Red Eye Shad

[Hattrick7]

Hey fellas, so I'm bank fishing my community lake and it's around 8pm. Throwing a red eye shad. I let it sink to the bottom, raise it high in the water column then let it fall on a slack line. I go to pick up and it feels like I'm snagged but also that feeling of a bass. So I set and normally you can feel the bass on the other end moving right? Ok I'm snagged. I'm able to get my bait back. I cast it out again with the same technique and as soon as I go to pick it back up again I feel that snagged feeling again and not wanting to lose the bait there was no hook set. And there was no movement on the other end. 

 

Well I try to work it free when there's this gnarly splash and the bass breaks me off. Now I've never caught a huge bass and I know there's some monsters in this lake. I've seen pictures of 8lb+ caught outta here. 

 

So I'm going over it in my head and just trying to understand this. Have any of you guys used this technique and caught a giant? Do they just sit there once they take the bait? I mean if the bass is hooked wouldn't it be running for the surface or at least something to shake the hooks loose? With a slack line it's basically impossible to feel the bit. 

[PersicoTrotaVA]

Big bass, big mouth.  He probably didn't feel the hooks at first.  If a fish is big enough, he will eat something and hang out,  He doesn't feel the need to eat and run because of competition.  

 

I was dragging a jig outta cover once and all of a sudden it went BAM and I knew there was a fish on it but I was so struck by the force that it just stunned me.  The line didn't move until I came to my senses and started to reel up slack and thats when he started to cruise.  I set back as hard as I could, he still spit the jig like it didn't have a 5/0 hook on it.  

 

BTW, hooksets are free

[Hattrick7]

Big bass, big mouth.  He probably didn't feel the hooks at first.  If a fish is big enough, he will eat something and hang out,  He doesn't feel the need to eat and run because of competition.  

 

I was dragging a jig outta cover once and all of a sudden it went BAM and I knew there was a fish on it but I was so struck by the force that it just stunned me.  The line didn't move until I came to my senses and started to reel up slack and thats when he started to cruise.  I set back as hard as I could, he still spit the jig like it didn't have a 5/0 hook on it.  

 

BTW, hooksets are free

It was weird. The first time I set and my drag went off so it was either a snag or a giant. So after the set there was no movement on the other end. But yeah you're right I should have set the second time regardless. I think it was definitely over 6. Now I'm just hoping that sucker can shake the bait loose somehow.

[papajoe222]

I use a similar technique in the fall, but my upward swing is more like setting a hook and sometimes that's exactly what I end up doing.  I rearely feel the fish take it on the drop and the only way I even know one is there is either when the line moves off to the side, or I go to jerk it up again.  There have been occasions when I thought I was snagged only to have the rod start dancing after a few seconds. A RedEye has more action on the fall than most lipless cranks and I believe it works best when it's falling. 6in. or 6ft. that wiggle it gives off when falling is it's uniqueness.

[Hattrick7]

I use a similar technique in the fall, but my upward swing is more like setting a hook and sometimes that's exactly what I end up doing.  I rearely feel the fish take it on the drop and the only way I even know one is there is either when the line moves off to the side, or I go to jerk it up again.  There have been occasions when I thought I was snagged only to have the rod start dancing after a few seconds. A RedEye has more action on the fall than most lipless cranks and I believe it works best when it's falling. 6in. or 6ft. that wiggle it gives off when falling is it's uniqueness.

I'm a believer in it now for sure. What was weird was that there was no fight on the other end.

[Hattrick7]

I use a similar technique in the fall, but my upward swing is more like setting a hook and sometimes that's exactly what I end up doing.  I rearely feel the fish take it on the drop and the only way I even know one is there is either when the line moves off to the side, or I go to jerk it up again.  There have been occasions when I thought I was snagged only to have the rod start dancing after a few seconds. A RedEye has more action on the fall than most lipless cranks and I believe it works best when it's falling. 6in. or 6ft. that wiggle it gives off when falling is it's uniqueness.

I'm a believer in it now for sure. What was weird was that there was no fight on the other end.

[Catch and Grease]

I use a similar technique in the fall, but my upward swing is more like setting a hook and sometimes that's exactly what I end up doing.  I rearely feel the fish take it on the drop and the only way I even know one is there is either when the line moves off to the side, or I go to jerk it up again.  There have been occasions when I thought I was snagged only to have the rod start dancing after a few seconds. A RedEye has more action on the fall than most lipless cranks and I believe it works best when it's falling. 6in. or 6ft. that wiggle it gives off when falling is it's uniqueness.

 

*2, I love giving it a sharp upward jerk and letting it fall! I need to buy some more red eye shads.. I'm all out

[Choporoz]

I was absolutely convinced that my wife's PB was a snag.  She felt a tug, set the hook and then nothing for what seemed like 15 seconds.  Probably less, but wow.   She didn't give any slack, but didn't want to drive the hook into a log, either.  I guess the bass finally decided she wasn't going to throw the hook while just laying on the bottom and she took off.  Startled both of us.  Three, maybe five minutes later, my wife was lipping a 6.3 hawg.  Even after years of fishing, I need to be reminded not to give up on any cast (or snag, even.)

