Small to mid-sized paddle tail swimbaits are a bass fishing mainstay, but inconsistent hooking and retention had Bill Lowen looking for solutions. Enter the world of line-through jig heads. Lowen goes deep into the design, benefits, and how to use line-through jig heads with paddle tail swimbaits to improve your hooking and landing percentages.
INNOVATIVE RIGGING FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE
Lowen highlights a unique approach to swimbait rigging using the Slip Shad Jig Head he helped design with Lure Parts Online. This innovative setup allows the swimbait to slide freely along the line during the fight — this reduces leverage and preserves your plastics simultaneously. Lowen emphasizes the effectiveness of this technique in consistently hooking bass in the roof of the mouth, fish after fish. He also feels that the single treble hook rigging allows swimbaits to swim more naturally than with a hook shank down its spine.
FEATURED PRODUCT (retail links)
- HEAD – Lure Parts Online Bill Lowen Slip Shad Jig Head: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- SWIMBAIT – Rapala CrushCity The Mayor, 3- and 4-inch: Buy at Bass Pro Shops, Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- TREBLE HOOK – Hayabusa TBL930 Treble Black Nickel Hook, sizes 6 and 8: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
CHOOSING THE RIGHT GEAR
Admittedly, Lowen isn’t a fan of fishing big swimbaits. His confidence lies in using swimbaits 4 inches and under, perhaps a byproduct of his upbringing fishing the notoriously challenging Ohio River. Lowen provides detailed recommendations on rod choices (casting and spinning), line weights, and the versatility of the Slip Shad head across various swimbait sizes, from 1/8 to 1/2 ounce. From adapting line weights to achieve the desired swimbait depth to selecting the perfect rod, Lowen’s advice helps you adapt this versatile system to any situation, whether fishing the Great Lakes or targeting ledges on the TVA.
CASTING ROD SETUP
- ROD – ARK Invoker Tour Series Casting Rod, 7′ Medium – Moderate Fast: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- REEL – ARK Fishing Gravity 3 Casting Reel (G3-106): Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- LINE – Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon, 12- to 15-pound: Buy at Bass Pro Shops, Buy at Tackle Warehouse
SPINNING ROD SETUP
- ROD – ARK Reinforcer Spinning Rod, 6’10” Medium Light – Extra Fast: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- REEL – ARK Fishing Gravity Spinning Reel, 2500: Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- LINE (braided mainline) – Seaguar Smackdown Braided Line, 10- to 15-pound: Buy at Bass Pro Shops, Buy at Tackle Warehouse
- LINE (fluorocarbon leader) – Seaguar Gold Label, 8- to 10-pound: Buy at Bass Pro Shops, Buy at Tackle Warehouse
FISH FINDER & BOAT SETUP
- TROLLING MOTOR – Minn Kota Ultrex QUEST: Check out at Minn Kota
- FISH FINDERS (bow stack) – Humminbird APEX 13 MEGA SI+ Fishfinder/Chartplotter: Buy at Bass Pro Shops
- 360 SONAR – Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging: Buy at Bass Pro Shops
- LIVE SONAR – Humminbird MEGA Live Imaging Transducer: Buy at Bass Pro Shops
- BASS BOAT – Xpress X21 Pro: Check out at Xpress Boats
- MOTOR – Yamaha V6 V MAX SHO 250 hp: Check out at Yamaha
