Smith’s Suggested Uses
Because of the bulbous body of
the Swing impact FaT, its action is
concentrated back toward the tail. it’s
a versatile bait that Smith uses a
variety of ways.
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1. On a jighead
Throw it on anything from a 1/16-
ounce ball-head jig with a light-wire
hook to a beefy 1-ounce or heavier
head with a gaff in it.
2. On a weighted belly hook
Smith won at the Potomac River in
2016 by throwing a 4.8-inch Keitech
Swing impact FaT rigged on a 6/0
wide-gap screw-lock swimbait hook
with a 1/4-ounce belly weight. His win-
ning technique was winding it as slow-
ly as possible until it hung in the grass,
then knocking it out using a half-turn
of the reel handle and a short rod-tip
pop. The rig works around docks,
wood, grass, brush or any other shal-
low cover.
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3. On a belly hook with blade
in Florida lakes with tannic water or
just about anywhere with shallow
stained water, Smith uses a swimbait
hook with a belly blade to increase
flash. This is the same hook Buddy
Gross used with a Scottsboro Tackle
co. Swimbait to win at Lake Toho in
February.
“in the past guys used a hollow
body because it has that little bit of
vibration,” Smith says. “i’m using the
FaT Swing impact but with a blade on it
to have that extra attracting quality.”
4. On a buzzbait
ditch the skirt and swap in a swimbait
for a cool topwater presentation.
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5. On a football head
Smith is big on this cold-water finesse
technique. He rigs a 2.8 on a 1/4-
ounce tungsten Keitech Super Football
Head (he cuts off the weedguard) and
crawls it along bottom or swims it just
off the bottom. it works especially well
when smallmouths are bunched up in
deep water late in the year.
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6. On a drop-shot
Nose-hooking a 2.8 on a drop-shot is
getting “sneaky popular” in Smith’s
region. drop it, swim it, drag it in cur-
rent or use it to bed-fish smallmouths.
They’ll eat it on the first drop.
SPRING 2019 I FLWFISHING.COM
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