Indiana Swimbaits

[Cole Richards]

Have any of the Indiana guys had any luck with larger than average swimbaits , I have killed fish on the 3 to 5 inch  swimbait variety but am looking to go after some big fish in the pre spawn time frame this year  . Any tips or suggestions would be fantastic ! 

[Bluebasser86]

I catch plenty of fish on 6-9 inch baits in NE KS. Just have to be willing to commit to a bite or two and sometimes none at all. 

[jignjake]

My experience has been that when you target bigger bites you ultimately will get less bites overall. I don't fish swim baits very much but some of my biggest bites have come after an hour or more of no action whatsoever. I've read a lot of great articles on this site about targeting trophy bass, you should search for them on here. Swimbaits were mentioned in several of these articles as a trophy catcher. A very highly reviewed soft swim bait I've heard about time and time again has been power team lures swinging hammer. They look great and are offered in large sizes. Another larger profile option related to swim baits and a bigger bite is a swim jig with a swim bait trailer in spring. 

Keep posting and lemme know what you find on swim baits as they're a technique I need to learn more myself.

[Cole Richards]

I have a lot of success fishing 4 and 5 inch jaks custom baits swimbaits .   They are awesome  in places that you would normally fish a spinnerbait in clear water situations .  I have read a ton of good articles about catching trophy bass on the site , it seems like two lures shine at this the jig and the swimbait . I have never really been a jig guy and a lot of the lakes where I fish have a lot of bottom vegitation . I guess I need to expirment a bit and see which presentation is better on certain situations 

[ABW]

I don't think the location matters. You should throw them anyway. I've caught fish on the S-waver 168 before

[Bluebasser86]

Clear water lakes with vegetation are one of my favorite recipes for throwing big baits. I'd be looking to try some swimbaits in those situations for sure. A rat or Slammer over those weeds in low light conditions would probably get destroyed.

[F14A-B]

Nope..

[Preytorien]

I've caught a few good ones on 6-9 inch swimbaits, but like others have said, it takes a lot of patience and some frustration when dinks keep hitting it and not hooking up. The other drawback I get is that the size alone spooks fish on some bodies I fish. I like hunting down those secluded and abandoned farm ponds, the kind that you can walk the bank and fish the whole thing easily - the problem is the fish aren't used to people and lures, and no matter how quiet you are, they're skittish. There's nothing more angering than your lure hitting the water right at the shoreline and seeing several good sized wakes jet out to open water. Oh the fish that could've been.

That's why I just stick to the smaller ones. The big guys/gals are just as likely to eat them as a big one, and it's far less frustrating. 

[drew4779]

I've had some luck on optimum swimbaits, magic swimmers, and savage swimbaits in indy.  I'm not sure of the exact length but I'd guess them to be between 6" and 9".  Last season I did best during the pre-spawn with cranks and caught my larger bass on tubes.  

[jignjake]

14 hours ago, Cole Richards said:

I have a lot of success fishing 4 and 5 inch jaks custom baits swimbaits .   They are awesome  in places that you would normally fish a spinnerbait in clear water situations .  I have read a ton of good articles about catching trophy bass on the site , it seems like two lures shine at this the jig and the swimbait . I have never really been a jig guy and a lot of the lakes where I fish have a lot of bottom vegitation . I guess I need to expirment a bit and see which presentation is better on certain situations 

I also fish heavy vegetation lakes and have a lot of confidence in jigs on rocky and wood cover. They make jig styles such as "punching" jigs that excel in deep weeds, you oughta try that technique for bigger bass. Dirty Jigs custom jigs make a fantastic punching jig in heavier weights that drives em nuts when it's tumbling down deep weeds.

[Cole Richards]

1 hour ago, jignjake said:

I also fish heavy vegetation lakes and have a lot of confidence in jigs on rocky and wood cover. They make jig styles such as "punching" jigs that excel in deep weeds, you oughta try that technique for bigger bass. Dirty Jigs custom jigs make a fantastic punching jig in heavier weights that drives em nuts when it's tumbling down deep weeds.

I have never considered fishing a punch jig in the deep weeds , I may have to try that .  What size jig are you throwing in that situation . I have fished Arkie head jigs that I tie myself and had a little success but have never tried a punch jig in the deep weeds. 

5 hours ago, Preytorien said:

I've caught a few good ones on 6-9 inch swimbaits, but like others have said, it takes a lot of patience and some frustration when dinks keep hitting it and not hooking up. The other drawback I get is that the size alone spooks fish on some bodies I fish. I like hunting down those secluded and abandoned farm ponds, the kind that you can walk the bank and fish the whole thing easily - the problem is the fish aren't used to people and lures, and no matter how quiet you are, they're skittish. There's nothing more angering than your lure hitting the water right at the shoreline and seeing several good sized wakes jet out to open water. Oh the fish that could've been.

