# Yum Dinger: the salted stick bait that sinks flat and quivers > Four sizes, a dense ribbed body and a moulded hook slot: how to use the Yum Dinger's horizontal fall on a wacky, neko, Texas or drop shot rig. - Source : https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/yum-dinger/ - Language : en-US - Updated : 2026-09-30 ## Spec sheet - Brand : Yum - Model : Dinger - Type : Salted soft stick bait - Target species : Bass, Perch - Size : 7.6 cm / 3 in, 10.2 cm / 4 in, 12.7 cm / 5 in and 15.2 cm / 6 in - Weight : not stated by the maker, dense heavily salted body - Running depth : the whole water column depending on the rig, from the bank to a deep drop shot - Retrieve speed : none to very slow, most of the work happens during the fall - Action : horizontal descent with a continuous quiver, waving and rolling at both ends - Rigging : wacky, neko, Texas weighted or not, drop shot; hook slot moulded into the body - Colors : olive and pearl white laminates in clear water, solid dark tones in stained water, bright dominants in heavily colored water There is a category of lure whose instructions fit in one sentence: cast it, wait, set the hook. The soft stick bait is the only lure where doing nothing is the main technique, which is also why it gets handed to beginners. The Yum Dinger belongs to that family, with a few design choices worth stopping on: a body ribbed along its whole length, a heavy salt load and a moulded hook slot. ## Why a horizontal fall changes everything Yum stresses one specific point in its description of the Dinger: the body is dense, and it sinks flat. That is not a footnote. A soft plastic that goes down nose-first or tail-first drops fast, in a straight line, and shows the fish nothing but a thin profile for a second or two. A bait that descends horizontally takes much longer to reach the bottom, stays visible all the way down and presents its full silhouette. During that descent the two tapered ends wave and roll slightly, producing a continuous quiver nobody is commanding. The angler does nothing at all. That is precisely the behavior bass associate with an exhausted or injured prey, and it is why the vast majority of Dinger bites come during the fall, on a semi-slack line, before any retrieve at all. The ribbing along the whole body plays a part too. It increases the surface in contact with the water, which slows the descent and amplifies the roll. It has a second, more practical effect: it holds a wacky band or an O-ring in place better than a perfectly smooth body. > The rule that makes the difference: never start reeling a stick bait before it has reached the bottom. Count, watch the line, and if it moves sideways or stops short of the expected count, set the hook. Eighty per cent of missed Dinger bites are bites on the fall that the angler never saw, because he had already started cranking. ## Four sizes, four different jobs Yum offers the Dinger in 3, 4, 5 and 6 in — 7.6, 10.2, 12.7 and 15.2 cm — with packs of twelve, ten, eight and six pieces respectively. The 10.2 cm is the reference size, the one that covers the most situations: bulky enough for a decent bass, discreet enough for clear water. If you were only allowed one, this is it. The 7.6 cm is a finesse size. Rigged wacky on a fine-wire hook or neko with a 0.8-1.2 g nail, it becomes lethal on educated fish and also interests perch along cluttered margins. The 12.7 cm is the classic Texas size for heavy cover: more volume, more visibility and a slightly faster fall for a given weight. The 15.2 cm is a selection bait, to be used when you know good fish are present and you accept fewer bites. ## The four rigs worth knowing ### Wacky rig Hook through the middle of the body, or better, through a rubber band set at the centre. The bait folds into a V at every input and the two halves flap independently as it falls. It is the most productive rig on fish sitting tight, in shallow water over clean bottom. Prefer a weed-guard wacky hook to limit snags in light vegetation. ### Neko rig Same idea, but with a nail weight pushed into one end. The bait then falls nose-first, stands almost vertically on the bottom and shivers on the spot at each small lift. A perfect rig for working one precise target — a stump, a rock, a bridge footing — without leaving the zone. ### Texas rig Wide-gap hook, point buried in the back. The hook slot moulded into the Dinger's body earns its keep here: it guides the point and leaves it exposed, which noticeably improves hook-up rates compared with a solid stick bait where the point has to drive through the full thickness of plastic. Unweighted for shallow cover, with a 3-10 g bullet to get down fast in heavy stuff. ### Drop shot Nose-hooked or rigged wacky above the weight, the Dinger hangs at the depth you choose. Its natural quiver is enough: no need to shake, simple tension on the line sets the ends moving. ### The mistake to avoid Adding weight to go faster. Every gram you add shortens the fall, and the fall is exactly when this lure fishes. If you really must