Bull Shad Swimbaits Slow Sinking

Despite numerous bait makers producing high quality trout imitations, there was a void in the big bait market for shad swimbaits. When the Bull Shad Swimbaits Slow Sinking was first released, the best alternatives were trout profile lures with shad coloration, in stepped Mike Bucca a Georgia angler who witnessed magnum spotted bass feeding on Gizzard shad as big as 9" long. His creation the Bull Shad has become one of the top big baits for catching trophy bass in the Southern United states. The slow sinking version of the Bull Shad is available in four sizes: 5", 6", 8" and 9" in three colors: Bone, Gizzard Shad and Threadfin Shad. It has a rate of fall of about 1/2ft per second.

How to Fish the Slow Sinking Bull Shad

From Triton Mike Bucca

7" & 8" Bull Shad

The 7 and 8 inch Bull Shad swimbaits are favorites for trophy hunting with the 8 incher being the overall favorite. When using these size baits you are looking for quality fish and not quantity, these are trophy sized baits designed to catch big Trophy bass especially the bigger 8 inch Big Bull. Both of these baits work extremely well at slow crawl speeds as well as normal retrieves. They have a rate of fall (ROF) of about a 5-7 feet per 10 seconds and you can wake them with the rod tip up high and a semi normal retrieve. These baits also stand-up nose down on the bottom in a feeding pose and can be effectively jigged on the bottom.
I throw both of these baits on a Dobyns 795ML Swimbait Rod designed by Legendary Trophy Hunter Mike Long. The 795ML is a very balanced swimbait rod which is important for throwing swimbaits is because a balanced rod simply makes throwing these heavy swimbaits more comfortable to throw for long periods of time. There are quite a few reel choices out there with the top of the line choice being the Shimano Calcutta 300 or the Shimano Curado 300E. For the 7 and 8 inch Bull Shad I would recommend 25lb braided line.

5" & 6" Bull Shad

The 5 and 6 inch baits are by far my best sellers as not everybody has 7" & 8" shad in the waters they fish or having no experience with big swimbaits, they lack the confidence to throw the big stuff. I personally started off with 6 inch sized baits before I moved onto the bigger sized swimbaits. These baits are more so for quantity vs quality. That's not to say that you can't catch a trophy on these sized baits because many anglers including myself have caught quite a few big quality fish on these sized baits.
The 5" Bull Shad really shines on schooling fish whether it be bass, or smaller hybrids or white bass. The slow sinking version of the 5" Bull Shad is specifically designed to be fished with a slower retrieve and typically right on top of the water to imitate a fleeing shad. The 6" slow sink you can work at semi slow to fast retrieves. For equipment I recommend a 4 power rod such as the Dobyns Champion 734C, any reel should be suitable, just adjust the speed at which you turn the handle for the reel's gear ratio. Personally, I always recommend fishing heavier line than necessary because you definitely don't want to break off the baits, nor do you ever wanna lose a trophy sized fish. Especially because striped and white bass love these things too.