Jay Yelas summer Senkos
Category: Tournament
Jul 29th, 2016 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Nov 21st, 2018 at 3:40 PM
Senkos. What bass angler hasn’t tried one? Perhaps there are a few out there, but seriously, this plain Jane bait has been producing bass for decades. Its beauty is in the simplicity of the design, essentially straight with a slightly fat middle like a pen. Its greatness is easy to explain. It catches fish. Well, if an angler has it tied on and drops it in the water there is a good chance it will.
So, why all the Senko praise? Jay Yelas. The Yamamoto pro is a huge fan. Not just in the spring for bedding fish, but during the heat of the summer as well.
“To me, summer and hot weather is Senko time,” said Yelas. “It’s one of my favorite lures to use during the Dog Days.
“So many of the fish have been hit hard and already caught throughout the spring and summer to this point. The subtle, almost do-nothing fishing needed to properly fish a Senko seems to be ideal, and what the bass want under heavily pressured conditions.”
Leave the weights in your box.
“You can fish a Senko a variety of ways,” said Yelas. “With a bullet weight, Carolina-rigged, drop shot, a lot of methods. I prefer weightless. Usually Texas-rigged. Sometimes wacky-rigged too, but usually weedless Texas-rigged with an EWG style hook.
“Weightless, in my opinion, is where the Senko shines. No other similar bait matches it in fish catching when fishing weightless.”
Yelas will fish his Senko in the shallows, but occasionally deeper too. Most of his targets include weed pockets, weed edges, docks, rocks, deadfalls. Any cover bass will frequent and where he’s capable of pitching it to them.
Keep your retrieve simple.
“Seriously, the retrieve is a non-retrieve,” said Yelas. “It’s really a ‘do nothing’ approach. I cast the Senko to my target. Let it sink to the bottom. Maybe shake it a bit. If there’s no hit, I reel and make another cast. Usually the bass hit it on the fall. It’s not a hard lure to fish.”
Start with a few colors.
“My basic color choices for Senkos are simple,” said Yelas. “In darker water, I’ll fish either a black with blue flake or a green pumpkin Senko. In clear water, green pumpkin or watermelon with the large black flakes. Not very complicated. These colors work all over the country.
“Of course there are dozens of colors to choose from in Senkos, so you can get more and more precise as to certain shades or flake colors. I’d still start with the basics, then expand if you need to. Really, those Senko colors work anywhere bass live when there is a Senko bite on.”