TIPS ON USING THE JAMES GANG FISHING BABY SQUID BAIT
LINE: PREMIUM FLOUROCARBON! I highly recommend using around 15# to 17# such as Seaguar Red Label, Sunline Super Flourocarbon, or P-Line 100% Flourocarbon.
ROD: FIBERGLASS! I use Skeet Reese’s S-Glass Crankin Rod by Wright & McGill for this lure. It does a great job of preventing fish loss at the boat during the battle, and even though fiberglass is not sensitive compared to graphite, I have had no problems detecting a bite on this rod.
REEL: BAITCASTER w/ SLOW GEAR RATIO! I have had great luck on my old used Rick Clunn BPS 5:1 reel. It keeps my hyper self from burning the lure back too quickly. I may experiment with a 6:1 but will have to discipline myself to keep bringing it back slow.
PRESENTATION: The Baby Squid Bait is a great alternative to the super popular 3.8”-4.8” boot tail paddle-tail swimbait. Instead of having a kicking tail, the Baby Squid Bait has a small Colorado blade spinning. It is a really subtle presentation that looks beautiful in the water and generates a lot of bites from very big fish. The only approaches we have experimented with so far are slow rolling just above the bottom like a swimbait (which has been done with HUGE success!) and burning the lure back in shallow water around sparse weeds and boulders like an inline spinner. Like a vibrating jig, I think there are many more ways to fish it that we have not even tried yet, such as a yo-yo retrieve, jigging it, etc. The blade spins during the fall, so just dropping it down in a deep spot without doing anything at all could very well be a way to create a strike. Cast past your target, count to about 8 in your head and then try to bring it back steady just above the bottom, occasionally feeling a few rocks or some gravel along the way back. When you feel bottom, speed up your retrieve slightly. The best luck we have had is getting the boat near the ledge drop-off, and parallel-casting the drop all the way back to the boat. You DO NOT want to cast directly at shore in this situation, the strike zone is on the edge and you need to run that edge all the way back to the boat. This lure is more for negative / neutral fish that are hiding on a deep drop or adjacent to deep water. These fish are not in the mood to be up shallow feeding and chasing.
COVER: ROCKS / BOULDERS / WOOD! Most of our success has come running deep on ledges, near boulders, and most of all, laydowns! Wood cover that drops down into deep deep water has been the #1 place that we have caught fish on this lure, and the biggest fish that we have caught on it as well.
VARIATIONS/COLOR CHOICES: Our prototypes have been made with ¼ oz and 3/8 oz variations. I liked the ¼ oz on Lake Michigan in about 6 feet of water in sparse weed growth, but I am much much happier with the 3/8 oz version. This is the one that I have been using from 10-22 feet deep. Now, I will experiment soon with a ¾ of option and see how I like it more for the 15-25 foot range, I have a feeling that I will be happy, as long as the weight doesn’t over power and kill the blade spin. So as of the date that I write this, only a 3/8 oz jig head is available. I am very pleased with both the Kalin’s Swimbait head and the VMC Boxer Jig. I have worked out a dealership with Kalin’s and am currently in the process of trying to land a deal with VMC/Rapala in their retail sales to get these lures at factory prices and get our build costs down. Both heads create similar action and both have outstanding hooks on them! As far as colors, right now we have THREE options: Pearl/Red, Pearl/Chartreuse, and Green Pumpkin/Nickel. The choice of color is 100% based on water clarity! In clear water, you want green pumpkin! Be subtle, be finesse, there are plenty of obnoxious lures out there for an aggressive bite. In stained waters and primarily rivers/reservoirs, your go to color will be Pearl/Chartreuse. The lure body will resemble a baitfish, but the chartreuse blade increases visibility in stained waters. Now when the baitfish bite is hot, and I am thinking especially in the fall, the go to in probably ANY water clarity will be pearl/red. The reason why? It will resemble a baitfish with a bleeding tail. Not as bright as chartreuse, but bright enough to be seen from a distance. I have noticed that smallmouth bass LOVE a red tail. I custom paint our Bass Jerker suspending jerkbaits in bloody heads and tails, I dip my hand-poured swimbaits in red dye, and I have tested some red bladed Squid Baits and found smallmouth on them around here in stained water as well. This lure in pearl/red is going to really be a fantastic fall lure!
Any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Best of luck fishing with the Baby Squid Bait and send us your fish pictures to share on our fishing reports and on social media.
