Like you said. In the beginning, I bought a box full of spybaits. I catch the occasional fish on them, but I don't fish them enough. Great video on spybaits and fishing them. Excellent information. Thanks for sharing.
I fully agree. I live in South Africa and few people will be able to afford $700. Here you will pay that much just for the Shomano Metanium dc reel. I am a teacher and that is way beyond my limit. Stunning video and channel, though, Matt.
@@Bigdaddyleroy2big I have a Curado I got in ebay auction for like $160 paired with a Walmart profishiency rod that was 62, and that's as high-end as I could reach. Also have an SLX and a Abu Garcia promax. The rest (30ish😲🙄) are assorted, nothing higher than $80. I do have to replace rods fairly often, tho.
Great in-depth video on the spy bait Matt. It catches fish big and small. It’s finesse and lite line and slow. I think that’s why most people don’t fish it. Not powerful enough for the fast fishermen, and too fast for the slow fishermen.
Thanks for the Spy Bait video Matt. Just started throwing it again after letting them sit idle for awhile.Really fun bite too. One thing I would add is when you're reeling and you feel one nip at it but not get it, don't stop. Just keep reeling.
My biggest misconception was that they were only for open water suspended fish. Since I started chucking them around rocks, weeds, ledges, I've caught smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, pike, muskie, perch, rockbass and even an ambitious sunfish that got his mouth around the treble. I've got a ton of confidence in these lures.
I throw spybaits on a baitcasting setup. It really helps to fish what you're comfortable with. Throwing on a daiwa blx limber ml with a steez ct is fun as heck.
It's a great search bait! Use it during pre-spawn when fish are moving up in the shallows. Just fan cast and they will tag it. I may have missed the part on what knot to use in this video, I tie it on with a SMALL LOOP knot. You get a little more swivel ( left to right) in the body on the retrieve. When fish are boiling in the Summer/ fall time in Az, it crushes them. I've thrown these for the last four years and Dou Realis is the reel deal! see what I did there....
believe it or not, i have caught thousands of schooling bass fishing the spy bait on the surface on 10 lbs mono. i fish it where it pushes a wake and if fish are following it, i will break the surface with it and boom, they eat it. i know thats not the way your supposed to fish it, but i promise you it works.
I'm running Megabass p5 Destroyer Wind Buster, Shimano Exsense, Almight braid to fluoro leader. Incredible combo for spybaiting. I dont even really set the hook. I just walk back 2 steps/ lightly pull back and reel. Pins and holds em every time. Also, our local Ontario Mastermind Hiroshi Nishine has a floating model available which is stupid deadly called the BABY ABINO 70F - Floating Model.
I have the same combo and it is a phenomenal combo in general but would not be a good spybait combo at all. It’s a very powerful rod. Spybait rods should be very light tipped.
@@mikecaldwell6253 I guess I have a great technique going with it then because I’m pinning smallmouth all over Ontario with this combo and haven’t even lost a fish yet👌
if you fish schooling bass or hybrids or white bass, get a stealth shad, put it on a spincast or baitcast with 10 lbs mono, throw it and reel it. if fish are near the surface, keep the bait as close to the surface as possible without breaking the surface. its ok to just break the surface sometimes. it works, i promise
My spybait rod is a Megabass Destroyer P5 Landsat with a Shimano Vanquish C3000XG. I have 6lb braid to 4, 6, or 7lb fluorocarbon. I have braid because I also use it for other techniques.
I fking love the spybait. It's my confidence bait for BFS fishing. It couldn't be more simple; cast out and retrieve slowly. And fish crush it. I use the Duo 60 and the 80Shallow mostly. Daiwa also has a few spybaits like the Gekkabijin and the Gustnado. I like to add a blade treble to the back of my spybaits, to give that extra flash to it. Casting out far, near, deep, shallow; there's a spybait for everything. Never gonna stop fishing them!
Thanks for the hook upgrade tip, I've never thrown one and was planning on getting some this week and I literally just said that to myself watching this video...I'm like that'd be a great lure to toss my bladed treble on on the back hook! 😂 no bs fr that's why I had to respond to ur comment.
@@keithbassett1903 It's on every spybait I own that's size 80 above. The only reason why not the smaller ones is that I haven't found a blade treble size 10 or smaller yet. For the smaller ones, I use feathered trebles with flash tied on.
@@Daiwa_Is_King Not sure what you're trying to say with that comment. A lot of categories of baits don't have panfish shapes when they should because they're a primary forage species in many bodies of water, particularly those without shad.
