Bait in Focus - Keitech 5..8” Swing Impact Fat

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:01]Hey everybody, Mark here from Northeast Bass Fishing. Nice to see you again.

[00:00:04]And uh I wanted to start doing some uh kind of talking about some of the baits uh I use as I kind of switch over from right now where I am. Um it seems like it's just I was only out one day after coming back from uh my trip up to the Thousand Islands, but it seems like it's pretty much spawn time. So, I would imagine between this week, next week, for the next couple weeks, usually all of May, depending on what lake I go on, there's going to be fish on beds.

[00:00:29]Um as the water warms up and I kind of move away from that, so my thinking now is, okay, I know I'm going to have smallies, most definitely probably will be on the beds first.

[00:00:39]Once they get done, then you'll see those largemouth start moving in there.

[00:00:43]Um smallmouth bed fishing is a no-brainer. You throw a bait by a bed and a smallie will hit it. Largemouth are a little more picky. Um but what I like about this time is when I know those smallmouth are kind of getting on beds, those largemouth are really starting to move up and move around the shallows, and that's when I throw a lot of uh swimbaits and jigs and stuff in the shallows, um and chatterbaits and things like that. So, I was kind of going through some uh ideas from some videos, and um I mean, I talk about the Keitech swimbaits a lot, but I haven't really done any bait in focus ones on specific sizes, how I like to rig them and stuff, so I've never done a bait in focus on the 5.8. And it's really a bait that I don't throw as much as the other ones, but, you know, I'll throw an 8-in Magdraft or a 6-in Magdraft. This is only 5.8.

[00:01:29]Now, I don't have any of the 7.8s or the 6.8s, the big Keitechs. I haven't tried those yet. But I thought I'd talk about how I like to rig these guys up, these 5.8s, and start throwing them around uh this time of year uh as the May season comes, and uh those fish will start moving up.

[00:01:45]So, this is the 5.8 uh Swing Impact Fat from Keitech. If you guys have never seen it before, it comes in a four-pack.

[00:01:51]I think they got like 12 colors on their website.

[00:01:53]They don't have, you know, all their colors that they have in the smaller sizes because, you know, I don't know how many people are throwing the 5/8. I think it's pretty cool. I do throw it every now and then.

[00:02:03]Not as much as the other sizes, obviously, but it's a good bait. And this is the the pro blue red pearl color.

[00:02:10]And the way I like to rig these the most, you could put them on like one of these like and this is just kind of an example of some bigger gap hooks I have as far as like, you know, jig heads.

[00:02:24]But I don't really use this style as much and you can you can use those style of jig heads fine. They work great. I prefer this on an under spin.

[00:02:33]And with with this 5/8 I like a 6 aught.

[00:02:35]You can get away with a 5 aught. I could use a 7 aught. The 6 seems to work perfect.

[00:02:39]And you guys know I like to use um the Wicked Weights tungsten under spin up here.

[00:02:45]This is a a half ounce 6 aught uh 6 aught. This is a quarter ounce 6 aught.

[00:02:51]And uh this is a 3/16 ounce 6 aught. I do have a code where I can save you some money if you decide to get some of these.

[00:02:57]Now, for this bait, it all depends on the depth that I'm fishing. Most of the time I'm throwing this to the bank and working it back to the boat. Um kind of working shallow flats, uh working the shoreline. That's where I'm thinking those largies, you know, and sure, you know, I'll have a smallie that, you know, but I'm kind of starting to target those early season largemouth that are starting to move up. And you know, I'll I'll kind of pull off the bank and and chuck this as far as I can and just cover water with it.

[00:03:28]And cover water with it.

[00:03:29]Throwing it's like throwing a a shallow running crankbait. It's like throwing a you know a a spinner bait, chatter bait, but I'm just going to going to going to go after them with this 5/8 with a chatter bait.

[00:03:40]Now, the half ounce I don't use as much.

[00:03:43]If I'm going to fish a little deeper, I'll go with the half ounce. This bait will chuck a mile any whatever size I use because it's a heavy piece of plastic.

[00:03:52]Usually I'll start with a quarter, kind of go in the middle.

[00:03:55]Start with that quarter ounce.

[00:03:58]And I'll show you how I rig this up.

[00:03:59]Very simple.

[00:04:01]Even with a sore finger. The finger is is healing up. You can see it's all bruised there where I dislocated that knuckle there.

[00:04:07]So, uh going to the orthopedic doctor tomorrow before I go on vacation and have them take a look at it, make sure everything's okay.

[00:04:14]But, uh you guys have never seen the Wicked Weights Underspin. One of my favorites.

[00:04:19]Use them all the time. You guys have seen I've used a lot of uh I've used this in a lot of my videos.

