Zoom Paddletail

[PondBoss]

After reading and hearing about all the swim bait hype, I finally bought some weighted hooks and a pack of Zoom paddle tail flukes. I took them down to a local pond which has pretty clear water (5ft visibility) I could see fish swimming around it and pecking at it, but only had one actually hit it. What do you think was the main factor in not having more success? I was using the white ice color. I was fishing it on a pretty steady retrieve with some pauses and jerks here and there. All of the tentative bites I got were almost as soon as it hit the water, but many fish followed it. I'm gonna guess that color was the main issue, what color would you have thrown? Or how would you have varied your retrieve?

[Crestliner2008]

I would definitely try a more subtle, natural color like green pumpkin or blue/black. I love these worms and they are a great producer. You can Texas rig them and use an on/off bottom retrieve. Sometimes I snap it hard off the bottom, just enough to feel the vibes. Sort of like fishing a Silver Buddy Blade bait.

Other times, a slow, steady retried - again, just so you feel the vibes - works wonders. Let the fish tell you what they want, but I'd definitely get some of the above colors.

Works great on a swim jig too!

[Bass_Fanatic]

I would definitely try a more subtle, natural color like green pumpkin or blue/black. I love these worms and they are a great producer. You can Texas rig them and use an on/off bottom retrieve. Sometimes I snap it hard off the bottom, just enough to feel the vibes. Sort of like fishing a Silver Buddy Blade bait.

Other times, a slow, steady retried - again, just so you feel the vibes - works wonders. Let the fish tell you what they want, but I'd definitely get some of the above colors.

Works great on a swim jig too!

I think you are thinking of the Paddle Tail worms. The OP is talking about the new Swimming Flukes.

For the Swimming Flukes I like the colros wtml/red, smokin shad, and Arkansas Shiner. I normally like to reel at a steady pace adding in occasional jerks and letting the bait fall on slack line around cover. Most strikes occur when I let the bait fall around a top or some grass or whenever I begin to reel again. Make sure you use a Wide Gap hook, but you dont want it to be too long because it will hinder the action of the Paddle tail.

[PondBoss]

I guess I need to try a couple of different colors. Today was more of the same story. I pull up to where I'm going to get in the water (I tube fish) and there are 3 2 lbers just chillin 5 feet away from me. Nothing I flipped in there at them made them even curious. Oh well though, fishing was tough today, I think a cold front is coming through or something as the wind suddenly changed from the South to the North.

[Flangler]

I fish them weightless usually. I like the smoking shad color. I wouldn't weight them down, i feel they have better action without.

[Gangley]

Smokin Shad and Arkansas Shiner are two great colors. A steady retrieve usually doesnt work for me unless I am using them as a trailer on a chatterbait. Generally, I will fish them weightless, or with a very lightly weighted hook. Cast them out, let them sink/glide/flutter to the bottom, then yank them off the bottom and let them sink again. They will generally fall or glide downwards in a circular pattern, and that's when I get my hits. I will either see my line move, or I will feel weight once i start to reel in the slack after it has had a few seconds to fall. I love this technique in spring and fall, especially when the bass are schooling shad.

[Flangler]

They are great around lily pads and grass lines!

[piscicidal]

After reading and hearing about all the swim bait hype, I finally bought some weighted hooks and a pack of Zoom paddle tail flukes. I took them down to a local pond which has pretty clear water (5ft visibility) I could see fish swimming around it and pecking at it, but only had one actually hit it. What do you think was the main factor in not having more success? I was using the white ice color. I was fishing it on a pretty steady retrieve with some pauses and jerks here and there. All of the tentative bites I got were almost as soon as it hit the water, but many fish followed it. I'm gonna guess that color was the main issue, what color would you have thrown? Or how would you have varied your retrieve?

I fish soft swimbaits a TON...Skinny Dippers/Big Ez/Ez swimmer/Zoom swimming fluke (<- what I think you are using)/etc. My experience with these is that the bait is NOT especially lifelike on its own. I've had similiar experiences to yours where the bass ignore this bait if they get a real good look at it (open, clear water). Where these lures REALLY shine is when fishing shallow weeds (especially the more grassy weeds: eelgrass/kissimmee grass). The bait slithers through the grass, bouncing back-and-forth off the stalks. These soft swimbaits look very lifelike in this presentation and the fish cannot get as good of look at it. I've had several +100 fish days with these baits when used in this manner.

When using softswim baits I prefer a more lifelike color... Houdini is a very effective color where I live for all the soft swimbaits (Big EZ/EZ swimmer = Copperfield color). If the primary forage in the lake is shad try the GRN BAD SHAD color (skinny dipper) or New Shad (Big Ez/EZ swimmer). If the primary forage is mullet try the Big Ez GHOST SHAD color.

If you are fishing open/clear water you are probably better off with a shallow running jerkbait/crankbait or a hard swimbait like the Mattlures/Sebile/Spro BBZ/etc...

[JoePhish]

I don't fish Zoom but I do fish paddletail swim baits; Skinny Dipper, Swimsenko and Havok Grass Hog. Many times it's in some kind of white color.

Not too long ago I made a mid-day adjustment to color the bellies Orange with a Spike-It marker. I started to get fish after that. Seemed to work that day.

[PondBoss]

Thanks for all the replies, hopefully I will get a chance to give some different colors a try in the near future. I have fished the regular fluke with some success, but tend to have issues hooking up. That being said, it's a new year and new results are possible with the new equipment I have attained.

[Mike L]

Last week on Toho in Fla I tried the white first, weightless...nothing

Changed to a pumpkin with a nail weight in the belly and first cast in the same spot she hit it! Used up allmost the whole bag.

I have a tourn tomorrow on Kissimmee, no messin around there!

Mike

[PondBoss]

How did your tournament go?

[Mike L]

Finished 3rd as a co angler and 5th overall.

Had a limit with total weight of 17.7

Started out with a Spo frog along a weed line...nothing

Switched to a popping frog...nothing

Decieded to pitch a blue/black beaver in about 2 ft of water over some grass that was just starting to come up...nothing.

Switched to the same pumpkin bps paddle tail I used on Toho but moved about 50 yds and still nothing.

As we were trolling around about 9:00 I noticed some dead reeds growing in a pocket surrounded by green milfoil that was about a foot above the water and "suggested" we move and try that.

But he didn't want to move just yet. An hour later I "suggested" again, this time he finally did.

My boater started with a watermelon super fluck unweighted, got a few but none over 2 lbs. I decieded to do the same but I put a nail weight in the belly, dead sticked it for about 10 seconds, twitched and BAM!

We stayed in that spot all morning. I got 4 of the 5 there and my boater got his limit.

Thanks for asking

Mike