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New Product 7X
Big 6-1/2" Kut Tail for Kicker Bass
By Ben Matsubu & Russ Bassdozer

October 28, 2002

Ready to cull those smaller keeper fish? The new 7X is a bigger bait designed for better kicker fish appeal. Hefty and dense, use the 7X weightless or rig it Texas, Carolina, Florida, Mojo style or any way you want - it works big time.

Showing why he is widely regarded as the world's leading soft plastic lure designer, Gary Yamamoto has just created his own best competition to rival the Senko so far. While others in the industry have tried to closely imitate the Senko or build lures just like it, Gary Yamamoto has leapfrogged ahead of the field again by building a totally new soft stick bait design, the 7X.

"The 7X is everything the 5 inch Senko is, same salt, same formulation, same density. It weighs the same 3/8 ounce as the Senko. Just like a Senko, the 7X casts well weightless, and pitches and flips well, even on medium-heavy baitcasting tackle," says Gary Yamamoto's fishing partner and Bassmaster pro, Ben Matsubu.

"There is no difference in castability or tackle used with either the 7X or the Senko. The two lures are interchangeable. I've tested the 7X up against the Senko, and depending on the day, I can catch as many bass on the 7X as on the Senko. If you like using Senkos, you will like using the 7X," says Ben, who operates Yamamoto's Toledo Bend Pro Shop.

Where the differences do exist are:

1) Visual - The 7X has most of its mass up front, yet still maintains a horizontal body posture on the fall. It has a swayed belly like a baitfish, and a prominent diamond-cut tail fin. "The 7X has a more realistic fish-like profile," says Matsubu. Other worms often taper to a thin needle tail, however the tail on the 7X is like hoisting a big old flag for all bass to see. It is a very visible tail, telling any bass that an easy meal is here for the taking. The tail fin is almost see-through. It's more translucent than the thicker body. That creates a natural two-tone tail tip effect. "I've always rolled the tips of Senkos between my fingers to create a subtle two-tone tip effect. Now you get this effect automatically out of the bag with the 7X," Matsubu says.

2) Action - When reeled in, the 7X has a lazy tail-flexing, side-to-side darting action. This action begins as a dart in the thick head, and becomes a whip or flex in the thin tail. Very lifelike, it is remindful of the darting, wiggling action of a hard plastic lipped minnow jerkbait. "I keep the rod tip low, reel in two turns, then stop. When you start to reel again, you'll often discover a fish has taken the bait during the pause when the 7X suspends motionless and shivers as it sinks" says Matsubu.

"In comparison to the Senko which works best as a deadstick dropbait, the 7X can dart and wiggle its tail on a stop-n-go retrieve," says Internet bass fishing celebrity, Russ Bassdozer. "The 7X can have an erratic swimming action on the retrieve, which may remind you of a hard-lipped jerkbait. Then pause it, which can cause the tail fin to flutter on the way down. Unlike other soft jerkbaits, you don't need to jerk the rod tip to activate the 7X swimming action. Hold the rod tip down, just reel in, then pause, reel in, then pause. That's all that's needed to create great tail flexure and lifelike swimming movement. The 7X not only looks sleek and tapered like a baitfish, but can move like one when artfully retrieved," says Russ.

"Another tactic I like is to rig the 7X about a foot behind a gold Pro-Jo sinker. Just like a gold spinnerbait blade, the gold Pro-Jo sinker flashes attractively ahead of the 7X. As you skitter and pause the Pro-Jo rig across the bottom, the gold sinker appears to be a small food item being stalked by another fish, actually your 7X Kut Tail. It's a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, one that can infuriate a nearby bass to belt the 7X sharply. "You get some nasty reaction bites doing this. Bass just don't tolerate another critter (your 7X) feeding in front of them. It's Mother Nature's version of a food fight," says Bassdozer.

"Senko lovers are going to love using the 7X," says Ben Matsubu.

Used to be "finesse" meant gossamer lines, wispy wands and noodle-thin weenie worms out West. Not any more! Gary Yamamoto has just ratcheted finesse up a notch for bass anglers across the North, East, South, Central and Texas too! Not just for the West, it's American finesse fishing now!

Lure designer and international bass fishing star, Gary Yamamoto has released a new larger size of Kut Tail.

Measuring in at 5 inches, the new 7L Kut Tail is heavy enough to be used weightless near the surface, or on a darter jig worm head, or as an exciting upgrade to your dropshot fishing. Truly use it any number of ways you would fish a worm.

