INSIDER BASS FISHING: The Spybait Explosion

WORDS: George Robey  IMAGES: Supplied

A favourite of American smallmouth bass fishers is a bait and tactic termed ‘Spybaiting’. It’s also of special interest to Western Cape smallmouth anglers, but it’s no secret that this diminutive Japanese bait is also effective for largemouth bass.

The ‘Technique of Silent Capture’ exploded onto the USA tourney circuit mainstream some years ago with a string of big-time successes. A clamorous parade of elite record-setting bags highlighted the effectiveness of this Japanese technique and still makes the power of Spybaiting anything but silent.  

FLW Pro angler Chad Grigsby mastered the tactic and used it to bang out big wins. His three-day bag of 97.8 pounds on Lake St. Clair shattered the all-time FLW tournament record when he fished a Duo Realis Spinbait 80.

“It doesn’t matter how you slice it, the record Chad Grigsby accomplished … may never be broken,” commented David Swenseid, DUO Realis US Manager/ R&D Specialist.

Also not to be forgotten is the 8.14-pound smallmouth caught on spybaiting by American angler Joe Hamilton; it is one of the biggest ever to come from Lake St. Clair and make no mistake, the technique can be equally effective on Largemouth Bass.

Quite surprisingly few South African bass fishers use this unique fishing strategy. An impromptu survey of southern Africa tourney elites confirms their lack of use, or maybe however, it remains a secret strategy the local pros are unwilling to share?

Spybaiting originated in Japan in the mid-2000’s around famed trophy water Lake Biwa and in smaller dams near Tokyo, Chiba and Yokohama. It all began with twin blade experimentation by innovative anglers.

“According to Japanese reports, anglers got creative and began fashioning propellers in front of soft plastic baits and hard baits,” Swenseid told me. “Word got out that they were catching fish, so guys started adding propellers to swimbaits and jigs and began catching bass over the top of grass that they hadn’t caught before.”

In response, Duo Realis created a petite, hard stickbait with a fixed ballast system, cupped propellers fore and aft, designed to create a subtle rolling action with magnified pulsation at slow retrieval speeds. Duo unleashed both the spybaiting technique and the Spinbait 80 at iCast in 2013.

Swenseid readily admitted that successful spybaiting took time, study and practice as many top American tourney anglers found. Much of the difficulty stems from the slow, deep presentation.

When it comes to bass fishing, it would be an understatement to call David Swenseid ‘The Real Deal.’ The Oregon angler hails from both a tournament and trophy record background, has set several American lake records for bass and owns one state bass title. Simultaneously he is a prolific developer of fishing lures and techniques.

David Swenseid is the face behind the name of several successful and familiar tournament techniques, such as Flick-Shaking and T-Shotting, and was the first authority to release “S” -stroke, or ‘glide baits’, into the USA. His resume of personal fishing success, bass knowledge and knack for development all played an important role in the creation of spybaiting.

According to David the dual prop tactics of Japan have been around for many years but enjoyed only marginal success. The lures were called prop baits, swisher baits, screw baits amid a host of other names. The Duo staff recognized potential within the technique and extrapolated key points from each of the many systems to build a better product.

“We had many prototypes – more than 50 and just one prototype had more than 520 hours into it,” he says. Once perfected, Duo Realis introduced the Spybait technique and Spinbait series of lures into the American marketplace.

The first place they released it was in Texas because it was the type of market where anglers target Largemouth Bass and shun finesse fishing. To the surprise of many, spybaiting produced lots of fish in the Lone Star State. “We carried on in several spotted bass fisheries where the success was immediate with fish over 6 and 8 pounds, even though Spotted Bass of this size are extremely rare,” he recalled, noting that what is most attractive about the technique “in my opinion is that it catches giant bass”. This speaks to the presentation and engineering of the lure.

Spybaiting marched quickly across North America, most notably among the tournament crowd. Perhaps, the time and practice required for maximum efficiency softened its popularity among social anglers? It became clear however, that early critics were resoundingly silenced.

When Duo Realis introduced the technique to elite pros their initial reaction was cautious. David explained to them that the tactic required a learning curve and some of the top anglers caught on in a month, others eight months.

“For the pro it’s a bit different, slowing down the rate of retrieve and the decision when to throw it is tough. Pros usually have excellent casting and fish finding ability, but they are victim to their tempo,” David said, but eventually success stories and tourney wins piled high.

Kevin van Dam initially decried the technique as difficult due to the surgical and slow approach, but during one major tournament when proven tactics failed, he picked up a Spinbait and marched onto the winner’s platform!

David introduced Chad Grigsby to spybaiting and shared with him both the system and subtle tips and tweaks to master the technique. It took time, but Chad’s four FLW all-time records remain one more example of spybaiting efficiency. It should be noted that the accomplishments of both Grigsby and KVD occurred under vastly different lake conditions which further illustrates the versatility of spybaiting as a tactic that can be employed both deep and shallow.

According to David Swenseid Spybaiting is now utilized in more than 70 countries and is the fastest growing finesse tournament technique in the world. “It is a big fish presentation that has helped anglers set historic records and is something that I will always be proud about,”  he states.

NEXT ISSUE: A masterclass from David Swenseid about the nuts and bolts of Spybaiting: how to apply it in various habitats and how to get started.  Also, Chad Grigsby reveals exclusively to Tight Lines readers how he set four FLW records and won the FLW Classic event on Lake St. Clair by spybaiting.

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