~ ~
New Product 9F & 9LF
Senko Lites & New Colors 320, 321, 322
By Russ Bassdozer

April 6, 2001

As if the standard Senko was not hot enough, Gary Yamamoto has created the new Senko Lite in two sizes.

Made from a special blend of buoyant soft plastic, the Senko Lite suspends and hovers above shallow cover. It doesn't quite float but does resist sinking as quivers enticingly on a super-slow fall.

Spring is one of the best times to use the high-flotation Senko Lite as bass move into newly-flooded shallows being covered with warm, rising water.

"Most of the time, I use the Senko Lite as a twitching bait," says inventor, Gary Yamamoto. "An angler will need to uncover whatever kind of twitching action the bass prefer to hit the Senko Lite on any given day."

Yamamoto adds, "I will also deadstick it. I simply let it suspend and sink slowly over fish-holding cover. As it slowly descends, the Senko Lite displays incredible tail-quivering action."

"The major difference is it stays up in the top layer of water and it sinks super-slow. Twitch the rod tip and the Senko Lite will climb right back up to the top for another agonizingly slow fall." says Internet bass fishing celebrity, Russ Bassdozer. "That is the distinguishing characteristic that makes the Senko Lite different from the standard Senko that sinks faster and stays hunkered down at deeper water levels."

Three new colors have been created for the Senko Lite:

1. 320 Merthiolate

2. 321 Yellow

3. 322 Pearl Blue

"These new highly-visible colors provoke slashing strikes," says Bassdozer. "These hot colors are part of the success, excitement and fun fishing with it. Because the Senko Lite is highly visible, you can watch bass swim out of a bush, emerge from under a weedbed or log, grab it and swim off with it. Sometimes your Senko Lite just disappears from view or with just the tips remaining highly visible as a fish swims off with it. If the fish goes back down into the cover, let the line pull tight, then set the hook. On the other hand, if the fish swims out into the clear, watch for it to stop to ingest the Senko Lite completely. Wait to see the entire lure disappear. Just keep a cool head. Once they grab it, they rarely spit out a Senko Lite."

The Senko Lite comes in two sizes, five inches (9F) and six inches (9LF).

Related Story
Yamamoto Takes Third on Sam Rayburn
By Russ Bassdozer

March 6, 2001

In days gone by, we had heroes and legends and men who rose to the occasion whenever they were needed. They were always there and always will be. Today, some of these men ride bass boats.

Welcome, Gary. Congratulations from all of us on your third place victory in the Texas BASSMASTER Central Invitational. Can you tell us how you won third place on Big Sam Rayburn this weekend, Gary?

Thank you for your congratulations. I began the first day in Buck's Bay, a well-known hotspot. I caught one bass on the "Christmas tree" six inch Senko on the deeper side of flooded buckbrush stands in about 3 to 4 feet of water. This was the obvious place for everyone to try here, and the deeper side of the buckbrush was receiving a lot of fishing pressure.

I moved away from the obvious spots into the extreme shallow water in Buck's Bay. I was betting that the pressure had caused the bass to move super shallow into areas people do not fish. I was throwing as tight as I could to whatever little scrap of cover I felt other people did not fish. On one cast, I got hung up in small branches hanging over a small piece of buckbrush. I shook the Senko, and it dropped off the branches right into the big mouth of a waiting five pound bass. That was my second bass of the day, and it proved to be my biggest bass for the day!

I got close to my limit with four keepers doing this in the shallows where no one else was fishing.

On one of my last casts of the day, I watched my Senko come close to the boat on the end of the retrieve. It was about 5 or 6 feet away when I saw a nice bass behind it. The wind was blowing me towards it, and there was nothing I could do. I watched helplessly as the boat went broadside right over the Senko and right over the bass that was still following it. What to do? I freespooled a little line under the boat which was only about three feet deep. When I reengaged the handle, the bass had eaten the Senko under the boat - a nice 3.5 pounder! This gave me five fish and put me in 15th place with 15 lbs. 5 oz. for the first day.

On the second day, I stayed in Buck's Bay again. I stuck with the six inch Christmas tree Senko. Again, my second fish of the day was another beautiful five pounder, but I only had four keepers the second day, giving me 13th place and a two day tally of 26 lbs. 11 oz.

Why did you stick with the 6 inch Senko as opposed to the 5 inch, Gary, and was there anything special about the Christams tree color?

