Following the last two BASS Elite Series events it looks like guys are favoring the paddle tail swimbait on tour quite a bit lately. Kennedy was throwing the Basstrix some in his recent win. Hite was throwing something similar and a bunch of guys were using paddle tails in the last one.

These guys are such good fishermen, but I wonder if there's a certain amount of group-think on the tour. I mean, Hite was throwing a paddle tail pinned on a jighead. I don't totally get that? Why not throw a swimbait tail like a Hammer on a matching jighead so it looks normal?

The part of the paddle tail phenomena that seems unexplored on the Elite's is the part where you put it on a 3/4oz head and trigger bites on the sink. The fast sink. Just amazes me that it hasn't happened yet.

Yes, the Basstrix paddletail is a great bait that gets a lot of bites. But when someone takes a 5in Big Hammer on a 3/4oz head and starts drilling fish in 10 to 40 feet of water, I think eyes will open :)

I think you need to go show 'em how it's done, Rob. ;)

Last year Nico and I went as observers for the Elite event at the Delta. What I learned was that these guys fish at a different level than me. They don't just get on the water and fish, they attack.

There's no sitting in the bottom of the boat re-rigging. There's no idling around thinking what to do next. Food is something you scarf in the 5mph zone or don't eat at all. It's just pure rapid fire attack fishing for the entire day.

You could think of me like a high school baseball player who can hit the long ball here and there. These guys are in the show, playing full speed, 9 innings, run, hit, field. I'm light years away from where they're at and I have total respect for what they do.

It would be cool if one of them picked up the Big Hammer and notched a $100k win on it :) Potential is there. Just like some day someone will win one on the MS Slammer. They fish enough wide open bite events on great bodies of water that it could happen.

I'm been wondering this too. One bite that is known is the lakes like Clarks Hills when the Elites show up and the blueback herring spawn is on. I see no reason why a 3/4-1oz head with 6" Big Hammer wouldn't get bit, as you can fish it much faster than the Sebile swimbait style baits that are so popular down there.