JESSE JAMES
LINE: PREMIUM FLOUROCARBON! I highly recommend using around 15# to 17# such as Seaguar Red Label, Sunline Super Flourocarbon, or P-Line 100% Flourocarbon.
ROD: FIBERGLASS! I use Skeet Reese’s S-Glass Crankin Rod by Wright & McGill for this lure. It does a great job of preventing fish loss at the boat during the battle, and even though fiberglass is not sensitive compared to graphite, I have had no problems detecting a bite on this rod.
REEL: BAITCASTER w/ SLOW GEAR RATIO! I have had great luck on my old used Rick Clunn BPS 5:1 reel. It keeps my hyper self from burning the lure back too quickly. I may experiment with a 6:1 but will have to discipline myself to keep bringing it back slow.
PRESENTATION: The Baby Squid Bait is a great alternative to the super popular 3.8”-4.8” boot tail paddle-tail swimbait. Instead of having a kicking tail, the Baby Squid Bait has a small Colorado blade spinning. It is a really subtle presentation that looks beautiful in the water and generates a lot of bites from very big fish. The only approaches we have experimented with so far are slow rolling just above the bottom like a swimbait (which has been done with HUGE success!) and burning the lure back in shallow water around sparse weeds and boulders like an inline spinner. Like a vibrating jig, I think there are many more ways to fish it that we have not even tried yet, such as a yo-yo retrieve, jigging it, etc. The blade spins during the fall, so just dropping it down in a deep spot without doing anything at all could very well be a way to create a strike. Cast past your target, count to about 8 in your head and then try to bring it back steady just above the bottom, occasionally feeling a few rocks or some gravel along the way back. When you feel bottom, speed up your retrieve slightly. The best luck we have had is getting the boat near the ledge drop-off, and parallel-casting the drop all the way back to the boat. You DO NOT want to cast directly at shore in this situation, the strike zone is on the edge and you need to run that edge all the way back to the boat. This lure is more for negative / neutral fish that are hiding on a deep drop or adjacent to deep water. These fish are not in the mood to be up shallow feeding and chasing.
COVER: ROCKS / BOULDERS / WOOD! Most of our success has come running deep on ledges, near boulders, and most of all, laydowns! Wood cover that drops down into deep deep water has been the #1 place that we have caught fish on this lure, and the biggest fish that we have caught on it as well.
VARIATIONS/COLOR CHOICES: Our prototypes have been made with ¼ oz and 3/8 oz variations. I liked the ¼ oz on Lake Michigan in about 6 feet of water in sparse weed growth, but I am much much happier with the 3/8 oz version. This is the one that I have been using from 10-22 feet deep. Now, I will experiment soon with a ¾ of option and see how I like it more for the 15-25 foot range, I have a feeling that I will be happy, as long as the weight doesn’t over power and kill the blade spin. So as of the date that I write this, only a 3/8 oz jig head is available. I am very pleased with both the Kalin’s Swimbait head and the VMC Boxer Jig. I have worked out a dealership with Kalin’s and am currently in the process of trying to land a deal with VMC/Rapala in their retail sales to get these lures at factory prices and get our build costs down. Both heads create similar action and both have outstanding hooks on them! As far as colors, right now we have THREE options: Pearl/Red, Pearl/Chartreuse, and Green Pumpkin/Nickel. The choice of color is 100% based on water clarity! In clear water, you want green pumpkin! Be subtle, be finesse, there are plenty of obnoxious lures out there for an aggressive bite. In stained waters and primarily rivers/reservoirs, your go to color will be Pearl/Chartreuse. The lure body will resemble a baitfish, but the chartreuse blade increases visibility in stained waters. Now when the baitfish bite is hot, and I am thinking especially in the fall, the go to in probably ANY water clarity will be pearl/red. The reason why? It will resemble a baitfish with a bleeding tail. Not as bright as chartreuse, but bright enough to be seen from a distance. I have noticed that smallmouth bass LOVE a red tail. I custom paint our Bass Jerker suspending jerkbaits in bloody heads and tails, I dip my hand-poured swimbaits in red dye, and I have tested some red bladed Squid Baits and found smallmouth on them around here in stained water as well. This lure in pearl/red is going to really be a fantastic fall lure!
Any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Best of luck fishing with the Baby Squid Bait and send us your fish pictures to share on our fishing reports and on social media.
JESSE JAMES
18.5" Largemouth Caught on the BABY SQUID BAIT in Green Pumpkin (11' Water Clarity- 12 feet deep)
