Yum Dingers

[Frise]

The other day I went to buy some worms and I noticed that Yum Dingers are only 3 dollars compared to the Gary Yamamoto senkos which are 8 dollars so I bought 2 packs of the yum. I went out and fished the yum for about an hour and caught 3 fish. I was wondering if you guys have more success on the Gary yammamoto senkos or if all senko style baits work the same. 

[Senko lover]

This topic has been beat to death many times, but here's my take on it. 

90% of the time, the fish will hit any senko bait, but 10% of the time, there's just something about the GYBC baits that they love. 

I own many brands of them and fish them all, but sometimes they only want the actual Senko. It's a fine balance and hard to figure out. For now, you definitely can't go wrong with Yum Dingers, they work very well. BPS Stik-Os also work pretty well. 

[Jar11591]

I agree with @Senko lover. All soft plastic stick baits will catch fish with out a doubt, but there is just something about YCB Senkos. I'm not sure if its the softness, or the little extra shimmy they have on the fall compared to other stick baits, or if its something else. The only other stick bait I have tried that matched the softness of a Senko was the Strike King Ocho. I stopped using other stick baits in favor of the real Senko, as I have just flat out done better with the real thing. However its pretty hard to quantify a YCB senko's catch rate compared to other stick baits. Point is, Yum Dingers will absolutely catch fish, and are A LOT less expensive than YCBs. But some believe, me included, that real a Senko will *sometimes* outperform other brands even if its only slightly. 

[Kid Catch]

The Dinger is poured with a bit less softener in the plastisol and has a much finer grain salt throughout. The Senko is poured with an almost sandy textured salt grain, with the exception of the 3 and 4 inch, the coarse grained salt causes it to sink a bit faster, but the softened plastisol sorta balances things out. A Senko sorta ripples while a Dinger tends to have more of a glide in it's fall. I absolutely hate fishing a sinking worm. But a sinking worm catches fish. And I sure do love, catching fish . I pour my own soft baits and it allows me to tailor my color and size choices to not only the rivers, lakes and streams that I fish, but specific parts of them. If you're interested in getting into making soft platic baits gimmie a shout and I'll do my best to help you out. 

[buzzed bait]

nice catching!  first things first, you've got to find the fish!!  after that, they may or may not have a preference on brand/size/color/etc. but find them first, that's the important part.  and you did find 3 of them!

[burrows]

I'm gonna keep this short yammotos are better ! Way better.

[iiTzChunky]

If I'm fishing somewhere I know only holds smaller fish I'll use a yum. But in a bigger Lake that holds much bigger fish I stick with the senkos 

[burrows]

7 hours ago, Cheesefrank said:

I'm gonna keep this short yammotos are better ! Way better.

Yum dingers are cool tho, I always buy a pack or when I go to Walmart. Yammotos are expensive!

[SFL BassHunter]

I've been using the BPS brand Sticko in 4 inch for a while now. You can get yourself a pack of 50 for 17 dollars. They are fantastic. They catch fish, and hold up better than a Senko which is usually good for 1 fish. 2 if you get really lucky. 

There is nothing wrong with Yum Dingers. 

Also used the Savage Gear Armored Stick Bait and went through a bag in one outing. 

If you catch on the Yum Dingers, then stick with them. Better Value!

[primetime]

I think the line, hook, size, color is more important than brand at this point in the game....Every company has a stick worm and it is not like the GYB recipe can't be copied so the salt content is identical etc....

I think the reason many people think GYB Senkos are the best is because they truly believe they are the best, and therefore have more confidence when fishing them..I use many brands and I do use some GYB worms because I feel they offer colors that are slightly different, GYB does a great job of really focusing on small details that I feel can help when facing pressured Bass that see the same standard colors all day long....