@@IV-fad well if you can’t figure out why there are no panfish style spybaits I can’t help you. You obviously dont understand the concept of a spybait based on your question.
I loved to fish this on a medium 6’6 spinning rod on 6# test to a swivel and a 8# leader with the discontinued Arashie spy bait Looks like I need to up date my combo
I only spybaits available I can get are the cotton cordell (topwater spybait) and the berkley one which is slow falling. I caught some dingers on the topwater one
Spybaits, oddly, fall into a similar spot as jigs for me. Always have the box with me on the kayak, throw them a lot. Have never caught anything on them. I know they should produce. I give them plenty of opportunity. Nada. I've literally caught a handful of bass on a jig in the last decade. I've caught a green sunfish on a spybait.
I used to be the same way but I will say I went out like a week ago and found bass on points next to flats that had TONS of small shad. I actually caught em pretty decent on the spy bait for the first time in my life after having thrown it for a while and no success. I think it shines when there’s an excess of small baitfish around and it like is the perfect sound and vibration to stand your bait out from other fish.
Love my dou realis 80. Use for a search bait. I do have a question about your rod. The megabass does it do more than spy? Maybe hair jig just your thoughts I'm a tournament kayak fishing guy and I need a rod to do more than one thing. If it's able to be good at a few more I'd spend the money what are your thoughts.
I'd say its the one technique that is surprisingly limited on bait choices. Really not that many brands are into the spybait game, and you don't have a huge choice of them. I pretty much use them around the spawn for smallies, need to get more comfortable using them out deeper.
I probably have the wrong equipment for it, I’ve used a med light rod on 8 lb floro and always seem to either miss the hook set or get them only on the back hook
@tacticalbassin hey guys I have been following for years and year and noticed that you no longer mention Dobyns rods in any reviews. Is there a reason for that? Thank for all your content I have bought way to much from tackle warehouse because of you guys. Haha
Second! I got a spy bait in a subscription tackle box one year and didn’t know what it was, I thought it was a defective floating prop bait and ended up fishing it entirely wrong until I lost it to a tree.
I was throwing a Duo 90 (1/2oz) spy bait recently. Throwing it on a 7’4 medium light (pretty soft) with 10 pound braid to 8 pound leader. My problem is the bait would foul up almost every cast and I had to put the bait down. It was catching fish on casts that didn’t foul up but it was very frustrating. Any idea why? Y’all ever had that problem? Seemed like the rod was too soft maybe?
Fouling isn't a common issue with a spybait. I'm wondering if you had a bunch of line twist in that spool that would try to ball up when it wasn't under tension 🤔
Funny your video just popped up on my feed. I just heard the term spy bait a few days ago. I’m 68 and been fishing all my life. Those baits are similar to ones that’s been around forever. I have a few like those…. Just a new name for them. But I do see the differences in the newer styles. Thanks for all the help with y’all’s videos!
Bet it's hard for Matt to buy lures online....Hard to figure out what to get, when u already have everything 😂 ahhh yes, the life of a lure addict....wonder if a spybait would be a killer for white bass in the fall...🤔
Its exactly what the name implies... normally rods are made of tubular carbon, and various other materials. Traditionally, if you needed an extra fast tip for a technique, that tip would be very thin, and very brittle. Lately, companies have been making the tips of some rods out of solid material instead of hollow, allowing them to be much stronger while still maintaining extremely fast and/or light actions.
@@tacticalbassin gotcha, so it's literally what it sounds like, I didn't know if it was some sort of slang term or something off beat like "regular action" rods. Thanks, for the great explanation, keep up the great work guys.
While the body shape seems similar, the concept could not be farther off. The devil horse is a unique topwater that is often chopped, as I'm sure you know. The Spybait is a perfectly balanced, Sinking hardbait, with a completely different purpose and action.
@raytubach8988 Doesn't matter a bit to me, bud. They work, have a great slow sink version, and they don't cost $20. Also, the Berkeley has a profile completely different from any other. All brands use almost the same lip design. Berkeley Spy has a flat bottom and taller profile. Makes for a much more subtle fall. Berkeley does actually have some good products, though not many.
You never really detailed as stained water, 3-4' visibility verses the clear water. Break down the stained water conditions. Would one be better served going in a different direction under those conditions.
