One of the newest soft plastics to hit the market is the Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver. This is a finesse style bait that is great for a wipe range of bass fishing applications. The Paddlin’ Beaver draws inspiration from traditional beaver style baits, while including their own unique twist on this classic style of lure. Keitech was able to achieve this fish catching action by implementing a few features that are unique to this bait.
PADDLIN’ BEAVER BUILD
The Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver is a 3 1/2-inch beaver style bait packed with fish catching attributes. To start, this bait features an enlarged offset tail. This thick paddle shaped tail has ridges that move tons of water causing this bait to flutter as it falls to the bottom. This bait also comes with three small appendages on each side of the bait, provide a subtle secondary action as this bait moves through the water.
The Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver also features a thick nose section in order to support heavy gauge hooks and bulky bait keepers. It also has a recessed hook channel which makes rigging extremely easy. This bait’s streamline profile and oval shaped body make it a great option for fishing in and around thick cover. This bait comes 10 different colors sure to match your current conditions. Regardless of how you rig this bait, the Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver is sure to catch fish wherever cover is present.
PADDLIN’ BEAVER APPLICATIONS
One of my favorite attributes of the Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver is its versatility. This bait can be rigged in a variety of different ways and still achieve the same fish enticing action. Some of these rigging options include a Texas rig, Carolina rig or even a power shot. While all of these options work great, my favorite application for the Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver is flipping it on a light Texas rig.
This baits smaller profile and unique action make it a great choice for catching bass in high pressure scenarios. Flipping this bait around shallow cover such as docks and laydowns is a great way to get bit. On one of my recent trips here in Auburn Alabama, I got on a good bite flipping the Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver around shallow laydowns in the back of a major creek.
As I initially entered the creek I noticed there were far more baitfish in the back of the creek where the water dirtied. I started out by targeting shallow cover using a variety of moving baits. I caught a few decent fish but nothing substantial for the amount of bait in the area. I then switched over to the Paddlin’ Beaver to slow down on pieces of cover I already fished with a moving bait. This strategy produced three more largemouth, all helping my overall bag. One of the largemouth also had a crawfish in his crushers, leading me to believe this bait was imitating a crawfish in this scenario.
IDEAL SETUP FOR THE PADDLIN’ BEAVER
Flipping a Paddlin’ Beaver around shallow cover is a great way to catch some quality largemouth this winter. While this is a great way to get quality bites, tangling with big fish around heavy cover can get pretty hairy. Using the right rod, reel and line setup is the best way to insure consistent fish catches with this technique. When fishing this bait, I prefer a 7-foot 2-inch heavy action casting rod with a 7 speed reel and 15-pound fluorocarbon.
For a rod, I prefer an average length with a strong backbone. This allows for accurate casts and enough strength to winch fish out of cover. Anything in the low 7-foot range seems to be to sweet spot for me. Rod sensitivity is also important for this technique, often being the difference maker in detecting a bite or not. One of my go to rods for flipping the Keitech Paddlin’ Beaver is the 7-foot Medium-Heavy action Dobyn’s Champion Extreme.
For a reel, I prefer a 7 speed reel with a deeper spool. This deeper spool allows for better line capacity when dealing with heavy gauge lines. The 7-speed gear ratio also provides enough speed to quickly pick up line while having enough torque to fight bass out of cover. One of my go to reels for this technique is the SEVIIN GF Series Casting Reel in the 7:1 gear ratio.
The Keitech Paddlin Beaver is a unique beaver style bait tailored for a variety of heavy cover scenarios. This bait can be rigged in a number of ways and is an extremely versatile bait for targeting bass all over the United States. If your looking for a new flipping bait with a one of a kind action, the Keitech Paddlin Beaver is worth a look.
