Downsized baits are part of the drill this time of year due to smaller baitfish .
PHOTO BY JUSTIN ONSLOW
Neal ’ s preferred setup is similar to Davis ’. He opts for a 7- foot , 6-inch extra-heavy Denali Lithium flipping rod with a 6.3:1 Daiwa Tatula reel spooled with 20-pound-test Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon .
“ I don ’ t want a broomstick of a rod ,” Neal says . “ You still want the rod to have a little bit of tip to it because you still need to be able to work the bait some , and that rod works great for it . Each cast , I ’ ll snap the rod a few times to get the wires to flex together and apart to trigger a bite . That ’ s also when many of your bites occur . It ’ s almost like fishing a jerkbait , where the fish eat it when the bait changes directions . You can ’ t get the rig to do that very well if the rod is too stiff .” Neal prefers fluorocarbon over braid for several reasons related to the properties of braided lines .
“ For one , the braid is too sensitive , and if you hit anything with your rig , it feels just like a bite and you ’ ll jerk back for no reason ,” Neal explains . “ I ’ ve also found that with the lightwire hooks , you tend to rip it out of the mouth of a fish because the braid is too strong and has no stretch .”
Neal fishes a local version of the umbrella rig called the Dayton Boat Dock Rig , a bait he used to make with his own hands . The name is a nod to Neal ’ s store in Dayton , Tennessee , called the Dayton Boat Dock and Grill . Owning a tackle shop gives him a front-row seat to what anglers are buying .
“ The Dayton Boat Dock Rig is a five-wire rig with eight blades and is still made with the same specifications as when I was making them ( by hand ),” Neal says . “ The biggest
APRIL-MAY 2021 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM key with any of the rigs is to have some flash from the blades .
“ At the store , that rig and the HogFarmer version with blades are the best sellers . The HogFarmer Baits BFL Rig is another popular one with five wires , five blades , and three swivels and is legal for tournaments around here . I ’ ll use the Dayton Boat Dock Rig and add two dummy baits with no hooks on a swivel since we can only use three hooks in Tennessee .”
For baits and jig heads , Neal prefers downsized baits and light-wire heads .
“ I ’ ll either use the 3.5-inch Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper or 3.3-inch Pro Swimmer in Pearl ,” he says . “ I ’ m pretty much all solid white all the time because I believe the flash from the blades is more important . Some guys still like to have one of the baits a different color for contrast , but I keep it simple with the same color . I also think that a smaller-size swimbait is perfect for this time of year when the baitfish are smaller .”
Neal alternates between two different jig heads depending on the cover in the area , and will either use a Big Bite Baits Swimmer Head or a Gamakatsu Weighted Superline Spring Lock Hook , both in 1 / 8 ounce .
“ I ’ ll Texas-rig the bait on the Spring Lock when I ’ m fishing around a lot of stumps or big rocks but will go with the Swimmer Head in open water ,” Neal adds . “ I like the lighterwire hook so that if I do get hung up , I can pull hard and bend the hook and get my whole rig back and not lose all of my stuff .”
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