Magdraft Freesyle rigging

[Pool14RiverRat]

Never thrown a magdraft type swimbait before. All I have ever done for swimbaits are smaller finesse baits on a jighead. I got a few areas on my river that I think a 6 inch magdraft freestyle would shine fishing over some shallow grass. I got a few questions on rigging.
1. I am rigging it on a spring lock superline swimbait hook to throw on straight braid, do I need to throw a weighted spring lock hook or is the bait heavy enough already? Fishing depths would be 2-5 feet.
2. What size swimbait hook would be best for the 6 inch magdraft freestyle?
3. Does a hook with a blade attached to it like a flashy swimmer make that much difference?
I know this is a long post but I am pretty new to "big" swimbait fishing. Thanks!

[coreynov902]

1. I've never tried fishing it on an unweighted swimbait hook, but I would think you would want a little weight just to help orient and keel the bait, so in my opinion I would use a weighted swimbait hook.
2. I've used a 7/0 Trokar swimbait hook (1/4 oz) and an 8/0 Owner Beast swimbait hook (1/4 oz) and both have worked just fine. Not sure I'd want to go smaller than a 7/0 simply due to the amount of bite you lose with a smaller hook in a bigger bait.
3. I've personally never had much luck with the flashy swimmer bladed hooks, but I haven't thrown them a ton. I'm sure they shine in certain situations but for me the standard weighted swimbait hook is what I use.

Since I fish the Mississippi River some as well, I will warn you that pike also like the Magdraft freestyle and when they go for a head shot there's a decent chance they're going to cut right through your line. Just be prepared to lose some baits if you are around pike. But I'm sure you probably already know that.

[webertime]

If you're fishing super shallow you COULD throw weightless but the say you move 100ft and need to throw in 4ft or deeper you'd have to re-rig. I like a 6/0 screw lock hook. I use flashy type and non both work. Owner Beast or BKK titan driver + are great hooks. Super happy with the BKK.

[DrewFlu33]

I've had luck throwing them on either 6/0 or 8/0 weighted Owner Beasts, and prefer the 6/0. You could probably throw it on an unweighted one, but it's going to want to rise too much and not stay down unless you absolutely crawl it. I've thrown it on a Flashy Swimmer before too, never had a ton of luck on it. I know lots of guys swear by it though.

Check out the 7/0 model of the Core Tackle TUSH. While the heavier 3/4 oz one is the deal for crawling on the bottom in deep water, the 1/4 oz one is perfect for what you're wanting to do. Just don't tell anyone!

[DaveBrabec]

8/0. 3/8 oz Beast hook. Caught hundreds with it

[willwork4fish]

Yeah that 7/0 1/4 oz TUSH is the deal for fishing a Magdraft shallow. For what it's worth I actually prefer the Bass Mafia knockoff.

[Wackyjig]

My absolute favorite way to rig the freestyle, is as a top hook line thru.
Take a small screwdriver or something similar, push it into the nose and out the hook trough in the back. Get you a coffee stir and put a drop of superglue a half inch back from the end. Push it into the hole and stop it flush with the exit point, then trim flush with the nose.
For weighting, put a nail or cylinder weight of your choosing in the belly slot and glue the slot closed.
Then feed your line through, tie on your trebels, and bury one hook in the back.
The 6/0-7/0 weighted belly hooks are great, but you loose some of the magdraft head shake so I only use those when I need 100% weedless rigging.

[o2bbassin]

Magdraft Freestyle neophyte here - would the 6th sense line through swimbait heads work? Picked up a couple of 3/8 and 1/2 oz but thinking now I might need some 1/4oz too.

[Mybigfish812]

Magdraft Freestyle neophyte here - would the 6th sense line through swimbait heads work? Picked up a couple of 3/8 and 1/2 oz but thinking now I might need some 1/4oz too.

The Freestyle and similar swimbaits have a relatively tall, flat cross-section. I wonder if the bait would tend to roll onto its side? Thinking about it more, perhaps use the 1/4zo head for the sake of a durable line-thru, and include a weight as Wackyjig recommended above. Perhaps that would be the best of both options?