By Shane Beilue
July 29, 2011
You’ve often heard it said, but it’s true: the Yamamoto Senko is the gold standard in the soft plastics industry today. On a recent trip to Lake Falcon with Elite Series Pro Keith Combs, who frequently guides on the lake between tour stops, the Yamamoto Senko was our number one choice throughout the week to catch not only numbers of bass, but multiple fish in the double digit range. If you’re planning a trip to Lake Falcon, stock up on plenty of Senkos before heading to the lake. Big bass absolutely love them! Below is a quick synopsis on fishing the Senko for Lake Falcon bass.
Texas Rig
A Texas rigged Senko can be fished shallow or deep and both applications prove reliable for big fish on Falcon throughout the year. The Texas rig is effective when casting to specific areas with submerged brush or rock piles, which are the two predominant forms of cover on Falcon. When rigged with a 3/8 oz tungsten bullet weight, the Senko can be worked effectively in water out to 12’ deep. With as much brushy cover in shallow water, a large population of big bass will stay shallow in this lake, even throughout the summer months, so don’t look for rocky banks with scattered brush and deep water close by. For fishing deeper water out to 20-25’, switch to a ½ oz weight to get to the bottom quickly and maintain contact with the bait during the breezy conditions common to south Texas.
When rigged weightless, a Senko maintains the trademark seductive wiggle throughout the lure’s decent; however, when Texas rigged with a 3/8 - 1/2 oz weight, the worm imparts about the same action as a pencil: none. Perhaps this do-nothing action is the underlying appeal of the Texas rigged Senko to a big bass – but the technique flat out works from shallow to deep!
Carolina Rig
For covering large areas of lake bottom quickly in search of bass, it’s hard to beat a Carolina rigged Senko. Again, very little action is imparted by the worm by dragging it behind a 1 oz weight and swivel; however, when paused during the retrieve, the Senko will fall softly to the bottom with just a little wiggle. Keith Combs believes in the value of shortening the leader behind the weight and swivel to about 12-18”. His reasoning is that bass are often attracted to striking the heavy weight as it drags across the bottom; therefore, a short leader puts the Senko in the immediate vicinity of where the fish is looking. Additionally, the short leader minimizes hang ups in the thick submerged brush common throughout the lake. Key depths for structure fishing during the summer months are points, ridges and humps in 10-20’.
Colors and Sizes
Predominant colors on Falcon continue to be shades of watermelon and green pumpkin. Examples of colors that are sure to produce are: 208, 222, 301 and 337. You can experiment throughout the day, but when the fish are “on”, subtle color changes really aren’t important.
Bring plenty of 5, 6 and even 7” Senkos when heading to Falcon, as all sizes produce. The 6 and 7” models cast better in the wind when Texas rigged; however, the smaller 5” Senko produced the biggest bass for Combs at just over 11 pounds. If you think you’re bringing enough Senkos to Lake Falcon, get a few more packs, as the sheer number of big bass in the lake is amazing and the accumulation of torn baits in the floor of your bass boat will give evidence to the incredible action you’ve experienced during a day on Lake Falcon.
Finally, it’s no secret that Falcon has received plenty of bad press in the past two years due to the drug traffickers trying to use the lake as a crossing point out of Mexico. I’ve not felt threatened in any way during my multiple trips to the lake this year. That being said the chance of violence is not out of the realm of possibility if one ventures deep into Mexican waters. Use your best judgment about crossing into Mexico and realize there are plenty of big bass residing on the Texas side of this huge border impoundment.
For a guided trip to Lake Falcon and the chance at a fish of a lifetime, consider contacting professional angler Keith Combs through his website at keithcombsfishing.com. He’s often on the national tournament trail, but can be reached periodically during the summer and fall months.
