ChrisD46

It's a cool little rig with more fluid motion than a T-Rig when working soft plastic baits on the bottom . I believe it is a rig that works a bit better from a boat vs. the bank as it needs a higher line angle on the retrieve to get that weight more up and down as it contacts the bottom . If your retrieve angle is too low then the weight is more horizontal on the drag which takes away from the action . If using from the bank I suggest at least a 7' rod and a high 10 to 11 o'clock / 2 to 1 o'clock rod angle on the retrieve

For 3.8 & 4.3 Fatties I am using a Gamakatsu 3/0 EWG (screw in) in 1/16th oz. or 1/8th oz. (depending on conditions) . This hook fits perfectly in the bait slits , so you won't have any issues . Hook up is improved as well and the presentation / action using this set up is the best I found for fishing a Fat Swing Impact . If moving up to a 4.8 Fatty I would use a 4/0 1/8th oz. weighted Gamakatsu EWG (screw in) hook which should fit perfectly in the bait hook slits ... *No offense to those who use this bait as a swim jig or chatterbait trailer - how ever I believe you can get by with something less expensive and just as good for the trailer application such as : A 3.5" Havoc Grass Pig , 3.5" Big Bites Cane Thumper , Zoom Swim'n Super Fluke Jr. and a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper . Lastly , why mess with perfection coming from two types of internal weighted salted plastic which create such a tempting action and water movement via the Fat Swing Impact ? I believe the Fat Swing Impact is best fished alone on a weighted swimbait hook without possible interferance from a skirt in front of it ... The closest thing to an idiot proof bait you will find - use my method , count down to desired depth and reel slow and steady using 12 lb. - 15 lb. co - poly or FC line on a M F - MH F baitcaster set up.

Frog Toggs

4/0 to 5/0 Gamakatsu EWG weighted hooks for the 5" 6/0 Owner Beast Hook weighted hooks for the 6" Trokar's are nice - but so are the above hooks which may be found easier at places such as WM.

^This^ !! ...Good advice Bass'n Bro - I see suggestions to use a Fat Impact on a football jig and I'm like "why" ? when there are better ways to roll with this bait ! For me , I like a 3.8 or 4.3 Fat Swing Impact in Sight Flash , Blue Gill or TN. Shad using a Gamakatsu EWG 3/0 weighted hook in 1/16th or 1/8th oz. I like to fish it slow and steady and irregularly just kill it and let it drop with a twitch or two (ala Joe Cocker who made soft plastic twitch'n famous with his band : "Mad Bass & Englishmen" ...)

Throw used soft plastics in a bag you keep with you - then buy a bottle of : "Mend It" soft plastic glue and repair them while watching your favorite fishing shows on TV ... If a soft plastic is beyond repair try to find someone who can reheat and pour into molds for making new soft plastics or worse case throw away in a trash can (never in the water - why do you think "deadsticking" catches bass ?)

rangerjockey nailed it - best two ways to fish a "do nothing idiot bait " like a centepede. I like to rig it sideways using about a 1/0 EWG hook on a split shot rig or C-Rig ... Deadly ! ...Green Pumpkin and Junebug will cover most water conditions .

I would tend to look at a Ned Rig at Lake Fork only when a bite is tough to find or if I am just looking for numbers . In the Spring pre-spawn is when other techniques for larger bass more common this time of year might be better .

As Catt stated - definately a grass jig . While for over all performance I prefer a Arkie jig , for grass conditiions you can't beat a grass jig !

No offense taken Taylor - all you state is correct ! ... I too also use Dirty Jigs and with respect to stock colors , I really like what they have to offer as well .

Taylor Haberle : There is some truth to what you say - however Seibert Jigs (Mike) will work with you if there is something special in the way of a skirt combination color you are looking for ... Mike made some custom swim jig colors for me the likes of which would BLOW YOU AWAY !! Dirty Jigs , Northstar , Bill Lowen Jigs can not touch what Mike is able to make if you communicate with him - absolutely nothing can touch what Mike made for me !! * They are still new and in the plastic bag and I just had a friend with a digital photo studio take pictures of them for me to send to Mike . If Mike gives me permission - I will post to this site with the color names . There is no doubt Mike could do the same for any other type of jig such as a pitching jig , brush jig or football jig by discussing skirt colors in terms of a % of each color strands you are looking for in the skirt color make up ... If you are patient and can work with Mike's production schedule you will NOT be disappointed !! Lastly here is food for thought : Do you know what a multicolor jig skirt combination looks like at depths greater than say 12 feet ? In all but the clearest water - colors begin to more represented as dark , medium and light shades . That is why for jigs used more on the bottom at depth I don't sweat it beyond having a black & blue jig skirt of some form of a Green Pumpkin blended skirt color (swim jigs used higher in the water column are a different story...) . Perhaps more important to think about things for football jigs such as over all jig bulk , profile , action and retrieve than stressing how many strands of orange color you have mixed in with a green pumpkin skirt . Then again I get that such things as a perfect jig color can instill angler confidence , so it's all good !

