Developed on the Water
The techniques in this guide are based on countless hours of on the water testing across a wide variety of fisheries. Every recommendation comes from real world experience and has been refined through years of chasing big bass in changing conditions.
If you've recently purchased the CAST 7.2 Echo, you're not alone.
Over the past several months, we've introduced thousands of anglers to the Echo through videos showcasing it rigged on a scrounger head. While the response has been incredible, we've consistently received one question more than any other:
"How do I rig the 7.2 Echo?"
That's exactly why we created this guide.
We'll walk you through the two presentations we rely on most, show you how we rig each one, explain the equipment we trust, and share the adjustments we've learned from years of fishing the 7.2 Echo across a wide range of fisheries and conditions.
By the end of this guide, you'll have the confidence to rig the 7.2 Echo correctly, understand when each presentation shines, and make the adjustments needed to fish it successfully in a wide range of fisheries and conditions.
Before You Get Started
One of the biggest mistakes anglers make is trying to find a single "best" way to fish a bait.
The truth is there isn't one correct way to fish the 7.2 Echo.
The presentation you choose should be dictated by the type of fishery you're on, where the fish are positioned in the water column, the season, water temperature, current, and the forage they're feeding on.
The goal of this guide isn't for you to copy exactly what we do. It's to help you understand why each presentation works so you can confidently adapt the 7.2 Echo to your own fisheries and changing conditions.
Once you understand the principles behind each presentation, you'll know when to reach for a scrounger, when a tungsten jighead is the better choice, and how small adjustments can make a big difference throughout the day.
Let's start with the presentation that introduced thousands of anglers to the 7.2 Echo and remains one of our favorite ways to fish it: the scrounger head.
What Is a Scrounger Head?
A scrounger head is a jighead that features a flexible plastic bill in front of the hook.
As the bait moves through the water, the bill creates a unique hunting action that causes the entire Echo to swim with a subtle hunting motion. Rather than relying on the tail to create movement, the head of the bait generates the action, giving the presentation an incredibly realistic look.
If you've seen us fishing the 7.2 Echo on social media, this is the presentation you've likely seen most often. It's also the presentation the 7.2 Echo was originally designed around.
Choosing the Right Scrounger
For the 7.2 Echo, we recommend using a scrounger head with a minimum 5/0 hook. The longer hook matches the profile of the bait and significantly increases hookup percentages compared to smaller hook sizes.
There are several quality scrounger heads on the market, but our favorite is the Hog Farmer Scrounger.
The difference comes down to the bill.
Hog Farmer uses a thicker plastic bill that creates the exact hunting action we designed the Echo to produce. Some scrounger heads use a softer bill, which can cause the bait to roll over, spiral, or simply fail to swim correctly. A properly tuned scrounger should create a consistent hunting action while allowing the Echo to track perfectly straight. In short, matching the echo to a quality scrounger head is imperative to getting the perfect action on the retrieve.
How to Rig the 7.2 Echo on a Scrounger
- Insert the hook directly into the center of the nose.
- Keep the hook perfectly centered as it travels through the bait.
- Exit the hook through the center of the back.
- Slide the bait firmly into position so it sits perfectly straight.
A crooked bait will not swim correctly. Take a few extra seconds to make sure everything is perfectly aligned before making your first cast.
Once the Echo is rigged correctly, the next step is matching it with the right equipment to maximize casting distance, hook penetration, and control.
Recommended Gear
The right gear plays a huge role in getting the most out of the 7.2 Echo on a scrounger. While there are plenty of setups that will catch fish, this is the equipment we rely on day in and day out:
Rod
We recommend a 7'2" to 7'6" Medium Heavy casting rod with a Moderate Fast action.
One of the biggest advantages of a longer rod is casting distance. The farther you can cast, the more time your scrounger has to reach the desired depth before beginning your retrieve. This allows you to keep the bait in the strike zone much longer, whether you're burning a 1/2 ounce scrounger over offshore brush, points, and humps or slowly crawling a heavier setup along the bottom. A Medium Heavy rod is also important because larger scrounger heads are built with heavy gauge hooks. A rod with the proper backbone helps drive that larger hook through the fish's mouth, resulting in better hook penetration and a higher landing percentage, especially on long casts.
Reel
Our preferred reel is a 7.1:1 casting reel.
This gear ratio gives you the versatility to fish both of our primary scrounger techniques. It allows you to burn a 1/2 ounce scrounger across herring fisheries while still slowing down enough to maintain bottom contact when fishing deeper TVA ledges.
Line
For most situations, we fish the 7.2 Echo on 17 to 20 pound fluorocarbon.
When additional casting distance, sensitivity, or line management is needed, we switch to 30 pound CAST X12 Finesse Casting Braid connected to a 17 to 20 pound fluorocarbon leader using an FG Knot.
