FS Digest

So I was shopping around, buying up tackle and baits for this year, trying to come up with a strategy to my colors and presentations, and I got to thinking about whether senkos sink at the same rates, and what are the fastest, and how fast do you want your stick to sink?

So I got a fresh beer, a five gallon bucket, and went to the tub. I tried to fill the tub with water that felt pretty typical for lake water, not really warm, but not cool. Tried to ballpark a temp that would have minimal effect on the plastics, given how density affects buoyancy.

I grabbed a KVD ocho, a Yum dinger, a Bass Pro Shops stick-o-worm, and a Yamamoto senko. All were five inches except the BPS, but I tried to use a little Kentucky sinkage to accommodate for it being a bigger worm, and therefore having more total salt than the rest. I don't think it terribly affected the incredibly informal results that I observed.

I observed them without any hooks or line, as I wanted to see what the plastics did on their own merit.

First I was looking at action, which one seemed to shimmy the best. The Yamamoto had the best, most observable shimmy. This was followed by the Yum, the BPS, and then the KVD.

Then I looked at sink rate. Yamamoto was definitely the fastest sink rate, no question. This was followed by KVD, then BPS, and the Yum had a surprisingly slow sink rate.

Then I round robin paired them up to have a sink-off. This was really an attempt to compare them by slowest and fastest and confirm the individual sink rates. The results were the same as the individual sinks.

Then I dropped all four together in a race for the bottom. I did this five times to get a drop where they hit the water at about the same time, minimal contact with the bucket side, and a couple for good measure to try to have reproducible results. This again confirmed my initial sink rate results, although I noticed that the BPS sank with a lateral rocking motion. I made a mark with a sharpie on it to mark "up" on it, and it sank "up" side up every time. Not sure if the plastic may be slightly malformed from being in a tackle bag, or if BPS has an intentional weight to one side. I didn't think to grab a few and try them out before dumping the bucket.

Then, for funsies, I stood them all up on their heads in the water to see which stood up the longest. The Yum, then BPS, then KVD and Yamamoto were tied for third.

At this point, resources were running low, and I needed a new beer. Which brings us to the tl;dr and my actual question:

How important is sink rate in a stickbait? I assume you want the slowest sink rate to keep the worm in the fishes face the longest, but you want it to sink at a good enough rate that it can get to the bottom, be popped back up, repeat to retrieve, and cast again. I imagine there could be some seasonal variation, maybe a faster sink could be more enticing to the fish when they're feeding before and after winter, but slower sink would be better in the summer and winter when they are sluggish from the heat and cold?

tl;dr, Yamamoto senkos sink really fast, Yum dingers sink really slow, Bass Pro sticks sink about 2/3rds as fast as senkos. How important is that?

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by Knubinator

FS Digest

I suppose there are other variables to be inquired about here. What rig would you be throwing? At what depth? What time of year is it? Pre spawn,spawn or post spawn? What’s the water temp? Is the water turbulent or is it a calm day?

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by honkeykong85

FS Digest

Like everything in bass fishing, sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn’t. And when it does matter, sometimes fast is better, sometimes slow.

Salt makes worms sink faster but makes them more fragile. If you are using weights sink rate matters a lot less. If you aren’t fishing them on the bottom then buoyancy matters a lot less.

Different worms for different needs imho.

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by 5uper5kunk

FS Digest

So, before I start my response: LunkersTV did the same scientific experiment with a pool and underwater cameras. I'll try to link it if I can

Here's what I've found: My friend fished Yamamotos all day and I fished YUM dingers. We both threw weightless Texas rigs and wacky rigs. I for some reason just have a knack for wacky rigs and catch fish really well on that tactic. I've always done better with dingers and they're half the price. I did better by only a few fish, but I feel that's more luck than anything.

Here's what I've tried: KVD - YUM - Yamamoto - Bass Pro and Biwaa (I've yet to get to the googan bait Lunker Log)

I think yum truly has the best colors and that's what makes me stick with them. You're correct that the Yamamoto probably has the best salt content and wobble when sinking, but the yum is such a close second I save the money. I swear by YUM dingers and I have one tied on at all times because if all else fails, these make sure I don't get skunked.

The Bass pro fall rate is a little too quick for me, they time to roll and dice vertical on me for some reason. This could be good for aggressive summer fish but I get 90% of my hits when it's suspended and wobbling/twitching.

The Biwaa stick bait actually really surprised me. It's a 5 sided,more squarish, stick bait and just has a different, light refracting look to it. It's another, not common presentation that catches picky fish on those tough days (both wacky and Texas rigged).

