more pros have heard rumblings about the category , the more they ’ ve played around with it and discovered new applications .
One emerging trend that Paino has heard about from Deps customers is using the Cover Scat in the middle of the water column to catch suspended bass . Instead of allowing the bait to sink all the way to the bottom , anglers will let it fall to the level of the fish , then retrieve it with quick pops and twitches , imitating a fleeing baitfish .
Shryock is one of several pros who have taken the category shallow . Given its weight and compact size , the Yamatanuki has become his go-to skipping tool — he uses it “ anywhere you would skip a frog or a Senko .” Unlike a Senko , he can throw it on baitcasting gear and heavy line , and its faster rate of fall makes him more efficient , especially around steeper banks or docks over deep water .
“ You can catch them on this thing from 6 inches to 30 feet ,” Shryock said . “ That ’ s what ’ s kind of cool about this bait .”
Shapeless baits have four-season appeal , too . While Paino said the Cover Scat is most popular during the colderweather months , Fukae proved that it can catch fish when they school up in summer . And anytime bass are feeding around shallow cover — prespawn through fall in most locations — a wellpresented Yamatanuki should garner strikes .
Most poop baits come in similar , 3.5- inch profiles . But the Yamatanuki and Cover Scat are also available in other sizes , which offer additional diversity . The Cover Scat comes in 2.5- and 4-inch models , with a 3-incher set to hit the Japanese market this spring . The Yamatanuki comes in a 2.5-inch version that ’ s more slender than its big brother , making it a popular smallmouth offering . During his sixth-place finish at Cayuga Lake last season , Becker caught a few spawning smallmouth by affixing the 2.5-inch Yamatanuki to a Ned head .
tricks of the technique
To some anglers , the rise of these formless , do-nothing baits might feel insulting . How could bass ignore a skillfully twitched jerkbait or a jig with the skirt trimmed so that it flares just right and the perfect trailer pairing only to bite a blob of plastic ?
There is , however , some skill required to maximize the effectiveness of these baits . The primary key is patience .
Both Fukae and Paino stressed that , especially when working the baits in deeper water , it ’ s imperative to fish slowly . If you think you ’ re fishing slow enough , slow down some more . It ’ s common for Fukae to spend five minutes making a single cast with a Craw Nugget . Many Japanese anglers who have adopted the technique will take as long as 10 minutes .
“ I think Americans in general , we don ’ t fish as slow as that bait was designed to fish ,” Paino said . “ That ’ s the
“ Based on their continued success in Japan and the rapid expansion of the category in the U . S ., he believes these baits are here to stay .”
biggest thing . It ’ s a bait where you light up a cigarette and just wait . Like , you let it fall out , slack line , twitch , twitch , let it fall back to the bottom and let it sit there . It ’ s like three- to five-minute casts .”
Patience is pivotal because not only does the weightless lure have to sink to the bottom , so does the line . If the line is at too steep an angle , Fukae explained , the bait will dart straight up when twitched instead of walking side to side .
For that reason , Fukae said fluorocarbon is a must when fishing the Craw Nugget offshore . He recommends using heavy line , around 20-pound test . While heavy line sinks slower than lighter line , it also stays down better once it has reached the depths .
“ If you fish the shallow water , you don ’ t need to go 20- pound ,” Fukae said . “ But when you fish a little bit deeper , maybe 20 foot or deeper , then when you twitch the bait , it ’ s going to stay deep .”
Becker , Fukae and Shryock typically fish the baits on standard jig and worm rods — something in the 7-foot to 7-6 range , medium-heavy or heavy power . Given the amount of slack line necessary to make a proper presentation , a highspeed reel is key . Upon feeling a strike , Fukae turns the handle five to six times before setting the hook .
Rigging the bait is pretty straightforward . For shallow applications , Shryock has had success rigging the Yamatanuki on both an EWG hook and a weightless swimbait hook with a screw lock . He found the latter gave him a better hookset-to-land rate but reduced the bait ’ s durability . Fukae Texas rigs the Craw Nugget on either a 6 / 0 or 7 / 0 offset , round-bend worm hook . Becker uses a standard EWG hook for weedless presentations , although he prefers threading the Yamatanuki onto a straight-shank flipping hook if he ’ s fishing rocky bottom with few snags .
“ You thread that hook all the way up through the bait and it gives it a little bit different action ,” Becker said . “ You ’ ve got an exposed hook , so when one eats that , I mean , he ’ s getting hooked on it .”
They might not look or sound appetizing to anglers . But that ’ s all the more proof that the shapeless bait boom isn ’ t a fluke . Whether fished deep or shallow , on the bottom or in the middle of the water column , the lures simply get bit .
Paino doesn ’ t think this is a passing fad , either . Based on their continued success in Japan and the rapid expansion of the category in the U . S ., he believes these baits are here to stay .
“ This is a category that people have acknowledged that it works ,” he said . “ It ’ s going to stay around .
“ There are things like a swimbait , something that works and everyone makes it and copies it , fish get used to seeing that , and it does prevent it from working like it first came out . But worms , typically , like a Senko , everyone has a Senko , and they still catch a ton of fish . So in the long run , the effectiveness is still going to work .”
50 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2024