It’s Squirrel Tail Time

Can you remember the first time you saw or heard about the Big Bite Squirrel Tail?  For me it was on a BASS On the Water segment, during that segment I also got my first glimpse of the new Shaky Head Jig and from that day going forward I have always associated them together on and off the water. Let’s take a closer look at the Shaky Head, Squirrel Tail combo and also cover a new way to fish the Squirrel Tail that some of you may not have heard of before.

Shaky Head Squirrel Tail

From the first day that I saw Big Bite Pro Jeff Kriet fishing his Squirrel Tail Shaky Head combo on an early spring day and was very successful at catching fish during his taping of On the Water show, this was a combination that I was very quick to add to my fishing arsenal. Over the last few years though I have made some changes in how I fish this combination and where I fish it.

For me this is a combo that I fish the majority of the time on a spinning setup, 7ft to

7 1/2ft medium-light or medium action spinning setup, teamed with a matching spinning reel. One of the switches that I have made last year is to start fishing my Squirrel -Shaky combo on braided line. My choice of braid is the newest offering from Sunline called SX-1 in 10lb test. If I am fishing in super clear water I will use a fluorocarbon leader on my offering (Sunline 7lb FCSniper), and if I am fishing in dirty water I generally will just tie my Shaky Head directly to the SX-1. If I am worried about the fish seeing my braid or if I am fishing in super tough conditions I may opt to spool my reel with 7lb FCSniper line. Under real tough conditions this is the line that I have the confidence in and will turn towards to get more bites when it comes down to it.

Make your cast and let your Squirrel – Shaky offering settle to the bottom, just by moving your rod slowly drag the S&S combo along the bottom. If you feel the bait pull up to a rock work the bait right in place. Try to get your offering to stay in place but stand up trying to get the bass attention. If not move the bait along the bottom to the next rock and try again to get a bite. I have also gotten a little more aggressive in the way I fish the S&S combo if the bass are aggressive you can use a faster pull or even give the bait a few hops along the way.

Neko Rig

For those of you that are scratching your head right now and have not heard about a Neko Rig you will soon know what this rig is sooner than later. I do have to confess this was my go to rig last year when I needed a final bite to finish off a limit or was looking for a kicker bass for my tournament bag.

Take a Squirrel Tail worm to start with, in the nose of the Squirrel Tail insert a weight. For your weight option you have a few different options, for me I have been using a sheet metal screw as my weight choice. One, it is easy to carry a few different sizes to help me adjust what weight is needed on the water and two the cost is minimal. Other weights for the nose can be a 1/16oz screw in sinker or a lead nail that you can insert into the worm, you make the choice. When it comes to hooks I use one of two different options, one hook choice is a Gamakatsu 1/0 drop shot hook, or I will use a 1/0 weedless wacky Gamakatsu hook. If I am fishing close to the weeds I will opt to use the weedless hook option, if I am fishing in open water I will use the drop shot hook.

For this presentation I fish this offering on a spinning setup, once again 7ft to 7 1/2ft medium-light to medium action rod. For line I will use either 10lb SX-1 braided line with a fluorocarbon leader or 7lb FCSniper line. Water clarity and wind conditions will help me make my line choice for me, if faced with stiff wind conditions I will opt for the braided line option to get a better feel for what my bait is doing if I am fishing in neutral conditions I will use the FCSniper option.

Tie your hook onto the line, holding the Squirrel Tail nose down take your hook and put the hook into the worm so your hook point is facing the tail of the worm. Now when holding the offering by the line the nose will be down and the tail will be up, this is how the bait will sit on the bottom in the water. Your retrieve is key with this offering, make your cast  and let the bait settle to the bottom you do not want to put a lot of  action into your retrieve you just want to put a little pressure on the worm and lightly shake the worm. This will take a little to get used to but as the nose is sitting on the bottom the tail will be shaking back and forth and combine this with the floating tail of the Squirrel Tail, this is the look and the action that the bass cannot stand.

I have found this presentation to excel in two different conditions one is deepwater open rock areas. Bass many times see football jigs and Carolina rigs day in and day out but I can bet not many have seen the Neko rig yet. Second place I have been fishing this presentation with good success is on the outside edge of the weeds that have rock located just outside of the weeds. These two places have been prime locations to use the Neko rigged Squirrel Tail and I can add with great success. 

So when you hit the water this spring do not forget your Squirrel Tails. Either rigged on a Shaky Head or Neko rigged you will soon come to know that the Squirrel Tail worm will earn a place in your plastics box. To see all the Jeff Kriet signature Squirrel Tail line of bait log onto www.bigbitebaits.com.