Good replacement for Gary Yamamoto senkos

[roadwarrior]

LBH.

No, money does not grow on trees.

Yes,

I will fish your bait the rest of the summer. If your are offering Yum Dingers or any other specific brand that is readily available, I'll pick them up myself. If you are using someone's hand pour, I guess you'll need to send them.

This will be interesting. I will fish what ever you recommend EXCLUSIVELY for largemouth bass from now until the end of September and report results. Gosh, maybe even a picture.

You da man. Great idea...Game on!

Two qualifiers:

#1  I will fish these baits to prove you are RIGHT, not wrong. I will fish these baits exactly the way I would fish a Senko or I will fish them any way you recommend.

#2  I will fish the colors you select or the same basic colors I always fish, you make that call.

The point is that I don't want to change any other variable, just the lure. If you have some other ideas to make this more like a "blind" test, I'm up for that, too.

BTW,

The hot, bluebird days of summer have always produced my best largemouth bass. This is the best time of year to try this little experiment.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

See what I'm sayin folks? All good stuff here!!

RW-I'm on it. Need address again.

Go here and pick a couple colors that make you tingle.  

[sodaksker]

RW,

Thanks for taking the challenge and Russ thanks for offering it. I have to lean on RW's side as I tend to fish mainly Yamamoto products. I have always wanted to give others a try but, since my time on the water is so valuable I just stick with what I know works and more importantly what I have confidence in. Thanks for taking the time to try something different. I'm sure I am not the only one wanting to know the outcome, and best of all, with you guys running the study, we can be assured that no variables were compromised.

[jomatty]

kinami arent cheaper there are less in the pack.  they are garys sons company but the plastics are identical.  i could be wrong but im pretty sure that is accurate.

matt

[flyphisher #]

SENKO77,

I dont think they are stiff, They are more durable. The worm lizards have caught me alot of fish so far too.

Won $800 bucks in one tournament this spring dragging them over beds with a t-rigged with a tungsten wt.in really  Heavy cover. I also fished them c-rigged and did well in clear water in cover, where a regular senko would be destryed quickly. Just my experience so far.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

Hey LBH and or RW Im trying to get my schedule changed at work would iether of you like to be my agent? By the time you guys are done Ill be the Boss

[Siebert Outdoors]

Those two but heads quite a bit.

I enjoy reading their posts when the are battling it out.  Quite entertaining.  I thank you guys. LOL

Their are so many brands and custom pours out now that are identical or extremely close its hard to chose one over the other.  To me it depends on what you are looking for.  Some are more durable and others like the senko have more action.  

It mostly depends on how I am fishing them.  If I'm fishing the honey hole or a smaller pond I wont waste my senkos I will throw the cheaper ones.  But if I fish a tourney or the bite gets tough I will usually fall back to the senko.   (Roadwarrior you can fuel the fire with that paragraph).

[timmyswetarded]

dont forget the beloved zoom trick worm  

[Guest bigtex]

The best replica of a Senko is the Kinami Flash.

Brad

LOL

[Guest bigtex]

I personally buy the GY senkos and the Kinami Flash when I have the money.  But I have found in my opinion a pretty good replacement to those baits when money is tight.  You can find them at www.staminaInc.com They call them salty sink worms.  The only down fall to this bait is that the company only offers 5 different colors, but luckly for me they have the two colors that I fish with.  LOL

The cost is $12.80 per 50 or $1.60 per 5.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Yea,..there's a fact,lol.

Well guys, the baits are in the mail. This experiment has been sponsored by ***. Nothing like putting your money where your mouth is.  

RW-I believe he sent Pumpkinseed (light colored, very nice), watermelon seed and watermelon/purple swirl. These are the colors I have been using in very clear, reservoir water. Please fish themexactly as you would if it were a GYCB on the hook, and that includes the hook.

I personally fish them wacky with a 3/0 circle or octopus 100% of the time but I have a weed friendly lake. Hydrilla on the bottom with floating pods. Very rarely gets weeds.

