TackleTour

I have used a variety of manufacturers including some homemade options and mostly will fish a 1/4 and 3/8ths oz head with a swimbait or "fluke" style trailer. I use the same setup as my spinner bait rig which I believe is a 7' MH/XF casting rod with a 200 size reel and 10 or 12 lb test. The retrieve varies between low and slow bumping the bottom to a medium fast retrieve further up in the water column.

RB 77 wrote:I have used a variety of manufacturers including some homemade options and mostly will fish a 1/4 and 3/8ths oz head with a swimbait or "fluke" style trailer. I use the same setup as my spinner bait rig which I believe is a 7' MH/XF casting rod with a 200 size reel and 10 or 12 lb test. The retrieve varies between low and slow bumping the bottom to a medium fast retrieve further up in the water column.

By any chance is that a St. Croix rod? I really like the 3/0 Owner Flashy swimmer with a 3.8 Keitech FAT. 5/0 for 4.8, and 1/0 for 3.3 FAT. I've also had luck with the Gambler Meano heads.

DirtyD64 wrote:

RB 77 wrote:I have used a variety of manufacturers including some homemade options and mostly will fish a 1/4 and 3/8ths oz head with a swimbait or "fluke" style trailer. I use the same setup as my spinner bait rig which I believe is a 7' MH/XF casting rod with a 200 size reel and 10 or 12 lb test. The retrieve varies between low and slow bumping the bottom to a medium fast retrieve further up in the water column.

By any chance is that a St. Croix rod? I really like the 3/0 Owner Flashy swimmer with a 3.8 Keitech FAT. 5/0 for 4.8, and 1/0 for 3.3 FAT. I've also had luck with the Gambler Meano heads.

No, Shimano Compre I believe. However, I have used the Owner Flashy Swimmer and those things are my go-to for a weedless Underspin. It's funny, for "straight-up worm hooks" I use Gammies exclusively, but for any "terminal" type of "jig head hook", Owner makes some insane stuff I.E.: Flashy Swimmer, Ultrahead Shaky head, Ultrahead Sledhead, etc...

I use a scrambled mix of their (Owner and Gamakatsu) stuff. I like Owner mosquito hooks for dropshotting, but like the Gamakatsu skip gap hooks for all TX rigging and some Carolina rigging. Really use those Skip Gap hooks a lot, come to think of it. Like making my own straight shank dropshot hooks (from a Gamakatsu round bend worm hook, 1/0 or 2/0) with a shrink wrap barb, but still use the Owner Downshot hooks too; they are some of the all time best designs for dropshotting.

I use Owner Bullet Heads with grubs and small swimbaits more than ANYTHING else though. Would be sick if they ever stopped making those, OMTD hooks are another favorite but so damn hard to find, Tacklewarehouse stopped carrying the 3/16 2/0 Tungsten FB heads I liked so much, those with a 4" Easy Shiner was money, every time...

Tried the VMC HD underspins today in the 3.0 and 5.0 sizes. I think 1/8 and 3/16 oz. Needed the larger VMC to get the effortless casting of the owner in 3.0 size, which are simply weighted heavier. Big difference was the VMC seemed noticeably more weed less than the owners I've been stuck on for years. Had a pouch of skinny dippers and I just hammered them walking the shoreline of a central Florida lake. Might be using these more than owners in the thicker stuff.