Both setups have proven themselves on the water. The right choice ultimately comes down to the cover you're fishing, the conditions, and your personal preference.
Three Ways We Fish the Scrounger
Although the setup is the same, we fish the scrounger in completely different ways depending on the fishery.
Herring Fisheries and Open Water
When targeting bass that are feeding on blueback herring or other open water forage, we almost always choose a 1/2 ounce scrounger.
This allows us to make long casts and burn the Echo over offshore brush piles, points, humps, and other structure where bass are actively feeding.
One of the biggest reasons we love this technique is the way fish commit to it. Bass absolutely crush a fast moving scrounger, and few techniques produce more violent reaction bites.
CAST Pro Tip:
If you're targeting open water spotted bass or smallmouth and find yourself missing fish, try adding a small treble hook on the bottom of the scrounger hook with a keeper. This simple modification can significantly improve hookup percentages with fish that tend to slap at the bait instead of fully committing, especially when they're chasing fast moving presentations in open water.
TVA Lakes and Offshore Ledges
Fishing a scrounger on TVA lakes is a completely different approach.
Instead of burning the bait through the water column, we want the Echo crawling along the bottom.
In these situations, we typically fish 3/4 ounce, 1 ounce, and even 1 1/2 ounce scrounger heads, depending on the depth and the amount of current.
One of the biggest mistakes anglers make is fishing the bait too fast.
The flexible bill on a scrounger creates a tremendous amount of lift during the retrieve. If you retrieve the bait too quickly, it will continually rise off the bottom and out of the strike zone.
Our experience has been simple. If the Echo is not maintaining bottom contact on TVA ledges, you are dramatically reducing your chances of getting bit.
Slow your retrieve far more than you think you should. Let the weight keep the bait pinned near the bottom while the bill creates the hunting action. When fished correctly, the Echo will crawl naturally across the structure while maintaining the subtle movement that makes this presentation so effective.
CAST Pro Tip:
One trick we've found for keeping the 7.2 Echo pinned to the bottom on TVA ledges is to make the longest cast possible. Once the bait reaches the bottom, engage the reel and make 3 to 4 slow turns of the handle. Then disengage the reel and let the Echo fall back to the bottom before beginning your retrieve. This simple adjustment helps counteract the lift created by the scrounger bill, allowing the Echo to stay in the strike zone for a much greater portion of the retrieve. It's a small adjustment that has made a big difference for us when targeting ledge fish.
Rivers and Current
One application that often gets overlooked is fishing the 7.2 Echo on a scrounger in current.
Whether you're targeting river ledges, current seams, wing dams, or current breaks, the scrounger can be one of the most effective tools in your arsenal.
Instead of relying solely on your retrieve to create action, use the current to your advantage. Position the boat so you can slow your retrieve or even stall the Echo in the current while maintaining bottom contact.
The moving water will continuously work the scrounger bill, creating the natural hunting action while keeping the bait in the strike zone. Keeping the Echo in one productive area for a longer period gives current oriented bass more time to locate the bait and commit. If you're fishing a river system with current, don't overlook the scrounger. It can be one of the deadliest presentations you can have tied on.
Fishing the 7.2 Echo on a Jig head
While the scrounger is the presentation most anglers associate with the 7.2 Echo, fishing the Echo on a tungsten jig head has become one of our favorite ways to target suspended fish, offshore structure, and some of the biggest bass we've caught on the bait.
Choosing the Right Jighead
We prefer a 5/0 tungsten jighead, such as the BKK Hyper Latch, because it matches the profile of the 7.2 Echo and provides excellent hook penetration. The tungsten construction creates a smaller profile, increases sensitivity, and produces a stronger return on Forward Facing Sonar. We have also found the Hyper Latch keeps the bait securely in place and does an excellent job of keeping fish pinned throughout the fight.
Recommended Gear
The right gear is critical to getting the most out of this technique.
Rod
We recommend a Medium power spinning rod.
The rod provides enough backbone to drive the larger 5/0 hook while maintaining a soft enough tip to impart the subtle rolling action that makes the Echo so effective.
Reel
A 2500 to 3000 size spinning reel provides the perfect balance of casting distance, line management, and fish fighting power.
Line
We spool our reels with 12 to 20 pound CAST X12 Finesse Casting Braid connected to an 8 to 12 pound fluorocarbon leader.
When fishing an 8 pound leader, we pair it with 12 pound X12.
When fishing a 10 or 12 pound leader, we typically move up to 20 pound X12. (Back in stock soon)
Using X12 is an important part of this system. The thin diameter allows us to make significantly longer casts, keeping us farther away from pressured fish. Longer casts also give fish more time to locate the bait, engage with it, and fully commit before it reaches the boat.
Staying farther away from fish can also reduce the likelihood of fish reacting to sonar ping from Forward Facing Sonar, making them more willing to commit to the presentation.
