3 Best Color Senkos for Bass Fishing

The Senko, or soft plastic stick bait is the most popular lure in all of bass fishing. The simplistic soft bait can be rigged and fished tons of different ways and is incredibly easy to fish.

And if you have ever bought any Senko style baits, you have probably noticed that there are quite literally hundreds of different color options.

And most of them look roughly the same to be honest. But I have found that it is best to keep it very simple and stick to a few of the best color senkos.

Keep It Simple

I really only use three base colors for all of my soft stick bait fishing. You can get as creative as you like and test out different things, but in my opinion, you will have more success if you just keep it simple so that you don’t get confused or worried that you are doing something wrong.

1. Green Pumpkin

When it comes to soft plastic baits, green pumpkin is the most used color in bass fishing. I don’t really know where the name came from, but green pumpkin is pretty much a dark green or brownish green color.

Green pumpkin doesn’t really look exactly like any specific forage, but let’s be honest, neither does a Senko.

Green pumpkin is just a natural, basic color that looks like it could be just about anything. No color soft plastic has caught more bass than green pumpkin.

When to Use Green Pumpkin:

• Clear Water: Any time you are fishing in clear water, green pumpkin should be your number one choice. Like I discussed, it is a very natural color so when the water is clear and bass can see your Senko clearly, nothing beats green pumpkin.

2. Black

When I say, “black”, this could be a straight black, black and blue, or black with some kind of flake in it. Really as long as the majority of the Senko is black, that’s what is important. Black is a super high contrast color that is very easy for bass to see in any water clarity. And although no bass forage is really jet black, it is still fairly natural because most things are very dark underwater anyway.

When to Use Black:

• Muddy Water: Like I mentioned, the color black is very visible in all water clarities. Even in muddy water, a black Senko has a clear silhouette that makes it easier for bass to see. This can be very important in muddy water, especially for a bait like a soft stick bait because it doesn’t have any sound or vibration.

3. June Bug

June Bug is one of my all time favorite lure colors. The dark purple is something a bit different that a lot of bass haven’t seen much.

It stands out a lot in the water without being too flashy or flamboyant. I feel like the unique and visible June Bug color gets the bass more interested than anything else.

They don’t really see purple in the wild, so it seems to get them very intrigued and willing to eat.

There have been days when I couldn’t get a bite on more traditional colors, but as soon as I switched to June Bug, I immediately starting getting tons of bites.

When to Use June Bug:

• Warm Water: I have found that the June Bug color works best in very warm water. From the end of spring to the very beginning of fall when the water temps are very high, I fish a lot of June Bug Senkos.
• Pressured Bass: Like I mentioned, bass don’t see a purple Senko as much other colors. So it shows the pressured bass something a bit different and can get them to bite.

Senko vs Other Worms

Whenever I say, “Senko”, I am really just talking about any soft stick bait. To be honest, I don’t think it really matters much which one you choose.

I actually prefer Yum Dingers most of the time. But pretty much every soft plastic company makes their own version of a Senko. So just use whichever one you like.

What About the Other Colors?

So what about all the other hundreds of color options? There are certainly situations where one of those other colors will outperform one of these three.

But it is very difficult to know exactly when those situations are, and it can be overwhelming testing out a bunch of other colors until you dial in the exact one.

From my experience, one of these three colors is going to be your best bet about 75% of the time. So they are generally the most efficient colors.

But fishing is all about having fun. And experimenting with new colors is certainly very fun. So feel free to experiment as much as you like and use a variety of different colors.

Reeling this In

So, while the sheer number of Senko color options might seem daunting, remember that simplicity can be your greatest ally on the water.

By focusing on the foundational colors like of green pumpkin for clear water, black for murky conditions, and the intriguing June Bug for warmer temperatures and pressured fish, you’ll be well-equipped for a majority of bass fishing scenarios.

Don’t be afraid to experiment, but trust in these core colors to keep your presentation effective and your time on the water productive.