Gary Yamamoto’s Ezine Newsletter 7-19-2010

July 19, 2010 ~ Vol. 11 No. 18Yamamoto’s Ezine is the best way for our customers, friends, anglers, tackle shops, retailers, distributors, the press and the media to stay ahead of the power curve on Yamamoto’s new products, hot new colors, top pro tips and exclusive, industry-leading research on innovative fishing tactics.

Gary Yamamoto Returns to U.S. Open Competition on Lake Mead in Las Vegas Today

Story by Jamie Cyphers

Gary Yamamoto may arguably be the most famous angler in the world. Many anglers on the planet are familiar with his name and the incredible product line that Gary has produced for the past three decades. He was instrumental in starting organized bass fishing in Japan. He will always be warmly remembered in Europe as one of the first USA pros to ever fish in competitions there, and Gary has made a lasting impression wherever he’s pioneered fishing in other countries also.

At 67 years of age, Gary has basically done it all in the sport of fishing. He’s a very accomplished multi species angler, a legendary lure inventor, promoter, and even cattle rancher. Many might not realize, that the quiet Texas-based pro is originally from the west coast and even got his start in lure manufacturing on the shores of Lake Powell, a massive reservoir that is one of majestic jewels crowning the 1,450 mile long Colorado River. Driven by a need to produce better lures for his own tournament success, Gary started GYCB in the early eighties with a small product line of grubs. That original line of baits would soon transcend the world’s oceans and become one of the most innovative and popular brands worldwide. The Yamamoto Hula Grub with its realistic colors and salt impregnation basically became a mainstay in every pros box from the USA to Japan. Later the Senko would literally become industry defining, bringing an entire new style of rigging and presentation into play. Over the years the Yamamoto name and product line has continued to grow around the world. One thing that has fueled that growth is the competitive spirit that drives Yamamoto to constantly look for perfection.

Gary Yamamoto is still looking for that perfection, and this year marks Yamamoto’s return to the prestigious U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada on Lake Mead, which is the next massive reservoir downstream on the Colorado River from GYCB’s headquarters in Page, Arizona.
Get online coverage of the U.S. Open at: www.wonbass.com.

Gary may not go as far as Rick Clunn in stating that the US Open is quite frankly the biggest and toughest event on the planet, but make no mistake, Yamamoto believes it may have been one of the most important events in the evolution of organized bass fishing. “The US Open was the first event to really put big cash on the table. It drew every big name in the country at that time because of the size of the purse and the tough conditions,” states Yamamoto.

For Gary the U.S. Open is nothing new. He’s had top finishes in the event over the years and in 1995 was crowned US Open champion. That event only furthered the Yamamoto name and increased the international awareness of just how deadly his products are. Following that accomplishment, Gary decided like many western anglers to compete back east on the Bassmaster and FLW tours. Gary found major success on both tours and even internationally in Japan and Europe.

But even with 118 degree day time temperatures the allure of winning a second U.S. Open title was just too much for Yamamoto to miss out on.

Being a Legend Boats pro staffer, Gary says that, “I towed my Legend Alpha 211 across the country to be at this event. My wife thinks I am half way crazy to be out here in this heat, but it is really like coming home for me.”
“I didn’t come out here to lose,” said Gary Yamamoto on left. His son Derek replied, “He’s kicked my butt so many times here, it’s my turn.”

One would almost question the sanity of any angler in this event, three grueling days in the Nevada heat. The stinginess of Lake Mead itself and the ever-present threat of rough water can test the mental toughness of any angler. Aside from the heat, the fishing is in general can be just plain tough in July. The waves can batter equipment apart as wind seems to turn a placid 70 mile long reservoir into a wave-pounding ocean in minutes. Nonetheless, the U.S. Open has been held on Lake Mead for 30 years and many of the best anglers in the west as well as the nation have made the pilgrimage here in search of the prestige of winning the U.S. Open title. Names like Clunn, Klein, Tauber, Folkestead, Velvick, Murray, Martens and Dobyns have all held the title. And the list of anglers that have come back year after year and never won it is also absolutely impressive. Only a handful of anglers have ever won the event multiple times with Clunn probably being most famous for it. Gary Yamamoto would like to add his name to that list. “At 67, I still know I can do real well here,” says Gary. “If I didn’t think I could win this event I wouldn’t be here”. At the same time the competition is fierce, and you can guarantee every angler on the water today will have Gary’s creations in their box. None of that seems to bother Yamamoto. He is focused on winning a second US Open title cut and dry.

“I still have some secrets” he jokes, insinuating maybe a new product in his box but promising to talk about it after the event is over.

When Gary won the U.S. Open in 1995, he used a one-ounce 44G-series Yamamoto football jig with a custom-made Gamakatsu hook of his own design and 18-series single tail or 16-series double tail grubs as trailers behind 11-series skirts on heavy Yamamoto’s Sugoi fluorocarbon line. Gary mixed and matched smoke and white colors of skirts and tails such as #031 (blue pearl w/silver) and #135 (smoke w/silver) to mimic a shad coloration. A powerfishing technique perfected by Gary called “tight line sliding the one ton jig” entails casting precisely far enough ahead of the boat on steep, sloping shorelines so that the heavy jig will swing and slide down the slope due to gravity as you maintain a tight line, smashing into everything it encounters on the way down and back to you. As it bangs obstructions, you use the heavy rod power to simply “shock” the “one-ton” out of and over anything it gets hemmed up in by using a powerful upstroke of the rod, similar to setting the hook, which often generates a reaction bite as the “one-ton” then sinks on the downstroke. When cast the proper distance ahead of the boat, depending on forward speed of the trolling motor and depth being fished, if all that is properly calibrated, then the jig will tightline slide until it’s back on bottom under the rod tip exactly as the angler using the trolling motor pulls even with it. If the jig had gotten snagged as will inevitably happen, as the boat powers directly above it, the jig can be quickly shaken free, reeled up and cast again - a devastating, efficient way to mow down the many miles of steep shorelines for which Mead is famous.

About the Author
Jamie Cyphers is Western Sales Manager for Legend Boats, editor of Bass West magazine, and a veteran Team Yamamoto member. “For anglers like myself who have placed high in the U.S. Open event, and even come close to winning it, I truly understand just what an amazing event it is. This morning will start my 10th US Open and it is the best show on earth! Las Vegas is an incredible setting to showcase the best anglers in the world, but as Paul Elias quipped years ago, “The fish here might be just too stupid for many of us to catch!” Either way, the field is set, with 240 pros and co-anglers ready to take on the gentle giant known as Mead. Having legendary anglers Like Gary Yamamoto come home to do battle again only makes it more memorable.”
Thank you for Reading Yamamoto’s Ezine

Editor:
Russ “Bassdozer” Comeau
Advertising Director, Promotions, Press/Media Contact for Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits
rcomeau@baits.com

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