![](https://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/3449_osp_yamato_hard_bait-scaled.jpg)
What is it?
O.S.P’s spook-style walking bait, the Yamato.
What does it do?
The Yamato is three baits in one, thanks to the pair of line ties. It’s a popper, walking bait and subsurface bait in one. The difference here is that the Yamato excels at all three. It’s not a halfway compromise of any.
How do I use it?
When you tie to the upper eye (O.S.P calls it the diving eye), the Yamato’s “ears” scoop up water and send the bait diving just below the surface. (This is deadly right now in the postspawn, especially around bream beds.) When you tie it to the lower eyelet, the bait can produce either a classic walk-the-dog action or a spitting, chugging commotion like a popper, depending on how you manipulate it.
What sets it apart?
The keel on the chin of the bait makes it walk easier than just about and spook-style topwater there is. With gentle twitches, the bait is relatively subtle. Work it more aggressively and the mouth catches water, making it more of a pencil popper. The Yamato weighs an ounce, which lets you fling it way out to schooling fish. The finish is of the highest quality, and the detail is also what you’d expect from a high-end Japanese tackle manufacturer: flawless.
How much?
$22