+1 ... Why change ?

I have three Mettle's (Baitcaster) and not a problem with any of 'em in over three years of fishing .

While I suggested a 1/0 EWG hook (the largest I would consider) a #1 or #2 EWG hook would be outstanding as flyfisher described . #1 or #2 EWG hooks can be hard to find though and you may have to order on line ...

The KVD Sexy Dawg Jr. is a fine top water walk the dog type bait and is fairly easy to get walk the dog results from ... A google search will turn up reviews and tactics galore on this lure ! You can find easily at WM - I would suggest two colors to start : 1 . A Sexy Dawg Jr. with a white opaque bottom color and 2 . Sexy Dawg Jr. with a shad color almost transparent bottom coloration . If you really want to splurge a chrome bottom coloration would be the trifecta ! ... A white bottom Sexy Dawg Jr. can be used in most conditions while the transparant color bottom is best in very clear water while the chrome color version can be quite good on sunny days . Further reading will advise more on the colors I recommended (they are staples of all walk the dog type top water lures).

A answer of simply "No" doesn't cut it without additional support detail ... Yes , you can fish 3" inch Stick-O on a 1/0 EWG hook T-Rig style casting out on a light spinning setup letting it sink and give it a subtle jerk every few seconds until it hits bottom . Then in a typical senko T-Rig fashion - raise your rod tip several inches then let the Stick-O fall back to the bottom - reel in the slack and repeat back to the boat or shore... Hope this helps .

Regarding : "Rage Tail line not known as a cold water bait" - then what would be your cold water picks ? I subsribe to the belief that as with a a lipless crankbait with it's tight , subdued wiggle is a preferred crankbait in cold water , so I try to mimic the same action with soft plast trailers or swimbaits ...As the water warms I switch to a wider wobble crankbait and mimic the same action with soft plactic trailers or swimbaits .

#12 lb. - #15 lb. CXX copoly.

Yum Dingers have about the best action for a widely available commercial senko type bait .

I like Rage Tail - but Keitech has become the gold standard in the ribbed , fat swim bait of this type ... If Strike King hits us with some smell good colors : KVD Magic , Blue Gizzard , Green Gizzard and Pearl then I will try them ... Other wise , what's the compelling reason to switch from Keitech other than perhaps price ? *Will this be just another "good as a Senko" storyline ?

Zoom's Li'l Critter Craw would be PERFECT for your application rigged on a finesse jig of your choice !

I appreciate the suggestions - besides the afore mentioned EWG weighted hooks , I also have some VMC Boxer jigheads that could work ...Probably not a bad way to fish a Fat Impact really . I see baitcast set ups with #12 lb. ~ #15 lb. FC line appear popular which I can do as well . For grins I may try on a 7' M fast spinning rod with #20 lb. braid + FC leader which I already have set up for Flukes .

Looking to fish the Keitech FAT Swing Impact in the 3.8 - 4.3 sizes using a Gammy EWG 3/0 1/16oz. ~ 1/8th oz weighted hook ... Do you throw this on spinning or baitcasting set up ? Please list : Spinning or Baitcasting ? Rod length & action ? Line type and size ? ... Thanks in advance for replies !

I am in the process of trying the #8 lb. Gliss for an ultralite spinning outfit I use for pan fish . For all my other spinning needs I would use a brand name braid . The deal with Gliss is all the strands run one way( like dental floss) so once it starts to fray that section of line is pretty much done and needs to be replaced .

Thanks - definately a different deal than fishing a silicon skirt football jig ... It appears more of a drag and stop is the ticket vs. short hops or even stroking like you would for a silicon skirt football jig (along with the standrard drag & drop technique) . Perhaps best to envision a jelly fish opening and closing on the retrieve with the living rubber skirt .