In a recent episode of Cast and Crank, I was asked if I felt that conventional fishing benefits a big bait angler. The answer to me was simple. There is nothing that tells me that it doesn't benefit the angler. These are obviously my opinions and many other anglers disagree. I'm not saying that it's mandatory. I'm saying that there are particular trade offs that will benefit the angler if/when they decide to make the leap to big baits. There are benefits to learning the ins and outs of traditional fishing because there are a lot techniques that will ease into the transition. Particular styles of fishing that translate directly into the way that you will fish big baits. There are a lot of similarities in how they are fished and I feel like the anglers that understand those similarities don’t have as difficult of a learning curve. Oliver Ngy touched base on it as well in his episode. I still think the toughest part of being new to throwing big baits is getting over the “its too big” mentality. That thought process can be really tough to shake but once you do the possibilities are truly endless.
I fish soft baits very similarly to how I fish blade baits. I categorize soft baits as weedless, top hook, and line through swimbaits. Size is irrelevant. I’m not gonna get into the whether or not a Keitech is a swimbait discussion because it’s not necessary. I relate softbaits to Spinnerbaits, Swimjigs, Bladed Jigs, and Jigs. I fish them all very similarly and each one can be presented throughout the water column with success. Weedless baits I fish in the same places I would a spinnerbait. Around vegetation, current, tules, and slow rolled along the bottom. Top hook baits like Huddlestons and Hawghunters also have conventional baits that relate. I fish these baits the same way I would fish a Spinnerbait or a Jig. Don’t get it confused. When I refer to a jig, I’m not speaking in terms of flipping. I’m talking about how I would use a Jig on a lake. I generally fish it deep and I either drag or creep it along the bottom painfully slow. These techniques obviously aren’t the only ways you can fish these baits but there are similarities between the two. I fish a spinnerbait the same way. Turning the reel handle as slow as I possibly can and still be able to make those blades to spin.
Glides to me are the ones that aren’t the easiest to compare for some but for me I fish them like an oversized Jerkbait. Very rarely do I fish them on a straight retrieve. I will in particular situations but most of the time I’m working in some sort of change in cadence. The most consistent bite that I’ve found on glides is when I’m creating a reaction. I like to work my glides like a Jerkbait majority of the time. Fishing it somewhat fast with random twitches with my reel or pops with my rod tip. It really all depends on the glide and its up to you to figure out your bait. See what you need to do to unlock that particular baits potential and find out what works best in your specific situation.
The easiest style of Swimbait to relate to has gotta be hard baits and more specifically wakes and crank downs. Wakes are in a league of their own but it doesn’t require a whole lot to figure them out. You can see the action and at that point you really just need to figure out the correct pace for that particular bait. Most of my success on a Wakebait has been reeling as slow as I can. Crankdowns on the other hand are very relatable. I fish them the same way I would a Squarebill, Crankbait, or a Vibrating jig. Arounds rocks and rip rap, isolated vegetation, points, docks, deflecting off of cover, current cuts, and overhead cover. Crankdowns are definitely the most fun to fish in my opinion. They were the easiest for me to learn because I grew up throwing reaction baits majority of the time. This led to an easier transition into throwing hard baits because they were relatable. It did take me some time to figure that out but when I did it altered my hardbait game to the next level. Once you realize you can fish it the same way you would other reactions baits a lot of the puzzle is already solved.
For someone that is new or even just trying to transition into swimbaits, my best words of advice would be to simplify. Being a conventional fisherman first isn’t mandatory but it definitely helps. Trying to learn a new technique is always tough but it can be made a whole lot easier when you find a previous style of fishing you can relate it to. Find what works for you and if it’s something that you enjoy stick to it.