When it’s on I’ve had smallmouth almost rip the rod out of my hand when hitting a spybait ! My favorite is the 80 Gfix 👍👍
Like you said. In the beginning, I bought a box full of spybaits. I catch the occasional fish on them, but I don't fish them enough. Great video on spybaits and fishing them. Excellent information. Thanks for sharing.
I just got my first spy bait. This is literally perfect timing, love this channel 😂😂
In my book, a $700+ combo is very, VERY high-end.
I fully agree. I live in South Africa and few people will be able to afford $700. Here you will pay that much just for the Shomano Metanium dc reel. I am a teacher and that is way beyond my limit. Stunning video and channel, though, Matt.
You do not need expensive rods/reels for a spybait
me too. i don't have any combos over $150.
i have caught thousands of bass on spy bait with a $100 combo baitcaster with 10 lbs mono. fishing it like a topwater just under the surface.
@@Bigdaddyleroy2big I have a Curado I got in ebay auction for like $160 paired with a Walmart profishiency rod that was 62, and that's as high-end as I could reach. Also have an SLX and a Abu Garcia promax. The rest (30ish😲🙄) are assorted, nothing higher than $80. I do have to replace rods fairly often, tho.
Great in-depth video on the spy bait Matt. It catches fish big and small. It’s finesse and lite line and slow. I think that’s why most people don’t fish it. Not powerful enough for the fast fishermen, and too fast for the slow fishermen.
Thanks for the Spy Bait video Matt. Just started throwing it again after letting them sit idle for awhile.Really fun bite too. One thing I would add is when you're reeling and you feel one nip at it but not get it, don't stop. Just keep reeling.
thats a great tip
My biggest misconception was that they were only for open water suspended fish. Since I started chucking them around rocks, weeds, ledges, I've caught smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, pike, muskie, perch, rockbass and even an ambitious sunfish that got his mouth around the treble. I've got a ton of confidence in these lures.
I had the same idea. Now I'm going to have to try shallow spybaiting
I throw spybaits on a baitcasting setup. It really helps to fish what you're comfortable with. Throwing on a daiwa blx limber ml with a steez ct is fun as heck.
It's a great search bait! Use it during pre-spawn when fish are moving up in the shallows. Just fan cast and they will tag it. I may have missed the part on what knot to use in this video, I tie it on with a SMALL LOOP knot. You get a little more swivel ( left to right) in the body on the retrieve. When fish are boiling in the Summer/ fall time in Az, it crushes them. I've thrown these for the last four years and Dou Realis is the reel deal! see what I did there....
Been waiting on this one for a long time!!! Thanks guys!
believe it or not, i have caught thousands of schooling bass fishing the spy bait on the surface on 10 lbs mono. i fish it where it pushes a wake and if fish are following it, i will break the surface with it and boom, they eat it. i know thats not the way your supposed to fish it, but i promise you it works.
I've been throwing the Megabass Okashira Spy Jig and let me tell you with a keitech swimbait it's absolutely a fish catcher.
I'm running Megabass p5 Destroyer Wind Buster, Shimano Exsense, Almight braid to fluoro leader. Incredible combo for spybaiting. I dont even really set the hook. I just walk back 2 steps/ lightly pull back and reel. Pins and holds em every time. Also, our local Ontario Mastermind Hiroshi Nishine has a floating model available which is stupid deadly called the BABY ABINO 70F - Floating Model.
I have the same combo and it is a phenomenal combo in general but would not be a good spybait combo at all. It’s a very powerful rod. Spybait rods should be very light tipped.
@@mikecaldwell6253 I guess I have a great technique going with it then because I’m pinning smallmouth all over Ontario with this combo and haven’t even lost a fish yet👌
Picked up a Jackall iProp 75 just the other day. Never thrown a spy bait. Cant wait to try it!
if fish are near the surface, try fishing it just under the surface. i promise it works.
Jackall needs to add a couple weighted spybaits like DUO- one 5 to 12 and a heavier one 4/1/2 - 5 inch to cover 12 to 20 Ft
Great info Matt I do want to try those baits for the Smallies in the lake I fish up here in the Northeast 👍🏻
@@garyplowman5838 they're a blast.
Definitely something I have to put more time on. It’s just one of those lures that feels like I’m not fishing it right.
We live in a simulation! I was up last night binge reading about spy bait fishing. 😂I’ve never done it and I’m lost haha
if you fish schooling bass or hybrids or white bass, get a stealth shad, put it on a spincast or baitcast with 10 lbs mono, throw it and reel it. if fish are near the surface, keep the bait as close to the surface as possible without breaking the surface. its ok to just break the surface sometimes. it works, i promise
stealth shad is the color if spy bait. get a slow sinking or 1/4 oz, its easier to keep on the surface.
