When using live bait....?

[Nick C]

Do you guys like to "slow it down"? I've always heard to slow down the runner before sending it down, which makes sense.
Last night we fish a live runner and the first drift we really slowed it down.... snipped the tail a little and beat again the deck a few times.
The next drift we let one out a little more lively.

So, if you guys slow the bait down, how slow is slow(you get what I'm saying?)? Just barely twitching, or other?

Thanks for the help! Hopefully I'll catch one of these things soon!

[Another Grand]

Nick.....the reason you want to slow it down is so that the sword can catch the bait.......it is crucial to do this during the summer because you fish with runners and a nice size runner can duck and dodge a sword for a minute......this will lead to foul hook up and the reason everybody says they dont get good hookup on live bait is because the sword is having such trouble catching it. I dont beat them up, instead, take scissors and trim away a great deal of their tail......this way they have to swim twice as hard, putting out more vibes in the water, and making it possible for the sword to eat and swallow. With tinkers, just kill them and put them below the school, no need for livey.

[Nick C]

Thanks Sir! btw, the boat is 2 weeks away... You need to help me pop it's sword cherry!