[00:04:23]There's that nice six-aught hook. And that's perfect for this size of a plastic bait. You want a big, you know, bite gap there. And you want a hook that'll get back here where it's a little thinner in the plastic. So, what's great about these is they have that centering pin, which is always nice to have.

[00:04:38]Just go right through the middle of the bait.

[00:04:42]Screw that in.

[00:04:44]You guys can see that. Nice and easy.

[00:04:46]You don't have to screw it down tight. I like this to be able to move, so I don't want it to be pushed up against the plastic. Usually I'll have it that way where it's just going across. So, that will move nice and freely.

[00:04:57]And you can see that that blade gives it a nice little flash. And what's nice about the Keitech they have that that that hook channel there on the top on the bottom. So, you really know where to line up to be straight. So, I know that that bait's going to go kind of right through there. Now, this is a little sore with my finger. So, I'm going to do my best. I'm actually going to hold the bait here with Trying to do this with a sore finger.

[00:05:20]And uh and rig this up for you guys. So, I just kind of I pinched the bait, go straight up through.

[00:05:26]And I just make sure I'm coming through the channel.

[00:05:30]And it looks like I'm pretty good.

[00:05:33]Not bad. Could be a little better, but it's not bad. I could be back a little further, but for this demonstration it'll be fine.

[00:05:39]And with that channel, I can leave this I don't have to skin hook it. Just sitting in that that hook channel, that bait's totally weedless.

[00:05:47]I don't expect the weeds to be up that much on my lakes yet. Um but that setup right there and I'll just throw that on my regular swimbait I'll throw swimbait rod I'll throw this on my my FX rods uh custom rod swimbait rod the same way I use my mag drafts, my other big swimbaits, my six and eight my six and eight-inch swimbaits and five-inch swimbaits for that matter.

[00:06:11]But that is a great setup right there.

[00:06:15]You'll get the nice tail action.

[00:06:19]And you're going to get that little bit of flash from that from that underspin.

[00:06:24]See that's nice and straight. You want your hook right in that channel of the bait. And if you use a swimbait that doesn't have that channel you can still eyeball it pretty good.

[00:06:33]That's it. That's the setup right there.

[00:06:35]A six aught hook that's a quarter ounce. I could use 3/16.

[00:06:40]Or the quarter when I'm going to fish the shallows that's fine. It's really sometimes I'll just try one try the other.

[00:06:45]Um either one's a bad choice. If I know I want to maybe get this little deeper I'll throw that half ounce or if I really want to chuck it maybe it's real windy and I really want to throw it far.

[00:06:54]Um but I can still this bait pretty far.

[00:06:56]Um even with that quarter ounce on there.

[00:06:59]That's a heavy piece of plastic.

[00:07:01]I'm not sure what that weighs all together but it's pretty heavy.

[00:07:05]That's it guys. That's how I rig them up. Um so if you are looking for a a swimbait that maybe you haven't thought of um maybe you know we're all locked in on mag drafts and those bigger swimbaits that you guys see I got hanging up back there. If you want to try something different and you and you know you throw your 2.8s and your 3.3s and your 3.8 Kai Techs don't forget that 5.8. Don't forget that 5.8. And I don't have a ton of colors of them but they only make 12.

[00:07:30]But as I said they come in a four pack.

[00:07:32]This is the pro blue red pearl. These are all good fish catching colors.

[00:07:36]Um it's really personal preference of you know sometimes I'll look at a box and say "You know, try that one. See how they eat it." Um I don't know how important color is. They're all very fishy-looking colors. They have some flash. They've got natural-looking colors. Um I like this shad one a lot.

[00:07:51]It's got that purple in there. It's got that silverish body.

[00:07:55]I'll show you these up close so you can get a good look at them.

[00:07:59]I like anything with purple in it. This is a really nice clear water one. It's got that silver flake on the bottom.

[00:08:04]That shad color is really good. They're all good. Personal preference totally is a cut when it comes to the the color you guys want to try.

[00:08:14]And as I said, they come in a four-pack.

[00:08:16]Um this light hitch is a nice one.

[00:08:19]You see how they're always lighter on that underside, like most baitfish are.

[00:08:26]That light hitch is hitch is a good color.

[00:08:30]It's got that Keitech stink to it, which is always good.

[00:08:34]Really a great great swimbait. That I think might be maybe gets a little underused. I don't hear a lot of people talking about the 5.8.

[00:08:44]Um but uh don't ignore it.

[00:08:47]Uh clear lake hitch is another good one.

[00:08:49]A little more green in there.

[00:08:55]See that it's got that green on top with some blue flake, and it's got that pearl underneath side.

[00:09:12]And that's what I said. Yeah, clear lake hitch.

[00:09:15]And the last one I got is the sexy shad color. I like the sexy shad color from uh from Keitech. I do very well with that color wherever I fish it. Works really good.

