First swimbait purchase ideas?

[UKCATSBASSER]

I love to fish bass trix and keitechs on jig heads. Gambler ez swimmers as well. 

Looking to progress to a Huddleston or bbz1. Or similar. Open to suggestions. What would be something to start out on say in the $20 range or so?

[FloridaFishinFool]

Zoom swimming fluke Jr's work great! And they are cheap and found at most Walmarts. Same with Berkley swimbaits up to 6". Bass tear these up!

Huddleston's are way overpriced.

 

 

 

[gulfcaptain]

I'd say if you're looking to get into the 8" baits, pick up a Savage Gear Line Thru.  Less money then the Hudd, but gets bit well.  Now if you're going to be fishing water temps in the 40's, then the Hudd will produce better as it has less action and just the suttle tail kick.  The BBZ's are good, but the Line Thru will give you almost the same action but in a soft bait.  But be warned, big swimbait fishing is addictive once you get that first fish and relize how small an 8" bait is when you see them choke it.  Its not always a big numbers bait, you're fishing for a few bites on quality fish.  Most will be 4+lbs and up. (my average swimbait fish is right about 6.5lbs)

[that_ryan_kid_7]

If you want a hard swinbait, and if you have an academy sports and outdoors near you I would try their H20 xpress swimbaits.  they are only $6 and have great paint jobs and amazing swimming action. for $6, I highly suggest them.

[deep]

1 hour ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Huddleston's are way overpriced.

Could you elaborate? Thanks,

[fishballer06]

Look into the following:

 

Huddleston 68 special
River2Sea S-Waver 168

[gulfcaptain]

4 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Look into the following:

 

Huddleston 68 special
River2Sea S-Waver 168

Like both of these as well, but tend to look at glide baits in a different bracket then swimbaits.  But do like the 168's and the 68 specials (ROF 12's)

[FloridaFishinFool]

49 minutes ago, deep said:

Could you elaborate? Thanks,

Sure.

When you look at the components some of the swimbaits are constructed from, basically we are dealing with steel hooks, usually lead weights, and rubber or silicon and some coloring.

These components have a certain market value individually.

And when a company like Berkley puts these components all together they can produce swimbaits that are sold over the counter for $3.00 for 5 swimbaits.

But not so with Huddleston. When they produce a swimbait using the same components, for some reason the price of their swimbaits are inflated to many times the component value. So why the drastic inflated pricing? Is it a realistic market value? To me, in my opinion it is not. If it were, then the Huddleston's pricing should be on par with Berkley and they are not.

Tackle Warehouse shows this price difference:

Huddleston Deluxe 6" Trout - $24.99 (1 bait for this price)

Berkley 6" Powerbait Swim Shad - $2.74 (5 baits for this price)

Let me whip out the calculator and do the math... Let's see... $2.74 divided by 5 baits makes the Berkley single swimbait cost .59 cents for just one. Now let me divide the .59 cents into the price of just one Huddleston's swimbait at $24.99 and this comes up 42.36 times the price of the Berkley swimbait.

So the Huddleston swimbait is nearly 43 times higher for the same components? I'd call this "over priced" every day of the week.

At these prices I could buy 43 Berkley swimbaits to just one Huddleston. This is why I buy Berkley and never buy any Huddleston swimbaits. Just too pricey and I want more bang for the buck and keep fishing fun rather than having to worry about destroying $25.00 with just one fish tearing it up.

So would spending $25 on just one Huddleston swimbait deliver 43 times more fish? The answer is not just a no, it is a hell no. Paying Huddleston prices is not going to deliver more bang for the buck. But would 43 Berkley swimbaits put more fish in the boat than the one pricey Huddleston swimbait? The answer is hell yes!

Berkley delivers more bang for the buck to me. Simple as that. From my perspective Huddleston is a waste of my money. Huddleston is throwing money down the drain- literally.

