Originally Posted by
MainelySmallmouth
So this is truly an application specific bait IMHO that works great for a specific purpose, ie targeting suspended fish. For me, this is a clear water, like 15 + feet of visibility chasing suspended smallmouth. Any time the fish are suspended, this is a great bait as you can fish it as deep as you want/need to. I use the Duo baits, G Fix 80 is my favorite, and the regular 90 will do when the fish are chasing larger size bait in the fall as they feed up for winter. I ALWAYS use spinning gear, as long bomb casts are necessary to get the bait in the right zone and keep it there during the retrieve. My two favorite rods are the Steez AGS 7' ML and the Steez AGS 7'6" MML spinning rods. Both rods have a great parabolic bend, which is critical to keeping cartwheeling smallies pinned on those tiny trebles and both rods have a great tip that allow you to cast the bait a country mile. I use 10lb Aqua Camo NanoBraid tied to a 20 + foot 6 to 8 lb leader depending in time of year and depth. Here is the really really hard part. The retrieve needs to be really slow and steady for the bait to fish "right". If fished too fast, you lose all the properties that make a spybait effective. It can be a painfully slow retrieve, but when you get it right, I swear the fish try to rip the rod out of your hands. I will NEVER forget my first spybait fish. It was only a 3 lber, but honestly the strike was electric and I was instantly hooked. Not as visually violent as a top water frog bite, but equally as underwater violent on light light gear. When you get it dialed in, it can be an incredibly effective tool targeting suspended smalllies in gin clear water. Good luck and tight lines!!
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