Good Afternoon,

I have a friend looking for a 7 1/2 foot Medium Heavy rod for throwing Senkos for largemouth bass. The rod is to be a baitcaster.

He lives on Lake Guntersville, AL, which is a very weedy lake. The fish are usually around the grass.

My experience with Senkos is that you need a flexible tip end with a lot of midsection and backbone. They are usually thrown weightless., so you have only the weight of the bait and hook.

In looking at blanks to use,I saw that both MHX and Batson have 7 1/2 foot Popping blanks that are rated 1/4 to 1/2 oz or 1/4 to 5/8 oz, which is in the weight range.

I was wondering if anyone has thoughts or has used a popping rod for this technique?

Would anyone have any other advice or recommendations?

Thanks
Bert Nagy

Not for the grass on Guntersville. A rigged senko weighs .4 oz (and more if he's using a superline hook) so that's more than enough weight to have good casts with a rod blank better suited for grass mats. As long as he has a smooth spool and doesn't load up on the reel brakes, he'll be ok.

When he gets a donkey tied up in 10# of grass, he's going to wish he had a Hydra FL904. And I'd recommend braid as well!

[hydrafishing.com]

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Another one not to forget is the Bushido CB78/10-20. Great back bone for fighting and sensitive. MH power with a Mod Fast Action

I fish with the FL904 down here in florida and I throw senkos on it all the time, it has a great backbone for horsing fish out of cover.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2014 11:39AM by Jonathan Travers.

Bert;
I've not tried Alex's FL904 blank, but he is usually pretty solid with his recommendations.

Although it's not 7'6" my personal favorite is Batson's "RX8+C812 6'9" Medium Fast 8-14 1/4-5/8oz. 1.85oz. Satin Black Senko Special

Hey Bert -- Since the person is talking of tossing the Senko around grass cover, take a look at the SJ902-MHX. It has enough tip to cast the Senko with enough mid and butt power to set the hook and move the Bass from the grass. Also, if you want a bit more overall power in the tip, mid-section and the butt, go with a SJ903-MHX. Even though they are Spin Jig blanks, they build into fantastic casting rods.

Bob McKamey
Mud Hole Custom Tackle
bobm@mudhole.com

I think your defintion of a good Senko rod is right on, but that is not what popping rods are. Look more to the fast or extra fast actions, and find one that will load well with the weight of the Senko you plan to cast. Then you will have the perfect Senko rod.

I like the Batson Revelation REVC76M-SB.

I like the Batson Revelation REVC76M-SB.

I use a MHX-HM-MB843