ChrisD46

The forerunner to a modern , slow sinking "spy bait"

Great replies - more and better ideas than I expected ... My granddaughter said she wants to leave 1st grade and go to "fishing school" (lol !)

For youngsters new to bass fishing (using decent spin cast outfits and #6 lb. to #8 lb. co-poly line) who want to learn casting and retrieving from the bank or from docks - what lures do you recommend to tie on where bass will “practically hook themselves” ? Difficult rod / lure manipulation , hard hook sets and lures which may hang up a lot are not good for youngsters just starting out . Your thoughts , suggestions and experiences for the above ?

I like a 6’7” to 6’9” rod length for jerk bait and top water … The shorter rod allows me to work the lure in a specific area longer without moving it too far .

Yozuri Hybrid #12 lb. works great as an all - around line on a bait caster ; Yozuri #6 lb. on spinning is also very good or Yozuri #8 lb. as a leader with braid main line . Yozuri is a little larger diameter for its stated line size and going from #12 lb. to #15 lb. is a significant jump in line diameter (better for heavy cover and heavier lure set ups) . I don’t go over .010 inch line diameter as a spinning reel main line or else manageability issues occur - Yozuri #6 lb. is .010 inch thus a great mainline right at the line diameter limit for me on a spinning reel .

Is Power Pro #20 lb. braid really useable on a bait casting reel ? Due to thin diameter of #20 lb. braid - I would be concerned with line digging into the reel or other issues due to too thin of line diameter on a bait casting reel ?

Quick Gammy G-Finesse Hook Question : I've read where guys indicate the Gammy G-Finesse is about one size larger than most EWG hooks . So if your use another brand / model 4/0 EWG hook , you would want to drop down to a 3/0 size Gammy G-Finesse hook ... Is this correct ?

*Good to see this new addition centering pin from Owner ! ... Should be great as a replacement for Gammy , VMC , etc. wide gap hooks with their non - elaztec friendly rigging springs . However , for insurance I would still place a drop of Lock Tite Gel Super Glue at the tip before snugging it on.

Good points - jig head / hook weight , rate of retrieve and type of retrieve all become determining factors in a swim bait selection. I have a fair number of Keitech Fat Swing Impact swim baits in that 2.8" to 4.3" size range I'll have to reconsider .

Thanks ... The 6th Sense colors are amazing and the price and sizes are very good !

About time I edited my profile location (lol !) ... Interesting that the wide tail wag of the Keitech Swing Impact Fat works well for you in the Northern MI. ? Perhaps this "wide versus tight" tail wag in colder water is a bit over blown ?

I find all of my swim baits (SK Rage Swimmer , Keitech Fat Swing Impact , etc.) have too wide of a wobble for cold water conditions . The Keitech Easy Shiner is a better cold water , tighter wobble swim bait (3" to 4" range) however they are about good for one bass only or Bluegills easily rip the tails off ... * The above said , what are your favorite cold water , tight wobble 3" ~ 4" swim baits similar in size / action to the Easy Shiner - but that are built tougher and will last for more than one bass ?

I started adding a fluke , paddle tail swim bait or a Yum Swimmin or Thumpin Dinger soft plastics to a spinnerbait as a trailer . I now think it helps with getting bites and allowing a bass to suck in the spinnerbait better than fishing a spinnerbait with just a skirt.

For Strike King Elaztec soft plastics : Mega Strike , Pro Cure , BANG spray, Berkley Gulp ! Alive spray , Kick'n Bass and Bait Fuel all appear to play nice with the Elaztec material.

Another great video Glenn - Jason Christie is a spinnerbait master, so you will want to learn anything he has to share regarding spinnerbait fishing . *The top consideration is your water clarity : Jason indicates that the spinnerbait works best in stained to muddy water of less than 1 to 2 ft. visibility ... If your water is clearer - then best to reach for another bass lure to use , or in my opinion - target using a spinnerbait in low light conditions (i.e. sunrise / sunset , overcast conditions) in clearer water.

Great replies - a number of suggestions I have not heard of previously . Goes hand in hand with : “When to use an under spin with a paddle tail swim bait versus using a paddle tail swim bait alone without an under spin” .

No not at all , just considering something in a jig head style .

This ismore in the direction of what I'm looking for . Now this is a good looking EWG hook with a bit more gap to it - however the Redline series hooks are pretty pricey . As an experiment , I will try the close sibling VMC Ike EWG Heavy Duty Wide Gap hooks (*Application is for Super Flukes) : https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Heavy_Duty_Wide_Gap_Hook/descpage-MVCHWGH.html

I use the Gamma regular and Super Line EWG hooks - although great quality , they don’t have a lot of hook gap (as compared to some of the newer EWG hook designs) .

Excluding the Owner Flashy Swimmer here - what is your current favorite under spin jig head for bass (i.e. Fish Head , War Pig , Blade Runner brands , etc. ) . * Here are my pet peeves with under spins : 1) Poor swivel which does not allow the underspin blade to rotate properly at a slow retrieve speed . 2) The underspin design does not have enough separation / gap for the blade from the soft plastic trailer to prevent unhindered blade rotation during the retrieve . Having a good hook - along with a good trailer keeper are pluses … With the above said , what are your current favorite underspin which have a high quality design and work properly as intended ?

It occurred to me that a jerk bait (more so a soft jerk bait) is a visual bite - so if your water clarity is less than approx. 4 ft. you would be better off using a Fluke on an underspin .

*You may find this below split shot weight list useful for deciding split shot rig weights (from heaviest to lightest) : #2 Size : 1/4th oz. #4 Size : 1/8th oz. #5 Size : 1/10th oz. #7 Size : 1/17th oz. 3/0 Size : 1/25th oz. BB Size : 1/50th oz.

Looks good - more gap !

I love how easy it is to rig a soft plastic bait using a EWG hook (as compared to an offset round bend hook) . Conversely , the knock on the EWG hook are worse hook ups due to the hook tip being in line with the hook eye (as compared to the offset round bend hook) . *Does any EWG hook maker have a EWG design where the hook point is slightly higher than the hook eye (or feature some other design improvement) to allow for better hook ups with an EWG hook ?

Thanks for the replies - perhaps best to just stay with a decent 8 lb. ~ 10 lb. co-poly line for a cheaper spin cast rig set up .