As the name implies, the original and smaller 7-series Kut Tail was made by wisely cutting the tail off a longer worm, creating a bittie 4" finesse bait for tough conditions in Japan and the Western USA, places where Gary Yamamoto began his bass fishing career and soft bait business. As Gary moved to Texas, his attention turned to tournaments in the South, Central and East. "The original 4" Kut Tail proved too small to have an impact on the bigger bass in Texas, the South and other places across the USA," says Gary. That's why the new, larger 7L Kut Tail has been designed and it has been proven to be more of a mouthful for these bigger bass.

"There really isn't another worm on the market with a tail shaped like the Kut Tail," says Internet bass fishing celebrity, Russ Bassdozer. The body proportions are intentionally engineered like a skinny minnow. A tapered head, sway belly, and prominent diamond-cut tail fin are all designed to say this is a baitfish to bass. This style of soft plastic worm is unique to Gary Yamamoto's product line.

Upgrade your finesse. Target a better grade of bass with the larger 7L Kut Tail. Not just for the West, it's American Finesse fishing now!

The tale of the Kut Tail's creation is an interesting history. Over twenty years, says Gary Yamamoto, our 6" curly tail worms were made with different body and tail colors. A coloration sometimes called a "fire tip" tail, says Gary. We were in Japan fishing on Lake Kawaguchi in winter time. We found the fish were cold and lethargic and did not want a full tail that wiggles on their worms. So we progressively cut back the wiggling curly tail worm until the tail resembled what you see today. We had to give the bass a lure that mimicked the lack of action they desired in winter. That summer, it was also discovered that the do-nothing nature of the Kut Tail worked on listless bass during the sweltering "dog days" of summer as well. It essentially became what is called a "do-nothing" lure, says Gary.

About the only other do-nothing variety of lure at that time was the legendary Charlie Brewer Slider Worm, says Gary.  That was over twenty years ago, and the Kut Tail has been in use that long by furtive anglers in the know.

When we cut down the 6" curly tail worm, the resultant Kut Tail hit the measuring tape at about 4" inches. Being that I live in Texas now, it is definitely true that everything grows bigger here, including bass, says Gary laughingly. As we tried to apply original Japanese and Western tactics such as dropshotting on Texas waters, the larger size of Texas fish required a larger size of Kut Tail. That was what renewed my interest in this more than twenty year old design. The original 4" 7-Series Kut Tail excels for smaller fish under tougher fishing conditions such as in Japan. But in Texas and other big bass states across the USA, the diminutive 4" 7-Series Kut Tail does not have the impact of the new, larger size. The larger grade of fish caused me to create the Kut Tail's bigger brother, the new 7L Kut Tail, says Yamamoto.

It is natural for a larger bass to want a larger meal, says Russ Bassdozer. Increased size also increases visibility. It can be seen by more fish from a further distance, and represents a bigger meal. Since this bait does not have much built-in action, it is primarily visible cues - silhouette, body shape and tail shape - that are paramount strike inducers, says Bassdozer.

There are lots of skinny minnows swimming in waters across the USA, and the body shape mimics that, Gary says, adding that we're hoping NOT to get action out of this bait. In this way, it simply mimics the silhouette, shape and do-nothing nature of the slightly longer, larger varieties of skinny minnows eaten by big bass across the country.

Just the fact the tail is there gives bass all the visual clue it needs to say: "This is a baitfish." As anglers, we see ourselves it's often only the tail shape that lets us distinguish a square-tailed bass from a vee-tailed carp sunning in the shallows. It is often only the tail color by which we distinguish a neon blue-tailed striper from the sometimes white-fringed duff of a smallmouth. If not tail, then it is overall body shape and silhouette of a walleye or catfish that allows us to distinguish them at depths even when other body characteristics or colors cannot be observed.

These are the exact same visual clues - silhouette, body shape and prominent tail shape - that lets a Kut Tail register in a bass brain as a succulent skinny minnow, says Bassdozer.

I do not place too much importance on whether the tail is rigged facing up, down or sideways, says Gary.

One application I enjoy making with the 5" size is to fish it weightless across the surface. This would not be possible with the smaller, lighter 4" original. However, the 5" Kut Tail is heavy enough to cast quite a distance on 6 lb. test spinning gear with my new Dropshot Spinning Rods, says Gary Yamamoto. I'll fish it in shallow water - or anywhere skinny minnows congregate near the surface under docks or between bridge pilings for example. Rigged weightless Texas style with a size #1 or 1/0 59-Series Sugoi hook, I'll make the 5" Kut Tail push a nervous vee-wake just under the surface film, or make it flick and skitter on a retrieve that causes it to pop out of the water like a panicky fleeing minnow.

