Yum Dingers or Strike King Shim-E-Sticks?

[tcbass]

On 8/24/2017 at 7:28 AM, TOXIC said:

Great Color!!  Yamamoto's top selling color is 297.  I can tell you every Senko comes out of the same mold (5 inch).  Now there are a few different 5 inch Senko types (Slim Senko, Pro Senko, etc.) that are different thicknesses.  I've been Pro-Staff for 15 years and have watched them being made.   Now I will tell you that there ARE slight differences in weight depending on color Lg/Sm Flake vs Solid vs Laminate, etc., in the same size Senko.  Due to this some skip and fall differently.  Durability has always been a discussion when it comes to Senko fishing and in my seminars, I always say that a "lot" of waste can be eliminated by rigging.  As for acceptable knockoffs, you'll never hear me say that any other bait fishes like the original and I truly believe that.  There's always 2 camps when it comes to Senko's, the die hard users.....and those that feel they are nothing special and that the knockoffs work just as well.  Believe me when I say, you are not going to change either one's mind on the subject.    The tournament guys that I have guided usually will use a knockoff in practice and switch over to the Senko on tournament day.  Bottom line, buy what you have confidence in, because they all will catch fish.  

 

 

Why would tournament guys use knock-offs in practice and not the real thing?

 

 

I'd think they could afford the real deal or get them free/discounted?

[J Francho]

11 minutes ago, tcbass said:

 

 

Why would tournament guys use knock-offs in practice and not the real thing?

 

 

I'd think they could afford the real deal or get them free/discounted?

For the first, I never understood.  Figure what they're biting, and catch them on that.

 

For the second, not all tourney guys are sponsored.

[Glenn]

 

[JustJames]

I'm a fan of Senko, why? It has been shown many times with Senko just let them sit in the water and do nothing still get bite. With that said recently I tried BPS brand and these do catch fish too.

I save Senko for when friends and families wanna try a hand on bass, but myself I use BPS especially on weighted wacky rig.

[Big Swimbait]

Looks like the Riot Baton in this video comparison is something to consider.

 

 

[burrows]

Senko seems to have a better action but I have probably cought an equal amount of fish on the dingers and probably use them more often. I just recently picked up a pack of the max scent stick bait but didn’t have any luck.

[Bluebasser86]

16 hours ago, fishwizzard said:

Yea, but it seems like the Ochos go on sale far more often!

 

 

Very true, I bought 2 dozen bags of Ochos for $2 a bag this morning at Academy. Don't remember ever seeing a bag of Senkos for $2 in a store. 

[govallis]

14 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

How about these...https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Frenzy_Baits_Wacky_Saddle_Replacement_O-Rings_25pk_/descpage-WACORG.html?from=Google&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnNvaBRCmARIsAOfZq-0pMlkVfLyNhJppWdqugMEpUP5zNmiSXKyU8LYmEhT11qDlaKLDT5caAtA3EALw_wcB.

 

 

Too expensive and not as good as Goody Polybands.

13 hours ago, Dieselguy416 said:

I've started using the clear tubing method and putting some mend-it on the senko before sliding the tubing on. I did catch 13 on the same senko last week. Which actually surprised me before that I was get 2-3 fish using 2 crossed o-rings. 

O-rings can cut into Senko, I no longer use them. I no longer use tubes neither.

[TOXIC]

15 hours ago, tcbass said:

 

 

Why would tournament guys use knock-offs in practice and not the real thing?

 

 

I'd think they could afford the real deal or get them free/discounted?

Purely cost and they use the knock offs as a locating bait.  When the tournament $$ is on the line, they want to be able to catch more fish or get the more finicky ones to bite using the Senko.  When locating, they will also clip the ends of the hooks off so that they don't "stick" their fish.  Also, my guide fee was reduced or discounted when taking out tournament fishermen who just wanted to put together a pattern.  I was basically their Uber driver.  If they hired me at full guide price, I would have furnished them the baits as part of the fee.  

 

Yamamoto is very, very selective on their pro-staff.  Not like a majority of the plastics who have different tiers of sponsorship and hundreds of pro-staffers.  If I had to guess, it is because they don't need the promotion.  

[buzzbaiter83]

I like Dingers. I like the softness of the bait. I mostly Neko Rig them. I like other stick baits like Senkos and Shim-E-Sticks too. I haven’t noticed a difference in fish catching ability between them so I stick with the cheap Yums. 

[FryDog62]

As a user of Yamasenkos for years... yes they are still great.  However I have switched to two others that I catch as many fish, have a stronger scent, are more durable, and cheaper:

 

•Kalins WAC-O-Worm

•Maxscent General

 

I also use the sleeves from Cadman’s Custom Jigs and get twice the life out of the Senkos

[burrows]

2 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

 

 

 

•Maxscent General

 

 

Yeah that’s the pack I bought the general black and blue but I only tried it once fishing clear water super clear water, no luck but I’ll be throwing it again soon.

 Oh and I’m no fan of the shimee sticks wouldn’t waste my 3 bucks on them I rather fish yum.

[MisterDeadeye]

On 7/23/2018 at 12:32 PM, govallis said:

Dinger is lighter than Senko, 0.39 vs. 0.4 oz, but not so noticeably. Shim E is even more lighter than Senko, 0.36 oz, falling significantly slower.

