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 :)