[Catch and Grease]

When Im using crankbaits I set the hook on anything that stops the vibrations of the cranks.

 

But I also fish from a boat so retrieving lures is easier

[primetime]

I find the Quality of Hooks on the Red Eye Shads are good compared to many of the other brands, but I like to make the front hook larger and the Rear hook smaller anyway, and sometimes just change the Front hook to one size up in a Wide Treble, since I lose more fish on lipless cranks than any other lure as they almost always will strike after the Up stroke and they will get to the surface and Jump before you know it.

 

I love using this technique and was paired with a guy in a tourney years ago who took me to school using the Yo-Yo Technique instead of simply reeling and stopping etc...

 

The Red Eye shad is my favorite lipless since I have not found any other version that has the same shimmy on the drop, although the Rapala Rippin Rap was designed for this method and is another good choice and the shape is a bit different, as are the colors so I like to use both.

 

Most Bass Grab it on the fall and the larger the Fish the less you will feel it many times since they simply flare their gills and suck it in from a good distance at times and simply swim away slowly or stay behind the cover and not move. I rarely feel the strikes, kind of like feathering a Grub or Tube in the same way off the bottom, but watch your line after ripping it up as it will Jump even if you have slack and that lets you know to come back hard on the follow up....

 

Once Hooked, do all you can to get them off the bottom as fast as possible with rod tip low to try and keep them down. I lost my largest Bass which would have been my first 10lb plus fish using this method by accident. I Took my first cast with a Firetiger Red Eye Shad, cast it a  mile, and had a professional over run that needed work. As I am pulling loops from my baitcaster I here a Huge Splash and a voice say "A huge bass just jumped clear out the water with a huge bright Orange crank stuck in his cheek. I managed to engage the fish and fight it for a good 10 seconds but it was too late as it came up again and shook the lure free while shaking it's head and I would guess it had that lure in it's mouth for a good 30 seconds before we even knew it so alway's assume you have a fish on every upstroke as mentioned above.

 

If Ripping is not working, one other techinique I use that actually kills em some days is to simply fish a trap like hopping a Tube off the bottom. You may get snagged alot in the wrong places, but I have had days where they would not hit a lipless crank using traditional methods, but slowly hopping on the bottom would produce really well.

 

The In Fisherman wrote a great article on this about a year ago and listed all the lipless cranks on the market and explained which lures were best based on "cycling" and the pitch of the rattles.....IE (A Rapala Clackin Rap is a one Knocker that sinks like a rock, but a Live Target Shiner or Craw, Yo-zuri VIbe are also good lures for this.

 

The Rage Shellcracker is also good in ponds and lakes where this works and I place a bead in between the 1/2 ounce bullet weight as they EAT it when it hits bottom, and due to all the scent and salt they infuse, they don't let go until you get a good set and can play em all the way to the bank....I have learned to love the Shellcracker and it took about a month to truly learn how to fish it but it is a killer many guys never use....got off topic but hope that helps.

[papajoe222]

You'll likely hear different from others, but I switch out the front treble with a Mustad 36246R Ultra Point ™Triple Grip 2X Short-Shank Hook.  I was using a similar style from Eagle Claw prior to discovering these. I like the short shank and the way the hook point bends backtoward the shank.  The combination makes it a little more difficult for the fish to throw the bait and if it means only boating one more fish an outing, it gets the nod from me.

[Jigfishn10]

It actually happened to me when I caught my PB a week and a half after ice out. Similar situation, different bait. I had made up a spinnerbait and I tied a rabbit (zonker) strip on for a trailer and I wanted to see the action of the rabbit strip in the water.

 

I threw into an area where I knew there were some last year's weeds. I was reeling in and trying a new retrieve technique I read about over the winter. Snag. I'm thinking that there is no way those weeds are that thick. As with most spinnerbaits, you generally can reel right through the weeds, which I did. On the next cast, same thing only this time I figured I'd rip it out of the weeds to see how thick those weeds were. The bait wouldn't budge, what seemed like 30 seconds later, I felt the tail of the fish trying to swim off.

 

So now I'm thinking that the weeds are to thick to pull the fish through, so I decided to ease up on the drag to let the fish swim out of the weeds and then I'll put the spurs to her. As soon as the fish felt like she was out of the weeds, the game was on.

 

As it turned out, the fish was 8.5 lbs, and there were no weeds. I thought I was good enough to know the difference between snagging weeds, timber etc and large fish, but what I learned that day was: when in doubt, set the hook, it just could be a trophy fish!

 

BTW, that homemade spinnerbait never saw water again.

[Arv]

Big bass that I have caught will either SLAM my lure, or just inhale it and hang out. Thinking back it's usually more of the latter.

[Hattrick7]

Picked some more red eye shads and gonna give it another go. If I lose it I lose but the alternative would be better. Last time I tied a uni knot with 5 wraps on 12# mono. Going with the ole palomar this time around.