Photo Credit Vu Au
to a swimbait rod that’s a bit lighter, more like a cranking rod, along with 12 pound mono or 30 pound braid. On the smallest size, he’ll drop down to a spinning rod and 20 pound braid.
Au prefers a Dobyns 765 flipping stick and a Shimano Curado 300 for flinging the big baits. “I use 80 pound Samurai braid,” he said. Nothing less than 65. These baits have big treble hooks so you need something with a lot of backbone.”
The switch from replicating aquatic forage exclusively to adding some furry terrestrial forage to the mix may take a leap of faith, but both pros say that it’s the type of leap that helps fill livewells.
“You have to have confidence in it,” Au concluded. “You can’t just make five casts and put it away. You have to throw and throw and throw.”
Siemantel agreed:
“Mental attitude is
everything,” he said.
“Everyone thinks of
it as a big bait, but if
you’re ever thrown a
spook, a buzzbait or
a wake bait, you’re a
prime candidate to be
a pro with this. Find a
good cadence so you
can hear that bait talk
to you, then wind it
and watch it get tore
up.”
WINTER 2016
47
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