The Fat Ika (Yamamoto) is a bait that falls quickly and has thicker walls than most tubes. The thing is you could throw it like a weightless “tube,” it might “suspend” or fall slower than a tube with a weight in it. The Ika is a type of solid tube. It has a tube profile but is solid like a Senko throughout.
One of the neatest things about the Fat Ika is its ability to be skipped across the water. The Ika is a prime candidate for this technique, as its weight enables it to be freely skipped under trees, rocks, stumps and basically any shoreline cover. Side arming the bait into cover with a deadly accurate cast is all it takes most often to get that reaction strike we all love so much! The Fat Ika very closely resembles the natural look of the crayfish in our waters. The weightless Fat Ika is something they have a difficult time saying no to. It knows no difference of fall, summer or spring as this bait works consistently in all of the above. The color used is directly related to water clarity. In water extremely clear, dark subtle baits are the norm. When the water is higher and cloudier switch to brighter baits as the dark colors seem to get lost in the cloud of dirt.
Rigging
The bait is often used with no weight, Texas rigged on a 3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu Wide Gap hook. In faster current or higher water you can add a slider weight of appropriate size above the lure.
Can also be rigged backwards.