super spook jr feather or no feather

[LrgmouthShad]

Hey y'all, 

 

Looking at getting some super spook jrs. Seems like a simple place to start with walking baits. Midway USA offers some with feathers and some without feathers. Wondering which I should get. Thanks y'all.

[casts_by_fly]

I fish both, though I tie my own hook trailers on the factory hook.  Sometimes it doesn’t matter.  Sometimes the bass want that little extra bit and will turn away at the lure without one. 
 

if you can tie your own feathers, then just buy them without and add as needed. If you can’t tie them yourself, buy them all with. You can swap the hook or cut them off later if you want. 

[LrgmouthShad]

2 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I fish both, though I tie my own hook trailers on the factory hook.  Sometimes it doesn’t matter.  Sometimes the bass want that little extra bit and will turn away at the lure without out. 
 

if you can tie your own feathers, then just buy them without and add as needed. If you can’t tie them yourself, buy them all with. You can swap the hook or cut them off later if you want. 

Thanks man. Could you also walk me through your setup? Rod and line

[casts_by_fly]

Falcon expert finesse jig/top water (6’10” mh/mf), 14 lb suffix elite mono, abu Garcia revo mgx.  The whole outfit is right at 8 oz and is easy to work a walking bait. I throw the 1/2 oz sexy dawg. I also just grabbed a used 6’8” cara medium heavy that I think will be great for them as well. 

I only catch big ones on them.  

[LrgmouthShad]

1 minute ago, casts_by_fly said:

Falcon expert finesse jig/top water (6’10” mh/mf), 14 lb suffix elite mono, abu Garcia revo mgx.  The whole outfit is right at 8 oz and is easy to work a walking bait. I throw the 1/2 oz sexy dawg. I also just grabbed a used 6’8” cara medium heavy that I think will be great for them as well. 

I only catch big ones on them.  

Okay great, thank you. Closest I've got is iRod Genesis III Cold Stone Swim and Vibrating Jig Rod 7'2 MH MF. Nowadays I use it for a variety of lures, but it's been a great lipless rod for me. Seems to keep the fish pinned. So pending other recommendations, I'll give it a shot for the walking baits

[casts_by_fly]

5 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Okay great, thank you. Closest I've got is iRod Genesis III Cold Stone Swim and Vibrating Jig Rod 7'2 MH MF. Nowadays I use it for a variety of lures, but it's been a great lipless rod for me. Seems to keep the fish pinned. So pending other recommendations, I'll give it a shot for the walking baits

if you have anything shorter, give it a try. The 6’6”-7’ range is nice for tip down presentations. 

[LrgmouthShad]

1 minute ago, casts_by_fly said:

if you have anything shorter, give it a try. The 6’6”-7’ range is nice for tip down presentations. 

Yeah.... I thought about that. I have 6'9 MH (kinda close to M) F rod, but it is a fast, and I am less confident about it holding fish on treble hooks. Otherwise it's M spinning gear or my 6'10 H Falcon Expert and there ain't no way I'm taking a spinnerbait off that thing... ever. 

[casts_by_fly]

The head turner is a good walking bait rod too. I fish it and the finesse jig about equally with a sexy dawg. Just depends on which lake I’m on and what else I’m throwing that day. 

[LrgmouthShad]

2 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

The head turner is a good walking bait rod too. I fish it and the finesse jig about equally with a sexy dawg. Just depends on which lake I’m on and what else I’m throwing that day. 

I can't do it man. I can't. That rod is admittedly really good for a lot of different things, but to me, it's my sacred spinnerbait rod, and I want it to stay that way. I want one always rigged, and I want it on that rod.

 

Thanks though. Maybe once I come to my good senses, I'll take the recommendation 

[Team9nine]

47 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I fish both, though I tie my own hook trailers on the factory hook.  Sometimes it doesn’t matter.  Sometimes the bass want that little extra bit and will turn away at the lure without out. 
 

if you can tie your own feathers, then just buy them without and add as needed. If you can’t tie them yourself, buy them all with. You can swap the hook or cut them off later if you want. 

Agree with this ^^
 

Maybe my imagination, but I seem to do much better on smallmouth with the feathered treble, while largemouth don’t seem to care.  

[PhishLI]

36 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I have 6'9 MH (kinda close to M) F rod, but it is a fast, and I am less confident about it holding fish on treble hooks.

