ChrisD46

+1 ... Forgot about the deadly Swamp Crawlers on a shaky head ! Wildcard Shaky Head Worm Entry : Davis Baits Original Shaky Worm in 6" in Bold Bluegill , Spot Punisher , Prism Shad or Aaron's Magic colors .

*Good suggestion here ... I will reach for the Owner under spin EWG hook in 3/0 size for using with 3.8" Keitechs first - however a Swarming Hornet in 3/16th oz. ~ 1/4 oz. would also serve you well .

+1 ... Robo FAT worm 6" is a very good shaky head worm , also the Netbait T-Mac 6.5" worm is very good on a shaky head ... I have Zoom Trick worms still which I have used as shaky head worms in the past - but they have now been sent down to the AAA farm team (son's tackle box) where they can continue to see some playing time . I also like Z-Man's 7" straight tail worm as the elaztech material floats the tail well .

*I hear that ! ... I think white / black color has more to do with sky conditions and the sun's angle when a bass looks up at a buzzbait . A toad trailer (or other soft plastic trailer) can keep a buzzbait up more and allow you to reel a little slower than you can with a skirt trailer on alone. *Those are on the heavier side for a buzzbait - I think I have one 1/2 oz. buzzbait and that has a toad trailer on it ... I'll have to look at venturing beyond my typical 3/8th oz. buzzbait.

In the Fall , a buzz bait can potentially be a good all day bite - What are your preferences : Traditional Buzz Bait (with skirt) or instead using a Buzz Toad ? White , White / Chartreuse , Black or another color ? Size : 3/8th oz. (standard retrieve) , 1/2 oz. (faster retrieve) , 1/4oz. or 1/8th oz. (for a slower retrieve) ? *In clear water South Eastern reservoirs , bass are chasing shad / bait fish in the fall to feed up for winter ... What are your choices and experiences for the above ?

*If I could only have one Spook - it would be this Spook One Knocker in Bone ... High confidence top water lure !

*Nice !! ,,, After all these years Heddon Spooks come in a nice color Bone : Not yellow Bone (i.e. River 2 Sea) , not white Bone (i.e. Strike King) but the way Bone should look (minus the moss) ... Get you some Owner Stinger - 36 series #2 treble hooks to show your One Knocker Spook some love !

Toss in a couple of cans of cat food opened up with a can opener in a few spots to leak out the smell - along with other suggestions .

Bone is the most universal color in a Spook - most will say especially on an over cast day , low light early in the morning or in to early evening after sun set . All other times , I give the nod to a spook color that does not get enough top water love : Black Chrome - especially if there is wind or wave action due to boat traffic on a sunny day . Black Chrome will work in other conditions as well due to the flash produced when working a Spook (even on a cloudy day Black Chrome Spook is producing flash) . *No matter , for the Fall feed up bass will be targeting shad or bait fish in most areas of the country - so a Bone , Chrome , Pearl White , Sexy Shad , Ghost , etc. colors would get the nod (unless you are a Blue Gill only fishery in MN. some where in which case buy a Blue Gill pattern Spook color) ... Save buying the Baby Bass color until Post Spawn 2021.

+1 ... Fancy name for black with purple .

*Adding a small pea size dab of Mega Strike inside a soft plastics bag and then swish around with the bag closed puts a nice coating on soft plastics which assists jig skirts from sticking to trailers and such .

*Thank you for the replies - upon further review it may prove difficult to have just ONE swim jig specific rod (depending on weight of the swim jig , how much cover is present , line choice , etc.) ?

*Looking for a swim jig specific rod for standard 1/4 oz. ~ 1/2 oz. swim jigs in and around average moderate / sporadic cover in reservoirs ? ... Most swim jig experts opt for a M to MH / F rod with 80 / 20 bend that you can easily "pulse" with your wrist during the retrieve that is also light weight (don't want tennis elbow working a swim jig - so around 7' rod length or so that is light , well balanced and with a fairly short butt). Lastly , I believe you should be able to find such a specific swim jig rod for under $200 without breaking the bank ... Your recommendations ?

Thanks for the replies - I see Nichols , Dirty Jigs and 6th sense which I have not tried . Strike King and Siebert have been my staples to date with good results - but always willing to look around to see what else is working for folks .

What swim jigs in that 1/4 oz. to 3/8th oz. do you like that run true and won't blow out on the retrieve when you are pulsing the rod tip ?

*Gary Dobyns and some of his Pros use a 734c. to throw Super Spook top water lures on - Gary claims it's the ideal rod for larger , walking top water lures .

*I know that black / chartreuse skirt color as : "Missouri Craw" which to me would make it a Mid West color staple .

*Thanks Tom !! I have some assorted plain top water lures I just want to add a slight dash of glitter to so I can spruce them up .

I ended up finding some spray clear sealant from a craft store that dries clear ... Light spray then sprinkle some glitter on the hard bait then a light final spray top coat .

*Assuming a 5" Senko , Dinger , etc. I prefer a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG as well ... Gary Yamamoto states the 3/0 EWG hook is the preferred size for the 5" Senko - however I always felt that the 3/0 EWG hook size in the 5" Senko led to more deep hooking issues with bass .

Use on the back of a Strike King Bitsy Bug jig or a smaller weight Bass Patrol football jig . I like the Yum Craw Bug too for same applications and a small profile .

Thanks for the offer - currently just wanting to review : "What makes for a good top water Spook Rod" ? For lighter poppers and small walking baits I have a older All Star rod (6' MF ) which works well up to 1/2 oz. weights . For larger Spooks with 3 treble hooks approaching 1 oz. , I need a beefier 6"6" ~ 6'9" short butt rod with most likely a MH/F action for using #30 lb. braid main line .

^^This^^

My initial views on spy baiting are akin to watching paint dry ! ... I would think fishing a C-Rig would be more exciting - in the right hands and in the right conditions though I'm sure it works ...

*Forget trying to make money from it - I personally would want to emulate the great West Coast hand pours you guys have enjoyed all these years !