Yamamoto Zako Review | Swimbait & ChatterBait Trailer

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Quick take: The Yamamoto Zako is a soft-plastic bait designed to work as a swimbait or moving-bait trailer. Its compact baitfish profile makes it a natural pairing with bladed jigs, swim jigs and similar presentations where a straight, controlled swimming action is useful.

For related techniques, see our swim-jig guide and bass jig guide.

About the Zako

The Zako was launched by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits in 2017 and was designed by professional angler Brett Hite. This bait mimics bluegill and shad with a more rounded belly and is typically fished as a swimbait trailer or by flipping. The small accordion-like tail closely resembles baitfish and improves hookset ratios by folding in on itself. While fishing with the lure before it was named, Brett often referred to it as, “my little fish” – “Zako” means “little fish” in Japanese and hence how the name was born.

The Gary Yamamoto crew gave out some new product samples during the 2017 Bassmaster Classic in Houston, Texas. Anglers and fans also had the opportunity to meet and take a selfie with the legend (Gary) himself.

Zako Rigging
The Zako is described as the perfect swimbait trailer for a vibrating jig (aka chatterbait). The second most popular way to rig the Zako (and one that is quickly gaining momentum) is simply Texas-rigging it for flipping.

Zako Size Selection

Only available in the 4 inch length.

Zenko Color Selection

The Zako is offered in 15 different color/glitter combinations: Black w/blue flake (021), Pumpkin Pepper (297), Chartreuse Shad (909), Electric Shad (973), Rainbow Shad (992), Cream White (036), Disco Green (375), Green Pumpkin/Lemon laminate (929), Green Pumpkin/White laminate (981), Sight Flash (993), Tennessee Shad (994), 021/297 laminate (991), Watermelon w/copper/Orange w/red laminate (956), Watermelon/Lemon laminate (906), and Fading Watermelon Pepper (194J)