Hey all,
I've been recently fishing the Mann's Hardnose Snake a bunch, and can say I've had pretty good success. I don't have a working baitcaster right now, and my Orra spinning reel got spooled, so I had to fish an old rod I found. I mean, this thing is the wimpiest little rod ever. But for some reason, it's spooled with 15-pound line, so I dunno, I guess. So, here's some tips I can give you:
Rigging: Use a 4/0 (smaller bass), 5/0 (medium bass), or even a 6/0 (huge bass) Owner Twistlock EWG Hook with these. Make sure it's not weighted, they're supposed to float. Make this thing as weedless as you can get it, because running it through the stringy stuff can mean you'll get it gunked up.
Rod, Reel, Line: I have been fishing this thing on a whippy little spinning combo, which I really, REALLY hate. Bass like to blow up on these, so a thicker rod's not a bad idea. Heavy line isn't bad either (we're talking frog line here), because you're fishing near cover. For a reel, make sure it has a smooth drag and that you can stop it mid-cast if you need to. Also, be sure that you can reel immediately after you click the drag back on. That's pretty crucial, because you've gotta reel as soon as it hits the water or it'll start to sink
Follows: There are two reactions to this bait: the shy follow, and the big, bold blowup. The latter is self-explanatory. They come up and nail the bait, and almost always get hooked. But the first one is kinda like they follow the bait up right below the surface, so you can see their little v-wake, and then they may nip that long tail. Then, they'll come back for more. Then maybe more. Just do it until they get hooked, they're pretty much bound to
Where to fish: I've been fishing it with two techniques - one in smaller ponds with a super natural feel, and one in a bigger pond in two scenarios. In the smaller pond, I'll cast it onto the other side of the pond (on land) and slither it into the water, like I sometimes do with frogs. In open water with bigger ponds, simply reeling it at various speeds will work fine. In heavy cover, shake it, reel it, try to walk it, do anything you can with it. Heck, sink it if you want to. They'll still work, it just won't be as fun.
Overall Review: I really, really like these. They're a new mainstay in my tackle bag. They're the hardnose series, so they're super tough. Get the combo pack from TW and you won't be disappointed. The only con is that each single bait costs 2 dollars, but they last a lot of fish (I've caught probably 30 fish on one bait and it's barely started to tear).