The Hud !

......so you can replace those 3 lb bass, with 13's ! ;-)

Peace,

Fish

That would be 3 lbs over our state record,...Probably not gonna happen even if what I'm throwing is a net!

#1 I will fish these baits to prove you are RIGHT, not wrong. I will fish these baits exactly the way I would fish a Senko or I will fish them any way you recommend.

How cool is that?!? You're not going to get a fairer, more non biased opinion on this one folks.

BTW,

The hot, bluebird days of summer have always produced my best largemouth bass. This is the best time of year to try this little experiment.

That's just toooo funny. The last 2 days have been 98 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. No wind.

I have been out both days in the heat of the day and have been WHACKING them deadsticking these and the creature tubes filled with Yamamoto paste (megastrike) in the deep grass. No monsters yesterday but constant fish between 2.5 and 4 lbs. A great avg here when you're talking about numbers.

I made some video yesterday and wanted to get enough footage to finish it today. LONG STORY with short video here

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

In a PM from RW-

This is going to be fun. The only downside is always sticking with the same profile. I have already agreed to use these lures exclusively, but you know sometimes a Fat Ika, tube or Kreature is a better choice.  

Anyhow, I'm focused to prove you right!  

I'll send Brent a thank you note when I receive the baits.

I think it would be best represented if you fish it when and how you would fish a Gary senko.  Keep it as real as possible,..if you would normally switch to a fat ika in a given situation, by all means do so because that keeps it equal.  Otherwise you will be fishing the knock off more often than you would have been fishing a gycb senko, thusly tipping the scales.  You dig?

oh yea,...bring the camera!! (and check the battery,lol!)

CATCH "EM UP!!

[KU_Bassmaster.]

This is going to be great.  MR. GYCB himself.

One thing though ....... I believe you only throw 6" Senkos ...... Right??  Me too (6 or 7 inch Dingers).

The only time I throw 5" Senkos are when wacky rigging.  So I might suggest going to pick yourself up some Dingers in 6 or 7 inch vareity.  That's where it seems to be a little more difficult to get some with the smaller on-line companies.

Another thing you will find with the knockoffs is they don't fly off your hook like the GYCB Senkos (VERY frustrating).  At one of my lakes, the bass are gorging themselves with some big shad right now.  Lots of the fish I am catching have tails sticking out of their throats, so I have been throwing a lot of the GYCB Senko (7" in the 239 color) that I bought in the bargain bin at Cabela's last year for about $2 a pack.  Lots of them end up flying off the hook during a cast.  I have NEVER had that happen with a Dinger or any other knockoff.

[Glenn]

Bury the eye of the hook in the body, then stick a piece of cheap 40lb mono through the eye.  It won't fly off ever again.

[BassKing813]

Tiki Sticks.

[mudcatwilly]

Yum Dingers and dare I say...Berkeley Gulp, though not exactly a stick bait.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Bury the eye of the hook in the body, then stick a piece of cheap 40lb mono through the eye. It won't fly off ever again.

Are you talking about T-rigging?  It's "wacky" rigged when they come off.  I cast hard,..long cast gets the bass in our clear water.  I do send a couple off into the wild blue yonder but I've usually gotten a few fish on it first.   Do the GYCB's come off when T-rigged??

With wacky, the hook is in a much better position to tear a bait.

[jomatty]

some plastic o rings will help that problem immensly and will help you get more fish off of one worm.

matt

[roadwarrior]

Fresh Senkos rarely fly off a T-rig, especially if you fish spinning tackle. When the top tears, I bite it off and fish a 5 3/4" bait. Although you sometimes lose the Senko after just one fish, I think the average is something closer to three. On rare occasion, I can fish the same bait for most of an outing, 8- 10 bass is possible. Also, if the bait is not torn up in the middle, I'll bite off the narrow end and continue fishing. They work just fine this way, too.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Now THAT can't taste good! lol

Not a big fan of the "o" ring.  It's a great idea for those extra salty, soft baits buty really not needed the way I fish.  Plus, it turns the hook sideways on the bait.  I like the "exposed tip" of the hook sticking out. (personal opinion)

[roadwarrior]

Actually, they are tasty!