Of course it is a great bait to dropshot for a better grade of bass such as down in Texas or anywhere, says Gary. Simply upgrading the size of bait will upgrade the size of the catch. Gary favors nose-hooking 5" Kut Tails with strong yet light size #1 Gamakatsu Splitshot/Dropshot Hooks. A smooth spinning reel drag is essential to tire big fish, he says.

It is interesting to note the nose-pierced Kut Tail sheds its do-nothing inhibitions and becomes active and lively on the dropshot rig, says Bassdozer. Most of the time, even with only the very lightest line tension, the dropshot rig gives the Kut Tail a minnow-like darting action with a squiggly, squirming movement as it's pulled around by its nose. With the shortest rod tip movement, it will cause a dropshot Kut Tail to dart and dance like a highly-active minnow, says Bassdozer.

Another application Bassdozer favors with the new 5" Kut Tails are darter jig heads. These excel on deep suspended fish, or fish actively cruising in the lower part of the water column above deep structure or cover. I prefer to mark fish on the graph that are above bottom, away from where the open hook darter jig may snag. However, unmarked bass may be hiding on the bottom too, and they will materialize out of nowhere to swim up to meet the darter jig halfway too. I'll simply mark fish or mark good cover, drop a marker buoy, then circle back and darter jig in the area. Keeping the boat at a distance, I'll begin with long casts that let the darter jigs pendulum swing down through the water column on a long horizontally-arcing fall. If there is a bottom contour, you'll want the pendulum fall of the darter jig to loosely follow it down. That will usually work, says Bassdozer, and a bite is often signaled by the line suddenly becoming quite slack, slowing down, or moving off faster than before. If prospecting the area with pendulum casts doesn't work, get right over the high spot on the cover or structure, cast towards the deep side, and let the jig pendulum vertically, keeping it out of the snags but barely touching bottom right under the boat every once in a while. Again this is a minnow imitation here. It is a long fluid baitfish that darts down to reach the shady safety of the bottom, only to get hammered by a watchful bass that rises up off of the bottom to engulf it.

Gary Yamamoto has designed a new miniature size of Kut Tail soft plastic lure.

Measuring 3-1/2 skinny inches, the new 7S Kut Tail is best for light tackle ultra finesse tactics for bass, crappie, even trout.

As the name implies, the original Kut Tail was made by wisely cutting the traditional longer tail off a worm, creating a cut tail bait for tough conditions.

"As far as I know, there's not really another worm on the market with a tail shaped like the Kut Tail," says Internet bass fishing guru, Russ Bassdozer. This style of soft plastic bait is unique to Gary Yamamoto's product line. With a tapered head, sway belly, and prominent diamond-cut tail fin, the body proportions are engineered to say this is a baitfish to bass. The diminutive size and shape also fits the instinctive food profile of water-borne insects, cinder, caddis and catalpa worms, hellgrammites, dragonfly larvae, mayfly and stonefly nymphs, and freshwater shrimp.

When Ultra Finesse is Best. Practical applications for the diminutive, thin-bodied 7S Kut Tail begins wherever the water is clear whenever bass are acting spooky or disinterested and you just cannot get bit with your "usual" finesse lures.

Quite simply, there are hard times and places that a 3.5" wispy Kut Tail will get them, when standard 4" finesse baits will not...when a 3.5-inch Kut Tail will slay them but the same 4-inch size will go unwanted.

The 7S Kut Tail is made for these hard times. Ultra finesse situations exist in waters all across the country. It's not a matter of if you will encounter ultra finesse conditions, but when...and whether or not you will be prepared to deal with them. In these cases, you can successfully use ultra finesse tactics with diminutive soft plastic darlings such as the new 3.5-inch Kut Tail rigged in a variety of ways.

Splitshot Rig. The simplest ultra finesse rigging method is to tie a size 7 Yamamoto Splitshot hook to the end of your line, rig a 3.5-inch Kut Tail on the hook through the nose or the egg sac, and pinch a single splitshot about 18" ahead of it. This Splitshot rig works well to cast up into the quiet, still backwater flats for largemouth or to cast up across stream flows, allowing the water to sweep your splitshot rig down to waiting smallmouth. It works swell for spotted bass suspended in deep open water.