 

What colors did you weigh here? I have a package of Shim E Sticks(green pumpkin) and a package of Dingers(watermelon) sitting right beside me, and the Shim E Sticks weigh ~.6g more than the Dingers.

[govallis]

All 5". The Shim E is watermelon red flack. Dinger is green pumpkin. Senko is green pumpkin+ watermelon.

 

The Shim E had a very strong smell and I think fish love the smell.

[MisterDeadeye]

11 hours ago, govallis said:

All 5". The Shim E is watermelon red flack. Dinger is green pumpkin. Senko is green pumpkin+ watermelon.

 

The Shim E had a very strong smell and I think fish love the smell.

Yeah, I've noticed that as well. Reminds me of licorice. I have a quick question about the bands you use. Do they need to be the Ouchless bands? I'm guessing they're made out of a different material.

 

Right now I'm using rubber grommets. A lot harder and a bit wider than O-rings or those Goody bands, but I can't imagine them ever cutting through the worm 

[govallis]

I bought the polybands long time ago. It is perfect for 5" Senko including Dinger and Shim E, but too large for smaller Senko such as 3" ones. I tried recently some smaller polybands from local stores such as Walmart. The strange thing is, these smaller polybands all melt with Senko! So, as long as they won't melt with Senko, any polybands are fine.

 

Even polybands will make cuts on Senko after some days of use, so I cut a piece of heat-shrink tube and wrap it on Senko, as showing in the attached photo. This should also solve the melting issue of smaller polybands.

[MisterDeadeye]

On 7/27/2018 at 10:25 PM, govallis said:

I bought the polybands long time ago. It is perfect for 5" Senko including Dinger and Shim E, but too large for smaller Senko such as 3" ones. I tried recently some smaller polybands from local stores such as Walmart. The strange thing is, these smaller polybands all melt with Senko! So, as long as they won't melt with Senko, any polybands are fine.

 

Even polybands will make cuts on Senko after some days of use, so I cut a piece of heat-shrink tube and wrap it on Senko, as showing in the attached photo. This should also solve the melting issue of smaller polybands.

I came back to this thread to talk about exactly this issue. I bought Goody Ouchless 71291 bands from Wal-Mart and they definitely melt when left on my Senkos, or at least my watermelon Dingers. Your picture shows an older packaging so I wonder if they're simply made differently now. 

 

Either way I've settled on using grommets. They're stiffer than a O-rings or these bands, they're more expensive, and they're a little wider than using two O-rings, but I put the hook through them and the whole thing is extremely secure. My bait hasn't ripped even a little so until I can find a more elegant solution, this is what I'm going with.

 

[moguy1973]

The Goody bands I buy are rubber and not poly and I haven't had an issue with them melting.

 

I bought this same package of multi size ones a few years ago and I have tons left.  I use the small and medium sized ones for my wacky rigs and I use the larger size for my daughters ponytails.

 

[govallis]

On 8/3/2018 at 1:42 AM, MisterDeadeye said:

Your picture shows an older packaging so I wonder if they're simply made differently now.

Chinese are well known to make a product cheaper and cheaper, so I believe they now use cheaper material that melts. The package in photo was bought 10 years ago.

On 8/3/2018 at 5:05 AM, moguy1973 said:

The Goody bands I buy are rubber and not poly and I haven't had an issue with them melting.

 

I bought this same package of multi size ones a few years ago and I have tons left.  I use the small and medium sized ones for my wacky rigs and I use the larger size for my daughters ponytails.

 

I tried rubber band but I lost the senko when the fish bit the tail or head and I set hook. Are these Goody tougher than normal rubber bands? I'll give them a try because the new poly bands melt.

[moguy1973]

6 hours ago, govallis said:

 

I tried rubber band but I lost the senko when the fish bit the tail or head and I set hook. Are these Goody tougher than normal rubber bands? I'll give them a try because the new poly bands melt.

They are pretty tough.  I can usually get about 7-8 fish using them before they end up cutting the worm in half.  If that starts to happen I just rehook the worm through the other side that isn't tearing and I get a few more fish out of it before it's totally in half.

 

Mind you I haven't tried these on genuine GY Senkos.  I typically use Dingers or Stick-O's which are a little more durable than Senkos

[burrows]

I know the thread is about dingers and shimmees and I’ll adresse that to conclude the matter very frankly, dingers are better..!!! Now to what I wanted to give an honorable mention to is the just started using Berkly power bait max scent, general that stick bait is the best hands down stick bait for me!!!! now it produces when nothing produces. And if you haven’t tried it don’t more fish for me.?

[govallis]

On 8/7/2018 at 5:13 AM, Burrows said:

I know the thread is about dingers and shimmees and I’ll adresse that to conclude the matter very frankly, dingers are better..!!! Now to what I wanted to give an honorable mention to is the just started using Berkly power bait max scent, general that stick bait is the best hands down stick bait for me!!!! now it produces when nothing produces. And if you haven’t tried it don’t more fish for me.?

If you like scent, give the Shim E a try. It is the most productive, next to it is Dinger and Senko. I have all the three versions of Power Minnow, only one fish so far ever, while each and every time the Shim E can get me about 10 within an hour. I rig it with nose hooking and wacky; For texas, I use Dinger. Only $2.49 for 7 in Walmart.