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Deep Swimbait Fishing

Revo Toro Rocket Paired with the Phenix Ultra Swimbait Classic 790H

Published: 4 January 2018
Written by Alex Tech
No comments
Categories: 2018 Saltwater Fishing, Calico Bass, Deep Swimbait Fishing, Reels, Rods, Shimano, Weedless Swimbaits

 

My first serious bass rod, was a Phenix 55M2 with an Abu Garcia 4600 round reel, ala Don Iovino, doodle worm fishing.  I have fished Shimano most of my adult/post-college could afford boats and serious tackle life.  The last couple years, as I’ve been eyeing the Pacific Ocean, I’ve ventured out and explored rods and reels from various companies and brands.  I sorta wanted to check in and see if anyone had caught up to Shimano, or get a feel what these other brands, like Daiwa, Quantum, Okuma, Lews, etc could do.   My intention was always to blog about those experiences.  I have lagged at blogging, but let this kick off that conversation. 

I know, I want to grab them too.

 

Fast forward, a couple months back, as I was getting into my first groove with the good sized, solid calico bass at San Clemente Island (aka SCI).  I posted a video of my Daiwa Tatula HD reel being a pain in the arse, reel handle sorta seized up, gears making grinding noises as I’m fighting a fish (find me on instagram @southernswimbait ).  Anyway, I got a note from my friend Brad Rutherford.  You know, that ‘kid’ who was in college and was part of Southern Trout Eaters?  He now works for Pure Fishing.  Pure Fishing is the conglomerate that owns Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick, Stren, Sebile, Spider Wire, etc etc  Brad works for Pure Fishing out of Columbia, South Carolina.   See this cool story from Brad’s father, Bob Rutherford who posted this on Facebook recently. I hadn’t heard this story before.  STE = Southern Trout Eaters:  

 

Brad sent me a couple of saltwater grade, big spool, low profile, heavy duty, casting reels to try out.  I really appreciated the gesture and wanted to provide some feedback.  I recently invested in some Shimano Tranx, which is the Shimano low profile saltwater grade reel, so I feel like I have good feel of the current state of the market.  What really drew my attention to the Abu Garcia Revo Toro Rocket was the super quick gear ratio, paired up with this beast of a reel, with a massive 4×4 twin paddle handle.   You can tell this thing has amazing torque and power, when you reel it right out of the box.   Shimano has NOT yet figured out how to make a double paddle power handle, that I feel like is up to grade.  Abu Garcia has knocked it out of the park with the handle on the  Revo Toro Rocket.   I find the single power knob handles, the kind that saltwater guys adore….is hard for me as a swimbait guy.  I have lost my grip a couple times at key moments.  Something about the size and the singular knob hasn’t jived with my style of reeling and swimbait fishing.  When I slow down and fish lead heads or something, no problem.  But something about how I grip that knob aint working for me.  The Tranx power knob is oddly too big for me to hold by my middle part of my fingers, and it’s caused me problems.  

Big ole power handles, wide spool, fresh Phenix braided line, Shellback Customs 6″ Swimmer…Times they are a changin, again.

My buddy Chris Lilis (Christos is his Greek name, and since I too have Greek roots, I like to call him Christos) has a bunch of Abu Garcia Toros and Beast reels. Find Christos on Instagram at:  @LBCEEZ  He has been telling me how rock solid they are and how saltwater worthy they were.   I sorta went thru some reels year, and he was giving me his feedback.  After fishing this thing a few trips now, I have no doubt this reel is totally solid and fishes really well.  It casts a mile.  It holds a ton of line, especially for bass guys.  It moves an incredible amount of line per crank.  You need to able to fish fast with a lot of your baits. You fish with fast reels cover water, to make more casts, to get slack out of your long casts, to reel quickly back to the boat thru dead water, etc.  It’s less physically demanding to fish certain baits with fast reels.  I rarely like to fish anything 5:1 or slower, even 6:1 are slow to me, except Huddlestons, and a handful of really big baits these days.  A lot of my game has changed.  Braid changes things too. 

I am totally impressed with this reel.  I haven’t fished an Abu Garcia reel in a long time, and I am certainly impressed.  I would like to get more of these, and continue trying them out in new applications.  They work great with 65/80 pound braid, and calico bass, which means they will rock at big largemouth hunting too.  A-Rigs.  Big Jerk Baits.  Big Spinnerbaits/BuzzBaits.  Big topwater, etc. 

