Ito Shiner - schooling fish?

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Johnny A
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Ito Shiner - schooling fish?

Post by Johnny A » Fri Jul 23, 2021 12:51 pm

I’m new to this whole bass chasing schools of shad thing.
The thought occurred to me the Ito Shiner might be a decent bait. I thought it might have a different profile from other hardbaits.
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Drakestar
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Re: Ito Shiner - schooling fish?

Post by Drakestar » Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:17 pm

I've had great fun hammering largemouths via jerkbaits on Clear Lake. Often they were feeding on baitballs in the morning. Something to keep in mind is the size of the bait: you'll want at least two sizes, i.e. a Vision 110 and a Vision 110 Jr. I've had days when a regular-sized jerkbait kept drawing fish up to the boat, but they wouldn't commit because the size of the bait they were chasing was much smaller. Switched to a Jr size and they bit. Other days you want that full-size profile, particularly when the fish are more scattered.

The Ito Shiner is Megabass' version of a Lucky Craft Flash Pointer: bigger than the 110 and with more erratic and flashy action. It works great in the summer, but when bass are chasing shad bait balls, it might be too big to draw strikes. I always have one with me during the warmer months, on top of a regular 110 and a 110 Jr. (I'm not MB-specific and will fish other brands, just using those for category and size reference.)

BTW: When bass are in a bait ball feeding frenzy, you don't need to worry about looking unlike other baits; they'll hit anything when they're in that mood. The main thing you gotta worry about is standing out from all of those scattering and spraying bait fish! You don't want to be just another shad in the crowd, you need more flash/vibration/color/splash so that they become aware of you.

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Johnny A
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Re: Ito Shiner - schooling fish?

Post by Johnny A » Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:58 am

I took some time to work the Ito Shiner this morning with no takers. I do like action but I think it’s more of a non-summer bait.

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