Need help with Tiny Klash

[Silent Killer]

Good day, everyone!  I hope you are enjoying!

I recently got my first Tiny Klash to try, a US Sexy Shad from Clearlake Outdoors.  I fished it once and it has a problem.  Since it arrived, I've gotten two more directly from DRT, a perch and a biwasagi... haven't tried those yet.

Anyway, back to the issue... In glide mode, the bait ONLY glides to my left.  It'll take a small turn to the right but then immediately swing back HARD to the left.... it basically just planes left every time.  It goes straight left into cover and shoreline snags on me.  The bait itself seems 100% perfectly fine... joint is very free moving, doesn't catch on anything.

I then changed the tail, just to see what would happen... I put the tail pointing down... I know glide mode is supposed to be tail up... but I did it just to experiment.  When I flipped the tail to point down, the bait then only wanted to glide to the right.... so changing the tail orientation changes the direction... still, neither case is desirable.

Could it be a bad tail?  The tail also looks fine to me.

Any thoughts or ideas that anyone has would be helpful to me!  I would really appreciate some advice from someone who may have experienced this issue.

Thanks to all!  Good luck fishing and have an awesome day!

Chris

[Drew03cmc]

Try crisper inputs. I've had a few that, if I get lazy, will do that. If I stay on them and use very crisp snaps or reel turns, it goes side to side without issue. Just a suggestion, of course.

[GTier525]

Couple questions. Do u use a snap/ split ring or tie direct and what lb line and type of line u using? 

[Ellisb10]

+1 to what Drew said. I normally fish mine with 17lb cxx and with a snap.

[Jerkbait22]

I thought I had a problem with the first one I got too until I started doing what drew said. Crisp inputs and rod twitches are key to get it going back and forth. It helps to add a 1 G board weight in front of the front hook hanger and fish it with a snap. 
 

I always fish glide mode with the tail tips pointing down. I think you have that mixed up which could also be making your life more difficult. 

[Bakerlounge]

In my experience the TK needs a snap, some weight, tail down and a lot of rod input to glide, you really have to work the bait with the rod and reel, I recommend the transfer tail and board weights if you want to fish it as a glide, I typically fish TK's with the bill in cranking or dead walk and use the Klash 9 when I want to fish a glide.

[Silent Killer]

Hey, all!  Awesome responses, thank you...

Drew - Roger that.  Good tip.  I was fishing mine pretty lazily so that is something I will do and see if it improves the action.  Thank you!

GTier - I was tying a palomar of 20# Red Label to the lure, thinking if they wanted another link in there, they would have provided.  I DO notice that the palomar actually might help lean it to one side, just due to the nature of the knot...  hence why I will try adding a big split ring.

Ellis - Roger that.  Will try using a big split ring for the same affect.  Thank you.

Jerkbait - I may have misspoke on the tail configuration.  When I say pointed up, I mean the whole thing looks like an arrow sort of... so tips down means center up.  We're talking about the same tail condition then which is reassuring.  Glide mode with the tail opposite makes it do crazy stuff... summersaults and whatnot.  I did set it up that way for a test run since I was getting the straight left glide, but I know that's not the way to fish it.

I really appreciate all of your help.  I have some 1/16 oz tungsten drop shot weights coming later today... was planning on tying one on the front hook hanger with some braided line and using that to glide a little deeper.  I got some of the wide lips to try.  When the DRT USA site comes back up, I want to order some of the other options to see what they do, the V-tail, transfer tail, etc.

I know I am getting off topic now but since we talked about the retrieve a little bit, seems you guys like fishing it quickly in glide mode?  Do you fish it with the lip?  From the bill angle, it seems like it would only go 2-3 feet deep but I was dredging the bottom when I had the lip in.  How deep does it run for you guys?

Thanks again!

[Silent Killer]

I forgot to mention, I also have a pack of suspend strips coming... maybe I should use those versus the weight on the hook hanger?

