Swimbaits have become one of the more popular options among bass fishermen in recent years and one of the questions I hear asked the most is should I use a jighead or a weighted hook on my soft paddle-tail swimbait? For the reason I just mentioned, when I'm throwing a really large swimbait, especially one that is real tall, I will always go with a weighted swimbait hook. When using weighted hooks, adjust the weight to fish the bait anywhere from the surface to double-digit depths. Keep experimenting and playing with better hooks and presentations coming out all the time. Most anglers that are pitching and flipping a Texas rig are going to be using a straight shank style hook. Then I put a foam insert on the neck of the tail just in front of the paddle. Swimbaits have taken the fishing world by storm in recent years, and The Hook Up Tackle is proud to offer one of the finest displays of swimbaits in the world. Whether they’re 5 pounds or 10 pounds I swing them in.” He went on to share some of his experiences that led to his hook-setting style when he said, “When I won a Won Bass Pro-Am I actually saw it happening. I run my drag pretty much maxed out, probably 15 lbs. section: | slug: 6-choices-for-weighted-hook-vs-jighead-on-swimbaits | route: article_single | That's the basic scenarios I consider when choosing a weighted swimbait hook versus a jighead for swimbaits. Probably 90 percent of the fish I weighed in at Beaver and Norman came on swim baits I was fishing around boat docks. Next, I laid 3 swimbaits in a tray on their back so that the tails were up. Swimbait, like crankbait, spinnerbait, jerkbait, buzzbait, ripbait, etc., is a term used to describe a certain type of lure. To weight a swimbait hook, simply run the hook point through the hole in the weight, then run the hook point through your swimbait like normal. In similar fashion, when I'm fishing for suspended fish in open water, I want as much exposed hook as I can get because those fish are usually charging from a distance and they are slashers. I use VMC Boxer jigheads, Flat Shad heads and BOSS swimbait heads most of the time as well as the Scottsboro Tackle swimbait head for jigheads. Upon being weighed she tipped the scales at 8.56 lbs. When in doubt – start with something in this range. I’ve personally seen too many fish suck a swimbait in and spit it back out quicker than the angler can react so why take your time and increase the likelihood of this happening to you? You can fish small swimbaits deep easier because they have a lot less lift. Swimbaits are basically plastic or rubber "fish shaped" bodies rigged on a jig head. When you hook the straight shank hook back into the bait the point of the hook points up at roughly a 30-degree angle. When I'm fishing around cover like laydowns, grass, and stumps with a soft swimbait I will have it rigged on a weighted swimbait hook. 6-keys: sports/wired2fish//// Pro bass anglers know all about small tweaks to optimize bait performance and hook-up ratios. If you watch closely you can see the fish has been on for several seconds before he leans back on the rod. With a good hook in place, Jordon is ready to talk about the key to his swimbait hook-up success — the hookset. The key is to keep reeling at the same speed. Megabass Dark Sleeper 3.8" Megabass Dark Sleeper 3.8" Here is the big brother of the Megabass Dark Sleeper 1st of the name. Insert Cylindrical portion of the pop rivet into the belly of your swimbait. Neither of us will waiver on our methods because we’ve both proven time and time again that they work. I also do weedguard modification on some jigheads to give me another weedless option with an open hook. 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