Use mono. Set the drag on the light side. Lighter than you think you should initially. Keep your thumb riding the spool when you're winding. Get a bite, set the hook with heavy thumb drag, then back off your thumb quickly and let the reel's drag work. This isn't a theory. Last July/August most of my fish were caught wading way out on flats with an ARK Essence 7'6" MHF which is stout enough not to cry when power casting a Gantarel Jr, so it's more of a MH+. The bait that did all the damage was a 70mm Livingston Bullnose wake/crank. Line was 15lb Tatsu. I don't recall losing a fish, but there were painkillers in the mix.?You'll be fine.

[ironbjorn]

I do much better with the feathered version.

[LrgmouthShad]

20 minutes ago, ironbjorn said:

I do much better with the feathered version.

Those are the ones I got because of castsbyfly’s reasoned explanation. I also picked up a few Sexy Dawgs, just because they were readily available and offer a different size. Hope to be fishing with them soon and hope I don’t wind up opening up a bait monkey rabbit hole. Already went down that with crankbaits

 

Thanks!

[WRB]

Owner feathered treble hooks work and excellent hooks.

Owner Caltiva Zip n Ziggy out fishes Super Spook Jr.

Tom

 

[gulfcaptain]

3 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

my 6'10 H Falcon Expert and there ain't no way I'm taking a spinnerbait off that thing... ever. 

Sounds like you need another one then....problem solved. Now please make your way to the bait monkey/tackle addiction forum for support in your new rod purchase.

[LrgmouthShad]

5 hours ago, gulfcaptain said:

Sounds like you need another one then....problem solved. Now please make your way to the bait monkey/tackle addiction forum for support in your new rod purchase.

Don’t do that to me ??

?

If I discover that spooks become a big deal for me, I may consider it. 

[Tom Orr]

For me, it seems to run in cycles. One year they prefer feathered and one year not. Topwater is ALL I use because of the vegetation where I fish. With all the topwater choices (and I have and have used most?) the Super Spook Jr. has probably caught the most for me. Except for maybe an X-Pod jr. And you will catch fish almost the size of your bait, but also some big ones. Doesn't matter what time of day, or what time of year, they've always been killers for me. 

2 minutes ago, Tom Orr said:

For me, it seems to run in cycles. One year they prefer feathered and one year not. Topwater is ALL I use because of the vegetation where I fish. With all the topwater choices (and I have and have used most?) the Super Spook Jr. has probably caught the most for me. Except for maybe an X-Pod jr. And you will catch fish almost the size of your bait, but also some big ones. Doesn't matter what time of day, or what time of year, they've always been killers for me. 

Oh yeah - and you can't beat the fun of using a topwater?

[casts_by_fly]

12 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Those are the ones I got because of castsbyfly’s reasoned explanation. I also picked up a few Sexy Dawgs, just because they were readily available and offer a different size. Hope to be fishing with them soon and hope I don’t wind up opening up a bait monkey rabbit hole. Already went down that with crankbaits

 

Thanks!

 

If it helps any, I only carry two colors of dawgs- sexy shad with the white bottom and chrome sexy.  I only carry one size (the junior).  if they aren't eating either of them, then its not a walking bait kind of day.

 

10 hours ago, gulfcaptain said:

Sounds like you need another one then....problem solved. Now please make your way to the bait monkey/tackle addiction forum for support in your new rod purchase.

 

4 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Don’t do that to me ??

?

If I discover that spooks become a big deal for me, I may consider it. 

 

I was going to suggest the same, but where's the fun in that!  That said, if I were in a boat and could take 8-10 rods with me on any given trip I would probably have two HTs.  So much they can do and a great working length balance for accurate casting close range, longer casts covering water, pitching, skipping under docks, and working baits tip down.  

 

[papajoe222]

For me, it depends on how fast I'm working the bait. A feathered treble adds drag to the back of the bait and you can only work one so fast until that drag prohibits working it faster. 

When they really shine is when worked slow, or paused frequently.  That little extra tail action makes the difference between lookers and biters.

[NorthernBasser]

On 5/1/2023 at 8:11 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

Okay great, thank you. Closest I've got is iRod Genesis III Cold Stone Swim and Vibrating Jig Rod 7'2 MH MF. Nowadays I use it for a variety of lures, but it's been a great lipless rod for me. Seems to keep the fish pinned. So pending other recommendations, I'll give it a shot for the walking baits

I think you'll do just fine with that rod, assuming you can walk the bait without slapping the water with the rod tip. A lot of times I'll throw my bigger walking baits on my Sierra 734C. 

 

Another GREAT walking bait is the Yo-Zuri 3DB. One of my favorites. That and the Evergreen Shower Blows 105.

 

 

[Junger]

I like it with the feather. When you're walking the super spook and then you kill it, you'll see the feather tail slowly fall and spread out from the lure and I think that can help trigger bites for fish that follow and are curious but aren't committed.