[Jerkbait22]

Most productive method for me is dead walking. Either standard lip or minnow lip and v tail. Minnow lip goes about 2-3 feet. Standard lip about 4-5. This is all with fluorocarbon line. 

If you’re going to glide it then you typically have to fish it fairly fast to avoid it turning and fouling in the line in my experience. Like Baker said, the K9 is the much better glide bait. 

[manansalsa]

You have a lot of good answers on here. One thing I want to add is that, in general, the smaller the bait gets the less it takes to bring out its action. In both glide and lip in mode it does not take too much force to work the bait, however the lip in glide is much more resilient. I really don’t believe you need to modify the bait with weights to be able to fish it, though there is some fine tuning you can do.
 

I have some friends who started throwing glides, and basically had the approach that if it didn’t swim well with half handle turns then it wasn’t a good bait. Of course this is flawed considering gear ratio, line cap, rod action etc. All that to say, approach each bait like it’s a brand new technique you’re trying to learn.

[GTier525]

A lot of good info. I would say start w one simple adjustment and continue until u get the cadence. Start w a small snap. W some 1/4 and 1/2turns first. Then maybe add a rod twitch. U just can’t be to aggressive or ur gonna have trouble. You can try scaling down in line if you have another reel w 15-17 maybe just for the hell of it. If u keep at it and be patient you’ll get it. 

[B_larkin3]

TK is tough to get to glide properly. it’s easier with braid or lighter line. I fish it on 20 lb CXX and really should be throwing it on 15 lb but I use the same rod for the K9. To glide the TK you have to impart precise, staccato handle turns. I start the turn of the handle quickly and stop as soon as I feel the weight of the lure turn. It feels like a subtle thump. It helps to hold the handle knob very gently, mainly because it lets you feel the little thump the TK makes when it’s gliding back and forth properly. If you don’t feel that little bump every time you turn the handle your cadence is off.  Best way to learn is by getting some clear water, put a tracer on the back of the bait, and watch it as you work it. Once you get the cadence down you can do it without seeing the bait just off feel. 

[Efrain]

5 hours ago, Jerkbait22 said:

Most productive method for me is dead walking. Either standard lip or minnow lip and v tail. Minnow lip goes about 2-3 feet. Standard lip about 4-5. This is all with fluorocarbon line. 

If you’re going to glide it then you typically have to fish it fairly fast to avoid it turning and fouling in the line in my experience. Like Baker said, the K9 is the much better glide bait. 

It is crazy because I am getting my short lip deeper than 3 ft in the salt.

[chevro1et]

I have found that the transfer tail really does help out the action of the TK in glide mode, insofar as it seems to be easier to keep the bait in a consistent cadence.

One other thing that I have noticed with both the TK and K9 is you can get them to dive deeper with a medium speed cadence.  If you watch the bait, after it turns and stops, it will hover for a second and then turn nose down (which is the natural resting position).  Then if you start the next input while it is in the nose down position, it will continue to work deeper.  I have been able to replicate this with both the TK and the K9, glide mode and short lip / v-tail configurations.

[Silent Killer]

I fished it again tonight, the perch one this time... in glide mode with a little weight.  If I put any rod into it whatsoever, the front treble foul hooked my line and the bait spiraled in.  The only way I avoided it was with a slow, steady retrieve.  Quick half turns was a full proof 100% foul hook.

I am starting to wonder if there are any good characteristics about this bait.  Do any of you guys even like it?  I watched Crazybassfisher videos on youtube and maybe bought into some false hype here... 

I did use a snap.  My past experience with snaps is that they increase the odds of catching the line on a treble.  I think the snap idea is probably poor.  I got some split rings for a last ditch effort to find an efficient way to use the Tiny Trash.  If this doesn't work, I'll gladly trade someone a 100 pk of 5" Senkos for 1 brand new biwasagi TK, 1 never bitten used once perch TK, and one US Sexy Shad that was used and bit once.