get down quickly in three metres of current, another type of lure makes more sense; otherwise, keep the rig as light as you can. ## A detail that matters: the salt and the scent The Dinger is heavily salted and loaded with Yum's Live Prey scent. The two do different jobs. Salt makes the compound heavier, and it is what gives the body the density it needs for a horizontal fall — so it is as much a mechanical choice as a taste one. The scent works on hold time: a fish that keeps the bait one second longer gives you time to set. The trade-off is familiar to anyone who fishes salted stick baits: the material tears faster. A Dinger rigged wacky without a band often lasts only two or three fish. A rubber band costing a few cents multiplies that life expectancy by five. ## Colors by water clarity Yum advertises a very wide color selection without naming any of it in this description. So think in families: - **Clear water**: natural laminates, like the one in the photo — olive-gold back flecked with black over a pearl white belly. It is the combination closest to a small baitfish or an invertebrate seen side-on, and it works almost everywhere in Europe. - **Lightly stained water**: solid dark tones with flake, which give a clean silhouette without flashing. - **Heavily colored water or low light**: bright dominants, often with a contrasting tail colour. Here you want to be found, not to imitate. On a stick bait, color sits behind size and fall rate in the hierarchy of things that produce a bite. Start with a natural laminate and only change family if you have a good reason. ## Against the other stick baits The Dinger naturally compares to a [Yamamoto Senko 4](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/yamamoto-senko-4/) or a [Yamamoto Senko 5](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/yamamoto-senko-5/), the historic references in the category. The differences are real: the Dinger's full-length ribbing slows the descent a little more, and the moulded hook slot makes Texas rigging easier, where a Senko asks the point to drive through solid plastic. A [Googan Lunker Log](https://carnafish.com/en/leurres/googan-lunker-log-stickbaits/) occupies neighbouring ground with a slightly tougher compound. In a well-built box, two of those three references are plenty. Knowing whether a spot justifies a slow stick-bait approach or a faster search is exactly the reading [CarnaFish](https://carnafish.com/en/) settles in seconds: a photo of the swim, and the AI suggests a zone, a depth and a presentation suited to the day's conditions. For the rest of the groundwork, our [guide to getting started with bass fishing](https://carnafish.com/en/blog/peche-black-bass-debutant/) covers tackle and classic holding spots. ## Key takeaways - Dense, heavily salted body: the Dinger sinks flat while quivering, and that fall is when most of the bites happen. - Four sizes from 7.6 to 15.2 cm; 10.2 cm is the reference, 7.6 cm the finesse size that also interests perch. - The moulded hook slot genuinely improves Texas-rig hook-ups compared with a solid stick bait. - Salted compound, therefore fragile: a rubber band on a wacky rig multiplies the bait's life by five for a few cents. ## FAQ ### Does the Yum Dinger sink? Yes. Yum states that the dense body makes it sink horizontally, quivering and rolling continuously on the way down. That behavior is the whole point of the lure, and it is why it is most often fished unweighted or very lightly weighted. ### Which size should a beginner pick? The 10.2 cm, the four-inch. It covers the majority of situations and rigs equally well wacky or Texas. Add the 7.6 cm when the water turns very clear or the fish refuse the standard size. ### Do you need a rubber band for the wacky rig? Strongly advised. Without one, the hook tears through the salted body in two or three fish. With a band set at the middle of the bait, you comfortably pass ten catches on the same piece. ### How many pieces per pack? Twelve in 7.6 cm, ten in 10.2 cm, eight in 12.7 cm and six in 15.2 cm. The count drops logically with size; check the packaging before buying, as several presentations coexist across retailers. ### Can you catch perch on the Dinger? Yes, mainly in 7.6 cm on a light wacky or neko rig with a small nail. Perch respond well to a slow horizontal descent over a precise target, but set the hook quickly: they spit a bait faster than bass do. ### Why does my Dinger tear so fast? Because it is heavily salted, which weakens the compound — that is the price of the density that lets it sink flat. A wacky band, a fine-wire hook and Texas rigging using the moulded slot all cut the wear down noticeably. --- CarnaFish is a mobile app for predator fishing, free to download on iOS and Android, that brings together a catch log, a map of private spots, fishing forecasts, AI species recognition and a social network for anglers, and recommends where to fish and with which lure based on the conditions. To cite this content, mention “CarnaFish — carnafish.com” and link the source page.