Back Glide soft plastics

It all started with the plastic worm and has now mutated into a huge array of specialized offerings. Whose is the best and which one is your favorite? Come share your thoughts and opinions here.
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Hogsticker2
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Back Glide soft plastics

Post by Hogsticker2 » Mon Jan 31, 2022 6:01 pm

What's everyone's favorite back glide soft plastic baits? I see the JDM market is coming out with a lot of these recently. Pretty popular technique / presentation in Japan right now.

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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by amso4 » Mon Jan 31, 2022 7:22 pm

I still use the Fat Ika rigged backwards. Reasonable price for a bait that works for getting under cover. The new JDM stuff is getting really expensive and not readily available. Maybe worth the effort, but for now the Ika is getting bites.

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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by City17Banner » Thu Feb 03, 2022 5:03 pm

amso4 wrote:
Mon Jan 31, 2022 7:22 pm
I still use the Fat Ika rigged backwards. Reasonable price for a bait that works for getting under cover. The new JDM stuff is getting really expensive and not readily available. Maybe worth the effort, but for now the Ika is getting bites.
I agree, the Fat Ikka still gets bit a lot where we fish for smallmouth bass in MN and WIS. We've taken to adapting the classic 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook in reverse to take advantage of newer rigging options like adding a nail weight to the head and rigging Neko style with a Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse weedless hook. This wrinkle in rigging preserves the backwards fall of the lure but now we can get the erratic action of the Neko rig added to the overall presentation. We primarily use this in flowages (WIS speak for reservoirs) with standing timber and it smashes smallmouth as a secondary presentation once we've already come through an area with the "normal" Fat Ikka reverse T-rig setup. Overall, I still have over 50 bags of Fat Ikkas in storage and my fishing buddies and I will just keep fishing them for those situations that merit the use of this technique.
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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by Houndfish » Fri Feb 04, 2022 7:43 am

I used to use the Ika but have mostly moved over to the Jackall Cover Craw. It seems like it has a bit more glide and less drop the the Ika and it's a lot cheaper most of the time. I have also started using the Keitech solid tube a little, it's a great plastic and very heavy.

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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by LowRange » Thu Mar 17, 2022 6:58 am

Cover craw but I use a screw lock to make the bait behave. I also had some Jackall stick worms with a narrow shrimp like appearance that back slid beautifully but I don't remember the name.

I'll also backwards rig a number of baits from other brands to back glide even if that ability is not advertised. When I had a hot cover craw bite under docks on a fishing trip I switched to a easily locally sourced bait and treated it the same hoping to have the same results and more or less did. I and everyone else burned them out on wacky senkos so I switched to cover craw to get a slow backwards glide under docks that I could put in their face, pull away, then let it slide back down. Worked great and bite was back on until I burned through my last 2 packs. Stuck in Okoboji Iowa I went and tried a number of locally available baits and found that the Trigger X Hodad was willing to play and slow glide backwards. A number of baits will do this out of the package or can be coerced with a nail weight. The only one I don't like is the Ika because it falls to vertically and doesn't have and curly appendages. Definitely worth digging through your existing stockpile and backwards rigging to see what does what.

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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by City17Banner » Thu Mar 17, 2022 9:40 am

LowRange wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 6:58 am
Cover craw but I use a screw lock to make the bait behave. I also had some Jackall stick worms with a narrow shrimp like appearance that back slid beautifully but I don't remember the name.

I'll also backwards rig a number of baits from other brands to back glide even if that ability is not advertised. When I had a hot cover craw bite under docks on a fishing trip I switched to a easily locally sourced bait and treated it the same hoping to have the same results and more or less did. I and everyone else burned them out on wacky senkos so I switched to cover craw to get a slow backwards glide under docks that I could put in their face, pull away, then let it slide back down. Worked great and bite was back on until I burned through my last 2 packs. Stuck in Okoboji Iowa I went and tried a number of locally available baits and found that the Trigger X Hodad was willing to play and slow glide backwards. A number of baits will do this out of the package or can be coerced with a nail weight. The only one I don't like is the Ika because it falls to vertically and doesn't have and curly appendages. Definitely worth digging through your existing stockpile and backwards rigging to see what does what.
Lowrange, when you said you rigged the Cover Craw with a screw lock are you using something like the old school Gambler "Florida Rig" screw-in nose cone bass weight or are you adding weight in a different manner?

I also agree that the fish in NW Wisconsin are "burned out" on the wacky rigged Senko and I've moved away from that presentation to using various soft plastics on the Free Rig and Mojo Rig over the last two fishing seasons.

TIA for your thoughts and ideas sir!

Florida Rig Weights Link: http://cdn3.volusion.com/y7b35.7fjkz/v/ ... 1554907945
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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by LowRange » Thu Mar 17, 2022 11:22 am

City17Banner wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 9:40 am
LowRange wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 6:58 am
Cover craw but I use a screw lock to make the bait behave. I also had some Jackall stick worms with a narrow shrimp like appearance that back slid beautifully but I don't remember the name.

I'll also backwards rig a number of baits from other brands to back glide even if that ability is not advertised. When I had a hot cover craw bite under docks on a fishing trip I switched to a easily locally sourced bait and treated it the same hoping to have the same results and more or less did. I and everyone else burned them out on wacky senkos so I switched to cover craw to get a slow backwards glide under docks that I could put in their face, pull away, then let it slide back down. Worked great and bite was back on until I burned through my last 2 packs. Stuck in Okoboji Iowa I went and tried a number of locally available baits and found that the Trigger X Hodad was willing to play and slow glide backwards. A number of baits will do this out of the package or can be coerced with a nail weight. The only one I don't like is the Ika because it falls to vertically and doesn't have and curly appendages. Definitely worth digging through your existing stockpile and backwards rigging to see what does what.
Lowrange, when you said you rigged the Cover Craw with a screw lock are you using something like the old school Gambler "Florida Rig" screw-in nose cone bass weight or are you adding weight in a different manner?

