Soft Plastic Swimbait Question

[jiggz125]

Hey Guys,

 

Recently started fishing soft plastic swimbaits; I have had some success on Berkley Havoc Grass Pig; I have just been rigging it weightless with EWG 3/0 hook. I picked up some YUM Houdini Shad and will probably get some Money Minnows or Lil Suzees;

 

I am wondering how you guys fish them: Weightless? Swimbait hook weighted/non weighted? What size hook, I have seen videos where guys say 5/0 hooks...that seems a little large. Either way if you guys could give me tips on rigging and fishing them I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks

[michang5]

I've fished the Zoom Fluke and Swimmin' Fluke (the medium size ones) with a 1/8oz weighted 3/0 spring-lock hook. Haven't caught anything with that setup yet; I don't think the white flukes appeal to what I'm fishing. But I also don't throw it a lot.

I have had good success with the KVD Caffeine Shad, which doesn't have a paddle tail. I use a 5/0 hook (same weight and spring lock).

[webertime]

4-5" swimbait gets a 4/0 screwlock swimbait hook 1/16-3/8 oz.

[Jrob78]

I usually use a weighted, screwlock swimbait hook.  The hook size and weight really depends on the bait.  A 5/0 hook might sound big but you need a really wide gap to get a positive hook set.  I use a 4/0-8/0.  I also sometimes use a swimbait jig head.  I use from 1/8oz - 3/4oz depending on the bait and how deep or fast I want to fish it.

[Bluebasser86]

1/4 or 3/8 ounce football head slow rolled along the bottom or ticked over the weeds. 

[hoosierbass07]

 I was at Gander Mountain this evening wanting to buy some new plastics.  I picked up some Berkley Havoc Grass Pigs because it was mentioned in this thread.  Not too expensive too.  Can't wait to try them some time in the near future.  

[Loop_Dad]

I use keel weighted hook for relatively shallower waters. For deeper waters, I switch to jig head type as it gets to the bottom quicker with nose dive.

[martintheduck]

5" swimbaits always get a 4/0 or 5/0 EWG hook screwlock hook for me. 1/8oz keel weighted for down to 3 feet slow reelin' it. If I'm burning em' in pretty good the 1/8oz keep it just below the surface. 

[smalljaw67]

3 different ways I rig them, the first is on a swim jig, the second way is on a jig head with a 3/0 or 4/0 hook depending on which swim bait, and on a twist lock hook with a 1/8oz weight, hook size depends on the swim bait but usually 3/0.

[WRB]

It begs the ? What is a swimbait, when boot tails worm are now called swimbaits.

Tom

[jiggz125]

 I was at Gander Mountain this evening wanting to buy some new plastics.  I picked up some Berkley Havoc Grass Pigs because it was mentioned in this thread.  Not too expensive too.  Can't wait to try them some time in the near future.  

I didn't know what to expect I bought the Perl White Silver Fleck(that was only color I could find) While casting from shore I have caught 3 largemouth and 2 northern with them, you can cast them far even weightless. Let me know how you do with em.

[Lazz]

I thought I remember reading most guys throw the Fluke style swim baits typically in spring and fall. I picked up a bunch of zoom flukes and some KVD caffeine shad at the beginning of the season with very little luck with both of them. I'll be going out tomorrow for what will be pretty much my last trip of the year, I'm in New England, it was 34 degrees out last night, anyway I'm only going to have about 4-5 hours on the water time and I know this pond holds 9-10 lb chunks, although I haven't caught anything bigger than 3lb. just don't want to waste my time throwing a fluke if the conditions are really not worth it. What do you guys think?

[Primus]

Lazz Flukes could work but don't rule out lipless cranks, shallow cranks, swimbaits & spinnerbaits. If that isn't happening then I will usually fish jigs or beaver baits if the bass are looking for a more vertical presentation that day. Stuck a few good ones on my last outing on the Strike King Red Eye Shad along with a Rago 7" BVD soft swimbait. Good luck, I hope you do well.

[Mundo318]

On 10/27/2013 at 1:36 AM, Lazz said:

I thought I remember reading most guys throw the Fluke style swim baits typically in spring and fall. I picked up a bunch of zoom flukes and some KVD caffeine shad at the beginning of the season with very little luck with both of them. I'll be going out tomorrow for what will be pretty much my last trip of the year, I'm in New England, it was 34 degrees out last night, anyway I'm only going to have about 4-5 hours on the water time and I know this pond holds 9-10 lb chunks, although I haven't caught anything bigger than 3lb. just don't want to waste my time throwing a fluke if the conditions are really not worth it. What do you guys think?

Throw them when the water is warm....and rig them on spnning gear with a dropshot style hook......and just nose hook it and twitch it back to you....Don't put any weight on the rig

[magnumflag]

The Yum Money Minnow is definitely not a disappointment when it comes to catching fish. Every time I rig one up with a gamakatsu swim bait hook or pop one onto my A-rig set up I know it is a good day.  Now for the disappointment you will tear these things up quick when the fish are biting keep the super glue and the net close. A dangerous combo for me is a 5" minnow on 6lb fluorocarbon using the mustad  push lock swim bait hooks weightless.  You can jam it through cover very slow but any heavier line will cause the bait to float up.  As you can imagine 6lb fluro will sometimes have you beating your rod on the boat....but high risk comes with high reward.

[SFL BassHunter]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2013 at 9:50 AM, jiggz125 said:

Hey Guys,

 

Recently started fishing soft plastic swimbaits; I have had some success on Berkley Havoc Grass Pig; I have just been rigging it weightless with EWG 3/0 hook. I picked up some YUM Houdini Shad and will probably get some Money Minnows or Lil Suzees;

 

I am wondering how you guys fish them: Weightless? Swimbait hook weighted/non weighted? What size hook, I have seen videos where guys say 5/0 hooks...that seems a little large. Either way if you guys could give me tips on rigging and fishing them I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks

 

For any swimbait that is 4 1/2 inches or longer I use a 5/0 VMC hook. Generally with a weight of 1/8oz.

[GetBent]

I'm a big fan of owner flashy swimmer 

[d-camarena]

Strike king shadalicious. They are durable and have great action. I rig them on owner beast hooks. Ive caught hundreds of fish on that swimbait

[bowhunter63]

War Eagle under spin jig head ,Gives alot of flash and really sharp hooks.Sometimes just a plain jig head.Both work really well.

[FreddoB]

My first time ever out with a plastic swimbait was on my b-day (5/18) and I used a 3.8" Keitech FAT Swing Impact (bluegill) on a weighted swimbait w/spring (Eagle Claw) and while hoping to get a big LM, caught many pickerel. The action is fantastic and a new "go-to" bail for me. I'll try some others like the Rage Swimmer but if these Keitech's are available in the shop, I'll buy more!

 

I learned that we need to use a bait "a lot" to build confidence in it. I'm getting to where I want to force myself to take only one or two different baits out for a day and make it happen. I'm referring to baits and techniques that I know work because guys in this forum and YouTube'ers catch fish on them. The more we work at something - the better we get. Persistence pays off and hopefully with a new "PB"!

 

Best - FreddoB