Soft Swimbaits- Hollow body vs. Keitech

[ajschn06]

So I've been toying with the idea of adding some of the hollow body swimbaits to my arsenal- I had pretty good success with the Keitechs in various sizes this year, and the hollow body's look a lot better.  I wouldn't get too crazy, probably looking around 4.5-5" max, but are equivalent sizes in the hollow body substantially heavier than the paddle tail or are they actually lighter because they are hollow?  I just want to make sure I have the right equipment to use them before I order- I used a 4.3 keitech on a 1/4 oz head successfully but would be looking at something similar for the hollow body.  Asking because I started to get into swimbaits a little bit last winter and some of the soft ones ran up into the 1-1.5 oz range without any hooks or weight.

[soflabasser]

Hollow body swimbaits are good but I prefer solid soft plastic swimbaits such as Keitechs. Have you tried fishing a larger size Keitech or similar lure? You might get less bites but the average size might be bigger. 

[Bluebasser86]

I prefer solid baits in the smaller sizes and hollow body baits once it gets more towards the 6+ inch range and I need the bait to collapse out of the way to get a better hookset. It's hard to rig a small hollow body bait on a jighead unless it has a solid head also.

[ajschn06]

3 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Hollow body swimbaits are good but I prefer solid soft plastic swimbaits such as Keitechs. Have you tried fishing a larger size Keitech or similar lure? You might get less bites but the average size might be bigger. 

I’ve used up to 4.3 and was looking at the true Bass 4.5” swimbait.  I’m not sure I’d want to go any bigger than that- any bites on them will probably end up having teeth.

 

Don’t really have a reason to go away from the keitechs, just really like fishing with that type of bait so wanted to fiddle around with some different options.

[PhishLI]

 https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Beast_Coast_Miyagi_Swimmer_3pk/descpage-EMS.html

 

https://www.beastcoastfishing.com/store/p110/4.75''_MIYAGI_Swimmer_-_Beast_Coast_Shad.html 

Take a chance on these. Rig them on a 6/0 Owner 1/4oz Beast hook. They clock in at shade under 1oz rigged with that way.  I bagged my biggest Smallmouth, my biggest Walleye, and LM bass from 2 lbs to 8lbs. It gets a lot of attention. It's also remarkably weed less. Creep it on the bottom or swim it wherever you like. I throw it year 'round. Deadly

[Catt]

Smash-Tech Custom Baits Hollow Body ?

 

FYI they have a solid head ?

[roadwarrior]

https://www.carolinasportsman.com/fishing/fishing-tournaments/davy-hite-wins-eighth-bassmaster-title-on-pickwick-lake/

[ajschn06]

9 hours ago, PhishLI said:

 https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Beast_Coast_Miyagi_Swimmer_3pk/descpage-EMS.html

 

https://www.beastcoastfishing.com/store/p110/4.75''_MIYAGI_Swimmer_-_Beast_Coast_Shad.html 

Take a chance on these. Rig them on a 6/0 Owner 1/4oz Beast hook. They clock in at shade under 1oz rigged with that way.  I bagged my biggest Smallmouth, my biggest Walleye, and LM bass from 2 lbs to 8lbs. It gets a lot of attention. It's also remarkably weed less. Creep it on the bottom or swim it wherever you like. I throw it year 'round. Deadly

Are these hollow body.  I'm most curious about weight differences- any idea how much of a difference there is unrigged in the weight between one of these, a keitech, or a typical hollow body of that length?

[ajschn06]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

Smash-Tech Custom Baits Hollow Body ?

 

FYI they have a solid head ?

 

2 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

https://www.carolinasportsman.com/fishing/fishing-tournaments/davy-hite-wins-eighth-bassmaster-title-on-pickwick-lake/

 

Interesting- I was trying to find some sort of combo that I can rig a 1/4 oz jighead inside the hollow body.  I think @roadwarrior had previously mentioned the J-Will swimbait head as a possible option for that.  I'm just wanting to make sure going from a 4.3" keitech to a 4.5" hollow body isn't going to be a big change in weight.  I'm throwing the keitech on a MH rated for 1/4-1 oz and the 4.3 with the 1/4 head feels like a pretty big heavy lure on there.  I've never got my hands on a hollow body but I feel like it might be a heavier plastic used for some reason...

