"Introducing the Ika" may not be the proper title for this article since it has been on the market for about three years now.  However, it seems that when I am fishing with an Ika or anglers see them on my Ranger boat they almost always ask me what it is.  For this reason, I thought I would make you familiar with this fantastic bait. 
     The Ika is a soft plastic bait made by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits.  As you will notice in the photograph it looks very similar to a tube, however, there are differences.  The Ika is solid not hollow like a tube and it is football shaped.  Also, as with all Gary Yamamoto Baits, the Ika is loaded with salt and is a heavy bait.  Due to the weight of the bait it can be cast long and far like a crank bait. 
     The Ika comes in several models and sizes.  In this article I will discuss the 92F series the “Fat Boy” and the 92 series.  Russ Bassdozer of Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits says, “The Fat Boy’s football shaped body is a good mimic of a juvenile shad or bluegill kind of baitfish.  It cast like a bullet, sinks quickly and is loaded with salt using a patented process.”  Russ has also informed me that the Fat Boy weighs over 3/8 ounce by itself and almost ½ ounce with a 4/0 Gamakatsu Super Line hook in it.  The bait can also be fished with weight and comes in twenty colors. 
     I like to fish this bait texas rigged using a 3/0 or a 4/0 Yamamoto Sugoi Hook with a 1/8 ounce bullet weight pegged.  I fish it two ways when rigged like this.  I use this bait to pitch and flip on a 7’6” Allstar Titanium Rod with 20lb. Sugoi Fluorocarbon Line and a baitcasting reel.  The other way I use it is on a 7’ Allstar Titanium Rod with a spinning reel skipping the bait under docks and low lying trees.  If you like to skip baits this is the bait to skip.  You can remain a good distance from your target and skip this bait like a flat rock. 
     The 92 series can be rigged and fished many ways also and comes in eleven different colors.  My two favorite ways of fishing the Ika are rigging it on a 1/8 or ¼ ounce Shaky Head ball jig head for vertical jigging.  When used in this fashion I recommend that it be placed with 6 to 8lb. test line on a spinning reel with a good action rod like an Allstar Graphite Rod. 
     The other way I like to fish the 92 series Ika is as a trailer on my Davis Bait Co. Jigs.  I also like to take a ¼ ounce Shaky Head ball jig made by the Davis Bait Co. and attach a Yamamoto skirt and a 92 series Ika in the same colors.  This can be a deadly combination.  If you are looking for something that the fish do not see often or is different from what other anglers are using give these baits and rigging techniques a try.  I am sure you will not be disappointed. 
     If you would like to purchase Ikas check with your local tackle dealer that carry Yamamoto baits such as Greentop Sporting Goods in Virginia and most Dicks Sporting Goods stores nationwide.   In addition, check out Davis Bait Company products on the web at www.davisbait.com. The Davis Bait Company produces many fine products such as jigs, spinnerbaits, and shaky heads to name a few.  Davis products have been responsible for many pro and amateur tournament wins and have helped numerous anglers place in the money on the professional tournament trails.

"As published in the April 2003 edition of The Sportsman's Magazine"