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Posts: 357
Location: Long Prairie, Minnesota | Picked up my first Phantom jerkbait today. Must say the lure looks great and it will be put to good use. Question: How do you work it? Does it need just short pulls on the rod like a Manta or do you have to really snap it hard? Thanks |
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| Short pulls will get it dancing quite nicely. Also, a fast steady retrieve will will get the bait waving with an erratic action. I really love Todd's baits. I have the older wooden ones, and havn't tried the new plastic version. I'm sure it's just as good. You will have more play with the phantom at boatside then you do with a Manta (which I also really like)! Mantas & Phantoms are two of my favorite, with Turmoils right there.
Chas |
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Posts: 1243
Location: Musky Tackle Online, MN | Working this bait erratically has definitely been the key on this bait. Short taps for the most part, you can let the reel do most of the work. But change it up during the retrieve. This will get them to change their mood from followers to eaters.
Aaron |
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| You can work this bait a lot of different ways, taps, hard jerks, reel only, etc. I prefer using a somewhat short-ish rod and an absolute must if you want it dance back and forth easily is a 9" solid wire (stiff) leader. I have not been able to get good action with a 12" or a flexible leader.
Changing up the cadence when you see a following fish seems fairly critical to getting them to eat it. I usally work it at a moderate pace with a steady back and forth - when I see a fish following I'll burst it forward by simply craking the reel (the bait "swims" when you do this) if the fish chases it, then a brief pause or kick to one side usually results in a violent strike. It also "swims" pretty well in a figure eight and I think is more effective than most other jerkbaits on an 8.
I've had some issues with the plastic baits losing their clearcoat rather qucikly, but it hasn't seemed to affect the fish's desire to slam them. |
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | Keep the rod tip low and with a bit of slack in the line, jerk the rod downward gently and watch what the bait does...it will go one way or the other. Now get a cadence down where you are gently jerking the rod tip while taking up slack with the reel. The lure will easily walk left and right with each jerk of the rod tip...........don't be too aggressive, it doesn't take much to make the lure respond especially if you have a bit of slack in the line. Practice by first making some short casts so you can see what the lure is doing.
The phantom is a very good lure.
Jed V.
Edited by RiverMan 1/5/2008 2:07 AM
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Posts: 1287
Location: WI | Is there an easy way to tell between the wood and plastic ones? The finish is pretty solid on the 2 I have, I think they're wood. |
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Phantoms