~ ~
New Product 9C
3" Senko
By Russ Bassdozer

June 11, 2002

After one year of research, development and positive feedback on the Japanese market, Gary Yamamoto has released the new 9C 3" Senko in the USA.

The new 9C Senko looks a lot like you cut three inches off the tail of a 5" Yamamoto Senko.

The 9C also looks a lot like the shape of a small shad, young-of-year panfish or small crawdad!

It's obvious to see the 9C's resemblance to a small stubby shad or chunky little bluegill. Less obvious is the premise that the 9C Senko is a crawdad imitation, says Internet bass fishing celebrity, Russ Bassdozer.

A crawdad imitation. I started to favor the 9C Senko over other craw lure styles, says Bassdozer, because the 9C imitates the tucked-in claw, leg and body posture of backward-scooting crayfish, which tuck in their claws and legs, and fold their tails underneath, therefore appearing cylindrical and stubby - just like a 9C - when crawdads scoot backwards.

As a real live craw scoots across the bottom in a small stream or shallow pool, the wide fantail folds in on itself, bends and tucks up under the mid-section. The legs and claws fold in on themselves too. It almost takes on the appearance of a compact crayfish "pellet" for lack of a better word. Now that's the posture craws assume when they scoot, with their claws and appendages all tucked in and streamlined for short bursts at top speed propulsion. This streamlined little "rocket capsule" is the same way a 9C Senko flits and darts across bottom behind a jig, Texas, Carolina or Mojo weight, says Bassdozer.

Now, the bass I catch have certainly seen this scooting "posture" a-plenty, and I feel the 9C simulates a tucked-in, scooting craw posture better than other craw lures, says Russ. Big exaggerated claws, a gaggle of spindly legs and widely-fanned craw tails just don't match Nature, says Bassdozer. Most bass probably see craws scooting away from them, fleeing faster than lightning, looking a lot like clawless, legless 9C Senkos when they do.

Another point is the compact size of the 9C Senko. Some craw lures on the market are big, floppy ones up to 6" sizes. But I know an awesome live crayfish expert who is convinced that bass prefer the shortest-bodied, smallest-clawed craws instead of big ones. In fact, he catches more and bigger bass on 2 to 3 inch long crayfish than he does on larger 'dads, says the 'Dozer.

What I am saying here is that the 9C Senko imitates a craw in shape, silhouette and size, says Bassdozer.

A tube bait alternative. "I've caught more fish on 9C Senko jigs versus small tube jigs last fall and again this spring," says Bassdozer. The 9C Senko is certainly a viable alternative to tube baits on jig heads. A 9C Senko jig has the same spiraling fall as a tube jig on the drop, plus the inimitable gliding, puppy dog waggling tail action of a Senko when you retrieve the jig.

So I feel the 9C Senko has the ability to do the same job as small tube jigs and small crawdad baits, says Bassdozer.

The inimitable Senko way of fishing it. Additionally, what makes the 9C so unique is the inimitable weightless Senko way of fishing, a method that cannot be met by these other lures. I fish the 9C Senko weightless with a #1 63-Series Gamakatsu EWG to imitate shad or panfish holding tight to brushy or weedy cover, says Bassdozer. The 63-Series hook is rigged tex-posed to deter snags. In relatively snag-free spots, I opt to rig the 9C Senko weightless wacky style with a #1 Gamakatsu Splitshot/Dropshot hook. Either way, I use Gary Yamamoto's dropshot spinning rod with 8 lb. test line. This rod has the oomph to drill the chunky 9C out long distances, even when weightless against a moderate breeze. I also keep a 9C wacky-rigged on a second rod with a 1/4 to 3/8 oz. dropshot sinker rig. With this second rod, I precisely dropshot the 9C on the shadowy edges of deep ledges and underwater rocks beyond the effective depth of the weightless 9C.

Related Story
Chris Lambert Uses 9C Senko to Win Washington Open
By Russ Bassdozer

September 18-20, 2003

Kennewick, Washington - After sitting on the Western sidelines last season, the Bassmaster Opens returned to the starting line-up of major-league bass fishing on the West Coast this past weekend with the Western season-opener on Sept. 18-20 on the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. The last time the Bassmaster trail pulled into Kennewick was two years ago in October, 2001.

This past weekend was the first of three Western Open events that will send the top-seeded Western anglers on to the inaugural Bassmaster Open Championship in December and ultimately to the world championship, the 2004 Bassmaster Classic next summer.

Team Yamamoto pros made a good showing on the Columbia River this weekend: John Murray 9th; Jarrett Edwards 17th; Ron Colby 25th; Gary Dobyns 28th; and Roy Hawk 39th.

But it was Washington angler Chris Lambert who tied into first place on Day One and never shook out of the leader position all three days.

Dropshotting the 3" Senko (9C) was key to helping Chris Lambert rack up the $46,850 top prize and impressive first place trophy - his first from BASS. "I'm going to put this trophy in our living room which is decorated real froufrou. I think it will fit in great," joked Lambert.

In speaking with Chris Lambert today, he told me, "My livewell was littered with crawdad pieces every day. I tried many different baits during prefish, but the 9C Senko was key. The spot I fished was a current break in 15 feet of water, a swift feeding lane, and I discovered that the 9C fit the perfect match for the crawfish profile that the bass were seeing swirling past them in the strong current."

"I tried a lot of different colors during practice. I found three colors of 9C Senko that worked well and it was necessary that I alternated between them - watermelon pepper (194J); smoke pepper (150); and smoke blue pearl (240) in order to win the tournament," said Chris.

"I dropshot the 9C. I tried wacky rigging it on the dropshot but the bass would not eat that as much as simply nose-hooking the 9C. I tried a 1/4 oz dropshot sinker, but the lighter weight of a 3/16 oz dropshot sinker moved quicker in the current, which these bass clearly preferred over the 1/4 oz sinker," said Chris Lambert.

The winning lesson that Chris Lambert shares with us today is that painstaking attention to all the little details - methodically discovering what bait profile, what colors, the necessity to alternate colors, what sinker size the bass did and did not want, which way they did or did not want it pinned on the hook - putting this all together helped Chris Lambert win one of the most coveted titles in our sport this past weekend - a Bassmaster win.

Congratulations on your accomplishment, Chris, from all of us here who are reading about you in Gary Yamamoto's WEEKLY NEWS.

~ ~