Swimbait Questions

[TheRegulator]

I got a swimbait mold from Bobstackleshack. 4" swimbait mold Zack Alter design. The mold pours great and the baits come out perfect. I have been painting the baits as well with LC paints, and have come up with some of the best looking baits since I have been pouring. I have a couple questions though. They may be rigging questions, firmness of bait questions or both.

When I pour without adding any additives, the tail flips up and has action more like a worm than I think a paddletail would do, is this the action it should have by design?

My thoughts were to add hardener to keep it from flipping up, then the bait has much more 'wobble' then I am trying to achieve. Should the bait wobble this much?

Lastly how should this be rigged? I am using the widest gapped hook I can find, Gamy 5/0, I don't know whether to bullet weight, I added Tungsten putty weight to the hook (under the swimbait, to try to stabalize 'wobble') with moderate succcess.

In summary, should I add softner/hardner to the plastic? Should the tail flip up or not? Should the bait wobble? How should I rig it?

Thanks

Mike

[Spike-A-Pike]

Mike,

You may want to post a few photos of how your currently rigging your swimbaits; if you've been trying more than one method, post them all. There are a few smart cookies around here that may have a simple answer for you.

[BigBassBo]

The best way to rig them Ive found is too get a ewg weighted hook, then poke the point through the nose. remove the hook and then stick the eye up through the throat of the bait. finish your texpose style rigging

[gunnie3035]

Yes, it is the design of that mold [tail]. It really depends on the action you want. If you use hardener or a stiffer plastic the swim will require a faster speed to get the same action you would get with softer plastic at slower speed. That bait is going to wobble no matter what, but a heavily weighted hook will slow it down somewhat. I feel the weighted hooks with the hitchhiker is a best option.

[King Bait Co.]

I have dipped some in a harder plastic and that help keep the tail down to normal. Weighted hooks work the best for me. I use a 4/0 weighted wide gap hook on 5" swimbaits. I am going to try a non weighted wide gap 5/0 hook on a 6" or a 6.5" swimbait and carolina rig it with 24" of line and a clacker. I am trying to get down to twnety to thirty feet. To see if one of thoes five to ten pound bass will hit it. I haven't tried this yet but no time better in a tournament. Plus the lake is a hundered miles away so no pre-fishing. You know truck + boat= 5 MPG

[TheRegulator]

Thanks for the replies. The hitchhiker does look like the best solution. I have never used them, I will pick some up. I was using a EWG and putting putty weight on the hook so I wouldn't have to push the weight through the plastic. This got too be a pain, and after switching baits the putty didn't adhere so well. Looking at the hitchhiker with weighted hook I think that will create what I am looking for.

Thanks Again

Mike

[GB GONE]

Mike:

You can put a weight on your hook shaft easily after rigging your bait up with a regular hook. Just take a rubber core sinker or a barrel weight. With the rubber core sinker, take the rubber out and attached it to your hook and crimp it on.

With a barrel weight, cut the wire out, drill the center of the weight so it fits on your hook shank and then slit one side of the weight with a hack saw. The weight can be put onto your hook shank and then pinched closed.

Jim

PS These paddle tail swims have to have a weighted hook to swim properly! With an un-weighted hook, the bait will list to one side and eventually spin.

Edited June 30, 2008 by ghostbaits
update..

[TheRegulator]

Thanks again for the replies. I tried the hitchhiker and it was exactly what I was looking for. Very easy too rig, and ran with much less 'wobble' and better action. This is exactly the result I was looking for.

Jim - I will try the rubber core sinker deal, as I already have a bunch of EWG hooks unweighted. That sounds like it would work the same, it should also allow me to alter the weight as necessary, which looks like you can't do with the weighted EWG hooks.