Yamamoto Custom Baits
 We
sell the world's finest
salt impregnated soft plastics by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. Click
here to learn all about them.
Yamamoto Single Tail Grubs
 Standard
sizes are 4" for more small bass, 5" for slightly fewer
but better than average bass, and the 6" size for focusing
on the bigger bass! Most common uses are on open hook jigs or
fiberguard jig heads, or Split Shot the smaller models and Texas
peg the bigger ones. Articles: Get
the Lowdown on Designer
Grubs, learn how they're used on their home waters of Lake
Powell, plus How
to Buzz a Grub by Jerry Puckett.
Yamamoto Big Grubs
 Want
to catch some four to eight pounders? Their mouths are much
bigger than yours, so use BIG worms like the 8" and 10"
series. Use the Florida Rig weight that has a thin Teflon tube
for the line to slide, and a wire corkscrew to hold the weight
and bait together. You rig a big, strong extra wide gap hook into
the worm about 2" down from the weight. This gives you room
to set the hook even if a big bass has clamped down tightly on
the weight itself. The 6" Mini series is the same great bait
for more small to medium-sized bass. Articles: How
to Swim a Big Grub by Tom Reynolds, Delay-Set
Magic by Jerry Puckett and Catch
the Magic!
Yamamoto Worms
 It's
the most productive lure. Practically every time you go fishing
you'll hear someone else telling you about yet another lure that
is the world's best lure to use. But day in and day out, a worm
is the best. Always has been. Probably always will be too.
Articles: Worm
Basics. Video: Fishing
In Heavy Brush - Tex-Pose Your Cuttail Worm. Sizes:
4", 6", 8" plus 4" Cut Tail
Yamamoto Senko
 The
word "Senko" must mean something in Japanese. My own
personal translation for it is "Hot, Hot, Hot!" You
won't find that definition in an English-Japanese dictionary, but
many anglers who try the new Senko find this to be its true
meaning. To define it further, the Senko is a soft subsurface
jerkbait. Because of its dense plastic formula, it sinks fast,
stays down and therefore resembles hard plastic jerkbaits
(Rogues, Husky Jerks, etc.) more than other soft surface-oriented
stickbaits (Flukes, Slug-gos, etc.). Articles: Senko
Soft Stickbait, Lendell Martin's First
Impressions, and Wacky
Worming by Pat Xiques. Videos: Wacky
Rig Draws Bedding Bass plus Senko
Peg Rigging Method and Fish
In Cover Rarely Spit Out A Senko. Sizes:
4" Baby Senko, 5", 6", 7"
Yamamoto Ika & Big Ika
 Many
bait makers are coming out with new tubes this year, and Gary's
no exception! But the Ika's different. Why? Most manufacturers
are coming out with look-alike clones of the generic tubebait.
You know, the same hollow body cavities with machine-cut tentacle
tails. Gary's Ika is different. First, it's not hollow! It's a
solid, salt-impregnated body cavity. Second, the tentacles are
individually injection molded rather than machine-cut. The
injection molding process has inherently higher production
quality controls than your typical machine-cutting process (some
of which don't cut all that neatly). This results in the Ika
tails being better-formed and of more uniform quality than many
others. Third, the Ika narrows a bit at the waist and then flares
a bit at the hips. This artistic flair is that final touch of
perfection which sets Gary's Ika apart from the rest! Article: Eureka!
It's Ika! Video: Texas
Rigging Your Ika for Heavy Brush. Sizes:
3" Ika, 5" Big Ika
Yamamoto Tube Baits
 These
are soft and supple, salted (not impregnated). The tentacle tails
are well-split. This is sometimes a problem with some
manufacturer's tentacles, which may not be so neatly split at
times. Not so with Yamamoto! Use pliers to squeeze the lead
collar off a Yamamoto Round Head, which makes the jig head
perfectly center-balanced. Superglue the tube on, and watch the
wavering action that draws bass. Articles: Go
Totally Tubular. Sizes: 3 1/2" and
4 1/2"
Yamamoto Craw & Baby
Craw
 Both
sizes make outstanding jig trailers that can be pinched down
shorter if desired. The body is fat, wide, and almost cylindrical
from end to end, like the body on a fat twister tail grub -
except with claws. The claws are only slightly exaggerated and
stay tucked in close, just the right posture for a
backward-scooting craw effect on your silicone-skirted jigs!
Article: Craw
Facts. Sizes: 3 3/4" Baby
Craw, 5" Craw
Yamamoto Lizard & Baby
Lizard
 There
is a strong instinct in largemouths to control an area. Many
times bass attack your lures due to this territorial instinct.