And it is hilarious that right here on this forum there are entire threads started by fishermen crying about going fishing with an over priced Huddleston and losing it while fishing! So they come here to post all about how they paid way too much and lost it without ever catching a fish with it.

And what makes losing a Huddleston worthy of crying about it in an entire thread? Price. Artificially inflated price. Let's go cry about losing so much money called Huddleston! (Just trying to make a point)

I have yet to see any fishermen create an entire thread crying about losing a .59 cent Berkley!

Crying goes hand in hand with throwing too much money down the drain. A clear indication of the Huddleston over pricing problem...

[Airman4754]

The Hudd 68 ROF12 and S-Waver 168 are a good pair to start with. You can cover most of the water column. 

Step two go buy Bill Semental's BBZ book and read it cover to cover before you make your first cast. That dude has caught more 10lb class fish than most of us have caught 3 pounders. It's just a wealth of really great knowledge and keeps you confident in what you are doing. Big bait fishing is slow on the best days. 

On the overpriced thing. A 6" S-Waver 168 is $18. An 8" S-Waver 200 is $45. Once someone knows big bass fisherman love their product inflation sky rockets. 

[gulfcaptain]

To each their own. Difference in a swimshad and a Hudd is the detail and realism and their tail action.  West Coast style swimbaits aren't for everyone.  

[FloridaFishinFool]

11 minutes ago, gulfcaptain said:

To each their own. Difference in a swimshad and a Hudd is the detail and realism and their tail action.  West Coast style swimbaits aren't for everyone.  

Here in Florida a lot of the water we fish in is so dark you can not see your hand 6 inches below the surface. So it does not matter if a swimbait looks more or less real when a fish can NOT possibly see it 6 feet down. Realism is a non-issue in these waters. It might be important in crystal clear water, but not here.

If realism mattered then why does pink color work great? If realism mattered then why does a chartreuse color slay them? I know of no naturally occurring bait fish that are pink or chartreuse. This kind of throws that naturalism thing right out the window and appears to matter more to the paying customers than the hungry fish in these parts.

I've never seen a paddle tail bait fish either. But our bass don't care! That paddle tail kicks butt on the bass in these parts. Is a paddle tail naturalism? Not around here.

When you walk into a fully stocked bait and tackle shop and begin to look at the thousands of varieties of shapes and colors available, the truth is they all catch fish, but all that variety is for the paying customer to spend cash on with each fishermen claiming this one or that one is better.

The companies who make this stuff could care less which of their products catches more fish, but they are really concerned with the fishermen they can catch and what gimmicks they can use to get that cash!

[deep]

Thanks FFF. To each his own.

I think there's one thing missing from your analysis re:pricing.

A lot of R&D goes into a swimbait that actually catches big fish on a regular basis. I'm not paying for just the plastic and lead in the bait. I'm paying for the assurance that this is a proven bait that'll catch big fish. For whatever reasons, the 8 incher happens to be the most *proven* bait in the last decade or two.

Hardbaits that cost a few hundred each don't even come close. Or even Magnums. So price has little to do with it.

I've never fished in Florida, so I don't know what might or might not work there.

[gulfcaptain]

I'm not claiming one is better then the other.  Stated the difference.  Hudds are more less a visual bait.  I wouldn't use one in muddy murky water....there are better options.  Fishing for bass that are keyed in on a visual presentation and tend to "follow" the baits.  I have yet to see a trout follow a swimshad in a trout pattern.  But have watched them swim with hudds and follow them and try and school with them.  Now small swimbaits will get shad and glass minnows to follow them (at least on an A-rig) but it's the details Ken puts into the baits.  I believe the 8" Hudd has accounted for more +10lb fish in CA (probably other states as well) then any other bait consistantly.  I'll throw a $24 bait in hopes of getting that 1-2 bites a day and possibly a 10lb fish. But I will also fish packaged boot style smaller swimbaits as well when conditions are right.  If you haven't fished them and seen the success of the Hudd then it's hard to form a real opinon on it other then cost.  

