I am new to bass fishing. Was a salt water guy, my whole life up until the last two years. I’ve always used yum dingers but recently decided to try Gary Yamamoto senkos, as I’ve heard, they are the goat of stick baits. Well, after fishing with them for the past week, I can say I find them no better than Yum dingers. They get torn up easily just from casting and retrieving around grass without even catching a fish. I’ll stick to Yum dingers for a third of the price.

I like the action of the Yamamoto better than the Dinger. But I haven't noticed a big difference in catch ratio, and Dingers are just WAY cheaper. And I can buy them in bulk. And the hook slot helps just that much more to avoid the weeds. I agree with you. 

I use the dingers more for the reasons you mentioned.

I catch way more on dingers overall because I use them way more.

I don’t often fish with GY senkos…

but when I do , I usually catch more than dingers for the same time allotted…

I use Senkos, because I think they’re a bit better and I want to use whatever gives me the best chance for a fish. The cost is literally the last thing on my mind. I do not consider myself wealthy and enjoy saving money as much as anyone, but the cost of a $6 pack of Senkos compared to the rest of the money I spend on fishing is so small, it’s essentially negligible. 
 

Compared to: boat, rods, reels, lures, etc… a bag of Senkos is not really a significant factor in my fishing budget. 
 

It’s a lot like hunters that complain about the cost of bullets they use to shoot their deer. Hunting is an expensive hobby, but it’s not because of the the $2 bullet you shoot at a deer.

I use the Senko for wacky rigging over Dingers for 2 reasons. The shimmy on the fall, and they weigh more/cast better. 

 

A newer stick bait I've been liking lately is the 6th Sense Clout. It has a shimmy similar to the Senko's. 

Yamamoto has more colors and also a faster sink rate, but i dont think the fish care what brand or that you payed a premium price for a bait. So the Yums work great (especially for the price) and if you want them to fall faster then put a nail weight in it. The Strike King Ocho is also a great option if you can get them on sale.

Senkos work best weightless for me but I seem to catch more fish in general when I have a senko tied on in lieu of other stick baits.

 

Love the big bite bait and Yum stick baits as well as the Berkley General and Strike King Ocho.

 

Caught fish on all of them and they all fish a little differently from one another.

 

Main thing is just use what works for you and don't sweat when people say that "x is the best" about any bait.

 

Just means it's better for them on their water.  If it's catching you fish, it's good!

Ok

Without Gary Yamamoto there wouldn’t be a stick bait.

Tom