Flashy tricks

What’s the difference between a Senko and Flash?

A fresh slice of apple pie is great, yet there always seems to be something that makes great even better. For instance, wouldn’t that pie be better with just a small scoop of vanilla ice cream?

The same could be said for the Yamamoto Senko or the Kinami Flash. Take one of these cigar-shaped hunks of plastic right from the package and cast it weightless on an off-set hook, and bass lick their chops. But tournament anglers, like apple pie connoisseurs, cannot leave well enough alone. Even though these soft, sinking baits work great out of the package, anglers have found ways to make them more appealing to a bass’s palate.

Tournament anglers all over the country have proven the effectiveness of the Flash and Senko. These baits were instrumental in two Wal-Mart FLW Tour victories last season on Wheeler Lake and Kentucky Lake. In 2004, the sinking baits have already been responsible for an FLW Tour co-angler win at Lake Okeechobee.

Derek Yamamoto of Mesa, Ariz., knows all about Flashes and Senkos. His father, Gary Yamamoto, invented the modest-looking Senko, and over the last few years, Derek has witnessed, firsthand, the evolution of its popularity.

Derek, who fishes as a pro in the Western Division of the EverStart Series and as a co-angler on the FLW Tour, has since started his own line of soft baits under the name Kinami.

For those who wonder exactly what the difference is between the Yamamoto Senko and the Kinami Flash, there is none. According to Derek, the only difference is the packaging and how they are marketed.

“With the exception of our Kinami swirl colors, the Flash is made by the same machines that make Senkos,” he said. “I market the Flash under the name Kinami in a different package. Dad deals more with tackle shops, and I work with the bigger chains like Wal-Mart.”

But what makes these baits so deadly on bass?

Anglers claim it is the Flash’s unique fall through the water column that bass find so irresistible. When fished weightless, the Flash stays horizontal in the water and sinks with a seductive wiggle. The less action an angler imparts to the bait, the better it works.

“The Flash can be fished a number of ways,” Derek said. “(It can be) Texas-rigged or Carolina-rigged, and some pros even use it on a heavy drop-shot rig. But the bait is best when it’s fished weightless.”

Weightless is exactly how the company’s president fishes it most of the time.

“I don’t do anything fancy to it,” he said. “I rig it weightless on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG off-set hook.”

For other tournament pros, however, that is not enough. They have to sweeten their Flash with a few tricks.

Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., is one who has become an expert at tweaking a Kinami Flash for better performance.

For starters, Lefebre always uses fluorocarbon line with a Flash.

“I usually use 15-pound-test fluorocarbon,” he said. “Fluorocarbon is denser, and it actually helps the action of a Flash by sinking with it and not hindering it with the buoyancy of mono.”

Lefebre is also very careful about where he places the hook in a 5-inch Flash.

“I know a lot of guys use a big 5/0 or 4/0 extra-wide-gap hook in the head of the bait, like when rigging a plastic worm,” he said. “I rig mine a little differently. I like a smaller hook, such as a 2/0 or 3/0 extra-wide-gap hook in the middle of the bait with the head threaded an inch or two up on the line. This helps the action by putting the center of gravity more in the middle of the Flash.”

On occasion, Lefebre will also lightly weight the Flash. Weighting the Flash can be done with tiny weights put in various places to keep the bait balanced, but he cautions anglers not to overdo it.

“If it’s windy, or if I’m trying to throw into pockets of vegetation, or if I just want it to fall a bit faster in deep water, I’ll usually peg or clamp a tiny 1/64-, 1/32- or 1/16-ounce weight about 2 or 3 inches up on the line,” he said. “But you don’t want to add too much weight or it will rob the bait of its action. Once you get to a 1/8-ounce or greater, it starts to affect the attitude of the bait, and it will fall more nose-forward instead of horizontal. At that point you are more or less fishing it like a Texas-rigged worm, which works great, too, but it’s not the same action as having it flutter through the water on a horizontal plane.”

Other pros lightly weight a Flash using small 1/64-, 1/32- or 1/16-ounce screw-in bullet weights like Gambler’s Florida Rigs.

Some anglers prefer to put weight on the hook shank with a clamp-on-style weight like Bullet Weights’ Rubber Grip Sinkers or a D.O.A. Pinch Weight. Another trick is to wrap Storm’s Suspend Strips or a Tungsten Sticky Weight onto the shank.

For those who want to weight a Flash without clamping or sticking weights anywhere, try inserting a nail weight like Lunker City’s Wacky Weights or Insert Weights into the head of the bait.

Adding color to the Flash is another popular way to jazz things up a bit. Dyeing the tail with a touch of chartreuse is popular among pros. When fishing the Flash wacky-style, Lefebre likes to dip both ends (head and tail) in chartreuse.

Another option that will give the Flash a little more flair is to use a red hook.

Tournament pros have proven that the Flash and Senko are great baits, but with a few tricks, great can be even better.