Swimbait Tips

[SCangler91]

Never really fished with a swimbait so I was curious what kind some of you have found success with?  Also what kind of rod/line setup do you like to use when fishing the swimbait? 

 

Thanks in advance.

[Crestliner2008]

First off, what is your definition of "swimbait"? There are many types and sizes, depending on what species and environment you are targeting. There are many small 4" hollow bellied swimbaits all the way up to 9" wooden, 4 oz. swimbaits. Each has it's own presentations and equipment necessary to toss them wtih. And they vary in cost from a mere $2.99 all the way up to hundreds of dollars each! So you need to be tad more specific as which kind of swimbait you are interested in, which species you are after and what kind of waters you normally fish for them in.

[SCangler91]

First off, what is your definition of "swimbait"? There are many types and sizes, depending on what species and environment you are targeting. There are many small 4" hollow bellied swimbaits all the way up to 9" wooden, 4 oz. swimbaits. Each has it's own presentations and equipment necessary to toss them wtih. And they vary in cost from a mere $2.99 all the way up to hundreds of dollars each! So you need to be tad more specific as which kind of swimbait you are interested in, which species you are after and what kind of waters you normally fish for them in.

 

Something I'd use to fish for some bigger sized largemouth on a lake setting.

[Bluebasser86]

What sizes and styles are you wanting to fish? Boottails, hollow bodies, molded, soft plastic, hard body? They come in sizes from 2" to bigger than a foot. For a normal angler you could start with 4-6 inch baits in any of the varieties and fish them on normal, heavy bass gear and be alright starting out. 

[Chris at Tech]

Or perhaps more appropriately, how much ar you willing to spend?

Swim baits go from $5 to over $100

[Crestliner2008]

Suggested start: Get a couple of packs of 5.5" SK Shadalicious swimbaits. Relatively inexpensive and very effective. These are hollow bellied, soft plastic baits, that have a "boot tail". Tex-pose rig them on a 5/0, 3/8 oz. (belly weighted) swimbait hook; the kind with the spring keeper on the eye, like an Owner. Reel these in just fast enough to get action from both the tail and the head. Present them along weed edges and/or points or cover on points. You'll get bit, if there are decent LM about. Be aware though, pike and pickeral love them too!

[BobP]

I also like the 4-5" hollow belly swimbaits.  How you rig them depends on the cover you fish.  One favorite of mine is to put one on a 3/4 oz Owner Ultra Head jig with the hook exposed.  I throw it on a 7' Med Hvy rod and 20 lb braid with a 14lb fluoro leader.  You can cast it a long way in any wind condition and fish any depth, shallow to 30 ft - and it will catch big bass.  For very weedy areas, a wide gap hook with the screw-in wire in the eye and lead molded onto the hook shank is pretty weedless.

[SCangler91]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  Just go with a steady retrieve with these for the most part? 

[stkbassn]

If you want a nice bait that doesn't cost a fortune I'd recommend the Mattlures Baby Bass series. He has 4 different patterns that will work well for you..I have the smallmouth, striper, and largemouth patterns. These baits are roughly 4-5 inch baits, cast a mile and the tail kicks like crazy. A straight retrieve will get the job done but you can jig it as well. You can also burn it pretty good without it turning on it's side. They are easily thrown on a MH bass rod, no need for special equipment. I'm even throwing 6" Hudds and Ospreys on a 7'2 MH rod and they don't strain the rod at all. Look at those baby bass, very nice little baits. Matt is a great guy as well.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Type in bill siemantel on YouTube that will get.pointed.in the right direction.

[WRB]

Since knowone knows what type of tackle you fish with, we can only guess what you may or may not need.

It sounds like you are fishing for information and interested to try swimmers out.

You tackle will determine how heavy the swimbait can be fished effectively. Your standard 6' 6" to 7' medium heavy bass rod with 15 lbs line can cast and retrieve the swimmers up to 6" and under 1 oz. the heavy bass rods rated up to 1 1/2 oz with 20 line will handle most swimmers 6" that weigh a little more. Heavier swimbaits require heavier tackle.

So your tackle is important.

Swimmers are not crankbaits, so you fish them slower, a lot slower then you think you should.

The hard body swimmers work best in open water areas, the soft bodies are more versitle and can be fished in and around cover and bottom bumping.

A lot of folks over look the Trash Fish soft swimbait design, now available from Berkley called the Sick Fish and it's a knock off, less expenses and works good.

Get colors that are close to the baitfish in the lakes you fish, this is important.

Swimmers can be waked on the surface or fished as deep as you want, no limitations.

Tom

[floridabassman]

Well, if you are targeting big largemouth then i would suggest purcahsing a Huddleston swimbait either 8 or 12 inches. I use 65 lb braid on a 7 1/2 foot heavy rod for my huddlestons.