Fishing and Rigging the Cover Scat by Tyler Brinks, Page 2

Fishing and Rigging the Cover Scat by Tyler Brinks, Page 2

Fall 2022

T

here’s a new trend in bass fishing plastics

coming from Japan. The unique style of baits

looks like feces, with names like the Deps Cover Scat. These little baits may look funny, but they’re not a joke

and have already proven to be great at catching fish. They

have a do-nothing look like a soft stickbait or Ned Rig, but

you can also fish them other ways.

They work no matter how you fish them, and they excel

when pitched to shallow targets or worked through the

water column with and underwater with a walk-the-dog

action.

Part of the appeal is the shape, which can imitate a

small baitfish or a crawfish moving along with its claws held

close to the body.

Whatever the bass think they are, they bite them, and

these unique new soft plastics are some of the hottest bass

fishing lures today and they have been selling out quickly as

soon as they arrive at many tackle shops.

RIGGING THE COVER SCAT AND COLOR SELECTION

The Cover Scat comes in three different sizes, 2.5”, 3.5” and 4”. Each of them are thick baits that necessitate a larger gapped hook, such as an extra wide gap or the hybrid hook styles. Both of these hook styles will fit the baits perfectly.

Deps recommends a 1/O or 2/O for the smallest bait, a 3/O for the middle-sized bait, and a 6/O or 7/O for the

largest version. These hook recommendations are spot on and apply to the most popular hook brands on the market.

Built into the bait are some unique design features that help to make for straight and easy rigging. The bottom of the bait has a hook slot for rigging, and the top has a small bulb section meant to insert the hook’s point.

This Tex-Posed” rigging protects the bait from some minor snags such as grass and also helps get great hook sets as the hook is out of the thick plastic and in a great position to penetrate the mouth of the fish.

A small cup on the bottom of the bait also serves as the perfect place for the first bend of the hook to rest. All of these small details keep the bait rigged correctly while also preventing it from sliding down the hook shank.

The Cover Scat can be fished weightless or with a bullet weight, but the fast fall rate and great casting ability almost make it unnecessary to use a weight and the bait was designed for use without an added weight.

Using a weight may help when pitching into thick cover, but the bait is dense and falls quickly, even at extreme depths, so it is not required. The baits have such a fast fall rate because they are heavily salted, with 40-percent salt content.

The baits are offered in some of the most popular colors for soft plastics, including green pumpkin shades, watermelon seed, and Junebug. Some of these unique color options can stand out from other plastics, including chartreuse, dead shad, and champagne pepper with neon pearl.

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