[Bluebasser86]

Savage Gear line thru and Shine Glides are good hard and soft baits. The R2S S Waver is a good one. 68 or 8 inch Hudds for soft baits.

The OP asked for opinions on what swimbaits he should start with, not why they are or aren't fairly priced, worth the cost, whatever. Feel free to make a suggestion for a certain bait or please move along instead of derailing the OP's thread.

[FloridaFishinFool]

52 minutes ago, deep said:

Thanks FFF. To each his own.

I think there's one thing missing from your analysis re:pricing.

A lot of R&D goes into a swimbait that actually catches big fish on a regular basis. I'm not paying for just the plastic and lead in the bait. I'm paying for the assurance that this is a proven bait that'll catch big fish.

Very true. And for .59 cents per swimbait Berkley does indeed give me a lot of R&D value too. Just today someone posted a video take inside the Berkley lab in another thread. It shows some of the Berkley R&D.

http://www.bassmaster.com/video/spirit-lake-iowa-inside-berkley-plant

Point is, Berkley still keeps their price down to a reasonable price and even adds in to the swimbaits I use their R&D scents and tastes.

Does Huddleston include into their swimbaits lab tested scents and tastes? To my knowledge they do not. I am not aware that Huddleston is even involved in scent and taste R&D.

So what R&D is Huddleston into? Making their swimbait look like a real trout? Make it shaped like a real trout? Is this the extent of their R&D I have to wonder? When I look at the Huddleston's I am just not seeing R&D. What I see is art. West coast art being sold at inflated prices.

When I look at Berkley swimbaits I see a product designed to fool and catch fish in more ways than one. I see a company that really does do the R&D needed to make their product successful, and yet they keep the price incredibly low when compared to a Huddleston.

The Huddleston is an art piece, while the Berkley is specifically designed in every detail to catch fish.

I just visited the Huddleston website and can not find anything in R&D beyond art. They even have a fan art section too. So Huddleston is basically an optic bait. An art bait. Huddleston is merely a company who copies nature in art very well and sells it as a lure.

For .59 cents with Berkley I get paddle tail swimming effect, I get scent added, and possibly taste added too.

For $25 with Huddleston I get a swimbait that looks real. No paddle tail. No scent. No taste added. Their realistic art is not worth $25 to me.

Here is where the difference may lie... out west the waters may be far more clear than here in Florida so a more realistic looking bait might have a greater effect than here in Florida where our waters are often so dark the fish can not even see the swimbait so vibrations from paddle tails and added scents and tastes may be far more effective.

If I want art I buy oil paintings and hang them on the wall! And I have purchased several oil paintings for less than a Huddleston swimbait!

[Big C]

1 hour ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

When you look at the components some of the swimbaits are constructed from, basically we are dealing with steel hooks, usually lead weights, and rubber or silicon and some coloring.

Hudds also have foam built in the hook harness, to make them sit upright while resting on the bottom.  This not only adds to realism but it helps keep it from snagging so easily.  They also have a specially designed boot tail no one else can replicate.  It's the small touches like this and many more that set apart a Hudd from a Berkeley.  

I say that to answer the OP's question.  My first 3 "California" style swimbaits were the cheapest I could find, they didn't work great, they weren't durable at all, and subsequently they are sitting in the basement probably never to be fished again.  You don't have to spend a TON of money to get a nice swimbait,. 

Soft plastic: Hudd 68 $24.99.

Hard plastic: S-waver 168 $18.99.

You won't be disappointed with either of those. 

[RyneB]

River2sea S waver 168s in rainbow trout is my best producer. Although I got it late in the season, the Savage Shiner glide 3d caught good fish good fish in minimal use.