That's why I just stick to the smaller ones. The big guys/gals are just as likely to eat them as a big one, and it's far less frustrating. 

I have a lot of small bodies of water that I love to fish that have little pressure . I have had great success with normal sized lures there .  I have always wondered if there are true giants  in these bodies of water .  I don't know if larger size lures would be the answer of just fishing deeper and slower . 

4 hours ago, drew4779 said:

I've had some luck on optimum swimbaits, magic swimmers, and savage swimbaits in indy.  I'm not sure of the exact length but I'd guess them to be between 6" and 9".  Last season I did best during the pre-spawn with cranks and caught my larger bass on tubes.  

I caught my best fish last year on crankbaits over the top of deep weeds in the prespawn too.  I wonder if the swimbait will have the same drawing power .  

[neocrunch]

I'm glad you started this thread. I've often wondered if the types of BIG swimbaits that the California guys throw would work here (and if so, whether they would only work on big lakes - or small lakes & ponds, too). 

[jignjake]

I've read those punch rigs are anywhere from 3/4 ounce to 2 ounce just depending on the density of weeds and fall rate you desire. I'd start with 1 ounce in a natural color with a "flapping" style trailer that has great action on the fall. My new fave trailer this past year has been the strike king menace grub, small baitfish profile with twin tail flappers on the back, check em out!

[Bluebasser86]

8 hours ago, neocrunch said:

I'm glad you started this thread. I've often wondered if the types of BIG swimbaits that the California guys throw would work here (and if so, whether they would only work on big lakes - or small lakes & ponds, too). 

They will work there in all sizes of bodies of water. I've caught them here in reservoirs, state lakes, to ponds small enough to cast across. All 3 species of bass, and fish from less than 10" up to 6 pounds, and all from NE KS or NW MO.

[Cole Richards]

On January 28, 2016 at 3:21 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

They will work there in all sizes of bodies of water. I've caught them here in reservoirs, state lakes, to ponds small enough to cast across. All 3 species of bass, and fish from less than 10" up to 6 pounds, and all from NE KS or NW MO.

Those are some really nice fish I some big baits . Have you had more success on glide baits or traditional swimbaits?

[hoosierbass07]

I was thinking the same thing - will those big swimbaits they use in California work at the strip pits I fish at here in Indiana?  I decided to not order the real big ones but instead buy some Gambler soft swimbaits.  No matter how cool they make it look, it seems most of the big swimbait users are from the west coast, east coast or Florida,  not the mid-west and particularly not Indiana.  I get the feeling those big bass in California would be caught on other lures just as easy and this big swimbait craze is a craze/fad.  

[Bluebasser86]

26 minutes ago, hoosierbass07 said:

I was thinking the same thing - will those big swimbaits they use in California work at the strip pits I fish at here in Indiana?  I decided to not order the real big ones but instead buy some Gambler soft swimbaits.  No matter how cool they make it look, it seems most of the big swimbait users are from the west coast, east coast or Florida,  not the mid-west and particularly not Indiana.  I get the feeling those big bass in California would be caught on other lures just as easy and this big swimbait craze is a craze/fad.  

It's not for everyone, but I can say with 100% certainty that big swimbaits catch fish for me that wouldn't have touched anything else. When I started using them I was shocked how many fish I was catching and seeing. Lakes that were known to produce few fish and rarely bigger fish were giving up more and bigger bass than ever before. It doesn't happen every time, but some fish are just programmed to eat bigger baitfish it seems like. I think you'd be really surprised how many guys from the midwest, from Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, even Indiana, are using and catching fish on big swimbaits.

[hoosierbass07]

I'm going to see if I get any action from those Gambler soft lures this season.  If I do catch any bass then I might consider buying a few big hard baits.  

[Bluebasser86]

Those Gamblers are good baits, but they don't have the drawing power of the big baits. If you do decide to give them a try, I'd start somewhere like a Spro Rat 40 or S Waver 168. Both baits are small enough to throw on normal MH bass gear, but have the size to draw in fish that ignore normal offerings.Just be warned, it can be really addicting when you start seeing and catching fish on big baits.

[Cole Richards]

I am looking forward to seeing if a lot of the lakes that are around me that are infamous for not having quality bass will hold some monsters.  I have had 20 lb bags on a few of these lakes by fishing differently than most people would . I am interested to see if the big swimbait will kick up the quality. 

[neocrunch]

I was just poking around YouTube and came across this four-part video series about fishing swimbaits in the Northeast. It made me think of this thread - and I thought you guys might like to check 'em out, too.