Mercury pro Jay Yelas loves fishing for bass when they are in the shallows. Like everyone who chases bass, Yelas has his preferred methods of extracting these piscine warriors from their cover.
One of Jay's go-to offerings to entice bass in the skinny water is the famous Yamamoto Senko worm. Sure, there are other lures designed for shallow-water presentations, but the Senko tops Yelas' list for an all-around offering.
Spring is Senko time.
"Spring is probably the season most associated with fishing a Senko," said Yelas. "When bass are not hitting a reaction bait, the Senko is tough to beat.
Jay Yelas (FLW Fishing)
"Even though most anglers think of it as a spring offering, the Senko is terrific all year. This is especially true in shallow or relatively shallow water.
"I think it is probably the best soft plastic ever made."
Yelas uses casting gear with a 7.1:1 gear ratio reel and either 17 or 20 pound fluorocarbon line. For the 4-inch Senko, he uses a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook. For the 5-inch, a 5/0 hook and with the 6-inch, a 6/0. Yelas varies the color choices, but generally sticks with variations of green pumpkin, watermelon, or black and blue.
Senkos shine in a variety of presentations, but Yelas does have his favorite.
"You can fish a Senko with a lot of different techniques," said Yelas. "You can fish it on a jig, Carolina rigged, whacky, Texas rig, lots of methods.
"For me, I think it is at its best fished weightless and Texas rigged. Cast it to all sorts of spots. The beauty of the bait of course is it is heavy enough to cast with stout tackle and it sinks. You don't need a weight to get it down. Plus, that shimmy, the tantalizing wobble, it really gets bass to hit.
"Also, it is probably the best lure to use when fishing recycled fish. By that I mean fish that have recently been caught. It is such a unique bait. It just plain works."
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