Rod:  Phenix Ultra Classic Swimbait Rod 790H

A number of my friends swear by the 790H Ultra Classic Swimbait rod from Phenix.  I took a trip to Phenix a few weeks back and loaded up on some new sticks for the saltwater.  I knew I wanted to pair the Revo Toro Rocket with the 790H because I knew I was going to be fishing the ShellBack Customs 6″ Swimbait.  I knew I would be getting bit, and would be having chances to test the tackle, get some fish on film and really see how it would work. 

Phenix Ultra Swimbait Classic 790H is my new weapon of calico bass hunting with weedless and lead head swimbaits. 

The 790H feels amazingly like these Teramars from Shimano I have had for 17 years, that I just adore.  Really beefy and strong, but just a little tip.  My friends were not lying when they told me this was the best all around swimbait rod they might pick if they could only have one.  I could throw a 1 oz warbait spinnerbait or a 8″ Huddleston or a Slide Swimmer 250. 

You notice in the above video, I literally jack a fish like 4 feet out of the water on my hookset.  Paired with braid, and a good solid 300/400 series low profile fast reel like the Revo Toro Rocket, you are becoming a dangerous weapon.  You can cover water, and not fatigue yourself.  You can burn your baits and then stall–which creates bites.  You can hook and land most fish you will ever encounter.  Kevin Mattson caught like a 250 lb arapaima on this rod.  It can handle the biggest baddest fish of the Amazon.   I can see myself getting more of the 790H.  Two of them, is not enough! 

Stuck pig

Mann’s Reel N’ Shad

Published: 21 June 2015
Written by Alex Tech
No comments
Categories: Deep Swimbait Fishing, Glide Baits, Herring Eaters, Small Bait Fishing, Smallmouth/Spotted Bass Swimbaits, Swim Signatures, The Ozarks, Trophy Ozark Brown Trout Fishing, Underspins

Keep it simple.  I am intrigued by swimming worms and swimming fluke baits, as they relate to swimbait fishing.  Swimming a fluke style bait is sorta kinda glide bait fishing to some extent.   There’s a randomness and glide of swimming fluke baits that makes them special.  Think about how the Scrounger Head, and Aaron Martens have pretty much validated that swimming flukes flat wear ’em out.  Now transition to the Head Spin.  Fluke influenced.  Very critical to rig your Fluke or swimbait PERFECTLY on your Head Spin.  Otherwise is runs funky or doesn’t look good.   The fluke + Head Spin of course won the BassMaster Classic in 2015 on Hartwell.  A blueback herring lake.  The Head Spin swims but also has a glide to it as it sinks and falls.  It has to do with the Fluke on the back.    The Little Dipper is an excellent trailer for the Head Spin.

My first exposure to the Scrounger was back in the day, Pacific Ocean in about 1990 out on the Dana Wharf fleet.   Saltwater calico bass fishing w 4″ curly tail grubs and Scroungers.  My first exposure to the Head Spin, was in 2005, in Atlanta, GA.  It was a local company and I read fishing reports for days trying to integrate into the Southern bass fishing scene.  I would credit Ryan Coleman for dialing me into the bite more like in 2007.  I hired Ryan to show me Lake Lanier.  There was a BassMaster Open coming to Lanier that year (Which, Ryan would WIN!).  He showed me how to slow roll a Head Spin over brush piles.  Later, folks like Brad and Bob Rutherford preached to me about the Head Spin for places like Hartwell.  Which is ironic because that is where Casey Ashley just won the 2015 BassMaster Classic — Lake Hartwell.   Head Spins have their place for suspended fish, herring eaters, spotted bass, largemouths, and any fish truthfully.  The underspin is a fundamental truth of fishing it feels like to me.

How many influences do you see here? Alabama rig and adding a 2nd blade/flash .... Then I've got a Little Dipper, from my Okeechobee affair w swimming worms. Then You have Fish Head Spin with is a unique swimbait in it's own right. Underspins, like spinnerbaits and inline spinners get bit.
How many influences do you see here? Alabama rig and adding a 2nd blade/flash …. Then I’ve got a Little Dipper, from my Okeechobee affair w swimming worms. Then You have Fish Head Spin with is a unique swimbait in it’s own right. Underspins, like spinnerbaits and inline spinners get bit.

So WTF does that have to do with the Mann’s Reel N’ Shad?  Watch this bait swim.  Watch it hop.  The straight reel, this thing has a sweet little wiggle fluid drive swim.   This is a “Do Nothing Swimbait” if I’ve ever seen one.  This thing looks lethal to me, on spinning gear , or casting gear.  There is a 3 3/4″ and and 5 1/4″ models which is cool.  The small one is definitely spinning gear time.  7′ M or MH Spinning pole and some 10-15# braid with a 10# floro leader.  Bang goes the dynamite.  This thing is part senko, part fluke, part glide bait, and part swimmer.  I just appreciate the simple yet super fishable and fish catchyness of this bait.