This territorial instinct is always strong, but particularly in
pre-spawn, when bass will patrol and kill anything intruding onto
the nursery grounds. Beyond spring, the instinct to nourish
itself and replenish it's energy comes into play, particularly so
in autumn when the speculation is that fish build up fat reserves
to help themselves make it through the winter. Give 'em what they
hate this spring and what they crave this fall - the 4"
Baby Lizard and 7" Lizard
Yamamoto Double Tail Hula
Grubs
 Sometimes
I dangle one in front of my non-fishing friends and ask,
"Quick! What does this look like to you?" A few have
said it looks like a frog to them. One said it's a darning needle
(dragonfly). A few teenage girls came to a group decision that it
was a mosquito! Guess the hook looked like a big stinger. The
bass may not be any more sure than some of my non-fishing friends
as to exactly what is being dangled in front of them. It may look
like something the bass would like to chow down on, or it may
look like something threatening or intruding into the fish's
space. Heck, what would you do if a 4", 5", or 6"
mosquito was buzzing around in your living room? You would
probably jump up and belt it with no hesitation, right? So would
a big bass. They are one of the top aggressors in their watery
worlds. Articles: The
Horror of Spider Grubs and Spiders
or Twisters.
Yamamoto Single Tail Hula
Grubs
 The
single tail Hula grub is equally as effective as its
double-tailed counterparts. The single tail Hula is often used by
those who swim jigs above bottom to imitate preyfish (as opposed
to crawling a double tail Hula to simulate a crawfish). Video: Hula
Grub Makes Fish Dance Towards Your Bait Sizes:
4", 5"
Yamamoto Double Tail Grubs
 Some
anglers today continue a long bassing tradition of using pork
frog chunks with their jigs. I don't. Some non-traditionalists
hold off on the pig chunks but substitute with copycat plastic
chunks that imitate pork in every way. I don't. I fish my big
bass jigs with twin tail grub trailers instead of pork or plastic
chunks. I've tried many different double tails, but the best I
know are the 4", 5", 6" and
7" sizes from Yamamoto. They also make great
spinnerbait and buzzbait trailers. Articles: No
Pork Trailer by Larry Hemphill, Jig
No Pig and Trailer
Hitch.
|
Denny
Brauer has stated that he tends to rely on jig 'n pigs in cooler
water or when bass are keying on crawfish. In summer months when
bass are prone to be on a daytime diet of shad, Denny tends to
flip or pitch the Flip-N-Tube into cover. Also, anytime fish are
highly-pressured and need a more subtle presentation, Denny goes
to the tube. He'll usually peg the bullet sinker to the bait's
head, and he let's the heaviness of the cover dictate the size of
the weight. Shallow, sparse cover would get a 1/4 oz. weight. As
the cover gets heavier so does the pegged weight. As for colors,
Denny states that he uses the same color for tubes as he would
for jigs in the same situation. He has won a lot of tournaments
on the Black Neon color. In clear water, he tries to use natural
looking colors (pumpkin/green flake, watermelon, Chameleon craw).
The Flip-N-Tube body is hollow, but its tip is solid which makes
the bait better to Texas rig with a wide gap offset hook. Denny
has had much success using our Mustad Mega-Bite hook in his
tubes. Salt impregnated. Size: 4 1/2"
The
best size to use in open, clearer water with lighter line
applications. Good for smallies everywhere, and it will catch all
the average-sized spots or largemouth bass that you can reel in!
These
are the hard-to-find original zipper worms. Western pros have
been mopping up on zipper worms the last few years (several
million dollars have been won in tournaments so far). Because of
the instant success of these lures, many companies now offer
zipper style worms. All I can say is, "Do not accept
any imitations." The Original Zipper Worms are THAT
good compared to the others. The Western pros have been using
zippers as finesse baits by shaking, doodling, splitshotting,
dropshotting and other tactics for fish suspended in mid-water or
right over deep bottom. Zipper worms are also being used on Texas
rigs for flipping shallow cover. Article: 
You'll
probably have to take my word for it - try Charlie's Worms! They
are great bass baits, but they're not known very far beyond where
they're made in Clewiston, Florida. Roland Martin knows them
though, and as I understand it, he's spoken of them on his TV
show. One I really like on a jig head is the Twitchin' Shad.
It's a soft plastic baitfish with a thin "boot tail"
that paddles back and forth even at a slow retrieve. Size:
(6", 8", 10" Ribbontail Worms), (5 1/2"
Lizard), (4" Chug-O soft jerkbait).
Gambler
Worms are clear favorites in Florida and the Deep South where
tournaments are routinely won using them. Gambler also makes BANG
Fish Attractant and the popular 
This
lure perfectly matches the Bass Assassin jig heads! Five inches
long, the ideal shad size and shape. With a light jighead, just
reel in straight - the dynamics of the lure shape will create a
hesitant, gliding, lazy action. On heavier heads, jig with the
rod tip, thereby inducing a darting, faltering dance, with
frequent pauses. Expect to get hit when the lure pauses between
jig strokes. Size: 5"
