(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
When Bobby Lane is in his home state of Florida and he wants to cover water but the grass is just a bit too thick to chunk a buzzbait, he often turns to the Berkley Grass Pig soft swimbait. It’s not just the Sunshine State, though – while he may refer to it as “Florida-style” swimbaiting, this is something he takes from coast to coast.
The first key to making this heavy-cover soft swimbaiting work is the right rod. He prefers a 7’6” heavy-action Abu-Garcia Fantasista Premier, which allows for long casts and enables him to dredge big bass out of the salad.
“You’ve got to have a heavy rod,” he explained. “You’ve just got to keep it in your boat at all times rigged this way so no matter where you go, you can throw this bait around.”
He pairs it with a 10:1 Revo Rocket baitcasting reel, which retrieves 42 inches of line on one turn of the handle.
“You have to have the speed to keep it on top of the water,” but you can slow it down as necessary. While he’d like the strength of 65-pound SpiderWire Ultracast braid, he said that 50 handles much better.
He rigs the Grass Pig on a 4/0 or 5/0 straight-shank Berkley Fusion flipping hook, which he describes as very strong but not very thick, which allows the lure to work its magic. The key is putting a 1/16- or 1/8-ounce Flat Out Tungsten screw-in weight (but no heavier) in front of the bait.
“I like to burn this swimbait across the top of the water,” he explained, and the bullet-shaped nose of the weight pushes away any grass that gets in his way. Additionally, if a fish follows but won’t commit, he’ll kill the action. Without a sinker, the bait takes its time working toward the bottom. With it, it plummets rapidly and that often triggers the bite. When you feel the bass grab the lure, wait a few seconds and then drive the hook home hard. “You’ve got the power and the line to dig him out of anything.”
He’ll keep his eyes peeled for followers, but even if he doesn’t see any he’ll typically allow the bait to drop and dive into any holes he sees in the vegetation. That’s where the Grass Pig shines over some of the competition – it continues to put out vibration on the descent.
“When you drop this bait in the water it sinks pretty fast and what it allows this thing to do is this tail kicks as it’s going down, which is super-key,” Lane explained. He also likes that the Grass Pig is “not too hard, not too soft.” One of his favorite all-around colors, especially near home, is black/blue with silver flake. In sunny conditions over clear water, green-pumpkin watermelon is good and pearl white silver fleck is his go-to around shad, but don’t discount the ultra-realistic HD colors to match the hatch.
If you want to learn more about Lane’s Florida-style swimbait attack, including how and why he ties a “double Palomar knot,” check out his on-the-water video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
