Yum dinger more durable?

[basser27]

I keep hearing how much more durable dingers are vs a senko, I have found that they are both just as fragile. The dinger holds up better fishing through heavy grass but After every fish caught on the dinger the head seems to always rip when Texas rigging. I don’t wacky rig. I haven’t used dingers in prob 10 years and I don’t remember them being like this. Im Using a 3/0 vmc ewg like I use with all other 5” stick baits 

[FrnkNsteen]

I have always thought Yum plastics tore up pretty quickly. They are soft, and you can catch some fish with them, but they dont seem to last long.

 

I mainly use bulk stickbaits I got from a place in Alexandria MN called Christophersons. My brother lived up there and I would stop by and buy bulk bags when I was there.

 

I think someone said Big Bite makes them for them, but not sure on that. They have a store on the big auction site and I have ordered them there too.

[Tlauz]

I think they tear quickly compared to Big Bite baits and many of the other brands I use.  

[scaleface]

I use a parasite clip and rig a Dinger in the middle . After a fish I then rig it on the side. After another fish I rig it on the other side. After another fish I bite it in half and use it as  a Ned. After another fish I bite it down and use it as a mini Ned. If things go right I get six fish with a Dinger.

[Pat Brown]

I like yum dingers.  I think the softness of the plastic contributes to the willingness to hold on and the action and in general stick baits are one bait: one fish for me.  I don't fish Ned rigs.

[Darth-Baiter]

i like the 4" dingers okay. 

 

but in general, they tear the same yet i catch few fish than when i use the OG worm. (5")

[TOXIC]

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll keep sounding like a broken record but I’ve caught 20 raging smallmouth on the same Senko.   It’s all in the rigging.  I don’t wacky rig and I use a 4.0 gamakatsu EWG, Texas rigged.  Search my name and Senko for endless reading.?

[RRocket]

2 hours ago, Functional said:

started using senkos this year (yum and yamamoto) but as that supply depletes I'll likely be switching to all Z-man Zinker and Bang Stickz. If the fish doesnt head shake I'll get 2-3 fish...if it does any head shaking I'm lucky to ever see it again. Those that tear at the head may get chomped down for a shorter senko or just thrown in a bag for wacky later on. 

 

Still using the same Zman Bang Stickz i put on at the start of a the season. 

Definitely try the Z-man Big TRD. Absolutely fantastic worm! 

[Tackleholic]

If unweighted, a Dinger will sink slower than a Senko.

[Functional]

2 hours ago, RRocket said:

Definitely try the Z-man Big TRD. Absolutely fantastic worm! 

Out of curiosity is there any real difference besides the 1" of length and a slightly pointier head on the Zinker?

 

Either way I'll pick up a pack, sometimes a smaller profile does better in my waters...or at least with my style of fishing. 

[gim]

If you're texas rigging the stick bait, you're penetrating the plastic body of it regardless of what brand it is.  As soon as you stick a hook through it, you've increased the likelihood of it ripping or tearing sooner.  That's just how it is.

 

The only one that is going to with stand hooks sticking in it is the zman elaztech.  But they are buoyant so you will have to come up with another way of making it sink.

 

As far as yum compared to GY stick baits, the durability is about equal.  GY sinks faster on its own and costs more.

[Functional]

2 hours ago, TOXIC said:

It’s all in the rigging.  I don’t wacky rig and I use a 4.0 gamakatsu EWG, Texas rigged.  Search my name and Senko for endless reading.?

I wish I had your luck! Same exact hook I use, tried hooking a lot of nose, a little nose, super glue, toothpick trick...nothing. Might get 1 fish better with one of them but typically its 1-2 fish and its in the wacky pile.

[Darth-Baiter]

3 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll keep sounding like a broken record but I’ve caught 20 raging smallmouth on the same Senko.   It’s all in the rigging.  I don’t wacky rig and I use a 4.0 gamakatsu EWG, Texas rigged.  Search my name and Senko for endless reading.?

20 fish on the same senko?  come on!!!  you biting off the end periodically?  

[Striper9]

The most fish I’ve caught on a Texas rigged senko was maybe 4-5 and that was biting the head off and readjusting the bait many  times 

[RRocket]

4 hours ago, Functional said:

Out of curiosity is there any real difference besides the 1" of length and a slightly pointier head on the Zinker?

 

Either way I'll pick up a pack, sometimes a smaller profile does better in my waters...or at least with my style of fishing. 

The TRD is more buoyant...you can float it if you want. The Zinker sinks. The TRD also seems to have a bit more action. The Zinker seems to be more "stiff".

 

 

[thunderblack]

15 bass on the same senko last weekend wacky rigged

[gim]

I have not used it, but I've heard that the VMC crossover ring or something similar really preserves the stick bait for quite a long time.  I personally still use the o-rings and eventually they create a weak spot in the middle of the stick bait that tears it in half.  I might eventually try the crossover rings.

[TOXIC]

I will just say this, when I finish rigging a Senko Texas style it should look like the bait was poured around the hook.  Zero rips around the head and the entry point and exit point in the middle plus the skin hook is just that, very lightly skin hooked not buried in the bait so that it rips when you catch a fish.  My buddies always kid me about how persnickety I am rigging but I have done it for 40 years and have had plenty of time to refine it to the point it is second nature. 

[Darth-Baiter]

@TOXIC  weightless tex rig?

 

please show us your mojo.  i am good  for 5-7 catches and it is a goner.  as a matter of fact, most of my backlashes are a direct result of the worm flying off the hook leaving me a much lighter package that my brake settings, cannot handle.  hahah..i see the worm go one way, the bare hook go completely another way..neither is towards the target and a half second later..that sound.  that awful sound of my spool getting all loose and janky.  hahhahaa.

[TOXIC]

Haha.  That’s your first mistake, throwing a weightless Senko on a baitcaster.  Not that it can’t be done but just not my preferred method.  I don’t know what I could show you that anyone that has rigged a Texas style weightless Senko hasn’t seen but it’s the little things that make a big difference.  I’ve covered all of my quirks in rigging from centering the hook in the nose to piercing the middle, how deep to put the nose to the hook eye, etc. 

[Darth-Baiter]

Sure…. Haha.  Just kidding, I believe you.  Sure.

[learnbassfishing]

 Ive only found dingers to be slightly more durable than senkos.

[roadwarrior]

 

Good info!

[Kanon Morris]

I regularly catch 5-10 bass on a single Yum Dinger Red Shad (old packaging).  
 

Yesterday I fished a Dinger Junebug(new packaging), and caught one fish per.  I went through the whole bag and only landed five fish.  These are much less durable than my Red Shad.

 

Is there a new formula, or are the Red Shad just that much more durable than Junebugs?

[Boomstick]

On 8/7/2023 at 7:39 AM, Tlauz said:

I think they tear quickly compared to Big Bite baits and many of the other brands I use.  

I think Yum Dingers hold up a little better than Senkos, but Big Bite Baits hold up better than pretty much everything.