Choosing the Right Weight
Selecting the right jighead weight is one of the biggest factors in getting the most out of the 7.2 Echo.
As a general rule, we have found that lighter jigheads with a slower fall produce better results in colder water, while heavier jigheads with a faster fall and more aggressive presentation excel during the summer months when fish are more active.
Of course, there are always exceptions. The position of the fish in the water column should ultimately determine the weight you choose. We learned this firsthand one winter while targeting bass relating to a deep bait ball nearly 80 feet down. Even though the water was cold, we had to fish a 3/8 ounce jighead simply to get the Echo down to the fish. That adjustment resulted in a 5 pound largemouth.
Instead of focusing on the season alone, consider the entire situation. Water temperature, fish position, depth, and the rate of fall you want to achieve should all influence your jig head selection.
How to Rig the 7.2 Echo
Rig the Echo perfectly straight on the jighead, making sure the hook exits through the center of the back.
Instead of tying directly to the jighead, we recommend using a small loop knot.
The added freedom of movement allows the Echo to produce a much more natural rolling and listing action during the retrieve, giving the bait a lifelike appearance that consistently triggers bites.
The Retrieve
The retrieve is simple, but the details matter.
Hold your rod tip up while maintaining a steady retrieve. As you reel, incorporate light shakes with the rod tip.
These subtle shakes create the rolling and listing action the Echo was designed to produce. In many cases, this natural movement is what convinces following fish to commit.
Fishing Herring Fisheries
One of the biggest keys to this technique is keeping the Echo above the fish. Bass naturally feed upward, and we have consistently found they respond much better when the bait stays over their head rather than below them.
On herring lakes, especially during the summer when bass have a high metabolism, we prefer a much faster retrieve.
Many of our biggest fish come after burning the Echo away from fish that are following on timber lines or offshore brush. The increased speed often triggers an aggressive reaction bite from fish that were only casually tracking the bait.
Fishing TVA Lakes and Grass Fisheries
On TVA lakes and fisheries dominated by submerged grass, the approach is almost the exact opposite.
Whether we are fishing ledges, drains, or submerged grass, we work the Echo slowly and methodically just above the structure.
This slower presentation consistently produces better results with largemouth that are relating closely to cover.
One of our favorite examples of this presentation came when our buddy Mikey Balzz put together the biggest five fish limit of his life, weighing over 50 pounds, on a Florida grass lake using the 7.2 Echo. It's a great example of how effective this presentation can be when bass are relating to submerged vegetation and you're able to keep the bait in the strike zone.
CAST Pro Tip:
If fish are following the 7.2 Echo but won't commit, don't be too quick to change baits. First experiment with your retrieve speed and jighead weight. Every day is different. Water temperature, seasonal patterns, and the mood of the fish all influence how they want the bait presented. That is why we recommend carrying multiple jig head weights so you can fine tune the presentation instead of making unnecessary bait changes. More often than not, a simple adjustment in retrieve speed or jighead weight is all it takes to convert followers into committed bites.
Forward Facing Sonar
While this presentation can absolutely catch fish without electronics, we have found that Forward Facing Sonar has become an invaluable tool for refining the technique.
The technology does not just show us where fish are located or how many are present in the water column. More importantly, it allows us to watch how fish react to the 7.2 Echo in real time.
By observing their behavior, we can immediately adjust our retrieve speed, jighead weight, cadence, or presentation to trigger a bite. Those small adjustments often make the difference between a fish simply following the bait and one that fully commits.
This ability to learn from the fish has helped us refine every aspect of this presentation and continues to shape how we fish the 7.2 Echo today.
One example came while fishing Lake Guntersville, where Dalton Head and Brody Robison used this exact setup to catch 34 pounds of bass in just a few hours, including Brody's personal best weighing over 9 pounds.
Final Thoughts
We're fishermen just like you, and we've spent countless hours on the water refining these techniques. More importantly, we've learned what has worked, what hasn't, and how to make adjustments based on the conditions.
The scrounger and tungsten jighead are two completely different ways to fish the 7.2 Echo. Rather than thinking of one as better than the other, think of them as two tools in your arsenal. Choosing which presentation is best on any given day is up to you, and learning when to make those adjustments is part of what makes fishing so rewarding.
At CAST, your success on the water is our success. More than anything, we want you to enjoy your time on the water, fish with confidence, and make memories that keep you coming back. That's the exact reason we created the 7.2 Echo.
If you have any questions that weren't covered in this guide, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're passionate about helping anglers get the most out of our products and are committed to providing the best customer service possible.
Good luck on the water, and thanks for trusting us to be a part of your fishing journey.
Ryan
About the Author
Ryan Hanks is the Co-Owner of CAST and has spent countless hours developing and refining the techniques outlined in this guide alongside the CAST team. His passion is helping anglers understand not just what works, but why it works, so they can become more confident and successful on the water.
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