My spybait rod is a Megabass Destroyer P5 Landsat with a Shimano Vanquish C3000XG. I have 6lb braid to 4, 6, or 7lb fluorocarbon. I have braid because I also use it for other techniques.
I fking love the spybait. It's my confidence bait for BFS fishing. It couldn't be more simple; cast out and retrieve slowly. And fish crush it. I use the Duo 60 and the 80Shallow mostly. Daiwa also has a few spybaits like the Gekkabijin and the Gustnado. I like to add a blade treble to the back of my spybaits, to give that extra flash to it.
Casting out far, near, deep, shallow; there's a spybait for everything. Never gonna stop fishing them!
Thanks for the hook upgrade tip, I've never thrown one and was planning on getting some this week and I literally just said that to myself watching this video...I'm like that'd be a great lure to toss my bladed treble on on the back hook! 😂 no bs fr that's why I had to respond to ur comment.
@@keithbassett1903 It's on every spybait I own that's size 80 above. The only reason why not the smaller ones is that I haven't found a blade treble size 10 or smaller yet. For the smaller ones, I use feathered trebles with flash tied on.
@@RworldKMVMC 7548BDBN TR Bladed Hybrid Treble Short #10 & #12 is what you need
There is a size 62 alpha from duo as well, 3/8 oz with a wide body vs the skinny, as well as a size 60 with the skinny body too.
I have the Destroyer Flyssa and love it for this technique also try any 902 S G Loomis 👍🏼
One of these manufacturers needs to come out with a panfish profile spybait.
😂😂😂 your not the brightest star….
@@Daiwa_Is_King Not sure what you're trying to say with that comment. A lot of categories of baits don't have panfish shapes when they should because they're a primary forage species in many bodies of water, particularly those without shad.
not a bad idea, because i have caught a fair amount of sac a lait and bream on a size 70.
@@IV-fad well if you can’t figure out why there are no panfish style spybaits I can’t help you. You obviously dont understand the concept of a spybait based on your question.
Ive really been happy running nanofil to a 6 or 7lb flurocarbon leader on a ml baitcasting setup. Can cast it a country mile and its super sensitive
I loved to fish this on a medium 6’6 spinning rod on 6# test to a swivel and a 8# leader with the discontinued Arashie spy bait
Looks like I need to up date my combo
Its the realism, the yotamaki, the snack size, and with their lateral lines, they can feel and locate it.
I’m 106 years old and those baits have been around forever. We used to call them spinners.
Just kidding, great vid.
Great info and suggestions!
I only spybaits available I can get are the cotton cordell (topwater spybait) and the berkley one which is slow falling. I caught some dingers on the topwater one
The topwater bait is a prop bait, not a spybait 🙂 But they do look extremely similar! Application however is night and day different.
@@tacticalbassin I suspected so. I did get bites on the topwater when the bite died down, so I thought it was a spybait since it was effective
Absolutely awesome Matt,thank you ❤
Great information!
Spybaits, oddly, fall into a similar spot as jigs for me. Always have the box with me on the kayak, throw them a lot. Have never caught anything on them. I know they should produce. I give them plenty of opportunity. Nada. I've literally caught a handful of bass on a jig in the last decade. I've caught a green sunfish on a spybait.
I used to be the same way but I will say I went out like a week ago and found bass on points next to flats that had TONS of small shad. I actually caught em pretty decent on the spy bait for the first time in my life after having thrown it for a while and no success. I think it shines when there’s an excess of small baitfish around and it like is the perfect sound and vibration to stand your bait out from other fish.
Thanks!
In northern waters where the smallies share space with walleye, have you picked up any marble eyes while targeting the brown bass?
Ever try a feathered or bladed treble on the back? A little extra action.
Was that clip Matt fishing with Tim’s kid JD?? If so that’s awesome JD’s the man.
Scrounger video please.
THIS! I lose fish throwing a scrounger and can’t figure out why.
Love my dou realis 80. Use for a search bait. I do have a question about your rod. The megabass does it do more than spy? Maybe hair jig just your thoughts I'm a tournament kayak fishing guy and I need a rod to do more than one thing. If it's able to be good at a few more I'd spend the money what are your thoughts.
It can do a ton. It can throw hair, and it excels with small swimbaits as well.
Is there any lure category or specific lure you've never caught a fish with or drastically catch less fish?
