Best Split Belly Swimbaits

[The Pond King]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking for swimbaits with a belly slot for texas rigging. In the past, I have used Zoom's Swimming Fluke, but I am interested in finding out about others. I want to be able to Texas rig swimbaits so that I can throw it into rip raps without having to worry about snagging them often. I personally wouldn't Texas rig full body swimbaits because it has too much plastic for the hooks to go through, and I believe it lowers the hook up ratio. I'm looking for the 5" (and up to 7") sizes specifically. I'm also don't want a skinny swimbait like the Keitechs. I want a full bodied swimbait similar to the profile of a Big Hammer swimbait but one that has a belly slot. My friend showed me some P-Line Kick'r Minnows he bought, and they looked great.

 

I see a lot of swimbaits in the market and have tried filtering them on sites to find the ones that have a split belly to no avail. There is no feature to filter out swimbaits that have a split belly, and the descriptions don't always say they have them even when they actually do. One more thing, I'm looking for a decent quality swimbait, but at the same time, has a reasonable cost. Cost is actually more of a factor in this case because I will be throwing these lures into some snaggy shorelines parallel to rockwalls and expect to lose lures. So the cheaper the better. 

 

I'm all ears to hear your guy's recommendations!

[ThePolkFolk]

Want big profile? Go Gambler Big EZ.

Personally I wouldn't worry about the belly slit.

There are other ways to go ultra weedless without sacrificing hook up ratio.

I prefer using the screwlock hooks but that is not necessary.

[Damn Yankee]

Maybe Yum money minnows, pretty sure they are slit.

Good luck. 

[fishballer06]

The Keitech SIF isn't split belly, but it does have a notch in the back to hide the hook. I run them through thick grass all the time without any issues. 

 

If you insist on a split belly, the big/skinny/little dippers from RI are great baits as well.

[Munkin]

While the PLine minnows are one of my favorite baits they are neither cheap or durable.  Look into some Zman elastic baits for durability. 

[WRB]

X-Acto knife.

Tom

[Big Swimbait]

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Fringe_Tackle_Company_Swimbaits/catpage-FTCSB.html

 

Better yet, message Jeff on FB and BEG him to make another custom run of his bream (I'm down to my last 2).

[ib_of_the_damned]

I would suggest the Keitech Swing Impact Fat, there isn't a split belly on them but there are recessed areas for the hook to ride in. Also the Missile Baits Shockwave swimbaits are pretty good, they have the belly slit. They are narrow but have a nice profile. 

 

[RoLo]

 

The 'Berkley Split-Belly' was a soft swimbait that provided what you're looking for,

but it was not well-received by anglers and has been discontinued.

 

Rather than an open split, a few soft swimbaits come with a top slot where you can hide an exposed point.

One such swimbait is the Gambler Big EZ, which I throw.

I use braided line so I bury the point in plastic for maximum weedlessness, and ignore the top slot.

 

Roger

[Raul]

14 hours ago, WRB said:

X-Acto knife.

Tom

 

 

Don't got no slit  ---> voilá, now it has one.

 

[frosty]

Zoom swimming fluke and Yamamoto heart tail shad have caught me fish. The Yamamoto isn't slit per say but it's got a hollow belly that accomplishes what you're wanting. 

[smalljaw67]

7 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

The 'Berkley Split-Belly' was a soft swimbait that provided what you're looking for,

but it was not well-received by anglers and has been discontinued.

 

Rather than an open split, a few soft swimbaits come with a top slot where you can hide an exposed point.

One such swimbait is the Gambler Big EZ, which I throw.

I use braided line though, and bury the point for maximal weedlessness, and ignore the top slot.

 

Roger

 

This^^^^^^^ !!!!  I have a bunch of the Berkley Split Belly swimbaits and I like using them with a weighted hook better than the hollow belly type or solid baits which I like fishing on a jig head. You can probably find the split belly baits on ebay but if not the Gambler Big EZ is exactly what you want. It isn't split all the way through, instead it has like deep groove that serves the purpose you need the split belly for, and that is to make it easier on hook sets. The only reason I know about that bait is my buddy uses it to fish lily pads and spatterdock instead of a frog, he Texas rigs it with a 1/8oz bullet weight and pegs the weight and if the fish don't come up to hit it he will stop reeling and let it fall in the holes, it actually works well and is more versatile than the old Berkley Split Tail.

[bowhunter63]

Zoom swimming fluke x2

[The Pond King]

Thanks for the great suggestions guys! I did some research on all of the baits you guys recommended. So far, I really like the Gambler EZ and Reaction Innovations Big Dipper. Those will definitely be a couple I will try. Would love to hear some others. I'm all ears. 

[wdp]

Netbait and Castaic both make a split belly swimbait. I've used both with keel weighted swimbait hooks and they work well. 

[fishwizzard]

I have tried the RI Big Dipper and am not sure what I am supposed to do with it.  I have tried it both weightless and weighted large swimbait hooks and both ways the lure has no real "action".  It just kinda flops around and has a very very hard side to side roll.  What specific hooks are you guys fishing them on and what sort of action are you getting"

[Airman4754]

I like the Robo EZ-Shads.

[David P]

I fished the Rising Son for many years, great bait and large profile. Something slightly smaller and cheaper, I just started playing with the Miyagi Swimmer last month and it's become my new go to under 6" soft swimbait. 3 Pack for $7 and great colors. 

[The Pond King]

On 5/14/2017 at 5:01 PM, Bunnielab said:

I have tried the RI Big Dipper and am not sure what I am supposed to do with it.  I have tried it both weightless and weighted large swimbait hooks and both ways the lure has no real "action".  It just kinda flops around and has a very very hard side to side roll.  What specific hooks are you guys fishing them on and what sort of action are you getting"

 

I plan on Texas rigging them with the bullet weight pegged with a heavy wire 4/0-5/0 EWG hook. I've in SF Bay Area, so I target saltwater species as well as bass. So, I actually plan on using heavier 1/2oz - 1oz bullet weights, and use them to catch lingcods at the jetty. 

 

21 hours ago, David P said:

I fished the Rising Son for many years, great bait and large profile. Something slightly smaller and cheaper, I just started playing with the Miyagi Swimmer last month and it's become my new go to under 6" soft swimbait. 3 Pack for $7 and great colors. 

 

Beautiful baits!

[d-camarena]

My go to has been the strike king shadalicious. I slit the belly my self

[David P]

Those Miyagi Swimmers have an extra deep hook pocket. I used to use the Little Creeper Trash fish and had to cut the pocket myself as well.