent baiting a Senko they must have shut down.

 

[Lpbassman]

I have to agree with Earthy---too many anglers rely on the senko entirely too much and neglect other baits that will produce. Tubes for one are excellent baits and those made by Micro Munch are and excellent choice. I also find that a hula grub on a football jig head can be extremely effective. AND....I cant beleive nobody mentioned the SLIDER WORM . But thats OK...I'll just keep them to myself. lol

 

[BIG D]

hey leigh alot of people will not throw a slider because of its size.it is a great bait.i started this thread not to talk about the senko but to bring up hot baits.the senko and the tube seem to be the hottest.dont forget the oldies but goodies like the ribbontail worm and a texas rigged lizard.there are alot of people who still use these baits effectively.my only problem is a bait like the senko is just to easy to fish.i can rig it for a 3 year old and he or she will catch fish.there are alot of fisherman that only throw this bait and could not catch fish with any other lure.so i am saying (and john g understood)if tomorrow the senko bite and tube bite died what lure would u use to catch fish and would you be confident using it.are we fisherman or senkomen.let me know.
good fishing dennis.

 

[HugeFish4]

BTW....what the Hell is a Senko?

 

[joe p]

my only problem is a bait like the senko is just to easy to fish.

Ill take that problem with me, anytime. Sure anyone can catch fish on a senko, if the bite is on! Binks example will tell you that a senko bite is not always on and you may have to experiment with other bites.

Or maybe the fish were on senkos, but didnt like a wacky rig but on a drop shot.

My 5 yo had a banner day at Forge catching 6 fish on Senkos but was disappointed the following trip that his Senko was left untouched.

My point is, a different presentation of the same bait may be the ticket.

Joe

 

[Mr. Micropterus]

I agree with you Bink, the Senko is dumbing many fisherman. I admit, I got hooked on fishing using a Senko because of the amount of action I got using the bait. What really got me hooked was an awesome day on Mahopac about 4 years ago using the Senko. Since then I relied on the Senko heavily until last year. I started throwing more TUBES, jigs and other baits this year because I knew throwing a Senko would produce no satisfaction for me. I haven't picked one up since July and now use Jigs extensivly. Senko's are a great bait, but it sometimes can take two packs on those expensive baits to catch 20 fish (many of which are dinks), when you can catch 20 or more quality fish using a $2 Jig. It's a great bait to get people hooked on fishing and it has it's times when it really shines, however it is not practical to throw a senko 100% of the time! I believe the fish will never stop biting the senko totally, but I haven't had as many big fish bite as I did that day on Mahopac. The action my slow, but will never completly die as long as there are bass. There are many more ways to fish a senko other then weightless whacky and texas rig such as dropshotting and the senko jig. So, in a sense, it can virtually be fished in all conditions with many different presentations, but it's not practicle.

As for the tube, they were first made by Bobby Garland and his brother and were used out west in the deep, clear lakes. The gitzit was, I believe, the mainstay of all tube baits and fisherman for nearly a decade when they made their way east. They were then transformed into many different baits with odd appendages that can be pitched, flipped, casted, jerked, swam, hopped ...... anything!! Like the senko the tube can be used under almost all conditions with many different presentations. Tubes work all year long, in all different depths. It is one of the, if not the most versitile bait out there. Again, like then Senko, bass will never stop hitting them.

Tubeking, my suggestion to you is to continue using tubes and senkos, but be well aware that the senko can do many things, but the tube is much more versitile and practical. And to answer your other question, if the tube and senko bait died, I would use Jig n pig.

 

[HookUp]

Baits

Senkos - this year, I couldn't catch a cold w/ a Senko.

Tubes - yeah! 5" grubs - yeah baby! An In-line w/ a few of EW77's spinnerbait modifications - shag-a-matic. I haven't fished in-lines for years and have returned to my roots.

But Senkos, only a small handful of average Small Mouth in '03.

Now '01 and '02 - different story all together.

We'll see what '04 brings

 

[yar]

i have to say that this year past(2003) i didn't catch all of my bass on senkos. a lot of my TX i didn't even throw them. there was a stretch of 3 tx that i didn't even open the bag. i counted on the jig, tube and crankbaits.

one thing is for sure is that the senko is starting to slow down. alot of anglers are going to different colors of senkos. they can't get them on the old standby colors anymore.

 

[Scottb]

Craig, I have had a 100ct of the 2.75" Mizmo's (I think they are called Teezo's?) in watermelon/red that look great, but I am not really sure how to rig them. I had some Gammy ballheads that were built with VERY short shanked jighooks, but I ran out and cannot find them anymore. They were about $5 per 5ct too!!! Do you have any other rigging recommendations for these things. Since I ran outa the jigheads, I have been doing OK with 'em dropshotting and nose hooking with a GYCB #4 splitshot hook on a mojo rig but I would really like to fish them texas style or with a cheaper insert head.

Thanks in advance, ScottB

 

[joe p]

Im sure one size of Gamakatsu G-lock hooks will be good t-rigging that little tube, Scott.

or

try this...get one of dem Bitsy Bug jigs...take the skirt off and thread that tube on ....weedless tube jig!

Joe

 

[Scottb]

I was just kinda thinking the same thing Joe. Maybe instead of inserting the jighead, I can just thread the tubes onto a 1/16th ounce weedless ballhead jig. That is how I often fish Ikas, it should work out OK.
Thanks, ScottB