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The Man himself....SON!!

Look at that early season tan, way better than the Orange-man
 
A Ro deep diving wigglebait is sure to please
 
The very first minute of the video in the OP is, IMHO, the key to catching big bass in WA state. The unweighted, pumpkin seed watermelon Senko. No other lure even comes close. You can use the wacky worm thing, or add lead... but this particular color of this particular "plastic" in this particular State, has an effectiveness that can not be overstated. Again, the first two minutes of the OP video is the key to catching bass in Wa stateIMG_1478.jpeg
 
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I casually fished that dock several times last summer. Every time I got at least one big bass. Some folks were pulling their boats out, after a day of getting skunked. Notice the small hint of the magic lure in the fish's mouth.
 
I casually fished that dock several times last summer. Every time I got at least one big bass. Some folks were pulling their boats out, after a day of getting skunked. Notice the small hint of the magic lure in the fish's mouth.
SON!!
 
Have to disagree with the master on Senko color..

Motor Oil with da glitter for the win

The Green Goblin is 2nd up


SON!
 
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For some reason this particular color, size and shape of a plastic lure simply dominates all others. Senko sells tons of shapes, sizes and colors, but in Washington State the lure set up in the first minute of the OP video is SPOT ON! Refer to my post #10. Any variation of color, shape or size will, IMHO, hamper success .
 
I have never fished a senko before - i don’t gear fish so it has just never been something I have tried to date.

I have some patterns that I believe kinda mimic a rubber worm. They historically have fished ok (did catch one really nice LMB last summer with the green and brown one that seems rigged like a senko) but so far haven’t had the same kind of magic the bass boat folks seem to experience when I see them fishing the senko worms. Could be user error on my part.

How should these be fished? Asking for a friend…..
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I like the fly fourth down. It emulates the "weedless" hook thing. Personally, it looks like a fish should prefer it to a translucent plastic material. I believe that a "fly" made with the "right" material, could be far superior to a Senko. A weightless Senko sinks at a certain rate... but a fly can be tied to sink faster or slower. There are some translucent, fly tying materials that could, IMHO, be used to out fish a Senko, using the pattern of the fourth fly down in the OP with the magical pumpkinseed color.
 
Fishing a weightless Senko is easy. I typically toss it out and let it sink to the bottom, sometimes having to work it through the "weeds" on its way down. Then let it sit, perfectly still, for one to five minutes. This takes patience, but is key.. The bass is nosing around it, circling it, nipping at it, she is suspicious and in no hurry. Just give her time. When she takes it, you will not feel a strike, or a tug. You will see the slack in your line tighten, and begin to angle off..do Not set the hook, the longer you let her swim with the bait in her mouth, undisturbed, the better. Finally lift up, feel the heaviness and the frantic panic of the fish, then sink the hook in with a good solid tug.
I assume using a fly that emulates a Senko would be similar.
 
Fishing a weightless Senko is easy. I typically toss it out and let it sink to the bottom, sometimes having to work it through the "weeds" on its way down. Then let it sit, perfectly still, for one to five minutes. This takes patience, but is key.. The bass is nosing around it, circling it, nipping at it, she is suspicious and in no hurry. Just give her time. When she takes it, you will not feel a strike, or a tug. You will see the slack in your line tighten, and begin to angle off..do Not set the hook, the longer you let her swim with the bait in her mouth, undisturbed, the better. Finally lift up, feel the heaviness and the frantic panic of the fish, then sink the hook in with a good solid tug.
I assume using a fly that emulates a Senko would be similar.
Thank you! This is super helpful. I have not used nearly that amount of patience. I do have a smaller weighted worm pattern similar to the bottom two patterns and have managed to accidentally catch some big carp by just leaving those on the bottom for a long time…sounds like I should try similar approach with these.
 
I don't have that much patience.

But funny story. I fished Spring Kings on the OP with a buddy who would use some unorthodox methods. He would find a pool with a decent number of them and cast out a Aerofly on a typical drift fishing set up with a 3 foot leader, let it settle to the bottom then sit back and eat a sandwich

Sure enough after a wait the resting rod would get hit & he'd be playing a king.

Think the Aerofly was bobbing around & the salmon got curious, just a weird technique. Most guys would throw sand shrimp @ em.
 
IMHO, some of the effectiveness of the Senko is due to it not relying on a "reactionary bite". A diving plug, much like a stripped streamer, relies on a fairly sudden impulse from the fish. But Largemouth Bass, for what ever reason, often like to think about eating something. For instance, I can toss out a surface frog lure, twitch it a little and then just let the Bass ponder it. Kind of like giving her the silent treatment. Finally she snaps and commits to eating.
I believe this whole strategy of allowing Bass time to ponder, might be beneficial to those that fly fish for Largemouth Bass.
 
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I also primarily toss senkos when I'm fishing gear. They are simple as all hell and there's an analog to fly fishing, in that line watching is critical. I fish them similar to jim but not quite as slowly. Toss em out, let em sink on a slack line. Then pop it up a few feet and let it drop again. They always pick it up on the drop, and watching your line will tell you when you need to twitch and when you need to hammer down. Cast, let it sink, line stays straight, reel tight, Twitch, line stays normal, let it sink, reel, twitch, line moves left, reel down til you feel the fish, cross it's eyes!!!
 
Great input Pink Nighty. My humble theory is that a bass picks up the (stationary or sinking) lure like a football player picks up a fumble. After about a yard or so the fish is able to "tuck" that lure in like a running back. That's when I seem to hook em....I've missed more than a few.
 
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