Phildo

Can't beat the action of chikubi rigging it (nail weights in the belly holes). The higher center of gravity let's the bait wobble a lot more significantly laterally.

Depending on depth, however, I fish largemouth with 4.8" keitechs and I have spent countless hours with various weighted offsets and jighead's. For the keitech specifically, when fishing low current and depths less than 10ft, you will get the most action using tungsten nail weights to "chikubi" rig it with an offset worm hook. The holes in the belly of Keitechs make this rigging simple and you cannot beat the increased wobble from the higher center of gravity. This was extreeemely effective night fishing pre-spawn with Black Shad color, with the nail weights you can crawl the bait as slow as humanly possibly and it just wobbles and kicks like crazy, hovering just above the bottom and ticking off structure. I mostly fish a shallow creek and with a weighted jighead its just too much bottom contact.

You cannot beat Slayer heads, where I fish stripers we use small swimbaits and a weedguard is a necessity. These heads have the best hooks of any I have used and pretty durable paint, although no paint can stand being smacked into rocks repeatedly. Some complain the hooks are too small but when you are catching 20lb stripers are 3" swimbaits you need a small, durable hook so they are perfect. I have heads that I have been nailing adult stripers on for over a year and they are as sharp as ever and no corrosion from the salt.

Mostly biggies, some smallies in the more narrow stretches with more current. I fish in a wide flat area with a good mix of shallows and a deeper channel. Problem is vegetation was most of their cover and there is very little remaining at the depths they are staging in. Hammered a submerged tree yesterday and only got a dinker from what would normally produce 2-3 nice fish. I have worked the deeper water also and nothing. I don't fully understand the hydrothermal dynamics (is that a word? Lol) of this creek. Maybe I'll take a thermometer down there and wade around. The storms are also shaking the creek up a bit, lower Putah Creek BTW, but I welcome some turbidity because it was crystal clear. Would wakebaits be considered a winter bait by anybody? Like a mellowed out gunfish or Sammy. Thanks

Hi guys. I read this forum a lot but finally found a reason to post. I need some help! Been fishing a local creek in the Sacramento valley, really good fishing over summer and fall. I expected it to fall off when the weather cooled down but I am getting skunked. The water has cleared up quite a bit and the vegetation has died back. I've tried an array of things from crawling finesse worms and jigs to jerk baits and topwaters/wakebaits. The only fish i have produced in the last couple weeks have been on a gunfish, which is really counterintuitive to me. Truth is I haven't done much winter creek fishing and the general tips I have picked up don't seem to work on this water. Any ideas? I have been avoiding bright days and fishing at dawn/night mostly. Thanks! Phil