I use YUM Dingers a lot, and senkos too. The Dingers hold up better but are not as soft. I know what you mean by the worm sliding up the hook and onto the line but most of the time I get more than a few fish on the same worm. I'm still not sure why people seem to have durability issues?

I hook straight through the center of the worm with a Gamatsu weedless wacky hook and while the weed guard's ability to stay seedless is questionable, it's ability to keep the worm on the hook is very good for me. I have noticed that the longer the fish is out of the water before I thumb it the water the chances are that that worm will slide up too.

How do you set the hook? And do you notice a difference between fish hooked farther away from you compared to closer?

Mr. A

 

They make a O ring that goes around the sinko then you put the hook thru the band. Try taclewarehouse.

 

They sell o-ring kits for them but it's like 5 bucks for 8 rings though, tractor supply sells this big bag of them for like 2 bucks and it's the exact same thing they just use them for braiding horse hair and it's a lot cheaper if you have one close by! By the way, I've used one senko with an O-ring for like 8 fish one morning!

 

I go through hundreds of wacky worms a year! I find that one thing that really helps is after each bite or fish caught, I move the hook to another area of the worm. It makes no difference to the bass as far as I can see and it will catch a few more before I lose it or need to replace it. I also use actual circle hooks, and that keeps me from having to set the hook so hard. All you need do is reel up your slack and the fish will set the hook itself, and almost always in the corner of the mouth. Also try to keep your bass from jumping by dipping your rod tip into the water when you can feel it coming up for a jump. And the last trick I have tried, is the small rubber rings that you slip onto your worm, and then slip the hook between the ring and the worm. I first bought this rings from Jannsnetcraft.com, but now I see them at places like Gander Mountain.

 

You can buy the o rings on e Bay also.

 

I just started fishing wacky as well. I have been using the gander senkos with good results. However I just got the wacky tool from Bass Pro Shops. The tool was $5 and a bag of 25 rings was $2. Haven't had a chance to use it since I got it. You can also get senkos with rings embedded in the worm.

 

ive never caught a fish on a wacky rigged senko and still had the worm afterwards....i dont have a fix...just here to say that i feel your pain. senkos arent cheap.

 

At the first sign of a tear take the Senko off and put on a new one. Then repair the torn one with a product called "Mend-It". Can radically extend it's usefulness.

 

At the first sign of a tear take the Senko off and put on a new one. Then repair the torn one with a product called "Mend-It". Can radically extend it's usefulness.

+1, that stuff is awesome.

It's odd that so many people lose the worms after so few fish? Maybe they are just catching bigger ones that I am!

I can use 1 for a whole trip if I don't catch any kinda large bass, say >3#. Even catching bigger ones I seem to get 4 to 6 before the worm is done. Obviously there are exceptions, but over all I must really beat the curve for the life expectancy of a worm!

Mr. A

 

The Yum Dinger is a lot more durable than a Senko. Any bait that has a high salt content has lousy durability. About the only baits with a high salt content that last, are tube baits. My guess is, it's because tube baits aren't as soft. I use something that Bassbully mentioned. It's called the Wacky Saddle. It's two O rings connected by a strip of rubber. The pack comes with two different sized O ring saddles, and the corresponding installation tool for each size. It works awesome. Check it out on Tackle Warehouse's web site.

 

I use octo hooks and also double rig it through the center....a way you can meat the hook so its not exposed as well.....I rarely ever lost the worm....90% of the time it slides up the line so you can reuse....awesome way to fish open water around structure! Good luck!

 

I use the tiny rubber bands for my kids braces, I figure it cost me 10 g's for my twins to get them so I may as well get something out of it...