I have to admit, I haven’t fished a fluke on a standard roundball jig head enough.  I haven’t fished a fluke or fluke style (meaning V or U shaped body when looking at bait head on), that don’t have a swimming tail enough.   The swimming tail takes away from glide.   The tail straightens the swim into a more uniform flow/engine.  Fluke baits with a simple little fork tail (or no tail, ie Sluggo) don’t swim thru the water.  They glide.  The swimbait world is all blown up on, glide baits.  Glide baits are something so simple but something we (well, me certainly) are just scratching the surface with.  I’m so f@cking blown away on the Slide Swimmer 250, there’s no other way to put it.  I got like 5 bites by MAGNUM brown trout in the span of like 2 days.   It was sick and wrong.   There are particular reasons it’s so good.  I can kill it, stall it, etc that is very conducive to fishing current.  The Slide Swimmer 250 kicks f@cking ass in current.  Fishability.   Net net, anything that ‘glides’ like a fluke rigged with a light lead head will catch fish.   Try a 1/16 or 1/32 head on a Zoom Fluke sometime.  It’s stupid how good that thing fishes (and catches).  Mid-Strolling.  Have you ever heard of that technique?

The video is of the 5 1/4″ version in guess what color?  Hartwell Special/Blue Glimmer.  You know somebody knows what time it is when they name something like that.  This bait has blueback herring eaters written all over it.  Likewise smallmouth and spotted bass.  From creek fishing, to fishing steep walls / shade lines…boy …. this thing is super simple but looks effective.

Beginners

Think about this bait for kids or for somebody who is new.   Good enough to cast, retrieve, and sorta gets the feel for jigging a bait with a rod, reel, and line.    You set them up with the Mann’s Reel N’ Shad , they are gonna be stoked.  Floating down a creek or fishing small water?  The 3 3/4″ version looks killer.  Great colors.   Mann’s surprises me from time to time.  I try to keep an open mind and never be snooty about baits, companies, and techniques.  That sort of arrogance has cost me a lot of money!   If you know what you’re doing this bait is sorta a new ‘indicator’ bait / approach.  One of those specialty baits you have rigged up on a shad bite/herring bite where fish are suspended, chasing bait, on steep stuff,  or need to probe the depths.

We’ve got a lot of tools to pick from.  This one definitely will help you keep it simple.  And might be a good suggestion to some beginners or something you take on a trip w you where you need to put some newbies on fish. Mann’s Bait Company is about as OG as you can get.  I think about Hank Parker and those Gold Colorado bladed spinnerbaits he won the Classic with, and I think of Paul Elias and the big ole deep dredge crankbaits.  I have to say, the 1-Minus series has caught me a lot of fish.   Anyway, Mann’s has some good baits, at a good price and seems to be hanging tuff.   I imagine they’ve sold 1 or 2 umbrella rigs too?!?!?!

MP

Purchase the Mann’s Reel N’ Shad from Tacklewarehouse:

manns-reel-n-shad
Click the image to purchase from Tackle Warehouse

HogFarmer Baits Hair Jig

Published: 1 June 2015
Written by Alex Tech
1 Comment
Categories: Deep Swimbait Fishing, Small Bait Fishing, Swim Signatures, The Alabama Rig

It’s officially June 1st. I think it’s safe to assume there are fishes on the ledges out on the TN River.   I’m no ledge fishing expert, but here is what I know:  You have to have multiple tools in your toolkit, once you locate a school of fish.  The fish get tuned into your bait after you hook 3-5 fish.  You have to switch it up to keep getting bit.

The hair jig is one of the oldest school baits you can throw these days. I fished round headed hair jigs with Uncle Josh Pork Frogs on the back on Bull Shoals lake in the late 80s/early 90s time frame.   I know they catch fish. I hammered fish on the hair jig.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/hL0kfJvDFfI]

Scott Schauwecker and HogFarmer Baits are legit.  Scott sent me a bunch of his HogFarmer Umbrella Rigs.  Something I intend to show and share.  They are killer and are exactly what I like in umbrella rigs.  His hair jig came to my attention recently, and I took some time to cast it and feel it and film it.  Hair jigs have a different vortex.  They have a real glide to them as they fall thru the water.  They fall on a different plane than rubber/synthetic skirts.  The hair jig has a consistent size and shape vs. rubber that tends to ‘squid’ and distort.   It’s got a great shad/baitfish profile that just works. It pulses along as it swims.  The hair moves and pulses, but it’s far less dramatic than the swim of rubber skirts.  Hair has a natural flow in water that is more subtle and quiet, but nice and bulky and sleek.

