Biwaa Scorpitail: the soft jerkbait that quivers on the fall

A soft jerkbait is judged on two moments only: what it does when you pull on it, and what it does when you do nothing at all. Most models on the market are good at the first and lifeless at the second. The Biwaa Scorpitail was drawn to cover both, and everything distinctive about it comes down to a diamond-shaped tail on the end of a flat body.

A diamond tail, two separate behaviours

The Scorpitail's tail is neither a paddle nor a plain tapered point: it's a diamond section, flat and thin, offering two faces wider than the rest of the body. Give it a sharp twitch and that surface grabs water and kicks the bait hard to one side — the erratic dart you expect from a soft jerkbait, but with more amplitude than a classic forked-tail fluke.

Stop, and the same diamond keeps quivering all the way down with no input from you. That's where it earns its place: a bait that vibrates on a free fall stays credible through the three or four seconds in which most soft plastics turn into inert lumps. And on a bass that follows without committing, the bite lands during that fall almost every time.

Two sizes, and one figure the manufacturer doesn't publish

The Scorpitail comes in 4 in, that is 10.2 cm, sold ten to a pack, and 5 in, that is 12.7 cm, sold eight to a pack. The 4 in is the working size on European water: it suits an average bass as well as a big perch, and it skips better under a dock. The 5 in is more selective and holds better in current or heavy wind.

Biwaa does not publish a unit weight for these baits, and the figures you'll see floating around aren't worth trusting: soft plastic density varies from batch to batch and the manufacturer has released no value. In practice that means testing your fall rate yourself, counting the drop over a known depth, rather than relying on a catalogue number.

The two rigs it was designed around

Texas weedless on an EWG hook

This is the main rig. The body has a generous belly slit, which lets the hook come through on the strike without you having to force it, and a moulded groove along the back for burying the point. Run a 3/0 EWG on the 4 in and a 4/0 on the 5 in. Weightless, the bait sinks slowly and quivers; with a small 2 to 5 g bullet it reaches bottom with a less controlled but quicker fall.

That dorsal channel is what makes the rig genuinely weedless. With the point sunk into the groove rather than just laid on top, the Scorpitail goes through moderate grass and branches without collecting vegetation.

Jighead

On open ground or fishing vertically from a boat, a light jighead makes more of the sideways darting. The trade-off is the usual one: you gain depth control and sensitivity, you lose the ability to fish inside cover.

Make your twitches with the rod tip, never with the reel. A soft jerkbait worked from the reel travels in a straight line; worked with two low tip strokes followed by taking up the slack, it goes left then right without advancing more than thirty centimetres. That's exactly what makes the difference on a fish that won't chase.

Soft plastic, but durable with it

The Scorpitail is moulded from a plastic presented as eco-friendly, both soft and hard-wearing. Those two qualities normally pull against each other on a soft plastic: the softer it is, the more it tears on the hookset. Here the compromise falls on the right side, and you'll usually land several fish on the same bait before changing it — which partly offsets the eight-per-pack count on the 5 in.

The bait is also infused with Biwaa's own B2A shrimp scent. Scent doesn't make a fish bite that wasn't going to, but it lengthens the time a fish holds the bait once it's taken it. On a slow presentation where you let it drop on a slack line, two extra seconds to feel the bite and set the hook is not nothing.

The classic mistake

Rigging a hook that's too small "so as not to damage the bait". An undersized EWG in a body this thick comes through badly on the hookset, and you miss fish without understanding why. The belly slit exists precisely to take a heavy gauge hook: use it, the bait was built for it.

Not sure what to tie on?

Photograph your spot: CarnaFish reads the scene, cross-checks the conditions and gives you the zone, the lure and the retrieve. Free on iOS and Android.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Try it free

When to bring it out

The Scorpitail excels in three situations. Skipping under docks and low branches, where its flat body bounces well off the water. Working through grass, thanks to the weedless rig. And fishing vertically under the boat, where the diamond tail's quiver does the work on the drop without any input. For pure searching over big water, a paddle tail like the Keitech Easy Shiner 4 stays more efficient: it vibrates on the retrieve, the Scorpitail vibrates on the fall. They aren't the same tool.

Colors by water clarity

• Clear water over gravel or grass: Green Pumpkin, the colour in the photo, which disappears into the background and raises no suspicion.
• Baitfish spot: Ayu or pearl white, playing the lone fry rather than the invertebrate.
• Coloured water or low light: a dark tone, black or deep blue, which reads better against the light than any bright colour.

The right rig doesn't replace reading the spot: finding a workable dock, a grass edge or a current seam counts for more than colour choice. That's exactly what CarnaFish does from a photo of your water. To compare this one against other soft jerkbaits, the Zman Scented Jerk ShadZ and 6th Sense Flush 5.2 sheets lay out different approaches, and our guide to reading a fishing spot will help you decide where to put this bait.

The short version

• Two sizes, 10.2 and 12.7 cm, sold ten and eight to a pack respectively.
• The diamond tail does two jobs: wide darts on the twitch, continuous quivering on the fall.
• Belly slit and dorsal channel built for a heavy EWG rigged weedless — don't undersize the hook.
• Unit weight isn't published by the manufacturer, so test your fall rate over a known depth.

FAQ

What hook size for the Scorpitail?

A 3/0 EWG for the 10.2 cm version and a 4/0 for the 12.7 cm. The belly slit is deliberately wide to take those gauges without hampering the hookset, so there's no reason to size down.

Can you fish the Scorpitail weightless?

Yes, and that's its best register. Rigged weedless with no weight, it sinks slowly quivering its tail, which gives the fish time to come and take it. Add a 2 to 5 g bullet only when depth or wind forces your hand.

How much does a Scorpitail weigh?

The manufacturer doesn't say. For both sizes only the length and the pack count are published. The only reliable method is to count your fall rate on a spot whose depth you know.

Can you fish it on a drop shot?

Yes, nose-hooked, even though the manufacturer pushes the jighead and the Texas weedless rig instead. On a drop shot, the diamond tail quivers on the slightest tension transmitted through the rod tip.

How many fish does a Scorpitail last?

Several, thanks to a plastic described as both soft and durable. The usual wear point stays the hook exit hole: once it opens up, the bait swivels on the shank and loses its posture, and that's the moment to change it.

What's the difference with a paddle tail?

A paddle tail vibrates when you wind, the Scorpitail vibrates mostly when you let it drop. The first is for covering water fast, the second for making up the mind of a fish already located or wary. They complement each other more than they replace each other.