I’ve fished the dark sleeper multiple ways and it slays every time. It’s great as a swimbait. Dynamite as a jigging lure. The way I’ve had best success is sorta like a chatterbait. It won’t get snagged in grass but wood is not what I prefer to fish it near because the fin that protects the hook almost always gets snagged. Still a amazing lure

I love them. The wide, flat belly let's you work it over wood pretty good. The plastic does well in cold water too. It cast a mile, it skips good and I'm telling ya, you can burn these things over weedbeds and hold on tight. The sleeper gill has been my prespawn sleeper so far this year.

It has become one of my winter go-to baits. Had success slow reeling it bouncing off rocks.

I picked one up last summer, not sure if your retrieval suggestion works- cast 1 a large mouth ate it on first fall, cast 2 a small mouth ate it , on cast 3 a rock got it. Stocked up for this season .

Thanks for the tips. After the first video i bought 3 of them. Cant wait to try it.

Great lure. I seem to catch more pickerel and pike on it than bass, and their teeth always leave them shredded up. But they're a great addition to the tackle box for sure!

I have also used it in weeds slow reeling it. Done pretty good doing that as well.

I’ve caught bass , Speckle trout , and redfish on em , it’s a work horse for me

Thank you Randy.

There's a reason this lure is my favorite: It works very well and It's easy to fish, and it's versatile. You can bounce it off the bottom, you can work it as a swimbait, ect... I usually use the colors mutsugorou, hanahaze, or haze, and work it as a swim bait and I catch lots of fish. Even though it catches fish, there are a few drawbacks: It isn't 100% weedless, (which is fine because almost all lures aren't weedless), sometimes the paddletail gets caught in the hook, (which could happen to any other bait), and It's not very durable. After a couple of hits from a fish the eyes fall off and after a couple more hits, the color around the eyes start to peel off. Even without the eyes, it still catches fish though. It's also heavy enough to use with a baitcaster reel thanks to it's weight. I use a 7 foot medium heavy rod with 15lb braid and 2-3 feet of flourocarbon leader. Sometimes the flourocarbon knot gets weeds on it also, but it's easy to get off. When I feel a bite, I point my rod forwards while reeling down and I set the hook. The hookset is always on the roof of their mouth, which is nice. overall 8/10 would reccomend

I caught tons of crappie and pike on these guys. I get the most bites when I drag it on the bottom

One of the best smallmouth lures on the planet.

Randy here's an idea for ya .show these new anglers some good knots to tie .I bet that would help some guys out .

Great video as always. Can you do a similar video expounding on the Sleeper Gill? Thanks

Thanks, Randy, equipping my tool belt!

When I first got one I would just swim it and I had so much success doing it that way it’s crazy.

I have caught largemouth on this lure. Thanks for sharing

Hey Randy thanks bud for all the tips and tricks over these past two years. Hey Randy I have a couple of the bluegill color of the dark sleeper. Not to talk about something different but randy some of these other u tube channels have been trying to convince me to to use braid on my spinning rod set ups I won't do it. Anyway I hope your family is healthy and happy and God bless you and your family always. Maybe one day I'll see you at Stockton lake I live about 8 miles away from the lake randy that place is beautiful. Ps tight lines bud .

you can fish the DS all day all night far as saltwater in the westcoast, plus i can get the mold.

I subscribed Knoxville TN.

That's another bait that should be good for saltwater fish too. I bet it would catch flounder and trout at least.

Do you put a split ring on these?

Never, even under pretense of it being a jig.

Does this thing actually work let's be honest

I just bought a 3/8 weighted one. I feel like that's too heavy but it's all they had. Seems like they can't keep them stocked and they fly off the shelves. What weight do y'all typically use ?