Let’s talk wakebaits….

Wakebaits to me, is some of the most fun and exciting baits to fish. The anticipation of a big blow up or the subtle slurp off the top of the water, leading to a big bass is always something special. It’s such a visual experience that is to be remembered .

Rats, bluegills, even multi jointed trout wakebaits all produce.

A couple tactics I employ are pretty straight forward. Most seasoned wakebait anglers will probably be familiar with them. But maybe there is something that might help others as the community here grows. That’s the goal of starting this topic.

Let’s talk tactics and tips:

I like to look for shallow flats that have submerged vegetation. I tend to favor baits that “knock” to draw fish up and out of the vegetation. These baits also work well when there is a little disturbance on the water.

Another technique I started doing last season, was adding weight to almost make a wakebait suspend (or super slow rise) as I cranked it down. This particularly works well with bluegill style baits. Cast it out, crank it down, and slow retrieve. Throw in a couple of pauses or even a deadwalk and you can absolutely get bit. I found this to be effective over deeper vegetation, or favorably running it parallel along a weed line.

My final tip is for fishing extremely calm, glass like water conditions, especially at night or low light. Use a 1pc rat with cord assist hooks. This is something I was clued in on when I purchased a 1pc that had cord assist hooks.

Think about it: a rat really is silent when it swims. So eliminating a lot of the unnatural noise traditional split rings and hooks make, and replacing them with cord assist hooks really silences a bait. Not to mention it’s a 1pc bait, so there is no “knock” sound. To me, this makes a bait sound a bit more natural and subtle. What you end up with is the natural sounds the water makes, as the bait is swaying during the retrieve. Add that nice wake behind it and you have a super effective technique.

So what are some tips or strategies you may have? Please share and see if we can all learn from each other.

mossyback.angler wrote:
Wakebaits to me, is some of the most fun and exciting baits to fish. The anticipation of a big blow up or the subtle slurp off the top of the water, leading to a big bass is always something special. It’s such a visual experience that is to be remembered . Rats, bluegills, even multi jointed trout wakebaits all produce. A couple tactics I employ are pretty straight forward. Most seasoned wakebait anglers will probably be familiar with them. But maybe there is something that might help others as the community here grows. That’s the goal of starting this topic. Let’s talk tactics and tips:I like to look for shallow flats that have submerged vegetation. I tend to favor baits that “knock” to draw fish up and out of the vegetation. These baits also work well when there is a little disturbance on the water. Another technique I started doing last season, was adding weight to almost make a wakebait suspend (or super slow rise) as I cranked it down. This particularly works well with bluegill style baits. Cast it out, crank it down, and slow retrieve. Throw in a couple of pauses or even a deadwalk and you can absolutely get bit. I found this to be effective over deeper vegetation, or favorably running it parallel along a weed line. My final tip is for fishing extremely calm, glass like water conditions, especially at night or low light. Use a 1pc rat with cord assist hooks. This is something I was clued in on when I purchased a 1pc that had cord assist hooks. Think about it: a rat really is silent when it swims. So eliminating a lot of the unnatural noise traditional split rings and hooks make, and replacing them with cord assist hooks really silences a bait. Not to mention it’s a 1pc bait, so there is no “knock” sound. To me, this makes a bait sound a bit more natural and subtle. What you end up with is the natural sounds the water makes, as the bait is swaying during the retrieve. Add that nice wake behind it and you have a super effective technique. So what are some tips or strategies you may have? Please share and see if we can all learn from each other.

I still cant get enough of fishing the 1pc with some assist cords, it always produces. The more pressured the water, the better the 1pc/tail/assist cord works.

Some of the things that I wanted to add and key in on. Shallow flats with vege is always a great area. The king for me is fishing parallel on drop off points, distance casts only. I know a lot of people approach to catch as many fish as possible, but i will blow out 4-5 viable casts to do 1 big one, then move to a new spot. This method works so good and produces so many fish for me and also RELIABLE! It's possible to reproduce these results on any body of water.

Let’s talk wakebaits…. | SacPig Forum

Let’s talk wakebaits….

Reply