HogFarmer Hair jigs are made with synthetic bear hair, krystal flash, and real bear hackle feathers.  The colors are legit.  Lemon Shad reminded me of a good TN River threadfin shad color, with the chartreuse stripe.  I like the 3/4 ounce. I would suggest he make a 1 and 1.5 ounce baits too!  I like ’em heavier than most.

Trailers/Customizations

Definitely you can cut the hair, thin it out, or create a tail.  I’m fairly certain a good trailers for a bait like this are: Keitech’s, BassTrix, Skinny Dippers, Big Hammers, Straight tailed Worms split down the center, Flukes, or Senkos.   The added bulk will give you more weight, more swim, more glide, etc.  The heavier your jig head, the better your trailer swims on the fall/sink.  Unless you are looking for glide, in which case, lighter tends to be better than heavier.

Stroking

Hell yes.  Rip this bait off the bottom and let it fall back.  That is the #1 application of the HogFarmer Hair Jig that I’d have in mind. I’d find a school of fish and use this as one of my tools to fire up the school, and show them something fresh and new.  I find switching from Big Hammer to Omega Remitz Football Jig to Magnum Speed Worms and then Umbrella Rigs of course.

Swimming

You should definitely swim a hair jig like you would any other swimbait you fish mid water column.  Whenever you find fish and need to show them something fresh or just explore how big a bait they’ll eat or really try to dial them in…Hair jigs are super old school.  The theme reminds me of “Ken’s Vortex” conversations.  The hair jig has a different footprint and vibration than rubber jigs and it swims and glides different.  It gets bit.

Purchase from Tackle Warehouse
Purchase from Tackle Warehouse

 

 

Stroking Swimbaits

Published: 18 November 2012
Written by Alex Tech
4 Comments
Categories: 2011 Tournament Fishing, 2012 Tournament Fishing, Big Hammer, Deep Swimbait Fishing, The Alabama Rig, Warbaits
Ledge Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti. This 5″ Bay Smelt Big Hammer on a 1 oz head got tore up. This is the baseline, the 5″ Hammer. Go bigger from here is my advice.

 

I’ve been sitting on this footage, unsure of how or when exactly to release it, and finally just sat down and cranked it out.  I was concerned this information might hurt me, but I’m starting to think completely differently than I used to about sharing information and ideas..  I am not headed to Kentucky Lake anytime soon, and it appears to be ‘good timing’ all things considered.   Stroking baits is something you don’t learn in San Diego.  Stroking a bait, literally means jerking/ripping it 1-8 feet off the bottom and letting the bait settle back down to the bottom.  Think about snatching rattle traps in the grass, where you snatch the bait clean of the grass and the fish eat it on the fall.   Stroking football head jigs and spoons on the Tennessee River is a staple and it took me some years to clue into.   Some local tricks you pick up instantly at the gas station, other things, you somehow miss for years.  Stroking is not something I’d done ever, until I arrived at Kentucky Lake in 2011.    Stroking is now one of my presentations of all baits I fish. It just makes sense.  To really snap and snatch your bait hard off the bottom, and then let if free fall back to the bottom seems to be a truth of fishing….it just works at times.

Stroked and Choked Big Hammer Swimbait on the ledges of Kentucky Lake, but ultimately a good choice for any of the TN River, or any open water offshore bite.

 

So here goes, another meandering, long winded, ‘first chapter’ of a thing I’m calling Ledge Zeppelin I, Stroking Swimbaits.   This footage is post 2011 FLW Tour on Kentucky Lake, and my 2011 summer in Southern California, where I did some saltwater fishing.  I blended things together to share how and where I got the methods and tools that ultimately led me to start stroking my Big Hammer swimbaits, instead of just swimming and jigging them along:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITtTLdUQqNo]

 

If you are ready to stroke swimbaits off the ledges of the Tennessee River, or any other offshore lake, this stuff applies lots of places (the Ozarks, Champlain, Great Lakes, etc), here is what you need:

I was stroking my Big Hammer swimbait on a Medium Action 8 foot rod and Shimano Calcutta 300 TE reel, and 20# P-Line CXX….however, this is something you can do with standard low profile reels and I always recommend 8 footers, and braided line.  Especially adding a short leader section to your braid.  I am slowly migrating all my fishing over to braid, in case you haven’t noticed.  You have more sensitivity, more hookset, more torque, and more guts to do more with your bait with braid.

