A Finesse Approach to Catching More Freshwater Bass During Challenging Conditions
By Derrek Stewart, 11/1/26
Born during bass tournaments in Southern California’s
high-angling-pressure reservoir lakes, Flylined Ultralight Stick Baits are a go-to
technique for catching bass in difficult conditions. The ultra-clear water in
these lakes adds another challenge when fishing during a tough bite.
Add Bluebird Skies to the mix, and it’s even harder to get a
strike.
Daiwa Pro Team Angler Tony Lain rises to the challenge with flylined Ultralight Stick Baits. The Yamamoto Thin Senko, also
called a Thinny, was long a closely guarded secret behind countless winning
tournament weigh-bags and regional Angler of the Year honors. “The Thinny has
probably accounted for more tournament money at Lake Perris and Diamond Valley
Lake (DVL) than any other bait,” explains Lain.
A ‘Stick Bait,’ as it applies to freshwater bass fishing, is
a cylindrical soft plastic fishing lure. The Yamamoto Senko is the most
well-known example. Senkos are thicker in diameter than their ultralight counterpart, Thin
Senkos.
Equipment
Rigged and Ready
– The Components: Daiwa 7’ – 3” Zillion 731MFS rod, Daiwa Steez 3000 reel,
10-lb. high-visibility braid, 5- to 6-lb. fluorocarbon leader, a Gamakatsu 2/0
ReBarb medium wire hook, and a Yamamoto Pro Senko.
“One of the most important aspects of the setup is that the reel must have a super smooth drag. You’re going to hook big bass with 5- and
6-pound test fluorocarbon leaders.” Hooking these fish on a balanced light-line
system with an excellent reel drag is critical to prevent breakoffs during the
fight.
Equally important, the spinning rod must have a fast tip for
long casts, sensitivity to feel the bite, and taper down to a stout backbone
to fight large, tournament-winning bass. “The larger spool on a 3000-model
spinning reel casts farther, and I like the drag system better than a typical
2500- or 2000-series reel.” Lain will
fill the reel’s spool with 10-pound high-visibility braid.
Lain is sporting
a stout Diamond Valley Lake largemouth.
“I’ve caught some of my biggest bass, 9- and 10-pound fish
at DVL on a 6-pound test leader with a Thinny.” Known for exceptionally large
bass, DVL bass often use submerged trees to hunt and ambush prey. Fishing an
ultralight spinning setup in these heavy cover situations gives bass a tremendous
advantage.
“But you have to get a bite before you can catch a fish.” Achieving
a bite in DVL’s clear water often demands a light-line finesse approach. Fight
them out of the tree, and you’re well on the way to winning, which makes your
rod and reel selection critical to success.
Matching the hook to the thinner soft-plastic diameter is
another key part of the system. For the Thin Senko and the Pro Senko, Lain uses
a Gamakatsu ReBarb 2/0 medium wire worm hook. For the slightly larger-diameter Daiwa
Yamamoto Neko, Lain switches to a Trokar 2/0 Finesse Worm hook.
Lain’s hook
choices: Left – a Gamakatsu ReBarb 2/0 medium wire for Yamamoto Thin and Pro
Senko applications. Right – the Trokar 2/0 Finesse Worm hook for Neko Straight
applications. Both hooks feature an effective worm keeper barb.
Rigging
Daiwa J-Braid X4 Fluorescent Yellow High-visibility braid,
Lain’s choice, has tremendous advantages during the presentation. Lain presents
the Thinny and other Ultralight Stick Bait selections weightless; descending vertically
through the water column, the lure falls extremely slowly. After a long cast, the only clue a bass has taken the offering is often a subtle jump/tick in the
line.
The high-vis braid lets an angler locate the line immediately and spot subtle, understated line movement that could otherwise go undetected. During a long cast, or fishing deep water,
especially if an angler isn’t using an Active Target sonar system to see on a
monitor when a bass moves directly to a bait, line ‘jumping’ may be the only
strike indicator.
