Fall Fishing with Shimano's Armajoint Swimbait

Fall is in the air, the days are getting shorter, the temperature is slowly changing, and fish are on the move. Fall is a great time to be on the water and enjoy the scenery, but it's also a very productive time of year to catch some fish. As each day in the fall brings us one day close to winter, bass must feed up and prepare for the year's colder months. When they need to feed, bass will target shad, bluegill, and other baitfish as this bait begins to migrate shallow in search of oxygen and cooling water temps. With that in mind, a large swimbait is a great way to target feeding bass, specifically the Shimano Armajoint Swimbait.

Design

The Shimano Armajoint Swimbait Slow Sink features a slender, compact profile measuring 7 1/2" long and weighing around 2 oz. The Armajoint imitates a shad with its realistic shape and design, featuring three sections with two joints. The main joint utilizes Armaboost technology, which forces the body to fold in half when casting by disconnecting the internal magnet. One challenge with large swimbaits is castability; the Armajoint counteracts this by collapsing in flight, increasing your casting distance, and reducing the possibility of your bait fowling up as it lands. When the Armajoint lands, the internal magnet reengages, allowing this main joint to provide its natural swimming action.

This bait swims in an S-pattern, providing natural drawing power when retrieved slow and steady or on fast and erratic retrieves. But what makes the Armajoint so unique? The Armajoint shines in the water like you've never seen before. Utilizing Shimano's proprietary Flash Boost technology, this bait emits a flash to mimic the behavior of an injured or scurrying baitfish. This flash is a suspended piece of reflective foil inside the bait held up by micro springs. This design ensures flash throughout your retrieve, even as the bait is stationary on the pause. This flash translates exceptionally well throughout each color pattern, omitting flash and color change as it comes through the bait's body, known as Scale Boost.

One overlooked feature of the Shimano Armajoint Swimbait is the hook keeper. When dealing with large swimbaits, you want to increase your efficiency when fishing around cover and ensure the bait is not hindering your fish-landing ability when you get a bite. The Armajoint features a small wire keeper underneath each treble hook you snap into, keeping the treble hooks tight to the body and ensuring you don't have free-swinging hooks when fishing around cover. With a little pressure or when you get a bite, the hooks snap back out and flow freely. When these hooks are flowing freely, a bass cannot use the weight of the bait as leverage, which helps increase your landing percentage.

Shimano ARMAJOINT 190SS FLASH BOOST: Top 3 Features

Where and How

The Armajoint swims in a naturally flowing S-pattern that can be retrieved erratically to get fish to react or fished slowly for more drawing power. The sink rate of the Slow Sink model is around a foot per second, allowing you to count down this bait to the desired depth. Your retrieve will depend on factors like the color and temperature of the water. The clearer the water, the more drawing power a bait will have because of the clarity; the dirtier the water, the less drawing power, but bass are more likely to react with lower visibility.

Earlier and in the middle of fall, the Armajoint will excel when fished erratically, utilizing the Flashboost technology to trigger those feeding fish that target baitfish in the backs of pockets and along shallow shoals and flats. A steady retrieve with sudden starts and stops will trigger more bites and allow you to adapt your retrieve slower and slower as the seasons change.

As you get later in the fall, those bass and baitfish begin migrating into their winter haunts. When retrieved in a slow, methodical S-pattern, this bait mimics the action of a traditional single-jointed glide bait; the slender profile and erratic flash and V-tail design articulately mimic a dying baitfish.

Often, we talk about matching the hatch and the size and profile of the baitfish you encounter on your favorite lakes. While this is true, fall tends to provide a target-rich environment with often many large groups of smaller baitfish. During this time of year, bass can key onto the bait they're feeding on, making getting a bite tough without perfectly matching the hatch or triggering bites. Large swimbaits such as the 7 1/2" Armajoint are a great way to trigger these fish to bite by offering a more extensive profile with more action and flash, allowing fish to key into your bait when surrounded by a vast amount of baitfish throughout the fall.'

Rod and Reel

The setup for fishing the Shimano Armajoint Swimbait is less complex than it may seem for a swimbait of this size. Due to the action from the bait's joints, having a rod with enough tip to articulately work the bait while having the backbone to handle the weight of the bait is critical.

One of the more popular all-around swimbait rods is the Dobyns Champion XP 7'9" Medium Heavy-Fast Swimbait Rod. This five-power rod features the proper handle length for maximum castability and control, but the action doesn't overpower the bait, hindering the bait action. However, if you don't own a swimbait-specific rod, the Armajoint pairs nicely with many common flippin' sticks, such as the Shimano Zodias 7'5" Heavy-Fast. The key to a successful rod for this bait is fast action, allowing you to work the bait with a stout enough rod to ensure the large treble hooks penetrate the fish's mouth.

Pairing these rods with the right reel and line combo brings the whole setup together. When dealing with baits of this size, like the Armajoint, a 200-size reel, such as the Shimano Curado M, houses the features you'll need for the smooth operation of a 2 oz bait. A 7.4:1 reel gives you the speed to work a bait with action and retrieve your line quickly when fighting fish. Your line size can depend on various factors and what you're trying to achieve. Our recommendation for this fall season would be 20 lb Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon for its soft casting ability and durable resistance. The 20 lb. size may be large, but the larger line size will withstand the size of this bait cast after cast while ensuring abrasion resistance while fishing this bait in and around the cover.

Conclusion

The Shimano Armajoint Swimbait is unlike any other swimbait on the market. Using Shimano's latest bait technology, bass have never seen Flash Boost technology like this. Arma Boost provides drawing power and exceptional user ability, increasing your casting abilities. With the design and technology put into the Armajoint, you're not just fishing any old swimbait but an innovative and versatile design not found in other jointed swimbaits. When you're on the water this fall, let the Armajoint make its presence known to those bass eagerly awaiting their next fall meal.

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