My buddy Brian Somrek was as stoked as I was on the bite. We were learning as we were going. Brian was catching them on the 5.5″ Big Hammer, which to many out West is the best Big Hammer swimbait.

 

We speak to Warbaits and the effect their swim jigs will be having.  You are seeing the future now.  When Strike King, Spro, and Berkley come out with a swim jig that is >1 ounce, it will be as a result of the Warbait Slayer Swim Jig.  These things are legit and taking the West by storm.  You have an early warning and heads up. You need to check their Slayer Swim Jigs and Weedless Swim Jig Heads out.  Just by having a weedguard, you are helping yourself out in some cases, because exposed top hook single swimbaits are really sticky around wood.  Swim jigs are just awesome and popular and catch fish, so why not fish them out at 20-30 feet, instead of 1-3 feet?   You can stroke them or just fish them on the slow grind, and look out.  Fish love baits with skirts.

I cannot say enough about the Warbaits Swim Jigs, and I’m finding the more rounded paddle tail of the Robo Ocean Swimbait Tails are a fine swimming and stroking combination.

 

Stroking Swimbaits Photo Gallery:

[nggallery id=17]

 

 

 

 

Sebile Spin Shad Deep Cold Suspended Crossover Swimbait Fishing

Published: 6 November 2012
Written by Alex Tech
2 Comments
Categories: Deep Swimbait Fishing, Small Bait Fishing, Swim Signatures

The Sebile Spin Shad:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfBWBdJXHA]

 

The Sebile Spin Shad is worthy of sharing.  I took some film of this bait to supplement the FLW Outdoors article that Pete Robbins published called “Heavy Metal Jigging” available for you at the digital Bass Fishing eMagazine that FLW produces online, Nov/Dec 2012 Issue.   After filming the bait and messing with it, I knew this bait was something swimbait guys and tournament guys alike might dig too.  It’s getting winter time, and clearly spoons, blade baits, head spins, single top hook swimbaits all get bit in the winter/cold months.   So, when I saw this bait, I realized it was a wonderful balance and compromise of various schools of fishing baits/techniques, and that’s what makes this thing legit.  Not to mention, you have some pretty ‘big’ sizes available, so you can fish big or small, get deep, get around/thru suspended fish, get a down the line straight grind/swim out of the bait, and yo-yo and vertical fish really well.

Drop bait, swimbait, spoon, head spin, switchblade swim jig, melded together.

 

 

Think about an 8 foot rod, 7:1 reel, 50# braid and a mono or floro leader, and how much water (both covering water, and covering water column) you can haul thru here.   With long rods you simply can pump your bait in big drawn out yo-yos, and raise it higher, sink it deeper, and get more fall and inflection with the longer rod, and then comes control.  You can control a heavy slab spoon really well, the but Spin Shad has the rear blade that spins and levels the bait out and balances it and makes it orient correctly, so you can correctly slow roll at huge depths and know as its swimming along fine.  It cannot be fished wrong, up or down, or anything in between.  You can cover huge masses of water column with this style.   The Fish Head Spin is a killer bait, you need to be throwing it, often, around suspended fish, Alabama Rig fish, or where fish are on bait.   So, this bait takes the Head Spin in other directions and is a more heavy and down the line swimmer, because of the rear blade and weight/profile of the body, it doesn’t blow out or tend to require a really delicate and controlled swim like the Head Spin at times can require.  The Head Spin you can sorta loose contact/connection with that bait easily, especially if yo-yoing gets into play, and it doesn’t have the vertical fishability either.  Now, I love me some Head Spin, just pointing out it’s weakness is a powerful down the line swim and the Spin Shad is exactly that, and steadfast swimmer that has the right things to fish deep, steep and on the drop all while maintaining a spinnerbait blade that just doesn’t foul and works.   Think about deep water, rough water/conditions, ledges where you need to snatch and excite the school of fish, making jerky actions and covering water quickly.

Check out the colors, sizes, and purchase the Sebile Spin Shads HERE.

 

 

Chilly Swim Article-FLW Bass Fishing Magazine November December 2012

Published: 18 October 2012
Written by Alex Tech
No comments
Categories: Deep Swimbait Fishing, Huddleston Deluxe

Thanking Sean Ostruszka and Matt Pace (illustrator) for the recently published article in the Nov/Dec 2012 Edition of the FLW Bass Fishing Magazine.  Below is a reproduction of the 4 page piece highlighting some insights into using swimbaits to catch fish in cold(er) weather.  I am thrilled to be part of an article on swimbait fishing with Justin Lucas, a sharp young fellow I have a ton of respect for his fishing, tournament skills, and overall demeanor (4 Pages):