Jim72 Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 I just purchased from academy sports a jointed sunfish swimbait in bluegill.it only cost 5.99 and I was wondering if anyone has used this exact one.the reviews are positive so I thought I would try it out in the summer,I'm curious about this explosion of swimbait craze going on now,and wondering if they are worth it. Quote
wdp Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 I bought one of those a few months ago. Only fished it a few times in the fall, but didn't get a bite. Couple of things I didn't like: it doesn't cast that well - has a tendency to helicopter while in mid air so casting distance is limited. But this is true for other jointed swimbaits I have. Also, occasionally the rear treble hook will get caught in the back joints and reduce the swimming action. But I will say when it's working correctly it has a nice swimming action. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted January 5, 2017 Global Moderator Posted January 5, 2017 I have used them. The bigger ones are good for the price.the hooks aren't good though. Quote
Jim72 Posted January 5, 2017 Author Posted January 5, 2017 21 minutes ago, wdp said: I bought one of those a few months ago. Only fished it a few times in the fall, but didn't get a bite. Couple of things I didn't like: it doesn't cast that well - has a tendency to helicopter while in mid air so casting distance is limited. But this is true for other jointed swimbaits I have. Also, occasionally the rear treble hook will get caught in the back joints and reduce the swimming action. But I will say when it's working correctly it has a nice swimming action. I read that in some reviews of the hook getting caught in the back.i was thinking of putting a kvd short shank hook in the back thinking that might help and if I go with a bit smaller size maybe it would help with it helicopting. 17 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said: I have used them. The bigger ones are good for the price.the hooks aren't good though. I will Change to better hooks for sure. 1 Quote
wdp Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 19 minutes ago, Jim72 said: I read that in some reviews of the hook getting caught in the back.i was thinking of putting a kvd short shank hook in the back thinking that might help and if I go with a bit smaller size maybe it would help with it helicopting. I will Change to better hooks for sure. I think somebody else mentioned using a short shank hook and it helped. Or maybe they said they just took the rear treble off. Its always been one of my beefs with jointed hard-bodied swimbaits - I just can't get em to cast well. They sure do look good swimming in the water tho. Could be the heavier, larger ones cast better. 2 Quote
primetime Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 I have some really nice looking ones in one of my boxes at home I never take fishing. I am sure they work as I have done well with almost every Academy Lure/Reel I have purchased. I just don't fish many hard swimbaits at the moment, but they do look every bit as good as lures priced higher. I think the Hooks are VMC, not too strong if I remember, but I think they only weigh 3/8? They are smaller, I actually caught some big Stripers on the other Swimbait they make that looks like the BBZ shad. I put heavier guage hooks if using line that is over 12-15lb test mono. I would think 1x strong hooks are ok if fishing it on less than 15lb test. Just my take. Hope that helps. I am sure those little bluegill lures will work if you put in the time, especially during the spawn, and right after when the Bluegills start spawning. The action looked good when I tested them out. Academy has great prices, great service, glad they came to Florida. For $3, hard to beat many of their lures. Same with their reels. 1 Quote
Super User the reel ess Posted January 5, 2017 Super User Posted January 5, 2017 I have one and also have never caught anything on it. Ditto all the above issues and I'll add that it sinks too fast so you can't really swim it slowly. Sure, you can, but it looks like the nose it pointed up unnaturally. I agree with how hard it is to cast so I used it on MH spinning gear. I'm sure there's a good time to use it and I haven't found it yet. I also haven't used it in a place where bluegill would be the primary forage (a small pond). 2 Quote
wdp Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 4 minutes ago, the reel ess said: I have one and also have never caught anything on it. Ditto all the above issues and I'll add that it sinks too fast so you can't really swim it slowly. Sure, you can, but it looks like the nose it pointed up unnaturally. I agree with how hard it is to cast so I used it on MH spinning gear. I'm sure there's a good time to use it and I haven't found it yet. I also haven't used it in a place where bluegill would be the primary forage (a small pond). I've thought about trying to throw it with spinning gear, but didn't get around to it. I'll give that a shot this spring & summer. What you're talking about is the main reason I bought one. I fish a pond in my neighborhood with a lot of small bream. Thought this might match the hatch well. Plus, I figured for only $5 where's the harm in trying it. 2 Quote
Super User the reel ess Posted January 5, 2017 Super User Posted January 5, 2017 5 minutes ago, wdp said: I've thought about trying to throw it with spinning gear, but didn't get around to it. I'll give that a shot this spring & summer. What you're talking about is the main reason I bought one. I fish a pond in my neighborhood with a lot of small bream. Thought this might match the hatch well. Plus, I figured for only $5 where's the harm in trying it. I have an older 7' MH combo with braid that I threw it on. I just kinda lobbed it instead of trying to force a long cast. It still spins a little at the end of the cast and it's not ideal. There are people catching fish with it on YouTube and they all are at ponds, so there's something to it. The spawn has to be a good time to swim it fast past the beds. 1 Quote
Jagg Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 Yup, sink way to fast and doesn't look natural on slow to even medium retrieve. As others have said, really does helicopter bad, especially in the wind. I just use my SK King Shads now. Quote
Jim72 Posted January 5, 2017 Author Posted January 5, 2017 7 hours ago, the reel ess said: I have an older 7' MH combo with braid that I threw it on. I just kinda lobbed it instead of trying to force a long cast. It still spins a little at the end of the cast and it's not ideal. There are people catching fish with it on YouTube and they all are at ponds, so there's something to it. The spawn has to be a good time to swim it fast past the beds. I have a lot of ponds with bluegill where I live so maybe I will get lucky.i will try it on both casting and my spinning reels to see if one casts better then the other. 1 Quote
Jagg Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 I fish a lot of ponds with healthy bluegill populations and only caught a few on them. The main problem I have is they sink way too fast. I guess they could work better in deep ponds with very little shallow water. That's been when they have produced for me; bringing them in from deep to the first drop off, isolated coontail and milfoil and parallel casting drop offs. SK King Shads seem to work much better with not nearly as much headache. 2 Quote
Hot-N-Tot Posted July 23, 2018 Posted July 23, 2018 I’ve caught a lot of bass on this swimbait. I’ll change out the hooks and clip the point off the back hook that interferes with the tail. No problem with hookups. I use a 7ft medium heavy spinning rod with 10 pound test mono. Sometimes a slow retrieve and sometimes I use it like a wake bait. For the price can’t beat this lure. Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted July 23, 2018 Super User Posted July 23, 2018 One of the few H20 baits I'm not too fond of. Quote
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