One of the hottest, new soft plastics that the bass fishing world has seen over the last ten years has been the Senko. This soft plastic stick bait that was molded off of a Bic pen, is so simple but ever so effective on bass from coast to coast. Countless tournament wins have come by using this lure.  Every tackle company has taken the time to mold and come up with their own variation to the original Senko. Some have more salt in them than others; others are made up of a softer plastic, no matter what brand it is their basic shape is the same.  The reason this type of plastic bait is so effective is that no matter what the conditions are, this lure will catch bass! The three brands that I use frequently are the original Senko, Gambler Ace and the RC Tackle Sink In worm. Each three of these have different sink rates and textures which is why I employ them in different situations. The two ways that I fish these baits are Texas-rigged weightless and then wacky style.
 

Texas-Rigged
I like to fish a Senko or Ace when I am doing this because I like their sink rate for this. Depending on the size of the bait, I will use a 3/0 to 5/0 Eagle Claw extra wide gap hook. These hooks are sharp and give the plastic enough room to move on the hook set, so you can get a solid hook up on the bass.  Skipping this bait around docks, over hanging trees and around vegetation is when you will see this rig tied up to my Quantum spinning rod. A 7 foot MH action rod will give me the ability to feel a light bite, but also give me the backbone to get a bass out of the thickest of cover. If the water clarity will allow me to use braid I will. Spooling up 10 lb. Power Pro, I can make long casts and not have to worry about breaking off fish.  Just by casting the Senko out and letting it slowly sink to the bottom is the easiest and best way to do it. The slower and fewer moves you can make with your rod and reel the better. Figuring out how the bass want the bait is crucial, sometimes the bass will just want the bait on its initial fall. Other times you can keep bringing the bait back to the boat and they will still eat it.

Wacky-Rigged
A wacky rigged Ace or Sink In worm are great baits to use when fishing around open water such as rip-rap, docks or other structures that aren’t as threatening to hook up the exposed hook. To rig the Sink-In wacky style, simply put the hook point through the center of the bait. This way each half of the bait will dangle on either side of the hook. Another situation in which a wacky rigged soft stickbait works very well in, is when you are bed-fishing/sight fishing for bass. This bait is subtle and will not spook the fish as it enters the water. 

To fish this bait just cast it to the target or skip it underneath a dock and let it slowly sink down to the bottom. Now just gradually bring it back to the boat, by slightly popping or shaking your rod tip. This makes the tails of the bait just pop a little. This subtle action will help you put more bass in your boat this season. For a hook I use either a 1/0 Eagle Claw extra wide gap or the new L097 hook that is specifically made for wacky rigging, in a 1 or 1/0. Depending on what type of cover I am fishing and how aggressive the bass are will dictate which hook I select.  I use the same rod and reel set up for wacky rigging, except now I switch to 10 lb. test Seaguar Inviz-X fluorocarbon. This line is sensitive, abrasion resistant, but yet remains undetectable to bass under water. 

Whether I am Texas or wacky rigging I experiment with colors, but in the end keeping it simple seems to always pay off. My favorite key colors are green pumpkin, black/blue, junebug and white.  There is a lot fishing time left, so grab a pack of soft stick baits and experiment with what brands, colors and sizes works best on your favorite body of water and keep it simple with sensational soft stickbaits!!