Old style wake baits

[DitchPanda]

I've seen people saying they throw a redfin or long a but I've never used one. What conditions are right for this style of bait? Does anybody use the Berkley surge shad? Color recommendation? Also what rod, reel and line setup? I'm really intrigued by these and don't know anyone who has used them..where I live there isn't much focus on bass so I have very limited resource for learning face to face.

[Finessegenics]

The Cotton Cordell Redfin? That thing is a classic and works just as well as the original floaters. I like using the redfin or original floaters in the same places you'd use any treble hooked topwater baits. Works well just above submerged weeds, where you're barely just catching grass on your trebles. I think it's essential to be retrieving this over some type of cover. 

 

As for the conditions, I find this to be particularly tricky. It's always said that low-light conditions are best for topwaters but I use these wake baits as a search bait in shallow water regardless of conditions. It's not a go-to but I tie one on every once in a while.

 

For line, it ultimately depends on the size of the bait as well as the gauge of the trebles but I'd definitely go with mono or braid (and braid to mono leader of course). Fluoro will just sink the bait which could be alright, if you want them to run deeper. Imo you can just use a jerkbait on a straight retrieve if that's what you're trying to do. The surge shad seems to be a pretty heavy bait at 3/5 oz with #4 trebles so I'd go with 12-14lb mono as mainline or leader material.

 

Edit: Forgot to include rod choice. Don't think it matters, use whatever you're already comfortable with for moving baits of that size. Some people use a classic mh/f, others use mod action. I'd say use your dedicated lipless crank rod for the surge shad since you might be occasionally ripping it out of the tops of grass beds. 

 

[Mobasser]

If you mean shallow floating style baits then Rapala, Bomber Long A, or Smithwick Rogue are all classics. We used to throw them in spring, with a twitch, set, slow reel retrieve. Fish them slowly. I'm sure they're still popular on Missouri's Ozark lakes also.

Just now, Mobasser said:

If you mean shallow floating style baits then Rapala, Bomber Long A, or Smithwick Rogue are all classics. We used to throw them in spring, with a twitch, set, slow reel retrieve. Fish them slowly. I'm sure they're still popular on Missouri's Ozark lakes also.

A standard casting rod works well for the plastic baits. Maybe 6'6 med action. Some smaller thin balsa baits, may cast better with a spinning rod.

[Fishes in trees]

Oh, great, now I'm reminded of another old bait that I'd forgotten about.  For me the Cotton Cordell Redfin pre-dates the buzz bait.  To make it wake easier/properly, you had to sacrifice it, take your lighter and head the bill and bend it down to nearly 90 degrees, being VERY careful to not twist it one was or another.   At this point it was only good for waking and nothing else.  I used the jointed one and basically, threw it like a buzz bait, throw it out, keep it moving and making a wake, rod tip up & wait for the bite.  I first found this bait best for paralleling deeper pond banks.  Later as I got boat access and later my own boat, it worked even better waked over shallow grass, grass that hadn't topped out on the surface yet.

[RoLo]

 

The Redfin was commonly referred to as a 'twitchbait', not unlike the Original Rapala Floater.

Back in the 70s and 80s I used Redfins a lot for northern pike.

The plastic body held up to pike's teeth far better than a balsa wood Rapala Floater.

 

Roger

[scaleface]

I have a Ripplinn Redfin ,probably 25 years old . Another lure I havent used .

 

Bomber Long A's I have used under the surface with a slow steady retrieve and a high rod tip . I primarily used it post spawn , right before the bass headed deep . They tend to recover in  cover and shallow on points leading from spawning coves to  deep on points . 

 

Another bait I have waked, surprisingly , is an old Rebel popper . Its twice the size of a Pop R . I'd reel it in steady just under the surface . It would push a big wake in front of the lure and shimmy at the right retrieve speed . The biggest Kentucky bass I ever caught was while doing that in standing timber .

[rangerjockey]

We use the redfin a bunch here in the Ozarks. Trouble is you have to go through a half dozen to find one that wakes right. I gave up heating the bills years ago but the current recipe is a couple or three suspend dots in front of the joint and add a feathered treble on the back and hope.

Braid will make a so so Fin pretty good. Or, these days just buy a Surge Shad but there's still some magic in the old Redfin.