“The duo Realis spinbait has a really good shimmy as it
sinks, and most of the time they will bite it on the initial fall or
right when you begin the retrieve,” dobson adds. “The other
time you seem to get more bites is when the bait changes
direction, like when you begin the ascent to the boat.”
To test the action of the bait and get a better feel for
how it performs, swendseid advises pulling it alongside the
boat to see how the props turn at different retrieve speeds.
“you want the props to barely become engaged,” he says.
“Reeling it too fast will pull the bait out of the target zone.”
Line Selection
line selection is critical for spybaiting. Most pros suggest
using light fluorocarbon, or long leaders of fluorocarbon if
using a braided main line. however, since braid floats, having
too much braid out will affect a spybait’s trajectory.
dobson opts for high-visibility 10-pound-test powerpro
Maxcuatro braid with an 8-pound-test fluorocarbon leader.
“surprisingly, many of the bites are really subtle, and the
bright line helps you see the little ‘ticks’ when one grabs it,”
dobson says.
swendseid often goes even lighter, with 5-pound-test fluorocar-
bon or braid with 25 to 30 feet of fluorocarbon leader being optimal.
Gear Selection
Though most pros fish spybaits on spinning gear, there
are models designed for fishing with baitcasting tackle (the
duo Realis g-fix spinbait 80, for instance), and some pros
simply prefer to go that route.
“if you have a medium or medium-light spinning rod you
use for fishing a drop-shot, it will work great for fishing a spy-
bait,” says swendseid. “The faster the tip, the better.”
dobson uses a 7-foot, 4-inch, medium-action spinning
rod for the duo Realis spinbait 80 and g-fix spinbait 80. for
the larger and heavier size 90, he opts for a 7-foot, 6-inch,
medium-heavy dobyns crankbait rod.
“a spybait is really not a finesse bait. it is a hard bait with two
trebles, just like a crankbait or jerkbait,” says dobson. “i like to fish
the spinbait 90 on a crankbait rod and will set the hook hard.”
“That rod is great because it bends throughout the whole blank,
and with the small trebles on the bait, it keeps them hooked,” he says.
Whether you classify the spybait as a finesse or power bait
really is inconsequential. The way you fish it – as an “in-between”
lure that’s subtle, yet stays on the move – is what’s really impor-
tant, and in that regard the spybait is a productive tool that
most bass anglers should consider learning to use.
A tIp to AVoID A SNAG
The preferred method of most anglers who have expe-
rience with a spybait is to fish the lure very close to bot-
tom, which can be intimidating for someone just learning
the technique since the lure has treble hooks. swendseid
has a solution.
“some people are scared to fish it right above the bot-
tom because of the chance of losing the bait, but keeping
it swimming just above the bottom is key,” he says. “you
can bend the bottom-facing treble points inward to pre-
vent some snags.”
Storm Arashi Spinbait
DUO Realis Spinbait 80
DUO Realis Spinbait 90
DUO Realis Spinbait 80 G-Fix
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 I FLWFISHING.COM
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