I love the Strike King Ocho since it reminds me of fishing a flat sided crankbait, it has more flash than any other stick worm and I like to work a stick worm more than most people, I start out fishing it like a Fluke, and the Ocho imo is the best if you want to work it like a fluke. I have messed around with stick worms in the pool with different size hooks etc. and the difference in action is pretty dramatic with just a different hook or lighter/heavier line. Too Many variables to say one is better than the other, but if you fish with colors and sizes you have confidence in, you will do fine....

I prefer the Yum Dinger for Pitching with a weight since it has the hook slot and I like to use heavy weights up to 3/4 to punch mats, you can get a 6" Dinger through a mat with 3/4 when you need over an ounce to get a creature...The hook slot also allows you to get better hook sets and less sliding imo...But this is a topic that could go on for years with no right or wrong answer. Yum has dropped prices to compete with Havoc and Zoom which is good to see...They are also thinner than a senko but lately it seems lots of guys are using the Gambler worms, specifically the Fat Ace....

[Fisher-O-men]

4" neko-rigged Dinger in watermelon seed is deadly!

[jr231]

If that bass was caught from a pond. Some serious harvesting is needed ! That bass is so skinny... it almost looks sick. Look at the head on that thing ! It should easily be 4+ lbs.. it looks like it might be two..

[HeavyDluxe]

What @Senko lover said is spot on with one slight alteration... That 10% wherein the bass will only hit senkos is a little high.  That's because there is at least some percentage of days where they will only hit a [BPS Stik-O, SK Shim-E-Stik, etc etc etc].

I have a friend who fishes with Yum Dingers exclusively... he swears by the whole F2 attractant thing.  Every once in a while, he'll catch more than I will throwing the Dinger in whatever color while I'm throwing a Senko in the same color.

It's a mystery why the fish want what they want sometimes... But, on any given day, any given lure can be the money bait.  Most of the time, though, close enough is good enough.

[S. Sass]

You guys that want that Senkos type action should check out forum sponsor Buzz Baits Sassy Stick it's extremely close to the Senko and at a reasonable price. 

Of course if your bull headed and are unwilling to be open-minded about it you can pay $8 a bag for Senkos all you want. 

I agree with Heavy Dluxe and Senko lover

 "What @Senko lover said is spot on with one slight alteration... That 10% wherein the bass will only hit senkos is a little high.  That's because there is at least some percentage of days where they will only hit a [BPS Stik-O, SK Shim-E-Stik, etc etc etc]."

The day you think fish will only hit a certain brand color or shape lure is the day you hurt your fishing.

[Scott F]

I only fish sinking stick baits in shallow water, mainly because I do a lot of river fishing where most of the time, the water is less than 4 feet deep. I don't have any more success with Yammy Senkos vs any other similar bait. I doesn't matter the shape, the color or the texture. I just don't see any real difference in the number of fish I catch. When a bait gets worn out, I pretty much stick my hand in the box and use whatever I pull out. I use Case sinking minnows that sink like a senko, but look something like a fluke, and use other different brands of 3-5 inch baits and they all work equally as well on the river smallmouth I catch. As was said before, I think the extra success some guys have with real Senkos comes from the extra confidence that they have in the baits. Go half an hour using an XYZ bait with no hits and then switching to a Senko and getting a couple of fish in the next hour. Was the change because of the bait, or maybe you put it in front of a few more hungry fish? Hard to say. Having more confidence in ANY bait makes it work better than  one you aren't so sure about.

[HeavyDluxe]

1 hour ago, S. Sass said:

The day you think fish will only hit a certain brand color or shape lure is the day you hurt your fishing.

It's a bit of a threadjack, but...

I am 100% certain there are days where the papaya-garbanzo swirl pattern of a bait catches when the green pumpkin seems to turn the fish off.  In my case, a friend was getting bit on a stickbait that was some sort of "red shad" color and I couldn't buy a bite on green pumpkin, black/blue, etc.  I borrowed one of his baits and, as the say, "it was on like Donkey Kong."

