Small swimbaits have become a mainstay bass fishing lure and popular technique anytime fish are feeding on minnows and other small baitfish. So we’re always anxious to try the new ones that come out, looking for a little different swim that might entice more bass.
I’ve been playing with the Largo Shad from Storm since last fall. The designers actually created it for inshore saltwater fishing—chasing redfish, snook, trout and flounder. But it quickly caught on with the freshwater anglers on Rapala’s fishing team.
The Largo Shad comes in a 4 pack in both 3- and 4-inch sizes with one rigged on a lighted weighted spring lock EWG VMC hook or on a jighead depending on which package you choose. The baits hold extremely well on the hook and jighead without being too rigid. The swimbait has a great shimmy and thump right out of the package. Find Largo Shads here:
Good color options for freshwater
Storm created 16 colors for the original inshore line of the 360GT Largo Shad, but there are 6 colors equally well suited for freshwater fishing. They are Arkansas Glow, Green Back, Houdini, Pearl, Pilchard and Silver Mullet.
Solid holding body on jighead
The body of the Largo Shad provides unique rigging options for anglers. If you want to put it on a jighead and fish it deeper or in more open water, the core of the swimbait is dense and solid enough to stick well to a jighead shank. But they grooved the top and bottom to provide a weedless hook rigging option as well.
Unique tail with stabilizer
One of the first things that caught my attention was the support on the tail section, and that translates to a very good vibration on the swim as well as a solid kicking action on the tail. I have played around some with cutting that little support piece under the tail section out and you get a little softer swim with less body vibration should you prefer that. But I liked it best just as it is out of the package.
Belly slot for weighted hooks
The grooved belly offers better rigging because even a small weedless spring lock weighted hook sits really well on the swimbait and keeps it keeling perfectly which can be a nuisance when you’re trying to fish smaller swimbaits on a more weedless application. But it the plastic also clears the hook well to get good hook ups. I’ve caught largemouth from 1 pound to 5 pounds on it with a very small 3/0 EWG hook.
I also believe that groove helps keep the swimbait centered as it swims on a small jighead.
Grooved back for straight rigging
The grooves on top and bottom also make the swimbait a lot easier to rig perfectly straight. You want your tail and neck sections to be softer and the body to be more rigid and perfectly straight to get the best swim on a small swimbait. Some small swimbaits are so soft that rigging them straight is almost impossible. You get these little ripples and waves in the bait and that definitely affects how it swims.
The Largo Shad definitely gives anglers a rigging advantage in that respect. You rig it perfectly straight every time in seconds because of the density of the body and ridges on top and bottom.
Narrow profile with thumper tail
The small profile mimics a ton of small prey from freshwater to saltwater. I was really surprised how this slender profile had such a tight shimmy. It looks really good in the water, and you can feel it on a more sensitive setup like a small spinning rod with braid.
Lots of action with durability
The bait is very durable and dense in the body section, and while I was afraid initially when rigging the first time that it might not swim that great, that turned out to not be the case. The soft tail swims freely and strongly with that stabilizing brace on the bottom of the tail.
Big largemouth bass on Largo Shad
I’ve caught bass on the Largo Shad fishing it shallow around grass. I threw it a good bit around the spawn just going up the bank looking for fish this spring. I’ve been throwing it this summer around schooling fish on pods of small baitfish around cover and on points, and our guys in the Minnesota office wrecked the smallmouth up north this winter and spring fishing it deep on a Tokyo Rig.
You can find the Storm GT360 Largo Shad at these online retailers:
Here’s a few more fish catches from this year on the Storm 360GT Largo Shad.
Weedless around cover works well
