BIG bait basics

[AdamV _bassin]

       Many people want to Learn how to throw swimbaits, but are usually intimidated by the price of gear, or simply the size of the lures. My goal is to clear up the muddy waters of swimbaiting for somebody who is just starting out.  The first thing I want to get out there is you can throw  swimbaits anywhere, you could be on the infamous clear lake, golf course ponds in Texas or backwoods lakes in Georgia and you can catch fish and big ones too. As long as your lake/pond/canal  has bass over 4 pounds you can catch fish on a 8 inch bait  (not saying a 2 pounder won't choke down a hudd from time to time).  

So why would you throw big baits in the first place? Well the obvious answer is big baits catch big fish, but you can still catch a ten pounder on a drop shot. So again why would you throw big lures when you can catch big fish on normal tackle? The reason is because big bass would rather eat once than 20 times in a day so if they see a 8" Swaver they are most likely going to want to eat it over a 4" shakyhead. But what if the bass in your pond don't eat big trout or hitch? You may ask, in my opinion this has a very limited effect how effective swimbaits will be. I say this because I've caught many fish in the southeast on trout imitation baits as well as glide baits that don't really imitate any natural forage at all. These baits have drawing power, what I mean by this is if you throw this bait around docks and grass lines big fish will come out of the cover to look at the bait simply because they are curious. Once you have got them out of the cover you and speed your lure, kill it or twitch your glide bait to get a big bass to strike. They is a lot to learn about big baits.

       Now let's talk about gear In my opinion keeping it simple is the way to go. Of course to throw big baits you need some lures, there are many videos and articles online about the best starter swimbaits, but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyways. There are two ways to go, you can either get 100-60ish worth of baits or upwards of 200. First we'll start with the bare minimum a glide bait (Swaver), a bottom bait (Huddleston) and a top water (ms slammer or a knock off version). You may or may not have heard of these baits but I'll try to describe how they work they work and when to use them. Starting with the Swaver this is a slow sinking glidebait, they are called glidebaits for wide s-shaped Gide through the water. This is one of the most versatile swimbaits I know of you can twitch it, count it down, wake it, or chuck and wind it and catch fish on all these retrieves. The Swaver comes in 3 sizes 120,168 and the 200. If you are just starting out go with the 168 it is plenty of bait, but not to heavy to where you can't throw it on a flippin stick, I think the 120 is too small and doesn't have the best glide, as for colors don't stress about it, if there are trout then match the hatch but it not that important. The next bait is the hudd there is not much I can say that hasn't already been told a million times but I would recommend a ROF 5 68 special this is just a soft plastic swimbaits with a subtle natural action that works year round. Again color isn't the biggest deal but if you can match the hatch. The ms slammer or any other top water wake bait should be used in warm water obviously, but there isn't much to it except chucking and winding (for this bait you need a specialized rod). The next few baits I would get if you have more money to spend or more experience after you got the rest I metioned earlier, are a Swaver 200 , 8" Huddleston, Lunker punker and either a Depps 250 or  if you don't want to drop 200 bucks on a bait a the megabass 262T which is about half the price. Most of these baits you can find for cheaper in the forum called Swimbait Underground under the black market. 

For the rod and reel the best setup for people just starting out is a Diawa swimbait rod heavy (this rod can throw a variety of baits) and a shimano Cardiff 300 with 65pound braid and a 20lbs leader. As you get better you want a rod with a more parabolic bend for treble hooks and more back bone to set the hook on the hudds ect. ect.

     If you read through all my rambling great for you! Again I really hope I was able to clear up the water and help out some aspiring swimbaiters! Most of the baits I mentioned are on tackle warehouse, but some are found on swimbait city. The rod is on TW as well. 

Thanks for reading this and tight lines!!

 

[Primus]

Nice write-up. In addition to the baits you have recommended I would also suggest a Bluegill style swimbait as this forage is found throughout the country. 2 of my favorites would be a slow sink Matt lures Hardgill and also the floating version of the Got'Em Coach Bluegill . Tight lines . 

[MassYak85]

Nice post, has a lot of the starting out info that many seem to search for. 

[Big Swimbait]

Great post & excellent recommendations!!!

 

+1 on the Bluegill swimbaits - I like any of the Matt Lures & the Gantarel Jr for about $32.00.

Also in the $50.00 category get a Bull Shad.

[LuckyHandsINC.]

Just got geared up to start throwing swimbaits this year. Very excited.

[Big Swimbait]

1 hour ago, LuckyHandsINC. said:

Just got geared up to start throwing swimbaits this year. Very excited.

 

Welcome to the Dark Side...

 

[Master Bait'r]

Dude.  Paragraphs.  

[AdamV _bassin]

On 4/26/2017 at 0:02 PM, Primus said:

Nice write-up. In addition to the baits you have recommended I would also suggest a Bluegill style swimbait as this forage is found throughout the country. 2 of my favorites would be a slow sink Matt lures Hardgill and also the floating version of the Got'Em Coach Bluegill . Tight lines . 

Thanks for the feedback I would definitely agree, I enjoy throwing the garntarel, and also enjoy the mattlures. 

On 4/26/2017 at 8:41 PM, frosty said:

Good info. I've thrown a few soft plastic swimbaits, under 5", and had a little luck. I got a 6" soft plastic swimbait from mtb, it seems a little crazy in Indiana but I'm going to dedicate some time to throwing it and see what happens. 

Ya! I would definitely recommend throwing it, (i'm guessing its the opitmum boom boom and I love that bait, great for spring)

[frosty]

8 hours ago, AdamV _bassin said:

Ya! I would definitely recommend throwing it, (i'm guessing its the opitmum boom boom and I love that bait, great for spring)

Yes it is. I'll definitely be devoting some time to it.