Pro-Jo or Mojo Rig. Where you need something to cast farther, sink deeper or come through cover better than a splitshot rig, simply thread a 1/8 to 1/4 oz. Mojo or Pro-Jo sinker onto your line first, tie on a #2 Yamamoto Sugoi hook, then carefully moisten and pull through rubber strands to lock the sinker in place on your line.

Dropshot Rig. Need we say more? The 7S Kut Tail is ideal to dropshot.

Jig Head. A great application for baits such as these diminutive darlings is in medium to fast running water, with jig heads 1/8 ounce and under. These jig heads often have thin gold wire Aberdeen hooks. When honed, most fish will hook themselves as you drift your line in the current.

As you allow your lure to float downstream in a current on a semi-tight line, this allows the lure to develop an erratic, unpredictable darting or searching action that reacts as if alive to every shift or surge in the current.

Just cast far enough upcurrent to let your jig hit bottom while it is still about 45 to 60 degrees upstream from you. You must watch your line carefully for the exact instant your jig hits bottom - the length of your line will slacken and belly but for an instant. You must watch for that, and immediately crank in a turn of two with the reel, just enough to raise your lure barely above bottom. If you do it properly, your lure will begin to sweep downstream without fouling bottom. Expect to get hit as it passes from 11 to 12 o'clock in front of you. At 12 o'clock, the lure will do an about face in the current. If you know what you are feeling for, you will feel this about-face as a tick in the line as the lure does a 180 and starts to stem against the flow. It begins to rise off bottom and sway in the bottom-swirling current - it acts kind of like a cranky kite that doesn't really want to get airborne, but does a lot of side-to-side shearing and waffling before it gets up there. Just hold it there for a while motionless in the current. At times, you will be surprised how long you can just wait for a bite, but expect most hits between eleven and one o'clock, mostly right on the tick past twelve.

Try different jig head sizes until you find one that let's the lure rise, fall, swirl, and veer off erratically as it swings down and is buffeted by the bottom-bouncing currents. Just let the lure drift like this, and the current will impart all the most natural life-like action you need - just like a baitfish or aquatic insect being swept downstream, perhaps searching for food or shelter. As mentioned above, a thin gold wire hook, sharpened, and a semi-tight line are really all you need to let fish hook themselves. Bigger, heavier hooks will require unnecessary hooksetting efforts on your part. Do not overmatch the 3.5-inch Kut Tail with a jig head or hook that's too big.

Gear to Use. When you hear a term like ultra finesse, you automatically think of ultra light rods, reels, and lines from 4 to 8 lb. test, which is often the domain of spinning gear. Gary Yamamoto's new dropshot rod works just fine for ultra finesse with all the baits, sinkers, thin wire jigs and hooks mentioned in this article. The rod bends and buffers the strain of fighting decent-sized bass on light tackle. Use a spinning reel in the 1500, 2000 to 2500 model range. A good drag is paramount in importance.

These tips should get you started using ultra finesse tactics and tools. Ultra finesse often comes in handy when nothing else seems to work on clear waters, even large deep ones. On sparkling brooks and riffled, shingle-bottomed smallmouth streams, it's practically a necessity.

Admittedly, ultra finesse means smaller waters and smaller bass, but not always. For instance in Arizona, the state record 14.5 pound largemouth was landed on a tiny 2.5-inch crappie jig.

Add ultra finesse and the 3.5-inch Kut Tail to your repertoire of bass fishing skills.

Here's a combination sure to please the most persnickety bass - 7X Kut Tails fished on size #1 (3/0 equivalent) Splitshot hooks.

In a wind or chop, bass can become more active and aggressive. Big visible baits like a 7X can work better. Problem with weightless baits is they skate to the surface in the wind. Make weightless baits skate less by wacky rigging, which serves to hold a bait down better in the water. Like a wind sock which slows a boat's wind drift to a manageable speed, it's the same concept for heavy weightless wacky baits in a breeze. Add an 18-inch fluorocarbon leader and a swivel (included with our 53-series Splitshot hooks) to skate less too. The tether provides needed stability just like a knotted rag tail serves to right a wind-sheering kite.

Wacky-rigging in the egg sack gives skate-negating resistance in a breeze. On calmer days when skating is not problematic, experiment by putting the pull point ahead of the egg sack. This causes the 7X to spasm and swim cuckoo on its side like a loco disoriented baitfish -a sure strike trigger. You don't reel in while you are doing this. Just pop it and fall. Pop, pop, fall. Now you've got it!