[Catt]

I throw Lil Holley on a Owner Beast Hook with a Centering-Pin Spring it's designed for weedless-style rigging of swimbaits.

[TBAG]

On 12/16/2020 at 12:30 AM, PhishLI said:

 https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Beast_Coast_Miyagi_Swimmer_3pk/descpage-EMS.html

 

https://www.beastcoastfishing.com/store/p110/4.75''_MIYAGI_Swimmer_-_Beast_Coast_Shad.html 

Take a chance on these. Rig them on a 6/0 Owner 1/4oz Beast hook. They clock in at shade under 1oz rigged with that way.  I bagged my biggest Smallmouth, my biggest Walleye, and LM bass from 2 lbs to 8lbs. It gets a lot of attention. It's also remarkably weed less. Creep it on the bottom or swim it wherever you like. I throw it year 'round. Deadly

 

I'm going to give these a try, thanks. What rod do you toss these on?

[roadwarrior]

I'm in!

 

[ajschn06]

1 hour ago, TBAG said:

 

I'm going to give these a try, thanks. What rod do you toss these on?

 

Yeah I think I'm going to have to try these.   The perch/Gill/bass patterns aren't ones I've seen on this type of bait.  I would have to throw it on a 6'10" Tatula MH fast that's rated 1/4-1 oz though.  It's much stouter than the Abu rod with the same rating that I have, but getting up towards that 1 oz worries me a bit....

[PhishLI]

On 12/17/2020 at 8:39 AM, TBAG said:

I'm going to give these a try, thanks. What rod do you toss these on?

If I'm frogging I'll switch off and throw the Miyagi on that setup which is a Lew's Carbon Fire 7'3" HF with 50lb braid. While throwing the Miyagi last year I lost 2 chunks when I used a reel on that rod spooled with 17lb Sufix Siege. It stretched like a rubber band and I couldn't drive the hook. Both fish shook off right in front of me and were easily mid 6ers. The Tatula XT 7'3" H w/ 50 lb braid is the other rod I use most often with this bait, however I've been able to drive that hook home using braid on a OB2 6'7" MH and 7"1MH, but those particular MH's are stout and lean towards the heavy side. I wouldn't go with what I perceive to be lighter than that. The 6/0 beast hook is like a 6D finishing nail.

On 12/17/2020 at 9:44 AM, ajschn06 said:

Yeah I think I'm going to have to try these.   The perch/Gill/bass patterns aren't ones I've seen on this type of bait.

The Pro Ghost Alewife has been good to me. Dope Gill has been dope, and if you come across any of the discontinued Deluxe Hitch grab some. Death Wish found at F&S or DSG are knock offs of this bait and offer several different colors.

[ajschn06]

2 hours ago, PhishLI said:

If I'm frogging I'll switch off and throw the Miyagi on that setup which is a Lew's Carbon Fire 7'3" HF with 50lb braid. While throwing the Miyagi last year I lost 2 chunks when I used a reel on that rod spooled with 17lb Sufix Siege. It stretched like a rubber band and I couldn't drive the hook. Both fish shook off right in front of me and were easily mid 6ers. The Tatula XT 7'3" H w/ 50 lb braid is the other rod I use most often with this bait, however I've been able to drive that hook home using braid on a OB2 6'7" MH and 7"1MH, but those particular MH's are stout and lean towards the heavy side. I wouldn't go with what I perceive to be lighter than that. The 6/0 beast hook is like a 6D finishing nail.

The Pro Ghost Alewife has been good to me. Dope Gill has been dope, and if you come across any of the discontinued Deluxe Hitch grab some. Death Wish found at F&S or DSG are knock offs of this bait and offer several different colors.

Awesome- great info.  I have fished that exact Tatula 7’3”H so I know how that plays.  I was going to throw it on. 6’10” MH Tatula and I’m not sure if I’d consider it close to heavy but it’s definitely stouter than any other MH I’ve handled lately..