A Seasoned Angler Who Prefers a Bare-Bones Approach

There are many bass anglers who, for lack of a better way of putting it, "just gotta have all the latest and greatest," whether it's $80,000 bass boats, $500 reels, and/or a boatload of high-dollar lures. One exception to that rule is custom-home builder Tommy Ford (right). He marches to the beat of an entirely different drum.

Simply put, he likes to travel lightly...particularly when it comes to lures...to save time in making a selection. His favorite is the Yamamoto Senko in chartreuse, which he uses about 90 percent of the time. And you know what? He still manages to catch as many or more fish than most of his fishing partners.

Ford first came across this stickworm about 15 years ago. One thing that sold him on it is the fact you can fish it slowly (his preferred style), without a weight, as long as the wind isn't too bad. Only then do you need to rig the worm Texas-style, with a weight.

Speaking of fishing styles, do you happen to know how the Senko came about in the first place? It seems Gary Yamamoto, an FLW touring pro at the time the Slug-Go jerkbait came out in the mid-1980s, didn't like its hardness. It's when he started tweaking the Slug-Go to suit his own fishing style that the Senko evolved.

As is always the case with the soft-bodied Senkos, you have to count on using a bunch of them during a fishing trip. Ford went through 100 of them on one two-day outing and said he routinely goes through at least 500 Senkos a year.

"That's the only bad thing about Senkos," he said. "The fish tear up the soft plastic, and you usually only can catch one fish per worm."

Ford fishes mostly 5-inch Senkos and uses 5/0 Gamakatsu hooks, which are thinner than most worm hooks and does less damage to the worm.

Fishing mostly in shallow water (6 feet deep or shallower), Ford casts his chartreuse Senko close to cover, lets the lure sink ever so slowly, then twitches it in the same manner during the retrieve...good advice, the way I see it.