Tips & Techniques
Alternative
Rigging for the Live Magic Shad |
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December, 2008
By
Tom Redington
The Live Magic Shad by Lake Fork Trophy Lures continues to be one of my
staple baits, either fished weightless like a soft plastic jerkbait or
swimming it as a swimbait on a weighted Ultimate Swimbait Hook. While
these methods are great for shallow water bass, I’ve discovered a number
of other rigging methods for fishing the Live Magic Shad that can load the
boat when conditions are right.
One of the most popular and effective methods for rigging the Live Magic
Shad is on a Chatterbait. Simply remove the skirt on a Chatterbait or
similar swimming jig and thread a Live Magic Shad on the hook shank, just
like adding a trailer to a spinnerbait. Depending on the size of the fish,
I’ll throw the 3.5”, 4.5”, or 5.5” Live Magic Shad. Some days a steady
retrieve catches them best with this rig, although a stop and go
presentation with a pull of the rod often triggers more strikes. Try this
anywhere you’d fish a spinnerbait and it’ll often catch more and bigger
bass.
Around docks or for suspended bass, I rig a Live Magic Shad on a Scrounger
head. These heads have a unique lip on a leadhead jig and give a great
rolling motion to the lure, which is deadly when combined with the tail
swimming of the Live Magic Shad. Combining the heavy leadhead and the flat
sides of the Live Magic Shad, you can skip this bait way under docks and
swim it out to catch suspended spots or largemouth. Or if bass are
schooling and suspended in the water column over points or around bridge
pilings, count your bait down to the desired depth and swim it slightly
above the bass. Hang on, because strikes on this rig are vicious. For a
more subtle swimming action and more flash, you can also rig the Live
Magic Shad on the back of a Sworming Hornet Fish Head Swim. This little
spinner will take your lure deep, plus it adds a spinner blade for extra
attraction. Finally, when the fish are really deep, on really windy days,
or when you need to make long casts, put the Live Magic Shad on the back
of a heavy jighead from 3/8 to ¾ oz and you can cast it a mile and quickly
get it down to the bass.
For fish more on the bottom or relating to cover, the Live Magic Shad also
works great on Texas and Carolina rigs. For Carolina rigs, you get the
great swimming action of a Live Magic Shad and its dying fall on a slack
line, while quickly getting it down deep with the heavy sinker. Around
heavy cover, a Texas rigged Live Magic Shad swims realistically down to
the bottom and gives the bass a different look. Rig it with a heavy pegged
sinker to force it to fall quickly enough to make the tail swim. I use a
Mega Weight screw lock tungsten sinker in ¼ to ½ oz because its small size
allows the bait to swim naturally.
The more I fish the Live Magic Shad, the more I like it. Experiment with
your rigging and you can catch fish with it from topwater to 40’. Here’s
hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance,
please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or
e-mail me through my website,
www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com.
Tom Redington is a full time bass guide on Lake Fork and is sponsored by
Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, Diamond Sports Marine, Lake Fork Trophy
Lures, Minn Kota, & Humminbird.
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