Are these good to use for FFS? Seems like it would be a diff look
Go video. Sounds like you are fishing it spring to fall. How is it in winter.
Matt or Tim, do you ever use a zapu board weight or anything to help get them down quicker? I'm just curious. I think I might try it.
Is this a post spawn/summertime technique? Or other times of the year as well?
Year round 👍🏼
I'd say its the one technique that is surprisingly limited on bait choices. Really not that many brands are into the spybait game, and you don't have a huge choice of them. I pretty much use them around the spawn for smallies, need to get more comfortable using them out deeper.
Any need for a swivel?
Is this a year round technique? Thanks guys.
I probably have the wrong equipment for it, I’ve used a med light rod on 8 lb floro and always seem to either miss the hook set or get them only on the back hook
they have trebles, you do not need to set the hook all crazy, it's like a crank or jerk bait where once they hit you just keep pressure applied.
@tacticalbassin hey guys I have been following for years and year and noticed that you no longer mention Dobyns rods in any reviews. Is there a reason for that? Thank for all your content I have bought way to much from tackle warehouse because of you guys. Haha
Second!
I got a spy bait in a subscription tackle box one year and didn’t know what it was, I thought it was a defective floating prop bait and ended up fishing it entirely wrong until I lost it to a tree.
Whoops! You didn't know what you had!
I was throwing a Duo 90 (1/2oz) spy bait recently. Throwing it on a 7’4 medium light (pretty soft) with 10 pound braid to 8 pound leader. My problem is the bait would foul up almost every cast and I had to put the bait down. It was catching fish on casts that didn’t foul up but it was very frustrating. Any idea why? Y’all ever had that problem? Seemed like the rod was too soft maybe?
Fouling isn't a common issue with a spybait. I'm wondering if you had a bunch of line twist in that spool that would try to ball up when it wasn't under tension 🤔
@@tacticalbassin
Could be? I did re spool the reel afterwards but haven’t tried it again since the fouling. Thanks for answering
my spybait floats. idk what this desired depth point means. do I have the "wrong" kind of spy bait?
You have a topwater, not a spybait. Who makes it?
Cotton Cordell and yeah I just checked, it's a top water. and the props are junk lol
That's a great little prop bait, but not at all a spy bait. 👍🏼
Finally😂
Funny your video just popped up on my feed. I just heard the term spy bait a few days ago. I’m 68 and been fishing all my life. Those baits are similar to ones that’s been around forever. I have a few like those…. Just a new name for them. But I do see the differences in the newer styles. Thanks for all the help with y’all’s videos!
What you have are probably topwater and while they look similar, they're completely different from an application standpoint.
Bet it's hard for Matt to buy lures online....Hard to figure out what to get, when u already have everything 😂 ahhh yes, the life of a lure addict....wonder if a spybait would be a killer for white bass in the fall...🤔
Spy baiting is a riot...I've heard the term "solid tip" a bunch lately...what is it?
Its exactly what the name implies... normally rods are made of tubular carbon, and various other materials. Traditionally, if you needed an extra fast tip for a technique, that tip would be very thin, and very brittle. Lately, companies have been making the tips of some rods out of solid material instead of hollow, allowing them to be much stronger while still maintaining extremely fast and/or light actions.
@@tacticalbassin gotcha, so it's literally what it sounds like, I didn't know if it was some sort of slang term or something off beat like "regular action" rods. Thanks, for the great explanation, keep up the great work guys.
We called that lure a Devil Horse growing up. That's been around for a long time
While the body shape seems similar, the concept could not be farther off. The devil horse is a unique topwater that is often chopped, as I'm sure you know. The Spybait is a perfectly balanced, Sinking hardbait, with a completely different purpose and action.
Berkely spybait is the best bang for the buck. Hands down
Yeah? What existing bait did they copy?..
@raytubach8988 Doesn't matter a bit to me, bud. They work, have a great slow sink version, and they don't cost $20. Also, the Berkeley has a profile completely different from any other. All brands use almost the same lip design. Berkeley Spy has a flat bottom and taller profile. Makes for a much more subtle fall. Berkeley does actually have some good products, though not many.
You never really detailed as stained water, 3-4' visibility verses the clear water. Break down the stained water conditions. Would one be better served going in a different direction under those conditions.
Way too expensive and the manufacturers need to come down to earth.
I was fishing one today on Kentucky lake and nobody is using it 🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫
I buy spy baits evry few years and give them away it's just not my thing.
First!