blade bait presentation

just curious on how to fish blade baits in shallow water say 3 to 14 ft of water when casting do u cast in to shallow and work like a jig pulling it off the bottom any tips would be helpful

There are many experts here to explain it to ya and several past posts. I would not say you pull the blades though more of a snap/pop off the bottom. Sometimes they like it aggresive and sometimes they will prefer a small pop where the blade just begins the work/vibrate. 75% of your fish caught will be as the bait flutters back. A good extra fast action rod with 6 lb. braided line is a must!

I prefer the subtle lift and drop method as opposed to the snap or pop. To fish a blade productively takes a bit of time and a lot of practice. Start out on sand and away from rocks and snags. It is a lot like pitching ringworms but you will actually feel the bait vibrate, work a blade in the current almost the exact same way as pitching a jig and perfect to your and the fish’s liking from there. I dont do the pop or snap because I prefer to keep constant tension on the line so thats why I do the lift and drop.

Excellent response Erick.

I will add that when you are casting to shallow water…try to keep your line tight on the initial fall of the blade. This helps it NOT to get fouled on the way down…and you often get hits on initial cast even before starting to work them back.

Then its as Jesse said, lift…reeling in slack…lift…reeling in slack as the blade washes down the current. Any change in the feeling of the blade should get a short quick hookset. Lots of time they just get inhaled w/o a hard strike like on a crank bait.

MedLite rods are best to help avoid “over working” the blade and reducing the tantilizing flutter. The St. Croix 69MLXFs are ideal, and I see other companies are now bringing out “drop shot” style rods in XtraFast actions, like Powell and Loomis. Limit Creek 69MF Smoothies work also…

I mainly use 3/16 and 1/4oz blades when casting shallows with this technique, occassionally 3/8s oz.

Dont “horse” in fish on these small trebles, as they can easily tear out of the soft cartilage found around the mouth of Walleye/Sauger.

Good Luck…its a fun technique…and effective!

thanks guys i seen eric r fishing them on sunday and it looked like he was using the method jesse was talking about

Gee if only there was a video on this…. come on guys you’re slippin’

Ido made a nice video, check the video section, honestly Im one who’s struggled to fish the effectively the the past im getting there.

I directly post a link but I’m on my phone and its nearly impossible to do so.

This ought to get the blood pumping Blade bait hogs!

FUNNY THING IS; This blade bait method has been around for generations…I remember coming to Redwing when IDO first started up , people knew nothing about them except for the river rats and grandparents that had them. I caught alot of walleyes those years thanks to my grandpas blades.

funny how the circle come completely around …\

FISHINFOOL

Amazing to know that people are watching and picking up on what I am doing when I dont even know it

Seeing it done is a lot easier than trying to explain it as you may have noticed. I have two MAIN presentions while fishing them. One being for slack water pitching and one being for pitching a current seam.

While in the slack water (NO current) I tend to work them a little faster and harder so to speak. By no means am I snaping or jerking them. Just a little farther of a pull and a little faster with less of a pause once it gets back to bottom.

While fishing a seam I tend to cast at a 45 degree angle down river, let it hit bottom than start working it. I usually never reel any type of slack while doing so. Just let the current sweep it. As a matter of fact I may even let out line until it is directly down current from the boat, than reel up and try again.

Hope that explained a little for ya. It takes a bit of practice to get used to them and have confidence in them.

Good Luck

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FUNNY THING IS; This blade bait method has been around for generations…I remember coming to Redwing when IDO first started up , people knew nothing about them except for the river rats and grandparents that had them. I caught alot of walleyes those years thanks to my grandpas blades.

funny how the circle come completely around …\

FISHINFOOL

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When I was really young (didnt even have a drivers license) I was using Heddon Blade baits, I never pitched them though just cast and retrieve. Man that was a long time ago

thanks eric we were just down from u you probaly seen us land a pig pike went a hair over 42inch with 21 inch girth