YUM Dinger vs. Gary Yamamoto Senko

Senkos, dingers, ochos, whatever you want to call them, stick baits are an essential soft plastic to any and all bass anglers. Skip 'em, flip 'em, drop shot 'em, texas rig, wacky rig, do whatever the hell you want with it, and as long as theres a hook involved, the odds of landing a lunker bass are
stacked greatly in your favor. The stick bait is undoubtedly the most versatile bait in my tackle box, as well as my number one "go-to" lure for almost any situation. When I think stick baits two companies come to mind; YUM (dinger), Gary Yamamoto (Senko), but which is the best? I will attempt to answer this question in this review. But first let's take a look at a few of the most prominent stick bait fishing techniques.

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Texas Rig-
If you have ever fished a standard ribbon tail worm you should know how to texas rig, and if you do not, here's the drill. First you will need a texas rigging hook. The first thing you will do is notice the size of the flat section before the bend below the eye. Push the hook into the center of the thicker end of the stick bait and out the side, so that the distance from where the hook entered to where you pushed it out the side is equal to the measure of the flat section shown above. Now, push the stick bait up the hook so the flat section now occupies this hole just made, the bait should stay in place on the flat section. Now lay the rest of the hook over the top of the bait and see where the hook will pass through without causing the bait to bend. Push the tip of the hook through this spot and through the other side, and you are done. I suggest pushing the tip of the hook back into the bait a tiny bit to make it a weedless texas rig. This rig is great for fishing in heavy weed cover and underwater structure while rigged weedless. I have had most of my quality catches on texas rigged stick baits dropping them into pockets in between heavy lily pad cover.

Wacky Rig-
Take a stick bait out and hook it right through the center. Drop it in the water and watch the action. You will see a slow sinking presentation with both tips of the bait oscillating as it sinks down. Many strikes will occur while the bait is sinking, however you can spice it up by adding some small jigs pulling it up to a new spot to sink down.

Skippin'
Although I find the texas rig to be a more effective rig for skippin', it can be done while wacky rigging as well. Imagine yourself out on the water in the heat of the summer, temperatures well over 90 degrees. The bass are lethargic and there isn't any bite in the open water. You notice some trees overhanging a few feet over the water along the shoreline creating patches of shade. The tips of the tree limbs are only six inches to a foot above the surface of the water, you know this is where the fish are holding, but it is nearly impossible to sneak a lure between the tips of the branches and the water.

This is is where you tie on your stick bait and flex your skippin' muscles. Use a low sidearm cast, the lower you can get your rod towards the water the tighter your bait will hold to the surface of the water while skipping. With your rod positioned correctly make a sidearm cast aiming the stick bait about 6 inches to a foot in front of where the branch overhangs the water. Your bait will skip across the surface of the water and back into the strike zone of the bass hanging back in the shade. The harder you cast the longer the bait will skip, so you can control how far behind the tree line your bait will sink. Furthermore, the skipping action across the surface ads an enticing top water element to your presentation.