[00:09:25]I think actually this was the last one I was throwing last year was the sexy shad one.

[00:09:30]That's a really good color. I always do well with this color. But any of those are fine, or any of the other colors they make.

[00:09:37]Like I said, that's personal preference.

[00:09:38]These are all fish catching colors.

[00:09:41]But try it out, guys. Um I like rigging it with that under spin.

[00:09:46]For the 5/8, I would go with a 6 aught.

[00:09:48]Sure, you could get away with a five or the seven. The seven, it might be a little further back. You might lose some tail action. The five, it might It gives you a little bit of a shorter, um you know, gap here because when that fish clamps down on that, you want that that bait to move down and then to get that hook.

[00:10:03]Um but it's nice. It fits in there really nice in that that hook channel there. So, it's totally weedless without skin hooking at all. So, the minute they hit it that hit on that, it's going to pull that bait down and that hook's going to get exposed and they'll get they'll get caught. And then you've got the nice little flash. So, you're getting more than just the tail action vibration. You get a little bit of vibration in the flash in that under spin. I just think it's the way to go.

[00:10:28]So, I will definitely have these going uh next time I get out. Unfortunately, after I hurt my finger, the weather it's rained every single day. And I do have this wrapped up most of the day. I have it uncovered. I've been icing it today.

[00:10:41]Um but I'm supposed to have it covered. I'm not going to go out in the boat and and when it's pouring down rain and have that get wet on me while it's covered up. So, I'll I'll take a little break and go on my vacation next week and come back ready to go with no the finger won't hurt anymore and won't have to be it won't be an issue.

[00:10:57]But I will definitely have, you know, my swim baits in the boat. Um it's going to be, you know, towards the middle, you know, it's going to be like May, whatever when I get back.

[00:11:08]Probably like, you know, over a week from now I'll be getting out again. And I still expect the fish to be on beds, but those large mouth, if at that point haven't started getting on beds, they're going to be around those shallows getting ready to make them. So, they'll be looking to eat. And um you know, I catch a lot of fish shallow um that time of year uh this time of year uh when those large mouth start to move up. And those smallies, some of them will still be around. Some of them will still be around. I had smallmouth the other day smacking at spinnerbaits and jerkbaits that were on beds. You throw this swimbait by there, you might get some of those late spawners, those big females might be on beds, so you might get somebody a nice big smallmouth come up and and hit it, but great way to cover big flat areas, especially with the scattered grass starting to come up. Lily pads are going to start growing now. You're going to start getting some some some weed growth in these next couple weeks, and it's a great way to cover water. And you know, that those fish are cruising cuz the weather here is hasn't been really warm.

[00:12:06]Water's still, you know, mid-50s. I know we're going to have a warming trend next week, but you know, the water's still pretty cool.

[00:12:14]That's it, guys. So, the 5.8 Keitech, check it out. If you haven't tried it, give it a shot. I recommend an underspin. If you like to have a a swimbait head you like, try that, too.

[00:12:24]There's other, you know, underspin options out there. I like obviously, you know, I'm a big fan of the Wicked Weights one. And I'll give you my discount code for it save you on on your on your order. But that's it, guys. The 5.8 uh Fat Swing Impact from Keitech, check it out. Lots of cool colors. I got five of them I showed you. But definitely check it out. Comes in a four-pack. It'll last you for a while, pretty durable on that size. They're they're pretty durable on that size of baits, unless a toothy critter grabs it on you, it could tear it in half, but uh the bigger ones definitely are a little more durable cuz it's a thicker piece of plastic. That's it. Just check it out.

[00:12:58]So, uh thanks for watching, guys.

[00:13:00]Appreciate you. I'm going to start doing some bait in focus um on some baits I'm going to be using this spring that I'm going to be posting now and and while I'm away. I'm going to do them before I leave, so I can keep posting while I'm away.

[00:13:11]And uh and I hope you enjoy it. So, any questions on these, let me know. If you have any other rigging uh ways you like to rig these 5.8s, you know, let me know. And I've been I'm always looking to try new new things. But but that's it. So, thanks for watching. Uh I'm not sure when you'll see this video. Could be tomorrow, could be later tonight. Um >> [clears throat] >> But a lot of the videos you're going to see over the next week will be while I'm away. But I'm going to try to, you know, have some videos uh in the tank there to to post while I'm away. Keep everything moving while I'm while I'm not home. But that's it. So, thanks for watching, guys. Please like the video. Please share it. Please hype it. That's the new thing, hyping videos.

[00:13:46]It helps the algorithm um getting your your videos out there for more people to see. If you're new to my channel, please subscribe. I have less than half of the people that watch my videos are subscribers, so um you know, if you're if you watch my videos frequently, subscribe. It helps the helps the channel grow, too. And that's it, guys. So, thanks a lot, and I'll see you soon on YouTube. Mark out.