I was floating NPH and after a few small catches I was practicing casting far with my new bait caster and had a little creeper trash fish lure on. I was just trying to get some action on the bottom using the new rod I picked up last week and BAM I got hit pretty hard. 3 seconds later it was gone! I reeled the lure and the hook was buried deep into the back of the lure not even exposed. The front of the lure was shredded and was pushed back onto the hook a good full 1".

After doing some research online I found an article / review on tackle tour about the lure and low and behold they found some problems with the design and suggested cutting a slit into the bottom of the lure to allow the hook to move upward when you get hit. Not sure why I didn't think of that before because my other small plastic swim baits have a slit on the bottom just for that purpose, but at least I'll be ready next time.

Trouble with the trash fish lure is, the bait in stock configuration doesn't leave any room for the hook to come up when a fish bites although it is great for a weedless setup.

stock suggested setup



After adding the slit on the bottom the hook can move up as needed when you get a bite.

their suggested setup



Hook is now allowed to move upward and is exposed.




Here is the full article / review

Full article / Review