Swimbaits

[Hurricane]

What is the best brand? What does everyone use? Never used one before so any info is appreciated. .

[Choporoz]

Hard?  Soft?  Hollow-bodied?  Solid?  2.5 inch?  12 inch?

Unfortunately, 'swimbaits' mean everything from 2 inch storm paddle tails to 12 inch $450 models.

Size, and/or material, and/or price range, and/or weight range, and/or waters, fish and environment info will help greatly.

[Hurricane]

Soft swimbaits. . Sorry lol..

[GetBent]

What is your rod and reel setup as well

[IAY]

16 minutes ago, LastCast721 said:

Soft swimbaits. . Sorry lol..

You really need to give us some size. There are plenty of 1/4 oz to 1/2 oz soft swimbaits, as well as 4-10 oz soft swimbaits.

 

[Choporoz]

Not trying to be a PITA, but there's still hundreds of choices and another hundred ways to rig them and fish them.  Take a look at these links and narrow it for us a little more:

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/swimbaits.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/how-to-swimbaits.html

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/hollow-belly-swimbait.html

Fluke-like baits are great weightless or lightly weighted....paddle tails are great on chatterbaits, jig heads, trailers.....on and on

If just starting out with them, I'd get a pack of super flukes, a pack of keitech swing impacts (fat, perhaps), a pack of megastrike fat shad and experiment with various bottom and swimming presentations.

[NJSalt]

assuming you aren't looking to throw big baits, I'd say look at Keitechs.

If you are getting into bigger baits but don't have a combo to throw 3+oz, take a look at the Megabass Magdraft in the 6" size.. that bait means business. I've caught a number of good fish on it this year.

[FloridaFishinFool]

They all catch fish!

I like Berkely and Calcutta and Storm and zoom and even Bass Pro too, but as said, they all catch fish.

I am trying to determine which brand holds up better. At .60 cents to a dollar each, one fish can tear one up in a hurry, or you might catch 6 fish on one before it gets torn up, maybe more if lucky. And I can not tell you how many have had their tails bitten off on a first cast. It will tick you off in a hurry out there.

Another issue I am trying to nail down is swimbait weight. A lot of time they don't tell you the bait's weight and I have found some brands are heavier than others and this is important to me because of fishing in strong river current I want the bait to sink down when retrieved rather than be so light it tends to want to rise to the surface. I have tried adding weight experimenting, but the only real solution for me is to buy the rubber baits only and then add in the weighted hook I need for the application. But in no current situations, I can get away with using the swimbaits that come with weighted hook molded inside.

Sometimes I just go with the hook they come with, and sometimes I rig them weedless and sometimes add a stinger treble hook for open water.

I love swimbaits!

When I started out this summer and met up with a fishing buddy for the first time this past season I had a 4 inch chartreuse Berkley paddletail swimbait on a rod and he saw it and laughed at me telling me how I would not catch anything on that thing. He soon found out otherwise real fast as he got his butt handed to him by that bait several times this past summer.

I found it hilarious and ribbed the crap out of him when I saw him show up for a fishing trip with one hanging off his rod. He wisened up real fast!

And then he made note all summer long watching bassmaster events where the professionals were also doing well in pro tournaments using the same bait or similar. And he was keeping count when we were out fishing and he was not getting anywhere near as many bites or fish sometimes when I was raking them in on swimbaits.

He is a believer now. So now we buy in bulk quantity together to save money.

But I buy all the colors and variations and keep a lot of them in stock because you can go through a 5 pack in one fishing trip as they get torn up. Carry some super glue and you can extend the life of some of them for a few more fish...

[BassinLou]

I throw a couple of soft plastic swimbaits. Gambler's Big EZ and EZ swimmer, and a friend of mine's custom pour. 

[roadwarrior]

Keitech Fat Swing Impact, Shadalicious, Berkley Hollow Belly and GYCB SwimSenko.

 

 

 

[Hurricane]

4 inch... Paddle tail?  How are those?  

[Scarborough817]

i throw the bass pro speed shad (because i can't get the keitech in canada), as well as the strike king blade minnow, caffenine shad and swim senko

[Choporoz]

http://sfttackle.com/swimbaits.html

For me personally, aside from maybe the Sebile and the Storm, I don't think you can go wrong with anything at that link.  Many other good ones, as well.

[Hurricane]

8 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

http://sfttackle.com/swimbaits.html

For me personally, aside from maybe the Sebile and the Storm, I don't think you can go wrong with anything at that link.  Many other good ones, as well.

Sweet... thanks for the link.. Nice website. .

[stkbassn]

 I recommend the Mattlures baby bass series and the 4 inch back hook ospreys. Both produce well and cast like a bullet on regular bass gear. Nice little swimbaits and they won't break the bank.

[BassObsessed]

For a small 4inch swimbait I haven't used anything that works as well as the river2sea rig walker. Excellent tail action and doesn't require a heavy setup. Ive caught bass from under a pound to one over 10lbs on them. Give them a try.

[RyneB]

Keitech, shadalicious and my favorite is a Gambler Big Ez. Rig the Big Ez weightless and buzz it across the top and hold on.

[Big C]

I like Big Hammer Swimtails (especially for trailers) and Berkeley Havoc Sick Fish.  Those are the two I use most often.

[Jon G]

Keitech Swing Impact Fats and Basstrix Paddletails

[WRB]

As you can tell by replies " swimbaits" means something different to various bass anglers.

anything that swims when retrieved has become a swimbait from 3" A-rig soft plastic swimmers to 16" line through jointed soft plastic swimbaits. 

To me a swimbait should be a replica of a fish and swim like a fish.

Bluegill, crappie, swimbaits 4" to 6", HuddGil and Mattlures Ultimate.

Trout swimbaits 6" to 10", Huddleston Delux 6", 68, 8" in ROF 5, 12, 16

Weedless swimbaits, Basstrix 5" to 7" hollow body paddle tails, Little Crippers Trash fish 4" to 6" and 316, 7" & 10" Mission Fish, in Shad, baby bass and trout.

That covers the majority of my soft swimbaits.

Tom

 

[Mike L]

I've tried them all at one time or another but always come back to the Skinny Dipper and the Big EZ.

 

Mike 

[Smallieseeker]

I just got in to swimbaits mostly 3 to 5 inches last year and so far my favorite has been the big joshys. The action to me is perfect no matter the retriever or water temp. I also like the gambler ez swimmers and berkley subwoofers, all worked well for their prices. I do plan on buying some keitechs for next season though looking forward to those!

[ABW]

Swing Impact Fat

[RyneB]

Also hard to beat a Hudd 68 as well

[Big Bait Fishing]

i prefer the bigger soft body swimbaits like Hudds & Savags Gear , never have thrown the 6'' Hudd , only the 8'' Hudd but can't wait to get the 10'' hudd . i also throw a soft tool Rago bait , a SBI herring bait (jointed) , and for other hard baits, i throw Natesbaits . i just can't bring myself to classify little paddletail baits as '' swimbaits '' ....