Here is a revelation which I suspect will surprise any Senko aficionado: I never fish the bait "wacky".

Nope, never.

[senile1]

Now THAT can't taste good! lol

Not a big fan of the "o" ring.  It's a great idea for those extra salty, soft baits buty really not needed the way I fish.  Plus, it turns the hook sideways on the bait.  I like the "exposed tip" of the hook sticking out. (personal opinion)

I agree.  The o-ring does turn the hook sideways.  A couple of years ago I started taking the tiny plastic sleeves that I use with trailer hooks and punching the hook through them, sliding them down against my wacky rigged senko type worms.  This keeps the worm from flying off the hook when I cast and the tip of my hook is sticking out.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

That's the only way I fish them but I hadn't realized till I fished with Redtail in Mass that many lakes just wion't let you fish it wacky because of the vegetation type and amount.

My lake is very condusive to the wacky rigged senko. That double ended wiggle and the straight down fall, as opposed to the slider fall of a T-rig have just been plain deadly for me.

Plus....if the name fits.....

(rw-sry about that post mess up. All fixed)

[galv]

i've been using the yum dingers and tiki sticks recently just to cut down on expense.  i haven't noticed a huge difference.  the two biggest fish i've caught this year were on the same green pumpkin black flake senko half an hour apart.  didn't have the scale, i'd estimate 6.5lbs and 6lbs.  caught a 5lb13oz on a bumblebee yum dinger and a 5lb5oz from shore on a watermelon/chartreuse tiki stick.  fished a pack of mann's hardnose worms and caught some nice fish with those too.

if i was fishing with money on the line, i'd use a senko, but i can't justify the price difference for just casual fishing at this point.  when i stock up i'll usually buy a pack of senkos and a couple packs of something else.

[Keithscatch]

Wish I had been in on this thread sooner. Some of the points I would have made are already made.

BTW, I am not a one trick pony. It always amazes me how people can say that the Senko catches more fish then other baits that are the same thing. I think that insults my intelligence. It is all called marketing folks. But good for Gary he seems to have people in a spell of sorts thinking his expensive baits are the only ones capable of catching quality fish. NOT!!!! BTW, I am an equal expensive bait basher. I feel this way about all overpriced lures. Don't get me started on the Lucky Craft baits...

Isn't it funny that the folks who defend Senkos are the ones who always bash the other knockoffs. The guys who defend the knockoffs never say anything negative about the Senko except the price. We would all use the GYCB if they were cheaper. They are fine baits and no one says they are not. We just know that bass will hit other lesser expensive baits just as well. So why not use a bait that costs half the price? Seems like a Homer Simpson cartoon here makes sense.   Doh!!

And yes sir RW Senko's do fly off the hook that are brand new never have caught a fish new. I have done it numerous times. But then I am a big boy and make long casts. I don't use whimpy spinning gear either  ;D

How I see it when I hear folks defending Senko's only is that if in say the BPS tank with all of those huge bass in it. You drop 5 senko type baits into the water 4 knockoffs and 1 Senko all hanging off of the same stick and all at the same depth and all right next to each other. I think some people would actually believe that the Bass would swim right to the senko and eat that bait while ignoring all the others that look just like it.

Do people really believe that? You know Bass are not as smart as some people make them out to be. They don't sit there and rationalize baits saying you know that bait only wiggled 30 times on the fall so I am not going to bite it. Or hey that bait wiggled 35 times on the way down so I will bite that one...C'mon folks.

But that is ok if someone prefers to buy a bait that is twice as expensive. I am not going to get worked up anymore if someone wants to spend more money then they should. That is fine by me. Just don't insult me for saving money and still catching more fish then you on my cheaper baits