Swimbaits

[GetFishorDieTryin]

On ‎9‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 9:37 PM, Luke Barnes said:

I don't know what the buzz about Keitech is all about. The regular swing impacts seem so small and skinny and the Fat are the regular size of other ribbed boot tails.

With that said I really like the Berkley Power Swimmers. Same body as a Keitech or Rage Swimmer but feels more solid and caught 8 largies without a tear. Tare? Tair? Anyways. Plus the Powerbait smell I think helps when they bite to hold on a bit longer. 

The Berkleys aren't bad but they don't move as well as Keitechs in really cold water.  If you want them to last longer buy a bottle of mend it.  Other then the tail being ripped off Mend It will fix just about anything.  You can triple the amount of fish per bait easy.

[Luke Barnes]

7 hours ago, Rusty_Shackleford said:

The Berkleys aren't bad but they don't move as well as Keitechs in really cold water.  If you want them to last longer buy a bottle of mend it.  Other then the tail being ripped off Mend It will fix just about anything.  You can triple the amount of fish per bait easy.

Ah yeah I could see that. The Berkley are tough but i bet would harden up. The keitechs seemed pretty squishy. But lately ive fallen in love Yamamoto Zakos so durability isnt the major factor if they catch fish. Exaxtly why I still use SK Rage Craws. I lose alot of claws but they catch fish. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

18 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

Ah yeah I could see that.

Didn't mean to offend you.  You posed a question so I gave you my opinion why they are so popular.  Other then action you can match just about any baitfish with the size and color options.

I really like the Zako.  They have that high salt content which makes them soft so they move well.  I like them on a chatterbait or swim jig, but not so much as a stand alone swimbait. 

I agree, if a bait produces fish but lacks durability, I don't mind paying a little more for it. 

[mheichelbech]

1 hour ago, Rusty_Shackleford said:

Didn't mean to offend you.  You posed a question so I gave you my opinion why they are so popular.  Other then action you can match just about any baitfish with the size and color options.

I really like the Zako.  They have that high salt content which makes them soft so they move well.  I like them on a chatterbait or swim jig, but not so much as a stand alone swimbait. 

I agree, if a bait produces fish but lacks durability, I don't mind paying a little more for it. 

Are you really Rusty Shackleford? ?

[Sphynx]

On 9/10/2020 at 9:38 PM, ajschn06 said:

See this complaint a lot about soft plastics.... if you caught a fish, does it really matter if the bait got tore up?  Sounds like I’m in the minority.... 

Depends on how many you go through, buying a pack of Keitech baits a couple times a year is one thing, when your burning through a pack+ per day several times a month, or even per week? They get cost prohibitive.

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

20 hours ago, Sphynx said:

Depends on how many you go through, buying a pack of Keitech baits a couple times a year is one thing, when your burning through a pack+ per day several times a month, or even per week? They get cost prohibitive.

 

Most of my favorite soft plastics aren't very durable.  Sometimes you can catch 3 or 4 fish on a Keitech, Air tail rattler or bubbling shaker, and sometimes 1 short bite can ruin the bait.  As long as the baits intact and not missing a tail I can paste it back together with mend it and catch a few more fish on it then repeat the process.  You can paste it back together 2 or 3 time (sometimes more) before there isn't enough plastic to keep it from sliding off the keeper.

If im fishing a small pond or junk fishing for a couple hours after work Ill try to get rid of some baits don't use often.

[Sphynx]

46 minutes ago, Rusty_Shackleford said:

Most of my favorite soft plastics aren't very durable.  Sometimes you can catch 3 or 4 fish on a Keitech, Air tail rattler or bubbling shaker, and sometimes 1 short bite can ruin the bait.  As long as the baits intact and not missing a tail I can paste it back together with mend it and catch a few more fish on it then repeat the process.  You can paste it back together 2 or 3 time (sometimes more) before there isn't enough plastic to keep it from sliding off the keeper.

If im fishing a small pond or junk fishing for a couple hours after work Ill try to get rid of some baits don't use often.

I have had days where there is no soft plastic at all left after just one strike, smallies are especially prone to this I find, they jump and thrash and off goes your fluke or trick worm and that's when it can be cost prohibitive, I find myself using a lot of elaztech baits because they seem to stick around a lot better, but traditional soft plastics can be irritating and expensive if you go through enough of them.

[Tatsu Dave]

I guess I look at this durability issue with plastics as you gotta pay to play. Everyone wants the really soft plastics and lots of salt content and the durability goes in the trash bin. Keitech's - ochos - senkos - XZone - a lot of crawfish imitators and paddletails catch fish but don't last. I just would rather catch fish then have heavier made harder plastic lures that last better but get less bites and hence fish. Action usually results with thinner weaker tails, flippers and flappers. I'm willing to put up with less durability for more action. Fish a senko and a dinger side by side...........action catches fish.     Dave

[ajschn06]

21 hours ago, Sphynx said:

Depends on how many you go through, buying a pack of Keitech baits a couple times a year is one thing, when your burning through a pack+ per day several times a month, or even per week? They get cost prohibitive.

 

That's fair- I only fish once or twice a week if I'm lucky and don't go through that many plastics...

[Luke Barnes]

On 9/13/2020 at 2:19 PM, Rusty_Shackleford said:

Didn't mean to offend you.  You posed a question so I gave you my opinion why they are so popular.  Other then action you can match just about any baitfish with the size and color options.

I really like the Zako.  They have that high salt content which makes them soft so they move well.  I like them on a chatterbait or swim jig, but not so much as a stand alone swimbait. 

I agree, if a bait produces fish but lacks durability, I don't mind paying a little more for it. 

None taken! I use the Zako on my Jackhammers and I have one on a SK belly weighted underspin weedless swimbait hook and it looks so realistic under the water its insane. It was the only thing that produced for me last outing. Plus the electric shad color is my favorite color in a swimbait of all time!

[GetFishorDieTryin]

20 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

None taken! I use the Zako on my Jackhammers and I have one on a SK belly weighted underspin weedless swimbait hook and it looks so realistic under the water its insane. It was the only thing that produced for me last outing. Plus the electric shad color is my favorite color in a swimbait of all time!

I really like the Zako as a trailer, especially on chatterbaits.  As soft as they are they hold up really well.  When it comes to chatterbaits I favor darker colors like black and GP even in the lakes that have shad. Sometimes I use electric shad for a little more contrast with darker skirts.  Im not really sure how it looks to the fish, but it seems to work.  Grande Bass came out with a bait designed for chatterbaits, but I haven't tried them yet.  It looks like there take on a Zako or Razor Shad, with a little more length to it.  Its called a jack knife or switch blade something like that.  I really like GBs' baits, I want to give them a try.

[txchaser]

On 9/10/2020 at 12:12 PM, BlakeMolone said:

I’ve thrown the 5.8 size a few times. I’m not expert but it seems like a great size for going after bigger fish but also still catching decent numbers of fish. The 6.8 and 7.8 are pretty huge.

Smallest fish I have on a 6.8 (bluegill flash) was about 1.5lbs. It is throwable on a heavy rod, but really works better on a swimbait rod. More often than not they smash it a little before they bite. 

With that said my biggest fish on a paddletail was on a 3.8. Probably because I throw that more than any other size. 

Tip - it is worth the time to upsize the CPS spring on the owner underspins. The ones they come with are tiny, and your paddletail will last way way longer.