5-26-19 Table Rock Lake/Lampe Mo,. Report

[rps]

On 6/7/2019 at 11:27 AM, Champ188 said:

Advanced anglers know this but for the benefit of all levels, the first thing to do when preparing a Redfin is to remove all of the existing split rings and hooks and toss them. They aren't worth saving for anything.

Next, I turn the bait over and wipe the rear belly area of the main section with an alcohol to make sure it's clean. Then I take two SuspenStrips and lay them on either side of the molding seam, touching and ending precisely at the tail -- not lapping over into the joint area. I press them down as well as possible, then take two SuspenDots and center them over the seam where the two strips are touching. The reason for weighting the rear area of the main body like this is to raise the nose of the bait when it sits in the water, therefore encouraging it to wake on the surface rather than dive. 

After I get my strips and dots in place, I paint over them with pearl-colored nail polish. This not only makes the bait look better,  but most importantly keeps you strips/dots from peeling off. Might have to reapply the nail polish from time to time but it's worth the effort. For the record, the pearl polish is for the Smoky Joe colored Fin. The only other color I throw is blue back/chrome and you can use clear nail polish to seal your strips/dots on it. 

I'm not 100% sure of the size of split rings I use … but I think No. 3. Just be sure they are thin enough to work freely within the line tie and the hook hangers. My favorite hook combination is a Gammy EWG No. 2  the front (you can open the bends a bit if you wish) and the same hook on the back with hand-tied chicken feathers. I don't like the Gammy pre-tied feather hooks but the Mustad Ultra Point KVD hook with white feathers works good in No. 2 size. 

Lastly, I always throw the bait on top-quality 17-pound mono. I've tried 20 but my personal favorite is 17 pound. I haven't tried braid and have no reason to do so. Obviously, you guys can try anything you want. This is just my system.

Lastly, I always use a snap to connect to the split ring on front of the lure. That way, I get complete freedom for the bait to wobble and wake. 

I've been on the couch for a very long week with lower back issues so I didn't bother with step by step pics, but here's one of a finished version. 

I modified six new redfins per these instructions, 5 large (both jointed and single piece) and one medium single piece. The larger models all waked, yet you could see differences among them. Thank you Champ.

At the same time I tank tested the modified redfins, I tested some other wake baits.

The Megabass I Jack required a very slow retrieve to stay on the surface. When retrieved slow enough it did wake, but the bait barely rolled and was very rhythmic with no variation.

I also tested both a single piece and jointed Berkley Surge Shad 130. Before I tested I removed the split rings and hooks to replace them with higher quality ones. Both baits waked with almost as much roll as the modified Redfins. It will be interesting to see if they catch fish as well as the modified Redfins.