This is mostly for newbie soft plastic jerkbait users

[DMTJAGER]

I started this year for the first time ever using soft plastic jerkbaits rigged weedless. All (other than lake Michigan) of the lakes less than 90 minute drive from my home are muck bottom and by May become choked with vegetation so weedless lures are an absolute must. Once I tried 5-5.25" flukes made by Zoom or Cabela's rigged weedless using first 3/0 then 4/0 Owner or Gamakatsu screw lock hooks I caught largemouth bass in numbers I never before experienced using any other type of soft plastic lure rigged weedless.

 

I also really upped my knowledge on how to fish chatterbaits this spring and for the first time since I started fishing chatterbaits 5 years ago added trailers to my chatterbaits that absolutely increased the numbers of bass I caught on them. One of those trailers I bought were straight tailed Hog farmer Spunk Shad soft plastic baits. Well for reasons that still mystify me bass in the lakes I fish much prefered boot tailed trailers. So I had about $80 of 5.5" and 4.5" Hog Farmer Spunk Shads doing nothing. 

 

Last night before I went fishing decided to give the 5.5" Hog Farmer Spunk Shads a try. After all I had 12 packages of them doing essentlually nothing in a tote. After I took a pack of Electric Shad colored ones out of their packaging I did a side by side comparison of them VS a Zoom Super Fluke or a Cabela's Shadee Shad. I then rigged one on a 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline Spring lock hook and immediately noticed due to the design of the Hog Farmer Spunk Shad having a long very narrow concaved slot molded into the top of it, I thought it I could quite likely not have to textpose the tip of my hook to keep it weed free. 

I chose the color Electric Shad as it most closely resembles the color Ghost Shad and absolutely deadly color for this lake.

 

Went fishing to my most productive shore area for this lake. Conditions were good for this area of the lake but I would've preferred a south, west or combination south west wind to the mild north wind and clouds varied 50/50 to 40/60. Water clarity was very good for this lake. Temps ware mild in the mid 80*'s. Fished for last four hours of light.

 

Area is a section of shoreline 250-275 yards in length between a shorter point to the north that has three cattail sub-points on it with pockets lined with cattails and a significant point to the south with no visible cover or significant visible structure. Sore is nearly 100% cattail lined. Entire area is muck bottom and weed choked. Lake area off shore is dotted with isolated patches of lily pads. Catch 90% of my bass from this area by working a fluke between or through patches of pads. Cattail point to the north ALWAYS holds 2-10 bass and my five biggest bass so far of 2024 came from this cattail point four bass that weighed more than 4lbs but less than 5lbs and one bass 5.75lbs. Also my son and I both caught multiple pike one each over 30" from these same cattail points. 

 

Caught four bass in six casts from the three cattail points. All could have been same bass as all were identical sub 3 pounders. All hit like a full cement truck going down hill at 100mph. All were hooked in the top half of their mouths. Thought off to a great start, Did determine with certainty you DO NOT need to textpose a 4/0 Gamakatsu Super Line twist/screw lock hook point to remain weed free and I could fish the Hog Farmer Spunk Shad without textposing the hook tip if you rig the hook point to lay in the troth as I will call it on the flat top side of the bait.

I do not understand why all soft plastic bait companies that make fluke type baits do not mold a troth into the top side of their fluke baits so you don't have to textpose your hook tip. My guess is they don't want the bait lasting that much longer do to once the plastic gets to dadly damaged you can no longer textpose the hook tip effectively.
 

In three+ hours of fishing and dozens of cast I never picked up a single weed on the hook tip as it layed in the troth. And I am absolutely certain this particular design of soft plastic minnow/shad bait is notably more weedless VS a traditional fluke shaped bait as I had to remove vegetation from the Spunk Shad less than 5% of my casts VS at least 30% of my Fluke baits as I am fishing very dense vegetation now.

 

I did make it a point to work the H-F/Spunk Shad multiple times to view its action as a wounded bait fish and as a darting fleeing baitfish and it's action is the equal in all ways to that of the Zoom and cabela's flukes I use. One other advantage the H-F/Spunk Shad has I discovered is after I caught three bass last night that put up a very hard fight (based on how hard they hit and fought, I was certain these sub-three pound bass were MUCH larger) the screw lock had been ripped out of the head of the bait each time and the damage to the plastic was so bad I couldn't screw the screw lock back in. So I took my Boomerang line shears and cut off the damaged plastic till I exposed undamaged plastic and was able to screw in the screw lock and continue using the Spunk Shad. Was able to do this at least 4x with the same single 5.5" Spunk Shad. Don't know if I can do this 4x with a 5" fluke.

 

All In all very very satisfied with the performance of the Hog Farmer Spunk Shad as I went 7 for 8 bass last night in a little over 3 hours of fishing as I did do a little unproductive frog fishing for the last 70-80 minutes of light which I was  astonished I didn't get at least one blow up on my frog as this was the first time I didn't catch at least one bass frogging in this spot.

 

I would recommend anyone who like me uses soft plastic jerkbaits rigged weedless to bass fish a great deal who isn't already doing so give a pack of 5.5" Hog Farmer Spunk Shad a try as a jerkbait, especially if like me you MUST rigg them weedless to use them. Right now soft plastic jerkbaits rigged weedless is about 80% of my below surface bass fishing presentation due to vegetation being so thick nothing else will work.

 

 

[Donald Garner]

Congrats on a very success outing.  Anytime you can hookup and land the fish equals a successful outing. Numbers and size aren't important     

Tks for sharing the trip and those tips with us also.  I have numerous different styles of flukes & Swimbaits and some of them are designed with that cut away where the hook is covered.  Some I have to Texas Rig and adjust the hook so it's just skin tagged.

[big g]

Thanks for your input, lots of good info.