Article I wrote for Inside Line:
I use: 3/0 EWG with a 1/8th-3/16th weight - I Tex-pose and then skin hook the bait and will vary tail up or tail down depending on depth desired.
YAMAMOTO SWIMMING SENKO
HYPE OR MAGIC
A day of fishing is so much more than just catching the fish. It involves planning, comradeship, (a very important ingredient to me), alternate plans, (always have to deal with weather), bait selection based on conditions, and of course the catching.
This day's planning started with a phone call from Paul Crawford, a fellow Floridian, avid fisherman, and writer/representative for Yamamoto Baits. Paul wanted to try out a relatively new Yamamoto product being introduced, called the Swimming Senko, on Florida's famous Stick Marsh/Farm 13. With date set, I waited with great anticipation, not only for the opportunity to fish with Paul, a fisherman of some repute, but to also see new bait in action. However, as the weather can do, as the day approached, it was obvious that wind was going to alter our plans. The forecast called for winds in excess of 20 MPH, and the strong possibility of rain. As an alternate location, I suggested Blue Cypress Lake. The lake is surrounded with tall stately Cypress trees and would offer good protection from the westerly winds that forecasters were calling for.
I met Paul at the ramp at Blue Cypress at first light. Paul showed me the Swimming Senko that he would be using and we loaded his gear on board. Leaving the ramp area I turned to the south and smoothly applied the power to the motor. The bow rose, however what was normally a good hole shot didn't occur. As fast as the boat leapt to get on plane, she settled back in the water and the motor raced. First the weather and now a spun hub made it time again for another alternate plan. The day seemed destined to offer us some major challenges but we still had great comradeship and a new bait to keep things bright. Since the entire southwest shore is loaded with various grasses I simply announced that we would go on with the trolling motor and worry about getting back at a later time.
Paul set up his rig with a weightless Swimming Senko. I recommended any dark color as the water on Blue Cypress is heavily tannic stained. I rigged a weightless Senko in watermelon with black flake and the fishing began. I have found that the Senko, so often called the "do-nothing" bait, is an excellent top water jerk bait, and with Kissimmee grass, Maiden Cane, and Bulrush to play in, this jerk bait technique would play strongly for me.
The Swimming Senko is designed to be retrieved much like spinner bait, with varying speeds. It casts extremely well, much like the Senko so Paul had no problem reaching well back into the grasses. However, unlike the Senko, it just didn't exhibit a strong catching appeal for the bass.
Around mid-day I reached an area of open shallow water and was able to change out the hub, putting the big motor back in commission. We continued on and by day's end it seemed that the Senko was the better bait over its newly introduced brother, the Swimming Senko. Returning to the ramp we were able to move along at a good pace with the repaired big motor. As we rode we discussed what seemed the pros and cons to the Swimming Senko. Paul left a fair amount of Swimming Senkos with me and headed off to his home and dinner. What started as a day with some minor setbacks had turned into a great day on the water. We had achieved some tests with the new bait, we had caught some fish, and most importantly we had shared the comradeship of two avid anglers with our day on the water. The Swimming Senko had not performed as I hoped it would, but the testing on my part was only in infancy as it was destined to show me Gary Yamamoto had achieved another stellar success with his design.
My next opportunity to offer the Swimming Senko to the bass came on Ansin/Garcia, which is another of the lakes in the Blue Cypress Conservation Area. This lake is one laden heavily with Hydrilla and coon tail, which at the time was about 2 feet below the surface, and one that we use when winds are up as it offers good protection. Wanting the bait to ride just above the grass I opted to add a 1/8 ounce weight to the nose. Also, due to the heavy grass I decided to bury the hook as we do with the Senko, as opposed to skin hooking it. The first cast delivered a hit, however the hook did not push through the bait so it was obvious that skin hooking was going to produce better hook-ups. The Swimming Senko is made of a more durable consistency than the Senko and requires the skin hooking. Today's bite came on a rapid retrieval over the grass as bass after bass fell for its twisting oscillating action. By days end we had landed over 70 bass up to 5-pounds using what has become a staple in my arsenal of strongly producing baits.
The following day the winds subsided making the Stick Marsh our destination. Moving to the south end of the lake into an area known as the nursery we started to work weightless Senkos. Water depths were in the 2.5 to 3 foot levels with lots of wood to work around. I decided since it was rigged to give the Swimming Senko another try. This time I moved it slowly to get more depth penetration and I increased the weight to 3/16 ounce after a few casts. After three rapid bass made it to the boat, Don Willis my fishing companion for the day made the change. With matching rigs and bait, the catching was on. By days end we managed to place over 80 fish in the boat up to 8.5-pounds and we were firmly convinced that Gary Yamamoto had produced another magical bait and a valuable addition to our Senko line of tackle.
Since that day the Swimming Senko is always rigged and ready on my boat. It has produced 100's of bass up to 12.5-pounds from our south Florida waters. It is a recommended bait to have to all of our clients and I have every confidence that it will produce not only numbers but huge fish also. Mixing the retrieval speeds from fast to slow will quickly show you what the bass want the speed to be. Adjust the weight to achieve the depth you want. The hit and hook set is much like that of spinner bait with many hook sets being achieved by the bass themselves. It is a bait, not to replace the venerable Senko, but rather one to accompany it in your "must have" arsenal of bass catchers. If you can't catch bass with a Swimming Senko in areas of cover, than you probably can't catch bass with anything. If you're wondering about color choice, I have found that the stand-by theory of dark baits in dark water and light baits in clear water work for this bait as it does with any other. If you haven't tried it yet you need to, and as I am saying, you will also: Thanks Gary Yamamoto Baits for another brilliant productive product.
