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Fishing the Big Kahuna
Story and Photos by Steve Price
September/October 2003
It was one of those hot, humid, cloudy-bright East Texas days when fishing usually gets tough, which is exactly why Gary Yamamoto picked that particular time to show a visitor the virtues of the Kahuna Kut-Tail Worm. Of course a Senko would have worked - it always works - but this time the session was dedicated to the Big Kahuna. There wasn't a Senko in the boat.
Gary is justifiably proud of the Kahuna Kut-Tail, and he used the lure extensively throughout this spring's BASS and FLW tournament seasons. Like the Senko, the Kut-Tail's appearance is deceiving - it looks like an ordinary plastic worm with part of the tail clipped off - and therein lies the lure's appeal. It can be used either as a power bait or a finesse bait, depending on the conditions, but nowhere does it really act like an ordinary plastic worm.
"The Kut-Tail actually originated in 1983 or '84 during a tournament in Japan," remembers Gary. "Fishing conditions were very tough and the bass did not want a large lure, so I took a six-inch worm and cut it down to four inches. I cut part of the body away but also most of the curving, swimming tail, as well.
"At the time, there really were not many small plastic worms available. Charlie Brewer's Slider was just about all I remember. Everything in worm fishing then was geared to big lures, so whenever fishing was tough, everyone switched to jigs."
The shortened worm worked just fine, and Gary quickly realized he had a new lure to add to his arsenal. To his amazement, as he increased the Kut-Tail's size, the action did not change at all.
"The Kahuna Kut-Tail falls horizontally just like the Senko does when you rig it without any weight," Gary continues, "but it has a totally different appearance in the water than a Senko. It's a great soft plastic jerkbait, it performs well when you rig it wacky-style, and it looks completely natural when you glide it through thick vegetation. "That's how I used it this year at both Okeechobee and Toledo Bend."
Keeping in mind that the Kut-Tail is now produced in five different lengths, ranging from 3½ to 6½ inches in length, here are some of Gary's recommended ways to use this lure:
Drop-Shotting
"When I'm drop-shotting the Kut-Tail, I'll use either a 3½, 4, or possibly even a 5-inch model," says Gary. "The worm's slim body style gives it plenty of action, so it looks like it's just waving down there in the water.
"I really like drop-shotting around stumps and flooded timber, even with six or eight pound test line. Part of the key to drop-shotting is shaking your rod with a slack line so your sinker stays in one place on the bottom. This gives you better overall control, especially if you're fishing around vertical cover." Incidentally, if you want to cut the Kut-Tail even shorter, say down to about an inch and a half and put it on a drop-shot, it makes a fabulous lure for bream and other panfish.
Swimming
"I think this is one of the most successful ways to fish a Kut-Tail, especially the smaller versions," Gary continues. "I'll rig with either a 1/0 Sugoi or an offset EWG 2/0 hook (depending on which Kut-Tail he chooses) and fish weightless with light line and a spinning rod.
"You can swim the Kut-Tail straight back after you cast, but when I'm fishing weightless I want to take advantage of that horizontal fall so I do a lot of twitching and jerking, sort of like you fish a Senko. The worm darts and swims and falls without any pattern whatsoever."
Texas Rigging
"The Kut-Tail is really effective in thick vegetation, even when it's Texas rigged with a screw-in sinker," Gary points out. "That's because it doesn't have that long, swimming tail to drag through the weeds. Because of its action, I tend to swim the Kut-Tail more than shake it when I'm Texas rigged, even with the larger 6½-inch size."
Wacky Worming
"The entire concept of wacky worming is really fascinating because of how it allows the Kut-Tail to quiver. When you hook a 5-inch Kut-Tail right through the middle with our Series 53 Split-Shot Hook, both the head and tail vibrate as the lure falls.
"This is similar to how a Senko acts, but again, the Kut-Tail provides a different look. I'll use a wacky worm around shallow brush, but you can actually swim or twitch a wacky worm over vegetation that's growing just below the surface. This is a famous summer and early fall technique from Currituck Sound in North Carolina when it was covered with milfoil, but you'll need a different hook, one that has a weed guard and also a swivel to prevent line twist."
Carolina Rigging
"For an active bite, you can fish the larger Kut-Tails, but if it's tough, I recommend using the shorter worms and lighter line," Gary points out, "and again, remember the Kut-Tail's slow, erratic fall. Maximize the effectiveness by trying to create these types of falls as you retrieve. "Really, when you stop to think about it, a Kut-Tail can be used anywhere and anytime you'd fish a regular plastic worm. It just has a different action."
Light-Lining for Hawgs
During the past year, Gary has become a huge fan of light line drop-shotting, and he doesn't hesitate to use the technique around heavy cover where others stick with much heavier tackle. Even in the flooded timber of Toledo Bend where monsters are known to lurk, the Kut-Tail drop-shot may be his first choice.
"The small Kut-Tail looks and acts so natural when it's on a drop-shot," he explains, "and the technique is extremely versatile. You can fish shallow or deep, and even down at Okeechobee where the vegetation seems like it's thick enough to walk on, you can still use a drop-shot."
"All you have to do is rig with heavier line, like 25-pound test, so you can tie on a heavier sinker to get the rig through the grass. Once you pull a Kut-Tail through the greenery, bass just can't seem to resist it."
Of course, the heat and humidity of that particular day on the water in East Texas were quickly forgotten as the Kut-Tail was put through its paces. Gary caught plenty of bass and bream as he fished points and laydowns, stumps and weedlines.
The ultimate question, of course, is why to even use a Kut-Tail when you have the Senko, the most popular lure in the world, one that does everything? "The answer is that the Kut-Tail is not designed to replace the Senko, but to complement it," Gary concludes. "The Kut-Tail's shape provides a different profile, and the vibrations are also really quite different. Sometimes that's what the bass want."
PULL QUOTES
- The Kut-Tail falls horizontally just like the Senko when you rig it without weight, but it has a totally different appearance.
- The Kut-Tail was not designed to replace the Senko, but to complement it.
- The Kut-Tail is available in five sizes and will certainly catch its share of big bass. One of Gary's favorite techniques is drop-shotting the Kut-tail on eight pound test line, even around heavy cover.
- The Kut-Tail offers bass a different profile than the Senko and should be used to complement it rather than replace it. The Kut-Tail can be fished with or without weight.
- Developed 20 years ago during a tough fishing tournament in Japan, the Kut-Tail today has become popular among angler everywhere because of its unusual action. The Kut-Tail falls horizontally so it can be used as a soft jerkbait, but its lifelike appearance also makes it effective on Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and drop-shots.
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