Yelas Springs Into Senko Diversity

By David A. Brown

It’s a given that, anywhere in the country, spring will find Jay Yelas with a Senko on his deck. Not surprising, but one does not build the career that this Bassmaster Elite pro and past Bassmaster Classic champ has cemented without a versatile repertoire — a truth exemplified through Yelas’ Spring Senko arsenal.

Noting that the original YamaSenko dominates his presentations, Yelas said he appreciates the various options that allow him to address a myriad of spring opportunities. Here’s a look at what he recommends for unlocking spring’s bounty.

GOING GREEN

Yelas most commonly uses the 5- and 6-inch Senkos for targeting shallow vegetation. From emergent grass, to subsurface hydrilla, to pads, he knows the bait’s subtle form and enticing motion will attract plenty of attention from fish feeding within the cover.

“A lot of times, I’ll fish it unweighted on a 5/0-6/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook; that’s the way I like to fish it, but if the cover is too heavy for the bait to sink down into it or there’s a little wind or current, I’ll add a 1/16- to 1/4-ounce bullet weight,” Yelas said. “It works that way too, but I think a Senko works best unweighted.”

Yelas fishes this rig on 15- to 20-pound Strike King Tour Grade fluorocarbon, depending on cover density. Flipping, pitching and occasionally swimming the bait in green pumpkin or black/blue colors gets the job done.

Spring Bounty: Offering testament to his Senko success, Yelas points to the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series’ Texas Fest event on Lake Fork. With warm early May conditions, he fished a 6-inch Senko unweighted on a 6/0 hook and sacked up a Day 3 limit of 24-9 that buoyed him to a top-20 finish.

“The water was dingy but the fish were up shallow spawning in sparse hydrilla,” Yelas recalls. I was just fan casting that 6-inch Senko and they were eating it.

“Senkos work all year long, but the best time to catch big ones on Senkos is around the spawn. The big ones don’t want a loud, fast moving bait, so that Senko really works well.”

DROPPING DOWN

Contrasting his cover-oriented work, Yelas shifts gears when he’s fishing a deep, clear reservoir and switches to a wacky rig. Setting a 3/0 weedless hook through a 5-inch Senko’s egg sack, he’ll fish the bait on a 6-10 medium spinning outfit with 20-pound braid tied to 8-pound fluorocarbon.

“This works great in the prespawn and you’ll catch a ton of fish on a wacky rigged Senko,” Yelas said. “I might also fish a Senko on a dropshot or a Carolina rig, but if you’re wacky rigging and you want to get it a little deeper, it works really well on a shaky head.

SWIM TEAM

Mention the Yamamoto Swimming Senko and most folks envision a cast-and-wind kinda deal. Well, Yelas certainly finds that productive when searching for prespawn fish, but he also likes to flip and pitch this slender 5-inch paddle tail bait. He’ll rig it on a 4/0 hook, cap it with a 1/4-ounce weight and send it into shallow cover.

“Over the years, I’ve had really good luck pitching that bait around shallow grass, lily pads, wood, brush piles and laydowns,” Yelas said. “I think sometimes they like that little wagging tail action. If the water’s warmer, that action is something they really like, especially in the prespawn.

“I’ll also fish the Swimming Senko on the back of a chatterbait or a spinnerbait — it makes a great trailer. Pitching it or using it as a trailer, I’ll use green pumpkin or black/blue.”

SHAKIN’ & DROPPIN’

Reaching further into his bait bag, Yelas often rigs a 6.75-inch Pro Senko on a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce shaky head and sends it into duty on the same spinning tackle he uses for his wacky rigs. Docks, rocky points, bridges — this rig tempts fish coming and going in the pre and postspawn areas.

For a more “finessey” spring presentation, Yelas likes the 4-inch Slim Senko on a dropshot. This small profile, he said, is like candy for smallmouth, but spots and largemouth won’t turn up their noses.

“The Pro Senko and the Slim Senko are designed for deep, clear water applications, more so than dirty or stained waters,” Yelas said. “A 6-inch original Senko works great in Tennessee River lakes and stained water applications for the spring, but I usually leave the Pro Senko and the Slim Senko in the tackle box for waters like Lake Fork, where you’re fishing for big largemouths.”

One thing Yelas points out is that if he wants to show spotted bass a beefier shaky head profile, he’ll cut an inch off the head of a 5-inch original Senko and rig that on a shaky head. The result is a shorter, bulkier look.

“Sometimes, the fish like that and other times, the Pro Senko is the shape that they prefer,” Yelas said. “I like more when the water’s warmer, but when it’s cold like the prespawn, I tend to go to the original Senko with a little bit of the head cut off. It seems a short, compact bait tends to catch them pretty good.”

ENDURING APPEAL

Yelas said he’s confident with a Senko’s out-of-the-bag effectiveness, but the occasional enhancement can make a tactical difference. When he’s targeting spotted bass, he finds that dipping the tails of green pumpkin or watermelon Senkos in chartreuse dye really triggers these little hellions.

Altered or fished as-is, Yelas considers Senkos of all forms and sizes integral to his angling efficiency. While other popular baits can wear out their welcome, he finds that Senkos possess an enduring appeal that keeps the rods bent.

“It’s such a natural looking bait the fish keep biting it year after year,” Yelas said of the Senko’s timeless appeal. “That hasn’t slowed down and, today, it feels like the Senko is more effective than ever.

“In a lot of our lakes, the fish get so much intelligent fishing pressure that once you get them on a diving crankbait, or a spinner bait or a buzzbait you’re probably not going to catch that fish again for the rest of its life. There’s a lot of tournament release fish that may not bite an unnatural looking bait, but they’ll bite a Senko. It’s always going to be a player.”