I'm starting to see these getting fished a good bit in Texas, but I haven't tried them yet. Any tips?

These are pretty good sized, about 1/2 oz.

9 hours ago, txchaser said:

I'm starting to see these getting fished a good bit in Texas, but I haven't tried them yet. Any tips?

These are pretty good sized, about 1/2 oz.

Have fished these and dice and tentacled bug baits. The temptation is to over think. But they are (mostly) just another bait.

Just fish however you want or would normally fish your favorite bait..with a few tweaks. These are round, symetrical baits with the tentacles doing the work so these will (more or less) look identical in presentation to the fish regardless of rigging. The vibrations of the tentacles is the secret sauce here (allegedly). So they will vibrate whether on the natural weightless drop or by your rod work.

Sky's the limit for rigging.

Neko? Add a nail weight and your favorite hook. I fish this method.

Weightless? Pretty much any hook. I've seen long shank hooks and EWG here. I've also seen it done with a drop shot hook.

Dropshot? A long shank hook is best.

These sink slow, so if you intend to fish it on a weightless drop, do some testing to determine rate of drop beforehand.

Due to the slow sink rate, I've fished this in a Free Rig in deeper water.

There's really no wrong way IMO.

Thanks @RRocket
Saw someone fishing it weighted, but moving like a jerk bait too.

Do you find a particular time when they work better than other soft plastic options?

I've been using the Hideup versions. I've tried a variety of rigs, but using a nail weight and fishing them like a worm or jig has been the most productive for me.

I've been playing with a KO version I got last fall. I have yet to catch a fish on one but the action is pretty interesting. All those little arms really vibrate on the drop. I've been fishing it on a wacky rig head but I've seen a lot of guys using a short dropshot and shaking them also. The ones I have float pretty high, I'm tempted to try them weightless when the water warms up like a big bug or something.

8 hours ago, Glenn said:

I've been using the Hideup versions. I've tried a variety of rigs, but using a nail weight and fishing them like a worm or jig has been the most productive for me.

Yes, that's how I fish mine when I say I Neko Rig it.

But yes, it's a bit like a skirted jig.

9 hours ago, txchaser said:

Thanks @RRocket
Saw someone fishing it weighted, but moving like a jerk bait too.

Do you find a particular time when they work better than other soft plastic option?

Bug/poop/appendage baits are one of my primary techniques and have been since I started using them. It's been fun to watch their evolution.

I think they're a different look. They certainly displace water differently. I think they possess qualities that will attract hungry or even curious bass. I'm not sure I'd say they're "better" at any particular time. Just "different". They seem to catch fish when other baits won't, for whatever reason.

I'm certain bug and invertebrates were on the menu for juvenile bass, so I think they're naturally wired to see these types of bait as prey.

Maybe they would have been the deal today. Most of the deep fish wouldn't eat at all, or even follow. Shallow fish were eating though.

It was a wild day with the false spawn then ice confusing the fish. Big piles of fish pulled off, and out of 20 fish pulled out on a flat maybe a couple would eat a c-rig. Spread out not schooling.

Straight out ignoring almost everything I threw at them, must be time for a new bait!

Ive always thought of this lure category as a good way to catch a lot of fish. These beefier ones might just be the ticket to getting the bigger ones to bite. I'll buy them eventually if they make some with halfway reasonable prices.

I don't have any and never will because I'm never going to buy another lure for as long as I live. Ha!

I still haven’t tried any of these “fuzzy” or “dice” style baits. I don’t have a finesse setup. Something heavier like this is interesting to me though. I’m definitely going to look into them.