Slow death

[JohnMickish]

There is a pretty good thread on running spinners and spinner rods going so I'll expand it a bit. Who all uses the slow death hooks?

I started using it last year and at first I was less than impressed, but by the end of the year it was my #1 go to presentation. I was fishing with it up on Devils Lake and really got it figured out. Who else likes it?

[kfk]

I've never tried them but have thought about it. Exactly how do you rig them and how do you fish them? Thanks in advance!

[fishwater]

It's pretty much been my only technique on the river until late summer the past two years. I went through upwards of a 100 slow death hooks last year in my boat.

[stoney]

used them on Leech lake last fall. Devastating to the walleye. Look in the new Bass Pro up north catalog. It shows how to rig and bait. The illustrations are on the hook page.

[JohnMickish]

I've never tried them but have thought about it. Exactly how do you rig them and how do you fish them? Thanks in advance!

You take a nice fat crawler and thread it onto the hook until you get past the band. Push the crawler up until the knot goes inside the crawler then pinch the crawler off just past the curve of the hook. Put it in the water and it will corkscrew. Some days it is just unbelievable, some days it's not so good. It's a another tool to use but what I like about it is it allows you to cover water faster than a lindy rig.

I run mine at around 0.7-1.0 MPH. Same as a slow spinner rig. If you have more than one person in the boat or can use more than one rod (maybe someday in inland MN) try a spinner on one side and a SD on the other.

I use a "L" weighted bottom bouncer and run it so it is just off the bottom. You can purchase pre tied rigs or rig your own. I use the same lenght leaders as I would a spinner, it all depends on the lake water clarity, 3'-6'. Use the right weight for the depth you are in, running the line at no more than a 45 degree angle. I set the hook as if I had a spinner rig on.

The last day I was on the St. Croix last year I just totally schooled my buddy. He was running jigs and I left my rods in the holders. I think I probably out caught him 4 to 1.

One major piece of advice. Make sure you use a very good swivel since the rig does spin. If you have a crappy swivel you WILL have a mess.

[Borch]

At times they are the ticket. My last trip on Mille Lacs on the flats they outfished everything else 3:1.

[fishinfey8]

Just received some in the mail and I cannot wait to use them! I've heard over and over from some friends that they are a must-have presentation for rigging crawlers.

[Mike Walerak]

Slow deaths are a staple in just about every river anglers tacklebox. I have seen them absolutly crush regular rigs. I run them on 3-ways mostly in hte river. One tip I can add is use a fastsnap like the ones they sell in the flyfishing area. Use this to attach your hook and slide the crawler up and over this. It will hold better. You also want to checck your worm every five minutes or so incase it slides down.

mw

[JohnMickish]

That's a great tip. I aways thought a guy needed a snell to hold the hook out, have you run into any problems with the hook being able to flop around with the fast snap or does the crawler hold it all straight?

[Mike Walerak]

The crawler holds it together pretty good. The reason I use the snaps is to hold the crawler and it also allows me to quickly switch from a regular hook or use a floater almost instantly. Plastics work well with the slow death too. Ringworms are what I use mostly on the river.

mw

[JohnMickish]

Ringworms you say, now there is an out of the box thought.....

[Jarnotski]

When tying your own, do you include a blade and beads like a typical crawler harness? or would the action get messed up with a blade?

[fishinfey8]

If you use a two-hook crawler harness and leave some slack in the crawler in-between the two hooks so that the crawler sags a bit you can get the same spin effect (if that makes any sense ).

[JohnMickish]

You can put a bead or two on but not a blade. It is true that you can get a crawler to spin with the two hook method but I am not sure it gets the same results.

[fishinfey8]

You can put a bead or two on but not a blade. It is true that you can get a crawler to spin with the two hook method but I am not sure it gets the same results.

How come?? The only reason I ask is b/c I don't see any major difference besides the spinner and beads...they both spin. I could be wrong, but I think they guys that developed the slow death hooks were using the sagging crawler method with success hence why they developed a spinning or corkscrew style presentation.

[JohnMickish]

You know, that's a good question. Now that I think about it there really isn't a reason you couldn't use a spinner blade with it. Go ahead and try it, let us know how it worked for you. In the FLW Walleye Tour the slow death rig was very successful last year, but I'm pretty sure nobody was using a blade with it. Something like that would be pretty hard to keep quiet.

I will be talking with Keith K and Gary Parsons this summer (not the inventors of the Slow Death hook but the guys that made it famous) and I will ask them why nobody uses it with a blade. I bet they have an answer.

One of the advantages the bent hook has over using a sagging crawler is consistancy. The SD hook is always going to spin a certain way. With a sagging crawler there are more variables involved.

[pureinsanity]

two different effects pop in my mind. When using a bead and a blade, the blade spins. The slow death set up spins the worm and hook. Add a blade to that and I imaging it would be like a double negative. the hook wanting to spin a certain way and the blade another.

The blade is more or less made to attract the fish and look like its swimming. The slow death set up to me seems more like a swim bait.

the other is the fact that the worm is above the knot on the line. put a bead and blade on there it is just going to push the worm back down over the knot and mess up presentation.

[Jim Almquist]

You guys have got me interested in this presentation enough that I have got the hooks and want to give these a try for Coho this spring. When I picked up the hooks at Marine General and told the guy what I was going to do with them he told me to put on a small blade and one bead between the blade and hook. I guess I'am not the first to try them on Coho. Have you guys found any difference in the color of the Hook ? Sounds like it is pretty much buried in the bait most of the time.

[fishinfey8]

Sorry for the confusion on that last post guys. What I mean to say was that I know of people that wouldn't use beads or spinners, simply the two hook-sagging crawler method which gave a corkscrew type presentation. Then the slow death hook came out making the two hook method almost useless. UNLESS you want to troll something with a spinner and beads and still get that corkscrew presentation.

Jim using the slow death for coho is an awesome idea. I would think that it could be pretty deadly!!

[stoney]

Have also used them with a minnow. Sounds goofy but really does work.

[Jim Almquist]

Jim using the slow death for coho is an awesome idea. I would think that it could be pretty deadly!!

My plan would be to drift/troll with the Slow Death dragging along while I vertical jig with the other rod using a jigging rap/swedish pimple/Lindy Darter.

[JohnMickish]

the other is the fact that the worm is above the knot on the line. put a bead and blade on there it is just going to push the worm back down over the knot and mess up presentation.

That sounds like the reason to me.

[pureinsanity]

That sounds like the reason to me.

Good to know I am making sense!

Presentation, presentation, presentation!

I also think with a blade on it it would cause it to not spiral as well since a blade is meant to spin around the line, not the hook and blade. Soft water season is almost upon us. We can see what it would be then! Guess I better set up my bait tank and get some water flowing. I could shoot a video of the difference!

[Borch]

Sorry for the confusion on that last post guys. What I mean to say was that I know of people that wouldn't use beads or spinners, simply the two hook-sagging crawler method which gave a corkscrew type presentation. Then the slow death hook came out making the two hook method almost useless. UNLESS you want to troll something with a spinner and beads and still get that corkscrew presentation.

Jim using the slow death for coho is an awesome idea. I would think that it could be pretty deadly!!

Without the bead and blade I believe this two hook rig is not legal in MN. Just an FYI so someone doesn't try it and be in violation.

[pureinsanity]

Borch, what size hooks were you using. I'm gonna order some up for mille lacs.

I would like to try these out and see how it compares to the bead and spoon. My father likes to lindy rig it and I would like to use this and see what the difference is before I introduce him to them