March 31, 2014
By Ned Kehde
Brent Frazee of Parkville, Missouri, says that Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits' three-inch Ika is a soft-plastic bait that ought to catch the fancy of some Midwest finesse anglers and the largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass that these angler pursue.
It is sometimes called a Crappie Ika or a Panfish Ika.
Its torso is one and half inches long, and it is shaped like Yamamoto's acclaimed Senko. Six tentacles radiate from one of the ends of its torso.
Midwest finesse anglers can rig it three ways on a 1/32-ounce Gopher Tackle Mushroom Head Jig.
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One method is to employ it as a solid-body tube with the tentacles as the tail, and the other end of its torso is attached to the head of the Gopher jig.
The second way is to affix it to the jig so that the tentacles spread out from the jig's collar.
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The third tactic is to rig it wacky style.
Anglers can retrieve the three-inch Ika with all six of the standard Midwest finesse retrieves, as well as the jig-and-bobber presentation that Midwest crappie anglers occasionally employ.
It is available in 14 colors: Black/Blue Flakes; Luminous White; Chartreuse/Green and Chartreuse Flakes; Lemon (Fluorescent) Yellow; Watermelon/Black Flakes; Clear/Red, Blue, and Silver Flakes; Smoke/Black, Blue, and Hologram Flakes; Avocado/Red Flakes; Daiquiri/Black and Hologram Flakes; Blue Pearl/Black and Hologram Flakes; Smoke Pearl Blue; Green Pumpkin/Green and Purple Flakes; Orange/Red Flakes; and Emerald/Red Flakes.
They are impregnated with salt.
A package of 15 can be purchased for $3.39.
Footnote:
Frazee is a Midwest finesse angler and a regular contributor to the Finesse News Network, and throughout a calendar year, he catches a lot of largemouth bass by wielding soft-plastic baits that crappie anglers normally employ. One of his favorite is the three-inch vintage Swimmin' Minnow that the late Gene Larew of Cape Fair, Missouri, used to make. Nowadays several tackle companies make a Swimmin' Minnow. But the three-incher is difficult to find. Frazee purchases them at various tackle shops around Table Rock Lake, Missouri, such as Lilley's Landing at Branson, Missouri. Years ago Phil Lilley purchased a massive quantity of Larew's three-inch Swimmin' Minnow, and his shop still has a significant supply of them. Anglers can contact Phil Lilley at 866-545-5397 or www.lilleyslanding.com.
