ChrisD46

No not at all , just considering something in a jig head style .

This ismore in the direction of what I'm looking for . Now this is a good looking EWG hook with a bit more gap to it - however the Redline series hooks are pretty pricey . As an experiment , I will try the close sibling VMC Ike EWG Heavy Duty Wide Gap hooks (*Application is for Super Flukes) : https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Heavy_Duty_Wide_Gap_Hook/descpage-MVCHWGH.html

I use the Gamma regular and Super Line EWG hooks - although great quality , they don’t have a lot of hook gap (as compared to some of the newer EWG hook designs) .

Excluding the Owner Flashy Swimmer here - what is your current favorite under spin jig head for bass (i.e. Fish Head , War Pig , Blade Runner brands , etc. ) . * Here are my pet peeves with under spins : 1) Poor swivel which does not allow the underspin blade to rotate properly at a slow retrieve speed . 2) The underspin design does not have enough separation / gap for the blade from the soft plastic trailer to prevent unhindered blade rotation during the retrieve . Having a good hook - along with a good trailer keeper are pluses … With the above said , what are your current favorite underspin which have a high quality design and work properly as intended ?

It occurred to me that a jerk bait (more so a soft jerk bait) is a visual bite - so if your water clarity is less than approx. 4 ft. you would be better off using a Fluke on an underspin .

*You may find this below split shot weight list useful for deciding split shot rig weights (from heaviest to lightest) : #2 Size : 1/4th oz. #4 Size : 1/8th oz. #5 Size : 1/10th oz. #7 Size : 1/17th oz. 3/0 Size : 1/25th oz. BB Size : 1/50th oz.

Looks good - more gap !

I love how easy it is to rig a soft plastic bait using a EWG hook (as compared to an offset round bend hook) . Conversely , the knock on the EWG hook are worse hook ups due to the hook tip being in line with the hook eye (as compared to the offset round bend hook) . *Does any EWG hook maker have a EWG design where the hook point is slightly higher than the hook eye (or feature some other design improvement) to allow for better hook ups with an EWG hook ?

Thanks for the replies - perhaps best to just stay with a decent 8 lb. ~ 10 lb. co-poly line for a cheaper spin cast rig set up .

Looking to rig up a Zebco 33 combo for the kids - has anyone tried using say #15 lb. braid on a spin cast reel ? I usually use #6 lb. to #8 lb. co-poly line on spin cast reels and just looking to try something different for further casts .

Flipping / Pitching where the 8:1 gear ratio reel allows you to reel in and pick up line faster for your next cast . I also like it for Frog fishing.

Good to see Tom weight in on this topic - an old school, yet deadly technique (split shot rig) out west. I will add that in the 1/0 or 2/0 size , the Owner 5133 makes for a great light wire split shot rig. Also , the split shot weight suggestion (cutting a line groove) will help protect your line .

Looks like I'll start with a Gama EWG 4/0 Super Line hook (weightless) and a underspin for a slow retrieve near the bottom . As long as you slow down , it's probably hard to fish a Super Fluke wrong in colder water.

Good points Tom !

Lots of people throw a Super Fluke in the Post Spawn through the Fall - but what about the colder months ? It would seem that a slow falling super fluke in cold water (maybe even dead sticked) , as well as , a being a good search bait as bass start to move shallower to feed up for the spawn would lend itself to using a super fluke / super fluke jr. set up . Please share your thoughts and experience for using / rigging a super fluke in winter through pre-spawn .

Great replies / information !

I had not thought about using these larger size paddle tail swim baits on swim jigs before in that 4.75" to 5.75" range (or close to it depending on make) . *There is probably an art to selecting a longer paddle tail in this size range to achieve max side to side rolling action ?

I've standardized on Owner Hyper Wire Split Rings - learn how the sizes & weights affect hard jerk baits and only buy once !

An important rigging consideration I omitted is whether you are fishing open water or around cover ?

For the larger 4.75” - 5.75” paddle tail swim baits from Gambler , Keitech , Strike King , etc. how do you like to rig them ? It appears the choices are either using a EWG 5/0 to 6/0 single hook or using a #2 treble hook with some sort of line through the head rig and then insert one of the treble hook barbs back into the swim bait head … I’d like to try the larger swim bait sizes mentioned above. What method of rigging the larger swim baits works best for you ?

I’ve recently become interested in tossing around various Neg Rig / Finesse baits on a BFS set up - let’s hear what your BFS set up and what baits you enjoy using with your BFS set up ?

Don’t let Glenn hear you bad mouthing the PNW ! He’s liable to compare Washington seafood with any other state in the country - then it gets ugly real quick as Glenn easily cruises for the win (lol !) … I moved to be closer to family plus I just can’t handle hot , humid Georgia summers along with severe weather storms that seem to get stronger and begin earlier each year in the South East . Yes , there is a lot of rain in the PNW but it doesn’t rain all day and rarely rains hard .

Fishing an grub on a ball head jig is considered an “old school” bass technique - but still can be deadly in cold water months I have read . I have a few different grub offerings (Zoom , Kalins , BPS ) but have not settled on a small ball head jig head suitable for the short body soft plastic grubs … If you are fishing grubs I would appreciated learning more about your favorite ball head jig and weights you use ?

The only real way to cull the herd is to move to a new region of the country where bass lures and colors change pretty significantly . As an example , I moved from the South East to the PNW and the first lures to be culled will be most shad imitating lures - as there are no shad up here .

I have grown fond of WM Candy - great bluegill imitator , next would be the various GP flake offerings .