35 minutes ago, ohioguy25 said:

Nice. Is weight necessary to produce this action or is plastic heavy enough?

The plastic has enough weight by itself. I go weightless 99.9% of the time with these. 

 

17 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

Agreed. Sometimes less is more in terms

of twitching. Not usually big jerks, just subtle ones and let it dart, slow down, swim horizontally awhile, then it changes directions.  Twitch/twitch again - rinse and repeat. 

Agreed. I feel like it blows out if you jerk it too hard. 

1 hour ago, ohioguy25 said:

 

 

 

 

 

Is there a specific way you are supposed to work this bait to get the desired action from that bubble tail? I’ve heard there is a sweeping action of the rod required, but I always assumed you just let it fall and twitch lightly similar to other flukes.

My standard retrieve is a steady reel while imparting small twitches with the rod, in addition I'll add 1-3 pauses per cast to let it flutter.

28 minutes ago, Bass Rutten said:

My standard retrieve is a steady reel while imparting small twitches with the rod, in addition I'll add 1-3 pauses per cast to let it flutter.

Interesting. I’ve always fished the caffeine shad like a fluke, which is like a soft jerkbait. Light twitches to make it dart around.

44 minutes ago, woolleyfooley said:

Interesting. I’ve always fished the caffeine shad like a fluke, which is like a soft jerkbait. Light twitches to make it dart around.

When I tie a caffeine shad on my intent is not to finesse them, it's to cover water semi-aggressively which is why I always use a weighted hook to keep it down. No right or wrong way, it's just what has always got me the most bites with this lure.

Owner Twistlock has replaced nearly all of my EWGs and round bends

Yes! I've experimented using a twist lock swimbait hooks with loop knot on t rigged weightless senkos. Allows it to really swim freely and flutter around.

5 hours ago, F14A-B said:

So you believe the BKK hook is better than an Owner or Gamakatsu?

Better is subjective I guess. To me, I like the BKK hooks better. They are the stickiest hooks I’ve ever felt. I’ve not used all of their hooks yet, but have caught fish on the permalock and permalock weighted. 

 

On 5/27/2025 at 4:10 PM, ohioguy25 said:

Do you use waited or unweighted? Do you find that the twist lock and parts a different action other negatively or positively on the fall, and if so which EWG do you prefer?

Gamakatsu superline twist lock unweighted and upen up the clip on the lock as seen below so the hook can unclip from the lock and the bait can slide up the hook and onto to the line when a hooked fish is thrashing.  This keeps the twist lock embedded in the bait and prevents it from getting ripped out.  The bait also slides up and away from the fish on the line acting like a line through.  I do this with all my soft plastics now and they last dozens of fish.  I also buy twiat locks by the bag and outfit my baits with them so i can just clip on another bait when needed.  The Caffine Shad is a favorite of mine with its gliding action and tail wag.  I use it more like a weightless Texas rig senko alternative crossed with a soft jerkbait.  It's a slower, gliding and wiggling/wagging action than the spastic fluke twitch.

Quick question regarding the owner twist locks. I haven’t used the twist locks in heavy grass/lily pads yet.
 

Does the exposed eye on a twistlock get hung up on grass more than a standard hook while fishing flukes/senkos?

On 5/28/2025 at 2:05 PM, F14A-B said:

So you believe the BKK hook is better than an Owner or Gamakatsu?

I believe that they make a d**n fine hooks in shapes and sizes Gamakatsu and Owner doesn't

3 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

Quick question regarding the owner twist locks. I haven’t used the twist locks in heavy grass/lily pads yet.
 

Does the exposed eye on a twistlock get hung up on grass more than a standard hook while fishing flukes/senkos?

I think it's slightly better because the eyelet is facing up/down seems to slip heavy grass better

 

scott.

You can use these on a EWG hook if you run out or do not have twistlock hooks to help the baits last longer. https://parasiteweights.com/product/parasite-clips/

Looks like I am one of the few that doesn't use either. I use an Owner cutting point 4/0 offset worm hook.