Thought I would share about a new rod I picked up recently, a Yamamtoto Mod VI. When I bought it I was hoping that it would be a heavy grub/worm rod that could double as a small trout plug rod. The rod is rated as Xtra Heavy but I would say that it is more like a Heavy rod, so I don't think it's going to be too worthwhile as a trout rod. However, right after I bought it I learned how to use the senko, and this rod is so killer for the 6 and 7 inch senkos. The other weekend at the Bass-n-Tubes delta tournament I had 5 senko bites and landed every one of them on the rod. It has a fast tip but a long handle and a longer butt section than most rods, which I really like for this application. I think it is also going to be a great 10 inch powerworm rod and possibly a carolina rig rod. The other application for which the rod was originally designed is a big grub rod. I haven't had much sucess (yet) with this technique but a tried it a little with the rod and it feels really good. Overall I would rate the rod an A-, just because it's not quite as all purpose as I would have hoped it was, but for the senko/grub/worm think it's very nice.

-Rob

Rob,
How soft is the tip? You said it's got a pretty quick taper (or at least heavy action). For the senkos I like a really soft tip so that it doesn't pull out of their mouths while they're sucking on it. Did you miss any senko fish at the delta on that rod because of that, or is the tip soft enough?
-Brian

I think the tip is soft enough. It's not at all like a flipping stick. It has a heavy butt section that has very little flex in the bottom 4 feet of the rod. The tip is fast, meaning it moves quickly and dampens quickly. It's kind of like a cross between a worm rod and a flipping rod. I think that is what Gary Yamamoto had in mind when he made it because he was using big 8" grubs in heavy trees but he didn't want a tip like a flipping stick but needed a really strong butt section to move the fish out once they were hooked.
But I would say that fishing 5 inch senkos on it doesn't feel quite right. The rod is just a littl heavy for that. 6 and 7 inch feel perfect on it.

How long is it? did you find out if it was made by Phenix? i.e. a boron/graphite blank?

It's a 7-6 one piece, no extension handle or anything. Yamamoto's site says it's on a loomis blank but it doesn't look like a loomis particularly. Could be they are having loomis make a special blank for them?

I think Phenix gets their blanks via Loomis...For some reason I believe Phenix was making those rods for Yamamoto. I'm heading to Phenix this week to pick up some baits for Shasta...I'll ask someone!

Matt

southernswimbait.com
BigBait Fishing in the South

I worked for Phenix rods back when I was in high school, and I can answer your qestion. Phenix buys all of their blanks from Loomis. In addition, when I worked there, every Yamamoto rod was built by Phenix. Yamamoto has an exclusive contract with Larry and Ty down at Phenix. Hope my input helped. Cya!

Thanks for the info. So my Phenix made loomis with a Yamamoto label on it is a pretty nice stick =)

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the input. I thought maybe you worked at Phenix before...maybe with Matt Burghardt and your brother too?

Hope things are well with you.

Matt

southernswimbait.com
BigBait Fishing in the South