KVD or Strike King baits do ok, I've only fished through a pack of them and they kind of blended in and didn't stand out versus everything else. They do fall in the medium-slower speed so that's some points to be assessed for sure.

I interrupt this message to remind you that I fish mostly from shore. However, in my kayak and Friend's boat. I'm almost guaranteed to catch numbers of fish under docks and in Lilly pads with senkos. These 2 areas alone, and also with submerged timber or shorelines, just flat out catch fish. They're just great at getting fish looking up to strike whether they're big or small when they're in or under cover. The wacky rig is risky considering these locations (unless you use the correct weedless wacky rig hook like you're supposed to) but I've found it to be way more rewarding than throwing anything else.

I don't notice a drastic difference between fall rate and wobble. However, colder fish like a slower fall and hot bass don't want to work hard from their shade to get a meal. I've caught so many fish just dunking a senko under a doc or in between pads and letting it fall, it's absurd. Color matching is what's most important to me. I think finding the right pattern does more good than the wobble, fall rate, salt content, etc. I think wacky rigs land on top of fish and they really want that dying bait fish so I try to stick to natural colors when I can. However, if I'm Texas rigging them, I like to throw more junebug, black and blue, style of baits as they're just better at getting bites (for me) on a Texas rig than wacky. That doesn't mean they don't catch fish both ways.

I truly hope this helps OP, sorry it's long winded.

In Conclusion: I'm a cheap bitch and nobody has been able to prove to me that a Yamamoto Senko is better than my Yum Dinger and when they're so similar from experience, I fish what I know. That's why I stand by the good ol' fashioned Dinger ✔️

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by TurtlenekNChain

FS Digest

This is a fantastic response, and I appreciate you taking the time to go into it so much.

I just got into bass last summer, so I haven't really experimented as much as I would like. But last summer I was on the bank 100% if the time. This spring I'm buying a new kayak that will be better for fishing, and I'm really looking forward to getting away from the bank and see if that helps my catch rates. I'm really looking forward to skipping up under cover that I can't get to from the bank. There's been times when I can see good sized fish, and it's just impossible to get at them from the bank.

I've not had a lot of luck with the wacky rig, so when I throw a senko, it's almost always weightless, and that's why I tested them the way I did. If I ever throw weighed Texas rig, it's generally going to be a craw or other creature bait.

Given what I saw, I'm probably going to start buying dingers more. They're just cheap enough that I can't really say no to them. I do have a bunch of Yamamoto senkos I need to get through (found a box full of them on clearance last fall), but I think as I run out of them, I'll get dingers if they have that color. I wish yum had a good morning dawn and pb&j colors. Those are two colors that get pretty universally recommended to me that I haven't tried yet.

I'll have to look for that video, I don't think I've looked at that channel much.

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by Knubinator

FS Digest

If it exist, YUM has it. Be sure to check their website out or Tackle Warehouse. Also, be sure to get a pack of thumpin' dingers. These things are NASTY on a weightless Texas rig. Sometimes they want a dead bait, sometimes they need that extra bit of action and these things crush summer time fish.

Once you get into the kayak, you'll see why I throw a wacky so much. Spinning gear and sitting down just work better for me. I'm a lot bigger so most single man water craft are more tippy for me than most. So this helps but throwing a little bit easier set up and tactic that's quick to switch in and out of. Plus, it's a tactic that gets me a lot of bites out of the yak at least.

Fishing is a science and I love science. I always have loved that you can test something and be provided a result and that's what makes fishing so fun, for me at least.

Also: YouTube.com/watch?v=PAIq_MJusWc

That's a great comparison for fall rate, wobble and toughness! If that doesn't work, type 'Yum dinger underwater' and it's the 2nd or 3rd video down.

The googans or Googans Squad have truly taught me a lot and LakeForkGuy is a tournament level angler with a brilliant mind and is a next level fisherman (part of the squad also), but teaches everything. These guys will show you new worlds you never realized existed. Scott Martin ask thinks about fishing on a different level that isn't even human so he's a super cool guy to follow as well!

Good luck out there and tight Lines!

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by TurtlenekNChain

Ron620DVS Loc: Guntersville Alabama

Senko vs Other Stick Baits..

https://www.westernbass.com/forum/senkos-other-stick-baits-t6374.html

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saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

I like those t 2 guys also. You can learn a lot from both Scott Martin and the LFG.