[Murrica]

Most are happy to but .59 powerbaits all day long and fish them.  That is why almost everyone has them in their bait boxes.  The difference with the Hudd is not everyone spends $25, $50 or even $100 on a bait.  What does that price difference get you?  1) Quality 2) A different bait that a fish hasn't seen in highly pressured waters 3) Confidence in a proven fish catching bait (confidence is key when fishing)

 

FFF If you would have asked me 3 years ago if I would spend $100 on a bait I would have said the same thing as you.  Now that I have a box full of Deps, BBZ, Hudds and Savage gears and catch fish on them I don't find it crazy at all.  I don't just catch any fish I catch quality fish on them.  I take the bait argument the same as a hook argument.  Why do I spend more money on trokar and owner hooks when the danielson hooks are way cheaper and get the job done?  I would rather land that 1 extra fish in the day then have a hook bend out or not be sharp enough to penetrate.

 

To answer the OP's original question I would look into the Savage gear 8" line through or even the Osprey Line throughs and you can't go wrong with the s-waver. they are both great inexpensive baits that work.

[dcmclassic]

I just spent more money on swimbaits than I ever have. I ordered some Reflexion handpoured swimbaits. Ordered some LT weedless and solid body to fish on swimbait heads.  I'll try and post a review after I get them. They look pretty promising and have some great reviews. I couldn't quite convince myself on a Hudd yet. But I also ordered a BBZ1 6" slow sink, and a Catch'em Caro Henrieta J wakebait. Which I know isn't technically a swimbait.

 

Funny thing is I've had these items in my cart for about two weeks just trying to decide if I wanted to spend that kind of money on lures.

[Chris at Tech]

3 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Does Huddleston include into their swimbaits lab tested scents and tastes? To my knowledge they do not. I am not aware that Huddleston is even involved in scent and taste R&D.

So what R&D is Huddleston into? Making their swimbait look like a real trout? Make it shaped like a real trout? Is this the extent of their R&D I have to wonder? When I look at the Huddleston's I am just not seeing R&D. What I see is art. West coast art being sold at inflated prices.

So do you think the guys at Huddleston googled a picture of a trout, made one mold based on that picture and instantly had a bait that did exactly what they wanted it to do from a profiles, swimming and neutral position perspective?  You don't consider R&D to include what I'm sure were dozens of modifications to the early versions of the bait to get it to the point it is today?  Just because Berkley is a huge company that can easily exploit economies of scale, you think all companies have to price their baits to align with that?  That would kinda suck for all the basement and garage tinkerers who come up with great ideas, especially since they need to charge higher prices due to having very little chance of the same economies of scale.

There's nothing wrong with Berkley baits so I'm glad they work for you.  The big swimbaits (and the big prices that often come along with them) are not for everyone, but you're really comparing apples to oranges here.  Just about the only similarity is that they're both swimbait style baits.

[gulfcaptain]

7 minutes ago, Chris at Tech said:

 

There's nothing wrong with Berkley baits so I'm glad they work for you.  The big swimbaits (and the big prices that often come along with them) are not for everyone, but you're really comparing apples to oranges here.  Just about the only similarity is that they're both swimbait style baits.

Let this go, Bluebasser already posted a warning.  Keep it up and it's going to get locked down as it's not part of the OP's question.

[Raul]

To each it´s own, since I know that bass DON¨T NEED TO SEE THE BAIT, in order to strike it and even though swim baits have not produced for me the results I was hoping for if I were to purchase a soft swimbait I would have a hard time choosing between a 68 weedless Huddie or a Mattlures Baby Bass or a bluegill, the tail action on those baits is fantastic, the fish would have to be dead or have no lateral line to feel the vibration those baits generate even in plowable mud thick water .... where fish can´t see the bait and still are caught with something as subtle as a wacky rigged 4" french fry worm.

[Chris at Tech]

35 minutes ago, gulfcaptain said:

Let this go, Bluebasser already posted a warning.  Keep it up and it's going to get locked down as it's not part of the OP's question.

Touche...