Using The Larger 9" Soft Swimbaits?

[bigbill]

What rod setup do you use?

Med/heavy freshwater?

Heavy freshwater?

Inshore saltwater?

Saltwater? 10' rod

I cast it out and been wondering how u guys use it?

[WPCfishing]

I don't use swim baits any where near that size.

I fish lakes for Bass.

I throw 6" at the most. I use my Lews Custom Speed Stick. It's the Magnum One 7'.

What are you using?

[WRB]

The rod should selected by weight of the lure, not length only. A good rule of thumb with swimbaits is using a rod 7' 10" or longer. The power rating should be nominal for the lure weight; 4.5 oz lure the rod should be rated between 3 oz to 6 oz or averaged 4.5 oz. longer and higher power is better than shorter and under powered.

Tom

[bigbill]

I use a caistic 9" trout soft swimbaits. I was just wondering if there is a better was to cast it.

[rippin-lips]

Just like Tom said. You choose based on weight. You aren't going to use a medium light to throw 3/4oz C rigs. You don't want to use a rod rated for 2oz to throw a 4oz bait. Most of the time the sweet spot is in the middle of the rating. My swimbait rod is rated 1-6oz but anything over 3.5 starts to feel like it's overloaded. All my baits but one are under 4oz. So it works just fine. I use the Okuma guide select 7'11 heavy. I do a big lob cast.

[bigbill]

It looks real swimming in the water reeling it slowly in.

[Big Bait Fishing]

What rod setup do you use?

Med/heavy freshwater?

Heavy freshwater?

Inshore saltwater?

Saltwater? 10' rod

I cast it out and been wondering how u guys use it?

how much does the bait weigh ??

[Big Bait Fishing]

It looks real swimming in the water reeling it slowly in.

what bait is it ??

[WRB]

Castaic 9" soft trout weighs about 5 oz or 1 oz heavier than 8" Huddleston deluxe.

You should be looking at a Xheavy 8' swimbait rod with 25-30 lb mono like Big Game.

Tom

[Big Bait Fishing]

Wow , totally missed the bait you were talking about, anyhow , look for a rod with a lure rating of up to 8 oz .that is unless your fishing a St.Croix ...

[clh121787]

My first big bait rod is a orochii xx leviathon. 1/2-8 Oz. I like it for big jigs and heavy c-rigs alot too. Turns around 8 pounders like nothin

[Big Bait Fishing]

once you get a rod that will cast the bait , cast it out , let it sink to the bottom , then reel it along the bottom , similar to a jig but instead of dragging it then stoping , just drag it a touch faster , keeping it moving but still along the bottom .

[WRB]

The first thing I check with any lure is it's action at various speeds, it's rate of fall and action swimming down on it's own weight, what it looks like if it sits on the bottom. All this determines the pace the lures works good.

Castaic swimbaits can be a little stiff in the tail, if that is how your swimbait is you can warm it up in hot water, not boiling, and stretch the tail a little very slowly to lengthen that section so the tail swims better at slow speed and on the fall.

The difference between a swimbait and a crankbaits is how you retrieve the lure; swim it slowly, don't crank it fast is usually good. You can wake a swimbait, swim it a few feet below the surface, bottom bump it if that is where the bass are located. Keep in mind the bass gets a good look at a swimbait, it's a sight lure and it's a big lure. I like to use my reel to move a swimbait, the rod to lift it up and over objects finessing it through stuff.

My favorite retrieve is up and over structure. Casting over a point ridge, letting sink to whatever depth I believe bass my be suspended, then slowly swim it until it bumps the opposite side of the point, then work it uphill and over the ridge and down the front side, I down this at various angles, depths and all around a point or hump.

Tom

[bigbill]

It's a early Castaic 9" rainbow trout floater $30.

I gather that everyone casts these out? Or do you troll with it?

[WRB]

It's a early Castaic 9" rainbow trout floater $30.

I gather that everyone casts these out? Or do you troll with it?

It's designed to be waked and can be either trolled or cast and retrieved. It!s not a surface lure that you work like a spook or popper, you swim it, stop and dead stick it, stop and go and most effective is a slow wake like a wounded trout.

Soft floating swimbaits are not the most popular style anywhere especially where you have predators like musky and pike.

Tom

[hatrix]

My first big bait rod is a orochii xx leviathon. 1/2-8 Oz. I like it for big jigs and heavy c-rigs alot too. Turns around 8 pounders like nothin

Your rod is rated for 1/2-8 oz. So a half ounce up to eight ounces? That doesn't seem correct to me. Any rod that can supposedly handle 8 oz is going to have a bit of a issue casting half a ounce. Not to say it's impossible but it's not going to load the rod.

[Big Bait Fishing]

Your rod is rated for 1/2-8 oz. So a half ounce up to eight ounces? That doesn't seem correct to me. Any rod that can supposedly handle 8 oz is going to have a bit of a issue casting half a ounce. Not to say it's impossible but it's not going to load the rod.

probably can since it is a medium fast action

[SirSnookalot]

The rod has to be able to handle the lure weight, however power is a different issue.  There are heavy power rods that handle up to 3 oz and other heavy power rods that will handle heavier lures.  Being a spinning user heavy rods don't appeal to me for bass fishing.  If I were to try it I may consider an 8-10' surf rod providing there is room for the backcast.  Surf rods are designed to cast heavier weighted lures a good distance.  Many 8' med surf rods handle up to 4 oz, and other lengths and powers handle more.

[Big Bait Fishing]

the power rating on rods vary tremendusly with different rod manufactures , my St.Croix Big Nasty is a 9' heavy powered rod that is rated 3-8 oz. , it can easily handle lures up to 13 + oz.

[gulfcaptain]

I throw a 7'6" MH "Musky" rod with a 3-8oz rating.  The blank is ment to handle the larger baits, loads up nicely, and has plenty of power for turning larger fish that happen to inhale a swimbait. Just have to look at up scaling a bit in tackle size.  A lot of the casts are more of a underhand lob depending on weight and distance you're going for.  Coming from a S. Cal offshore background, casting these is a lot like using a jigstick when you're throwing 3oz surface irons using the bait and enough line out to load up the rod and cast overhand without overpowering it and following the bait with the tip of the rod all the way till it hits the water.  Get kind of a rainbow effect.  

[WRB]

I believe bigbills questions have been answered regarding his specific inquiry.

From prior posts bigbills isn't interested in high price rods, more of a practical solution is appropriate.

Using 9' to 10' salt water rods deigned for use with off shore size reels isn't appropriate for a fresh water 9" floating Castaic trout swimbait IMO.

Most fresh water swimbait rods are limited to 8' to target weekend bass anglers who also fish club tournaments where 8' rods are the maximum length allowed.

For the hard core swimbait angler custom rods are ideally suited for the individual using it.

G. Loomis offers some excellent off the shelf swimbait rods if your budget is $250-$350 price point. Okuma offers good off the shelf swimbait rods for budgets under $140 price point. There are many other in between Loomis and Okuma, I am only familiar with those 2 rod makers, regarding swimbait specific rods.

Tom