When To Throw Wake Baits? (Red Fin)

[Megastink]

Just trying to learn a new technique. What are the ideal conditions/time of year? What about your gear loadout?

Im particularly interested in learning about the Cotton Cordell Red Fin or Ripplin Red Fin.

[MO_LMB]

Spawn/postspawn, Overcast, slight ripple on the water. 

 

Don't get too excited when you see a wake gunning for your lure. 

[Bluebasser86]

Yep, don't swing on them when they blow up, just crank until the rod starts to load then lean into them, like a crankbait hookset. 

[Sam]

You can also throw wake baits over submerged grass or around shallow wood in the water coming off the bank.

 

Anywhere where there is shallow water works fine for wake baits.

[rangerjockey]

Once they start to go on beds I always have one ready. The trouble with the redfin is that it's not a very high quality bait and getting one to run right can be a chore.. some never do and end up in the trash can..

 I like blue or black back and chrome or smoky joe the best.. Change the hooks and put a feathered treble on the back. Then put 3 or 4 suspend dots on the belly right in front of where its jointed  and hope for the best. If it dives it's no good. you can try more weight or move on to the next one... I also take the split ring off and use a snap...as a last resort you can try to bend the bill by heating it but I've thrown more away than I've fixed trying it..

 I throw it on a old allstar TWS and 16lb mono.. .. . If you get one thats runs right at the right time here on Table Rock they are magic...

[ww2farmer]

I like them in several situations

 

#1 Late fall when the docks have been removed from our lakes, but the grass is still thick. I like to crank one over top of the "bare spots" in the grass where the docks used to be.

 

#2 Post spawn, fry guarding fish can not stand them swam through the ball of fry.

 

#3 When the are just boiling on top water but not committing.

[primetime]

I use the Red fin over submegerged grass and it is one of the most popular lures here in FLorida in Summer as the v wake looks just like a shiner. I never thought of it as cheap, Lurenet, Pradco sells them 6.99 and the 4" is good, but I use the 7" alot, I like to slow wake it, or fish like a jerkbait and I never have to really tune a floater, no matter what lures you buy, 6/10 will never be great lures and that is fact of any brand. I always assumed people just knew that as tackle retail magazine interviews lure designers all the time and they get frustrated after prototypes get mass produced and then turn out different. I have purchased lures like Pointers which are obviously great lures that never would act right, and same with crankbaits. I think Bass Magazine and David Fritz did an article how to inspect a lure at the store to pick the best ones from line pull point, and how to guage all the important aspects. It is like 12 things to look for and since I started doing this I rarely get total dogs anymore.

 

There is a great You tube video on how to load a redfin with water so it will not roll in wind and also work better in cold water when you want a bait that looks sluggish. You can also cast them into the wind that way,, they won't roll, and I like to dye the water I put inside to see if it is leeking. Just heat up a nail and then super glue the hole and sand it....The Rippliin Red fin is considered a walleye lure and when I have gone on guide trips it is the only plug they have on the boat,  but it is great for bass since they never see it..

 

Floaters work year round, I adjust rate of rise with suspend dots, silicone paste or spray which is what fly fisherman use or just go to home depot and get some in a tube for 3$. I put in on my line to keep them over grass that is 6" under the surface. When big fish hit a red fin, it sounds like someone just threw a boulder in the  water....I fished with a guy who used the medium sized red fin in a tournament all day and he would fish it like a jerkbait and he actually did really well, he had a gold red color as the ones you see on ebay and that sell for $3-4 are not a red fin, they are the knock offs that came out a few years ago and were all over the place. Lurenet has 8 colors, and for ripplin Red fin over 40, cottom cordell lures are in the millions of winnings over the years and lures like the Red Fin, Super spot, Crazy shad, and Gay blade are awesome...Pradco does free shipping with $35 spent, they have all the patterns from all best USA companies, many of which are colors I never knew existed until a few years ago, soon the new Bandits will be out which I am stoked for.

 

Good luck, I will trust a Red fin as a topwater, wake bait, 2-4' diving crankbait, over grass in spring, summer, fall and winter and I love to fish it on shorelines and move it super slow for first few feet, and it has a nice hollow and light head so it pops a bit and that is how it wakes like no other bait to date. tons of articles online how to fish the classics.

[primetime]

Apparently they are killer at Table rock in the late Fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugoriRiMEqs

 

I love watching topwater strikes.

[timsford]

I like using wake baits early in the morning at sunup, on cloudy days, and at night. On baits like the red fin and long a with lips molded into the body, you can heat the bill with a lighter or candle and bend it downwards slightly so you can retrieve faster while still keeping the bait on top. Its easy to overdo it and kill the action though so you may want to practice it on some beat up baits first

[smalljaw67]

The minnow type like the Red-fin and the Bomber Long-A have been used as a wake bait for late fall, I actually used a rogue with some success reeling it slow just under the surface. I was told the first cold snap when the water temp went from the high 60s down to the upper 50s, that was prime time for the wake baits because that was when you would get a lot of stunned minnows swimming lazily near the surface. When the crankbait types of wake baits came out it, they seemed to work during the post spawn period and if you are getting fish boiling on your topwater but not committing, that is the perfect time to be using wake baits. My favorite is discontinued but you can still find them, the Manns Waker Elite, and I haven't got to try it much but the Storm Arashi Wake has a similar type action and I'll be using it next spring.

[rangerjockey]

I would agree that 6 out of 10 redfins wont wake right out of the package but I don't believe that 6 out of 10 is right across the board.  6 out 10 vision 110'S aren't bad or pointers .I've had 1 bad  6xd that would take on water ,Sent it back to SK and they sent me 3..Cant beat that.

[j bab]

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2014 at 0:41 PM, primetime said:

I use the Red fin over submegerged grass and it is one of the most popular lures here in FLorida in Summer as the v wake looks just like a shiner. I never thought of it as cheap, Lurenet, Pradco sells them 6.99 and the 4" is good, but I use the 7" alot,

You use the 7" red fin for bass? Do you change out the hooks/rings?

[stkbassn]

Wakes in early morning, evening, night..and on rainy or overcast days for sure. If the redfin is an issue get the storm jointed thunderstick, better bait in my opinion and I've caught a lot of bass ,stripers, and cats on it. Slowly cranked along so you can hear the ticking of the bait...explosion..pause, reel and pull....have the net ready.