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Your play · Lipless Crankbait

Strike King Red Eyed Shad

1/2 oz, Rayburn red craw

The lipless crankbait covers open flats and sparse grass with flash and vibration.

How to fish it

Cast over reachable open flats or sparse grass. Retrieve under control, or lift and let it fall on controlled line; pause or change direction when it contacts light grass. Avoid burying the exposed trebles in dense cover.

Largemouth bass Murky water Cloudy Lake Transition · 50–65°F Spring pattern

The largemouth bass guide: how to tell them, where they live, through the year

Lake fishing: where to start and how to approach it

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Spawning season: many states close bass, walleye or pike fishing, or make it catch-and-release, until an opener. Leave fish on their beds alone. Check local regulations.

Your statefor its license and regulations

Your complete setup

Bass on a lipless Red Eyed Shad

Fits: Largemouth or smallmouth bass in open or sparse-cover freshwater where the exact presentation and finished load suit this spinning outfit; bank or boat, still water or slower current.
Not for: Dense weeds, mats, heavy wood extraction, ice/fly fishing or a finished rig outside 1/8–5/8 oz. Weigh any assembly with unpublished masses before casting.

How to rig it (steps, knots and a diagram)

Mount the separate spinning reel firmly and spool the listed 12 lb mono under light tension to the reel’s fill mark; use an arbor knot.
Tie directly to the supplied lure eye or factory split ring with a wetted improved clinch knot; pull-test. Keep the factory hooks and rings; no extra sinker, swivel, snap or trailer is required.
Check the complete lure and any additions against the rod’s 1/8–5/8 oz range before casting. Replacement hooks, added clips and wire change mass and action.
Cast over reachable open flats or sparse grass. Retrieve under control, or lift and let it fall on controlled line; pause or change direction when it contacts light grass. Avoid burying the exposed trebles in dense cover.
Keep controlled line tension when the fish takes. Recover slack and sweep smoothly; avoid a violent strike with treble hooks.

Knots

Mono to reel spool: arbor knot
Mono to lure eye or supplied split ring: improved clinch, wetted and pull-tested

Needed to assemble this rig

Ugly Stik GX2 spinning rod, 6'6" medium, two-piece · Rod only (USGXSP662M): add the reel below
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Shimano Sedona FJ 4000XG spinning reel · For this rod: SE4000XGFJ: 12 lb mono 160 yd or 10 lb 200 yd
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Berkley Trilene Big Game mono, 12 lb, clear, 1175 yd
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Factory-rigged hard bait · 1/2 oz, Rayburn red craw
Strike King Red Eyed Shad, Rayburn red craw
Maker nominal complete lure weight, with factory hooks/rings. Added clips, replacement hooks or another attachment require rechecking weight and action.
Why it fits
Tie directly to supplied eye/split ring; no extra hook, leader, sinker or swivel. Keep hooks clear of weeds. This exact lure fits the printed range only in its factory configuration.
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Cast weight: 1/2 oz: inside the rod’s 1/8–5/8 oz range.

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Rules to check for this rig

Check the actual water’s current fishing rules, hook/point limits and artificial-lure restrictions.

Also for this trip

The backup below is a separate presentation. Its rod, line and rig have not been checked against the complete setup above.

Backup lure

Z-Man Original ChatterBait

Bladed Jig (ChatterBait)

3/8 oz, black/blue

In murky spring water a bladed jig thumps hard enough for bass to find by feel, right on the shallow flats where they gather to spawn.

How to fish it

Cast it over the flats and reel steadily so the blade vibrates, ripping it free when it ticks grass.

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Premium pick: Z-Man Evergreen Jack Hammer ChatterBait

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