Senko baits on the fly.

[gfen]

I know JayL was discussing it one day, and sure enough:

http://www.buckeyeflyfishers.com/Articles/alternative/alternative_fly_rod_tactics_by_j.htm

Rather than just tying flies, he just casts the senko.

 

[j_man]

An interesting article.

 

[afishinado]

Gary,

Not earth shattering. The only one stopping me from worm fishin' with a fly rod is me.... I would bet it works well.

I've gone as far as tying "Mister Twister" type tails on my buggers instead of marabou (Cabelas sells them for fly tying).

One more poor summer like this fishin' for smallies and I may stop at the bait store and buy a styrofoam container of crawlers to tip off my flies. The only thing different from the bait guys is the styrofoam will end up in the trash, not on the bank.....just kidding! ;-) ;-) ;-)

BTW, the smallie fishing has really improved, by most accounts, since the heat subsided.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

I have often used very small finesse soft plastics for smallmouth and redeyes on a fly rod. I am just so used to using soft plastics from my spinning days I figured why not, if I can cast it, it should work. I always used smaller patterns even when spinfishing, either Texas or Carolina rigged.

I particularly like small 1 inch micro tube baits on a weedless jighead. I have also used very small jerkbaits on a fly rod before, like the Sluggo's only much smaller, 2 to 3 inches on a very small offset Gamagatsu weedless hook.

Only difference is I had to add weight with a spin outfit to get some distance, however when fly fishing I don't add any weight, the fly line does it's job getting the rig out there, and with no sinkers or weight the action is better.

Can't find a pic of the small jerk baits I use but they are like a senko. Here is a pic of a micro tube similar to what I use.

P.S. Pic is much larger than actual size.

 

[jdaddy]

I think it is funny that the guy is whacky rigging a plastic worm, yet he stays true to the sport and uses a dry fly hook. Guess that makes it fly fishing.

I think Senkos would be too heavy to reasonably throw with a fly rod all day. If you have never fished with them, they are very heavy and very dense. 7ft ML spinning rod with 6lb Trilene XL and you can cast them a mile with zero weight.

I like the twister idea on the Clouser. I have seen the white and black micro suede tails at Cabelas and thought they seem very worthwhile, though a tad expensive. Twister tail soft plastics solve that issue and is a great idea.

 

[Fredrick]

Just use a meat whistle it has more undulation than any plastic bait

 

[j_man]

The meat whistle has to be good for the smallies. Do you tie them on the jig hook. Just so hard for me to get away from the clousers 9 times out of ten they work. Just have to switch colors in some of the harder hit areas.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

The reason I justify using small jigs or soft plastics on a fly rod is because the fact that the jig head hook points up reducing snags, also if rigged correctly on a gamagatsu performance hook, small soft plastics such as tubes,soft jerk baits, worms and senkos are completely weedless.

Also because they work. However I prefer a marbou tail bugger if snagging isn't an issue.

 

[franklin]

There is something about a senko rigged wacky style that turns bass on. I've had years that my boat mates and I caught several hundred bass and half came on wacky senkos. Still it's not fly fishing to me.

Edit: the fish I caught were on baitcasting gear.

 

[jdaddy]

Edit: the fish I caught were on baitcasting gear.

Not sure which is tougher, casting a senko on fly rod or with baitcasting. One of the few things I used to use spinning equipment for was unweighted plastics.

 

[franklin]

jdaddy wrote:

Edit: the fish I caught were on baitcasting gear.

Not sure which is tougher, casting a senko on fly rod or with baitcasting. One of the few things I used to use spinning equipment for was unweighted plastics.

Need to use a reel with good ball bearings and a rod rated at 3/8 oz. They even make bait casting rods over 7 feet for throwing senkos. You should also use an O ring to keep the hook from tearing out.

 

[jdaddy]

Ya, I have an army of Quantam Energy reels I used when I lived down South, along with a 7' ML Allstar that I could whip it out there with. Senko's are ungodly heavy, that's why I can't imagine throwing them with a fly rod. A true Senko is very dense and heavy. I never used an o ring and never had a tearing issue, but then again using baitcasting stuff you are going to have to use the energy of the rod more than one would with spinning equipment.
I am not sure if a lot of guys are doing it now, but there was a group of us that were using 7'6" XH flipping sticks to pitch and flip the big honking Senkos in areas most were flipping pig and jigs. That method was amazingly successful in getting a quick limit for a tournament, but it was always back to the pig and jig to fatten up the weight.

 

[TUNA]

In my area of the state there are several smaller impoundments that are loaded with largemouth bass. During the summer I go out on a friend's boat, I flyfish and he uses spinning gear. I had my best luck subsurface this year with a wacky rigged Senko type bait. I think its made by Yum, its a french fry looking thing with air pockets on the bottom side. It sinks slowly, maybe an inch or two per second. I let it sink for a few seconds then strip it back in an erradic motion, stopping now and then to let it sink back down a little bit. It kind of moves like a large Zara Spook topwater plug, except underwater. I also had decent luck using a 14 to 18 foot level leader made from 6 or 8 lb Trilene, with a jig and pig style lure. I fished it just like you would with a regular spinning rod, flip it out and let it sink to the bottom then just bounce it up and down around submerged cover. It's tough to feel strikes with the jig, but if you pay attention to the leader, its not all that hard.

Has anyone tried using regular poppers for bass, like the Zara Spook's, with any luck? I imagine that they are probably harder to cast because of the weight. One of my favorite flies to use as of late, for smallies and such, is a Clouser minnow with the curly tail from a Mister Twister slid down the hook. The tail usually only lasts for 3-4 fish, but they are not very expensive to replace. I do get some wierd looks when I go to the local sporting goods store and buy a bunch of fly fishing and tying stuff and then buy a pack or two of Mister Twisters.

I did find a good use for all of the old bass Jigs I have, though. I have probably 20-30 jigs that I will probably never use again, and just the other day I started tearing the skirts apart so that I could use the rubber material as rubber legs for Stoneflies and such.

 

[RyanR]

Fredrick wrote:
Just use a meat whistle it has more undulation than any plastic bait

Meat whistles are really great. Since I still haven't taken up tying I only wish they had more weight to them becuase they're pretty deadly when I add shot to the line and get then down on the bottom.