Bait Details
No. 18
• 2 1 / 4 inches
• 1 / 8 ounce
• dives to 5 feet
• No. 6 hooks
No. 14
• 2 3 / 4 inches
• 1 / 4 ounce
• dives to 8 feet
• No. 4 hooks
Bolton adds that early spring, summer and fall are all prime times to throw it.
“ It works any time the fish are in water that is 5 feet or less and is even better when you want a bait that you can use to quickly cover shallow water, like when you’ re searching for fish on large flats,” says Bolton.
Technique
Although the Speed Trap’ s diving bill has a squared edge, it deflects off cover differently than other square-bills.
“ It deflects like a square-bill, but the deflections are not as wide. I like to bang it off of rocks and wood, but most often I fish it just like a lipless and burn it,” Bolton says.“ You can fish it with a slow retrieve, but it’ s really at its best with a very fast retrieve.” Bolton also fishes the Speed Trap above shallow grass.“ If the grass comes up to a few feet below the surface, you can reel it right above the grass and just tick the top of the grass. It comes through grass surprisingly well,” he says.
Gear Needed
Due to the compact size and weight of the Speed Trap, lighter gear is typically used for fishing it. Some anglers fish it on spinning tackle, but Bolton prefers a 7-foot, medium Lew’ s Custom Speed Stick Series crankbait rod called the“ Wart Special” that he says trends even lighter than a medium action.
“ It’ s more like a medium / medium-light, and that is what you need to be able to get a longer cast with a bait that light,” says Bolton.
He prefers a Team Lew’ s Custom Pro Speed Spool SLP Series in the 6.8:1 or 7.5:1 retrieve ratio and spools it with 12- pound-test Sufix Elite monofilament.
“ I like fishing it on mono because it seems to cast the bait much better. The small Speed Trap is only 1 / 8 ounce and can be hard to cast on some lines,” Bolton says.“ I also leave a foot or so of line from the tip of the rod to the bait [ when casting ] to get a little more distance on my cast.”
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FLWFISHING. COM I MAY-JUNE 2018