2009 has been tough at the ponds. I attended a demonstration at

BPS by Mike Whitten, Southern Region writer for Gary Yamamoto's

In-Line magazine. Fishing in the tank, this bait really got my

attention. I bought a couple and they worked like "magic":

1/2 oz Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spinner:

http://www.***.com/descpageUNDERSPINSH-SHFHS.html

Rigged with a Lake Fork Trophy Lures 3 1/2" "Live" Magic Shad:

http://www.***.com/descpageLFSPLFSB-LFLMS.html

The retrieve is to keep your rod up and stationary. Cast, let the

bait drop on slack line, then quickly crank three or four times

before dropping again on slack line. There is no pumping, the

blade on the lure lifts the bait.

Hang-ups are rare since you are not dragging the bottom. Strikes

always occur on the drop, both in the BPS tank and in real life!

Although I really bought this for smallmouth on the Tennessee

River, the green fish in my ponds liked it, too!

8-)

One of my most consistent lures lately has been a 4.5 inch Lake Fork Tackle Magic Shad on a chatterbait head.  I've thrown away the skirts from all of my chatterbaits and replaced them with live magic shads.  Even on colder days it has done well for me slow rolled along the bottom.  I reel it just fast enough so that I can feel the blade thumping.

Been on the Hornet since early last year. A good bait for numbers for me. I haven't caught anything to brag about with it, but I've caught a lot of fish with it.

Kent, I know you wouldn't stoop so low as to buy, and use, any Yamamoto plastics, but try the torn up remnant of a Swim Senko on that Hornet head. Looks cool, and works very well.

Have you noticed?  I've broadened my horizons,

fishing a couple of Rage Tail and Lake Fork plastics...

Man, at this rate I'll be Brent's best customer in a

couple of years!

The SH head rigged with a super fluke has saved the day quite a few times around here.

Just goes to prove you are never too old to learn.... ;D

note to self: don't hold breath for two more years, minimum. ;D

i'm going to have to check that sworming hornet out. Keepin' simple is what it's all about. Looks like a beetlespin on crack ( half oz. ) Sweet. 8-)

b

looks more like a Roadrunner on steroids.

Brent, they are kind of pricey....whats the chances of an *** Hornet hitting the market?

A perfect match for the 5" jerk shad.

What sort of cover/structure are you fishing? I fish a deep, rocky, clear lake most of the time. This might be deadly swimming it down a rocky drop off. What do you think?

What sort of cover/structure are you fishing? I fish a deep, rocky, clear lake most of the time. This might be deadly swimming it down a rocky drop off. What do you think?

You bet!  I was fishing a nondescript, bowl pond; casting out

deep and bringing it up towards shallow water. What I'm jazzed

about is fishing them along ridges and over pea gravel on the

Tennessee River.

8-)

What sort of cover/structure are you fishing? I fish a deep, rocky, clear lake most of the time. This might be deadly swimming it down a rocky drop off. What do you think?

You bet! I was fishing a nondescript, bowl pond; casting out

deep and bringing it up towards shallow water. What I'm jazzed

about is fishing them along ridges and over pea gravel on the

Tennessee River.

8-)

Hey RW, are you throwing these on a spinning rig w/ your Yo-Zuri Hybrid?

I have only fished it a couple of hours at a local pond.

The total weight with the "Live" Magic Shad is around

5/8 oz, so I probably could use a spinning outfit, but I

used a baitcaster with #12 Yo-Zuri. Generally, I feel

like lower diameter line is an advantage, especially for

smallmouth. However, line visibility is not an isue when

fishing reaction lures. So, I plan to use the baitcaster to

reduce my chances of losing the lure on the river. I'll

know a lot more and report results after a trip to the

Tennessee.

8-)

Yes sir...that set up is nice and the variety of options are equally nice.

Big O

www.ragetail.com

Yes sir...that set up is nice and the variety of options are equally nice.

Big O

www.ragetail.com

The Swim Senko and Super Fluke have been suggested, what else?

8-)

My favorite one isn't on the market yet.... :'(  but you'll see it soon enough  

Big O

maybe a soft swimbait with a paddletail

like this one from strike king

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=HM0UBVJKOXP2HLAQBBJSCNNMCAEFIIWE?id=0055973123556a&type=product&cmCat=froogle&cm_ven=data_feed&cm_cat=froogle&cm_pla=0290207&cm_ite=0055973123556a&_requestid=14932

they make a lighter weight one that works well with the 4" swimming senko at least here in SC , you can find it on tacklewharehouse.com

Brent, they are kind of pricey....whats the chances of an *** Hornet hitting the market?

looks pretty straightforward. i'll forward it to my lip bomb guy (he does spinner baits too). heck, my dad might be able to have his 'hookerhead' jig guy do them.

That would be pretty sweet with a hooker head... I love those jigs he sells

b

Have you noticed? I've broadened my horizons,

fishing a couple of Rage Tail and Lake Fork plastics...

Man, at this rate I'll be Brent's best customer in a

couple of years!

Who said, that a old dog can't learn new tricks? ;D

I plan to purchase some Sworming Hornets soon. Any suggestions related to the plastic shad color attached to the SH? I'm speaking of staying in "shad" color category such as albino, white, and pearl colors OR the darker colors such as green pumpkin and watermelon colors?

Thanks!

The Lake Fork "Live" Magic Shad is gray/silver with a black top.

The color combination looks very much like a common baitfish,

but more importantly, the tail provides a subtle wiggle as the

lure falls. Maybe other trailers would work just fine, but since

this was recommended and is inexpensive, I'll stick with it for

now.

8-)

I encourage you to check the Sworming Hornets out.  Rick Steckelberg, the owner, is a great guy and one that has been most helpful to Dow and myself in Starting our company.    

Thanks for clearing it up since the tackle name and color go by the same name.

Roadwarrior I've been fishing a 3/8 oz Bladrunner Spintrix which is similiar to the Hornet but has a bigger hook for the last 2 years. I've been using the 6" Yamamoto 19-10 series grub as my trailer. The 2 best colors have been the black shad head with the 031 color Blue Pearl Silver Flake trailer and I've also done well with the Chartruese Blue with the 214 Smoke with the Black, Blue,Gold flake trailer. Up here in Michigan it seems to attract a lot of Northern Pike as well.I've used 14 lb BPS Floro for this application on a 7' MH Roque rod. I picked this idea up from KVD's nephew whom you will be hearing a lot from on the trail in the next few years. I've also have tried the swimming hornet with a Zoom Fluke, but I've done better so far with the other combo. I appreciate your suggestion of the Magic Shad, looks like I'll have to try it this year.