I also agree that the fish in NW Wisconsin are "burned out" on the wacky rigged Senko and I've moved away from that presentation to using various soft plastics on the Free Rig and Mojo Rig over the last two fishing seasons.

TIA for your thoughts and ideas sir!

Florida Rig Weights Link: http://cdn3.volusion.com/y7b35.7fjkz/v/ ... 1554907945
Just a screw lock hook with no weight on the cover craw The bait will back slide without weight added as it is designed to do. It is very soft and will constantly slide down a normal hook and mess up the action so I use a screw lock hook keep the bait straight and well behaved. I'm only adding weight in the form of nail weights to baits to get baits to back slide that aren't designed to do that like BPS Stick Os. The cover craw is designed to back slide.

https://youtu.be/dixf1ZIaRAI
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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by City17Banner » Thu Mar 17, 2022 1:16 pm

LowRange wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 11:22 am
City17Banner wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 9:40 am
LowRange wrote:
Thu Mar 17, 2022 6:58 am
Cover craw but I use a screw lock to make the bait behave. I also had some Jackall stick worms with a narrow shrimp like appearance that back slid beautifully but I don't remember the name.

I'll also backwards rig a number of baits from other brands to back glide even if that ability is not advertised. When I had a hot cover craw bite under docks on a fishing trip I switched to a easily locally sourced bait and treated it the same hoping to have the same results and more or less did. I and everyone else burned them out on wacky senkos so I switched to cover craw to get a slow backwards glide under docks that I could put in their face, pull away, then let it slide back down. Worked great and bite was back on until I burned through my last 2 packs. Stuck in Okoboji Iowa I went and tried a number of locally available baits and found that the Trigger X Hodad was willing to play and slow glide backwards. A number of baits will do this out of the package or can be coerced with a nail weight. The only one I don't like is the Ika because it falls to vertically and doesn't have and curly appendages. Definitely worth digging through your existing stockpile and backwards rigging to see what does what.
Lowrange, when you said you rigged the Cover Craw with a screw lock are you using something like the old school Gambler "Florida Rig" screw-in nose cone bass weight or are you adding weight in a different manner?

I also agree that the fish in NW Wisconsin are "burned out" on the wacky rigged Senko and I've moved away from that presentation to using various soft plastics on the Free Rig and Mojo Rig over the last two fishing seasons.

TIA for your thoughts and ideas sir!

Florida Rig Weights Link: http://cdn3.volusion.com/y7b35.7fjkz/v/ ... 1554907945
Just a screw lock hook with no weight on the cover craw The bait will back slide without weight added as it is designed to do. It is very soft and will constantly slide down a normal hook and mess up the action so I use a screw lock hook keep the bait straight and well behaved. I'm only adding weight in the form of nail weights to baits to get baits to back slide that aren't designed to do that like BPS Stick Os. The cover craw is designed to back slide.

https://youtu.be/dixf1ZIaRAI
Thank you for the excellent clarification, Lowrange! Now you have me thinking though about ways to modify existing soft plastics beyond their initial design parameters so thank you again for the inspiration!

Now we just need "soft" water so I can actually try some of these lure modifications. ;)
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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by Firstoutfisher » Tue Mar 22, 2022 4:02 pm

Decoy also makes a weighted hook for backglide called the backswitcher.

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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by City17Banner » Tue Mar 22, 2022 4:18 pm

Firstoutfisher wrote:
Tue Mar 22, 2022 4:02 pm
Decoy also makes a weighted hook for backglide called the backswitcher.
Thank you for the recommendation! That hook and weight system looks interesting. For some reason, I always thought it was just another weighted swimbait hook.

I'll give it a try this season for when I'm fishing a small river and want to drop my Rage Craw back under the forward edge of the undercut banks and into the root balls of the trees along the bank edge! That might be the trick to entice the smallmouth bass out of those hard to reach areas.
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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by LowRange » Wed May 25, 2022 8:10 am

Here is that Jackall back slide stick baits. I liked the pack I had. Need to get another few packs.
https://www.jackall.co.jp/bass/products ... k/?wovn=en

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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by Hogsticker2 » Wed May 25, 2022 2:43 pm

LowRange wrote:
Wed May 25, 2022 8:10 am
Here is that Jackall back slide stick baits. I liked the pack I had. Need to get another few packs.
https://www.jackall.co.jp/bass/products ... k/?wovn=en
Looks good

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Re: Back Glide soft plastics

Post by LowRange » Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:11 pm

Add a new one to the list. This is just a plastic that can be backwards rigged and made to back slide. The BPS Pesky Perch. It has a super slow and flat glide. It takes a lot of patience to fish it glides so slow. Might be a good bed fishing bait. I'm going to throw them next spring and skip them under docks then pop and glide to get those fish that refuse to hit a senko. It's a gill bait too so maybe that will trigger the fish also. I caught a few playing with it bank fishing watching it back slide. I would get followers on a slow bite that day and they would grab it by the bank on the glide. Has potential. Real pita to fish though. Just spirals on the pull but has an erratic flopping about as it begins the back slide and the tail unfolds. Once the tail is straight and the bait gliding, it will glide long and slow. Expensive per bait for a BPS plastic but they are very durable. Eyes don't stay on. They're like the salt on old yum plastics. Window dressing.

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