April is a month when bass fishermen across South Carolina start to think about the spawn. It can span the entire month, depending on which lake you fish the most and how the weather goes, so it’s fair to say that if you’re fishing this month, you need to take the spawn into consideration.
I’m sort of a power fisherman by trade. I like to cover a lot of water and make a lot of casts, so that naturally puts me in mind to look for fish that are still in the prespawn mode, moving into the shallows, looking for a place to bed but maybe not there yet.
These bass are usually pretty aggressive, because th next shad or bluegill that swims past might be the last thing she eats before she actually locks down on the bed to spill her eggs. On the other hand, those prespawn fish can be sharing the same banks with bass that are already locked down, and with those that are in the postspawn: males guarding fry or females suspending out off the bank, waiting to feel better.
Although the big prespawn fish are more likely to chase a bait, I try not to rule out the spawners or post-spawners. That’s why April is my favorite month to fish a Senko. It’s a bait that will catch fish in all three stages of the spawn.
You can fish a Senko the way you fish a floating worm, and for years, I used a floating worm as a search bait in April — especially when I was fishing a lake that had fairly clear water. If the water was dingy or worse, I’d fish a spinnerbait or a chatter-type bait, because those baits will make noise and move a lot of water. A Senko has an action that is more visible rather than noise or vibration, so like a floating worm, it’s a much better search bait in clear water.
I’ll also fish a Senko the way a lot of fishermen fish a plastic worm — pitching or casting it to visible cover and letting it fall down to the bottom. Because a Senko is so heavy, I don’t need to use a worm weight; I just Texas-rig it, and the weight of the hook and the bait itself will help it fall to the bottom. That fall, that action, is the unique thing that makes a Senko such a good bait.
When I tie on my lures at the beginning of the day, if the spawn is approaching, I’ll usually have a couple of Senkos tied on 6-6 medium-action All-Star baitcasting rods, and I’ll fish them on 15-pound Trilene Fluorocarbon spooled on a Pfleguer Patriarch reel. When I’m trying to cover a lot of ground, I’ll keep the bait at the surface or just underneath, and I’ll twitch it along with my rod tip. I want a bright-colored bait in those situations; I like whites and pinks. When I pull up on some cover, whether it’s lily pads or boat docks or stumps, I want a more natural color; that’s much better when you’re going to cast or pitch it up against cover and let it fall to the bottom.
When I’m working a bank, I’ll keep my eyes open, because if I happen to see a fish that’s on the bed, I can stop and fish for her, but I’m really casting to places where I think fish might be holding or bedding, places where they’re going to want to spawn. In most cases, that’s around the cover that is dominant in that lake.
Most of the time, even if the water isn’t stained, it may not be clear enough to really see fish and sight-fish for spawners. I try to imagine the perfect place for a bass to spawn and put my bait right in there.
Most of those fish will be back in coves and on spawning flats, and those are typically in protected area. On rivers, that means the dead water in the backwater areas where there isn’t a lot of current. On a lake, it may mean a cove that’s protected from the wind.
I don’t do anything with a Senko unless I’m twitching it like a floating worm. If I’m casting or pitching to places I think a bass will be holding or spawning, I just let the bait hit the water and sink to the bottom on its own. I don’t try to do anything other than let it fall on a slack line and do its own thing. Usually, that’s good enough. No dragging it along the bottom or hopping it up and down — things you do with a worm or lizard. When it sinks to the bottom, maybe you pick it up a few inches with the rod tip and let it sink again — then you reel in and make another cast.
As far as sizes go, I fish a 5-inch Senko most of the time. I will fish the 6- or 7-inch model if I’m fishing a tournament or I’m fishing for a bigger fish. I rig the 5-inch bait on a 4/0 Owner rigging hook and the bigger baits on a 5/0 Owner rigging hook. A Senko is a thick piece of plastic, and you need a big hook to get through for a good hookset.
So, when the spawn approaches and you’re ready to tie on a floating worm, think twice and tie on a Senko. You get the best of both worlds: a bait you can fish close to the surface to attract strikes, and a bait you can drop down in a bass’s bed or next to the pier post where she’s living.
Davy Hite is a 43-year-old native of Saluda who lives in Ninety Six. He was the BASS Angler of the Year in 1997 and 2002, and he won the 1999 Bassmasters Classic and the 1998 FLW Tour Championship. He is sponsored by Triton boats, Evinrude outboards, All-Star rods, Pfleuger reels, Berkley Trilene, Yamamoto Baits, Owner hooks, Humminbird depthfinders and Solar Bat sunglasses.
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