Math says those days are exceedingly rare (and my limited experience confirms it)... So, I definitely wouldn't build my angling strategy around color.  But, it can happen.

[Reel Guy]

I use the Strike King Shimi Stick and caught a 21 inch bass with it and have caught many bass with it. I have also used the GY Senko and also caught a close to 21 inch bass. I actually like the action slightly better than the SK but don't feel the additional cost outweighs the performance but that is just my opinion. I think the GY Senko work great. I think what you use you have to have confidence in. We like to catch fish and if you think the GY Senkos are the ticket, then, if you can afford them, by all means, get a pack. If not, buy a pack that you know will catch fish. I have read the lengthy thread on the GY vs the rest of the world senkos and say if you like the GY, then get them. It's your business. I use the SK but I also have a pack of GY in my tackle box. It's just a personal thing for all of us.

[everythingthatswims]

GYCB outfishes other senkos 9 times out of 10 the way I fish them. I fish a lot of vertical cover (docks, bridge pilings, rock bluffs...) and many times the fish are suspended somewhere on that stuff. If I fished yum dingers, I would still be waiting for the bait to hit the bottom in 6-7' in the amount of time I could have covered the whole dock with a GYCB bait.

The only time I will use a different brand is when the fish are in maybe less than 3FOW and I want a slower ROF. In water that shallow the GYCB senko can hit the bottom too quickly and not spend enough time falling in front of the fish. 

[timsford]

Depends on the brand as far as how good they work and also the mood of the fish. I use the original if it's a tough bite or tournament time, but I also use yum and big bite baits quite a bit

[ottosmagic13]

For me it's a trade off:

I feel original GY Senkos catch more fish however they are more expensive and less durable. Even when using wacky rings I'm lucky to get three catches off a GY senko, Texas rigged is slightly better but still softer. 

Yum dingers tend to last longer (especially when using wacky rings - 6-7 hookups usually) and I love the hook slot. The hook slot allows for a "harder" bait without sacrificing hookups. 

I've had mediocre success with BPS Stick-O's for the same price as Dingers I'll stick with YUM. 

However, the only NON-GY stick bait that performs on par (and often better on slow days) for me is the Z-man Finesse T.R.D.™ stickbait for NED rigs. A few youtubers turned me on to the NED rig and the Z-man baits, I'm a believer especially in the slow summer days. 

[Paul Roberts]

The features that matters most to me are sink-rate and action. Sticks vary quite a lot. The Senko sinks fastest and has the strongest shimmy -my choice in deeper water. I've found the Bizzbaits version also has a strong shimmy. I use the Stick-O shallower, boil them to soften, then fish them on the fall and with a twitch. They don't shimmy. The slowest sinker for me has been the Wave Tiki-Stick. It's mighty soft and sinks really slow. Great for pitching back super-shallow. 

[LShep]

I went out yesterday. Threw a green pumpkin Yum dinger for about 10 cast. Didn't get a nibble. Put on my favorite GY green pumpkin Senko. Caught 4 fish in 5 cast. That is enough for me to only use GY Senko. They are expensive and not as durable but if I am gonna throw a Senko then I will use the GY. 

[NYWayfarer]

My Father-in-law and I were out fishing yesterday and he was trying Yum Dingers. After a slow morning he finally switched to GY Senkos and got 2 of the 3 keepers we caught.

He was so happy when he bought the $3 Yum thinking he saved a penny but he is slowly coming to realize you get what you pay for sometimes.

[jr231]

I agree about the senkos being superior.. but honestly I catch quite well with the dingers... they have a brown with black flake and chartreuse tail that is killer for me. Something about the way the senko falls though, it's almost like using live bait. But I think I could get by with the dingers. When the fish are active I don't think it really matters. I think time, place , and presentation are more key. 

[TnRiver46]

Old thread I know but try this sometime. Zoom finesse worm with no weight---- that baby will shimmy pretty good