There was nothing too specific about the "Christmas tree" except that I have been having a lot of luck with it lately. It is 222 watermelon with green and red flakes. Other guys at Sam Rayburn were doing well with the 208 which also has red flakes, the 194 and 297 watermelon Senkos.

I felt most of the fish had already spawned, and had pulled off the beds into the closest shallow cover nearby. The water was a little stained, so I wanted to give them a slightly more visible target with the six inch Senko, plus I wanted to target the bigger, more active fish. However, a lot of other guys in the tournament were fishing the 5" Senko and doing fine. I think the 5" would have caught just as many or more than the 6", they are not that different.

How did you make out on the third day of the tournament, Gary?

On the third day, because of the pressure that Buck's Bay was getting, I gambled on going to a shallow creek in the vicinity of the 147 bridge. During prefish two weeks earlier, there had been one foot of water and fish in the creek. Now, the water was up over another foot, and I could not find the fish in there. By 11 o'clock, I only had one fish. I abandoned the creek and went up to the 147 bridge itself, a spot that is known for big fish. I was fishing a very shallow road bed coming out from shore. I was tossing the Christmas tree up ahead of me onto the roadbed when I felt a solid hit and saw a swirl like a toilet bowl flushing down my Senko! I was reeling like crazy, but the fish was running straight at the boat and I could not get enough line pressure to set the hook. I lost it.

I knew there had to be a bed in there, so I went in deeper on the roadbed. I went in all the way to the end of the road looking for it, but I could not see the nest. The bottom was so shallow that I broke my trolling motor pin on the roadbed. I looked everywhere on the boat for a spare pin I always carry, and started to get desperate not being able to find it anywhere. As I drifted back into open water, I saw another boat coming into the area. Takahiro Omori was arriving, who was in first place after day two. Takahiro said he already had 16 pounds of fish on this the final morning. He was in good shape to win the tournament. Takahiro had a spare pin. He stopped fishing and he fixed my trolling motor for me. To thank him, I told Takahiro where to catch the big fish I missed on the roadbed.

I moved to another area and left the roadbed so Takahiro could fish it. I still stuck to my three day strategy of fishing nothing-looking areas where no one else would think to fish in less than one foot of water. There was really no buckbrush or obvious cover in these areas except for a few scraggly limbs that had fallen into the water here and there. It was slow until I changed lures to an experimental bright yellow floating Senko. That floating Senko proved to be what the fish wanted. Between 12 and 2 o'clock, I was culling five good keeper fish.

Gary, how did you end your third day on Sam Rayburn?

I knew Takahiro had an early weigh-in, so I went back to the roadbed for one last cast around 2:30 knowing Takahiro would have already left the area to weigh-in. I positioned myself right where I had lost the fish that morning, cast out and got ready to set the hook! I threw the Christmas tree in there and saw the swirl as a big fish rushed it. I figured she was about 6 or 7 pounds. I set hard and yelled for my partner to get the net. The hook pulled out and came flying back in my face. Next cast, I put on the bright yellow floating Senko, threw it further back down the end of the roadbed, and just deadsticked it. The line jumped and started moving off. This time I let the fish get going and set the hook using line pressure as she swam off. It was a little touch and go, but soon my partner netted a nine pound seven ounce beauty to end my third day. Back at weigh-in, that lunker won big bass for the tournament, anchored a 17 pound bag for the day, and third place overall with 43 lbs. 11 oz. in the Texas BASSMASTER Central Invitational on Sam Rayburn.

Can you tell us more about the floating Senko, Gary?

Yes. We hope to have the floating Senko available very soon. This is the best time to use floating soft baits as spring waters flood fresh cover. Actually, it doesn't float but sinks so slowly with a hook in it. This is true of most other "floaters" on the market, they actually sink slowly with hooks in them. A handful of highly visible colors have been developed for the floating Senko.

How do you work the floating Senko, Gary?

Most of the time, I use it as a twitching bait. As you fish it, you need to uncover whatever kind of twitching action works according to what the fish want to hit on any given day. I will also deadstick it.

Do you have any final words or tips for us, Gary?

I would say if there is a lesson to learn from this tournament, it is do not give up and you might have to try different things. It took a long three days not giving up on shallow water other people overlooked, and it was trying something different on the last afternoon, that yellow floating Senko, that got third place for me on Sam Rayburn plus big bass of the tournament.

Congratulations, Gary, from all of us. Thank you for sharing your tournament strategies. Good luck to you later this month in the BASSMASTER Alabama Top 150 on Lake Wheeler.

~ ~