Anytime the Yamamoto Baits name is mentioned or seen, it's hard to look past the world-famous Senko. It's been one of the best bass lures since its release and has to be one of the most copied and productive soft plastic lures of all time. They come in a myriad of colors and several sizes and catch plenty of fish every year, but the Yamamoto team has continued to come out with new baits designs based on the legendary Senko.
Three of the newest are the Speed Senko, Slinko, and Ned Senko Floater. Yamamoto and Tackle Warehouse Invitationals pro Jimmy Reese has used them with great success and says that each has a niche and a place in his arsenal.
The Slinko on a C-Rig
Based on the same size and profile as the famed 5-inch Senko, the Slinko is a unique bait. It has ribs, a solid mid-section, and a poured with a special floating plastic material. The Yamamoto Mega Floater Formula keeps the bait up off the bottom, which is why Reese loves it for a Carolina Rig.
"It's a buoyant bait that is great for a Carolina Rig to keep the bait up off the bottom and above the grass," he said. "I like to use an offset or Rebarb style hook and use the lightest and smallest I can get away with to help the bait float up even more. The gliding action and slow fall is very important for baits on a Carolina Rig and even more important anytime you are fishing around the spawn because that action really triggers them."
Another reason he likes the Slinko for "the rig" and not a standard Senko or other plastic is the added vibration from the ribs on the bait. "The ribs are fairly large and push a lot of water," said Reese. "This gives your bait a different look and vibration than other soft plastics."
The Ned Senko
Any Senko can be cut down and fished on a Ned Rig, but the 3-inch Ned Senko Floater was built just for the technique. It has the same floating plastic material as the Slinko and Reese says that makes all of the difference in getting more bites.
"That little bait is bad to the bone," Reese began. "It's great for finessing fish, and I use it everywhere, even back home on Clear Lake when the fish get pressured and won't eat anything else. The floating plastic is pretty cool and gives it a different action when rigged on your jighead."
When fishing it for smallmouth, Reese likes to mix it with standard drop-shot rigs, alternating based on how the fish respond.
"It's sort of a one-two punch and everyone knows how much a smallmouth loves a drop-shot, but sometimes you have to drag something in front of them on the bottom to get a bite," he said. "I use both of these finesse baits a lot when using my forward-facing sonar and rotate until I get them to bite one of them."
With so many great colors, Reese has several favorites but tends to go with a handful of natural colors to start. "The Okeechobee craw is a great color and one of my favorites," he said. "I also really like the green pumpkin watermelon laminate color."
The Speed Senko
Swimming worms have become very popular for anglers fishing grass over the past decade and one of the newest is the Yamamoto Swim Senko. Reese is a big fan of it and successfully used it at a recent tournament on the Potomac River in Maryland.
While it works great on a standard Texas Rig with a bullet weight and worm hook, Reese found another great way to rig it.
"I was fishing it on a weighted extra-wide gap hook with a 1/16-ounce weight," he said. "Rigging it this way gave it great action and never hung up. It comes right through the grass and other cover."
Reese was fishing the bait along the surface and a foot or two below after noticing many of his swim jig bites were visible as bass rose to get the jig. The Swim Senko worked just as well and the bait's great action and softness helped him land more fish.
"It's a soft bait and with that hook, you don't miss them," he said. "The bait is great for casting and reeling, but you can also fish it on a Texas Rig or even a Carolina Rig."
While the Senko is hard to duplicate, Yamamoto has used some design features for new lures. Three of the latest are also some of Jimmy Reese's favorite new soft plastics and each has a time and place for specific situations.
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