How to Fish Swimbaits Around Mixed Cover

Tips N Tricks September 15, 2023 8 views
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For Ott DeFoe, experimenting with new lure styles is fun and essential for growing as an angler. He takes to the water for the first time with a unique compact swimbait that, although a swimbait, can be fished like a jig in various cover types.

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Starting with the basics, DeFoe identifies areas where compact weedless swimbait excel. On this day, he focused on areas of transition between grass and hard-bottom edges — typical haunts for bluegills on natural lakes. He delves into the mechanics of fishing the bait like a hair jig by reeling it fast and letting it swim naturally back to the bottom.

As with most swimbaits, DeFoe underscores the bait’s natural appearance, which resembles a range of baitfish, from bluegill to bottom-oriented gobies and sculpins. Unlike most swimbaits, its unique semi-weedless design yet exposed hook allows it to be fished effectively around and through certain grass types with minimal fowling.

In a candid confession, DeFoe, despite being a professional, admits that even he has techniques left to sample and master. As he aptly puts it, adding new techniques to your toolbox can only elevate your fishing game.

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