You want to locate the line quickly and watch where it
enters the water throughout the presentation. If the line twitches, pops, or oddly
slackens, reel set. The gear, and most importantly the fluorocarbon leader, is ultralight;
a reel set is the best way to set the hook and prevent a break-off.
Ultralight Stick Bait Options
From top to
bottom, Yamamoto Thin Senko, Yamamoto Pro Senko, Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Straight,
and the Jackall Flick Shake all have a slow sink rate when rigged weightless.
Several thin-diameter soft plastic stick baits work.
However, over time, Lain has preferred the Yamamoto Pro Senko in most
situations. “A Pro Senko is basically a Thinny with a fatter head; this helps
keep the hook in place and adds a little more weight to the cast,” Lain adds,
and this matters when making the long casts with light gear that bass demand in
clear water.
The Yamamoto
Pro Senko with a Gamakatsu 2/0 medium wire ReBarb hook, weedless Texas-rigged,
weightless on a 5 or 6-pound fluorocarbon leader. The leader is slightly shorter than a rod length, keeping the connection knot to the braid mainline out of the rod's guides.
Adapting to Different Lakes
When Lain finds himself fishing the same difficult
conditions at different tournament venues, such as Colorado River lakes,
the California Delta, or Clear Lake in Northern California, and their tulle-rich
environments, he’ll adjust his rigging system.
Lain will target shade lines on tulle reeds in these distinctly
different bodies of water. However, he’ll step up to an 8-pound fluorocarbon
leader. Lain will also switch to a Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Straight worm, rigged
with a stouter Trokar 2/0 Finesse Worm hook. “Bass will often take your bait
and swim directly into the tulles.” These line, hook, and worm adjustments keep
the system balanced and give an angler better odds of pulling bass out of the
tulles.
Lain rigs both hook choices weedless Texas-style. The hook selection matches
the stick bait’s bulk/diameter and acts as a keel as the bait falls with a distinct, bass-inticing shimmy. Changing one rigging
component typically requires adjusting other elements in the system so the
change doesn’t overpower the rig.
Suspended Bass
Tough conditions and wary suspended bass are commonplace,
especially in Southern California’s highly pressured deep canyon reservoirs.
Most anglers would agree that suspended bass can be extremely difficult to
catch. The Thinny technique targets suspended bass.
Reel-Set-Pinned:
Another bass tricked by the Thinny Technique.
Bass will suspend in trees; during pre-spawn and post-spawn
periods, they’ll suspend under a variety of floating objects; buoys, docks, even
floating bathrooms merit attention. If you’re creative with where you land your
casts, you can develop some very stealthy approaches to where your lure lands
and how it enters the water. “Don’t overlook broken anchor lines attached to
the bottom and floating vertically through the water column; bass love
suspending next to a vertical rope.”
The Thinny Technique
Rig a weightless, Texas-style thin soft
plastic stick bait and make long casts to targets, letting the presentation
fall vertically through the water column. Once the Thinny reaches the bottom,
pause if you wish; if there are no bites, reel in and cast again. As the
Thinny descends and shimmies slowly through the water column, it mimics a slow-falling easy meal for a suspended bass.
Anytime there is tough bite, which far too often is the case
at any favored bass lake across the country, Lain will throw a Thinny Rig. The time of year can affect
what the bass are doing, so staying in tune with these constantly changing scenarios is a
must. From deep to shallow, with varied structure and cover, a Flylined
Ultralight Stick Bait is a proven technique that can improve your bass game.
Tony Lain fishing
famed Diamond Valley Lake, Hemet, California. DVL is a popular largemouth bass
fishery and home to a population of giant largemouth bass. A 30-pound-plus, 5-bass limit is commonplace at DVL.
If you have any questions about Flylined Ultralight Stick
Baits, Tony Lain invites you to reach out to him on his Social Media Platforms.
