ICAST Coverage Day 3 (Lures) - Who's the Mac Daddy of fishing lures? (continued)
 

Gary Yamamoto: We go from diamonds to plastics, but to many an angler Yamamoto lures are worth twice their weight in gold. For this year Yamamoto is releasing four new custom baits, one of which is their very first saltwater lure ever! These baits all have characteristic Yamamoto traits, yet all offer unique action quite unlike what you would normally expect to see from a classic Yamamoto bait. Let's start with the eagerly anticipated "Swimming Senko."

George Braswell and Derek Yamamoto introduce Zander to the new GYCB and Kinami baits

Swimming Senko: Yes the swimbait craze has affected Yamamoto too. What if a swimbait and a Senko got together? The spawn would certainly resemble the very exciting "Swimming Senko." This lure features the head of a senko, a flattened out midsection, and a miniature swimbait tail. These baits are 5 inches in length and unites two totally different types of baits into one very unique product.

The most exciting lure is the new hybrid "Swimming Senko"

The Swimming Senkos will be available in both solid colors and laminates, and be sold in bags of 10. They will retail for $6.99/bag for the solids and $7.48/bag for the laminates. I'm sure in the coming months many new techniques for fishing this type of bait will start emerging. The versatile design will certainly allow anglers to get real creative in their retrieves.

The Flappin' Hog has already been fished with great success on the Bassmaster tour by Jarrett Edwards

Flappin Hog: Anglers in Asia were lucky enough to see this bait first, but it has officially arrived stateside. The Flappin hog is a distinctive creature bait that is ideal for flipping and pitching, and makes use of many of the design characteristics found on Yamamoto's proven baits, but adds in some new elements as well. It is designed to easily punch through grass and wood, and can be rigged a number of different ways. The bait is 3.75 inches in length and will come in bags of 7 for a retail price of $4.48.

The Flappin' Hog's multiple appendages are close to the body making it easy to get the bait in and out of tight structure, making it a great flipping bait

Shade Shape Worm: Is it a worm or is it a shad? The answer is both. The new Shade Shape worm combines elements of a ribbed senko and a tiny shad-like bait. They can be fished with a drop shot rig, or rigged a variety of different ways and fished on the bottom. International fishing superstar Shinichi Fukae used the Shad Shape Worm to win first at the FLW Pro Tour Event and $200,000 on Beaver Lake, Arkansas in April, 2006.

The Shad Shape features a narrow body and ultra finesse tail

These finesse lures are 3.75 inches in length and will be available in sixteen different colors/patterns. They will be sold in packs of 10 for $4.29 a bag.   

The Shad Shape comes in a wide range of colors and patterns
 

Swimbait: If you fish the inshore than there is good news from the GYCB camp. Meet the first Yamamoto saltwater lure, their new swimbait body. These lures use a new blend of materials to challenge saltwater fish. "For twenty five years, Yamamoto lures have been legendary in freshwater. Our new 5-inch Swimbait opens saltwater markets to our valued distributors and dealers," stated Ken Sasaki, GYCB President.