Are Big Swimbaits Worth it??

[Michigander]

1 hour ago, walleyecrazy said:

That’s one of my favorite things when I fish them. People will look at you like you’re nuts if they have never thrown swimbaits, and they don’t think you can catch average sized bass on them. This bass is lucky if it’s 2 pounds, and that is a 7” glide bait. 

That lure has a beautiful paint job!

[FishTank]

I have two swimbait setups and at first I caught a few fish each time I used them but since then not so much.  It's fun to fish but it can get tiring.  

 

I tried a friends set up originally and a had a nice 4lb LM blow up an 8in Huddleston.  I knew I was hooked at that point.  I will try again this year but I am starting to question my investment. 

[Big Swimbait]

My board name gives me away but I love throwing big baits. It is true that some of the time you're fishing for one or two bites a day. But that could be the fish of a lifetime. But the more I use them and learn how to impart different actions for different baits, I have had many days with 20+ fish - not giants but as the pics in this thread show bass are predators. The little guys will hit a big bait too. The Cardif/iRod combo was my first and it is a great start. I am 100% braid to leader. I had never heard of the Sunline Shooter Defier Armilo line until I read Tom recommending it. It is all I use now for my leaders. More stretch than fluro but less than regular mono for good hooksets but still forgiving for treble hook baits. I highly recommend the 6" Bull Shad, the S-Waver 168, the weedless Hudd 68 and for numbers a rat ! Good luck!

[Jason.Domingo]

Its definitely not a numbers game..its literally a grind. You can go days sometimes weeks without a bite. 

[Hammer 4]

2 hours ago, Jason.Domingo said:

Its definitely not a numbers game..its literally a grind. You can go days sometimes weeks without a bite. 

Well, I've days w/o a bite, but never weeks..I guess it depends on your fishery. Going weeks w/o a bite would give me pains..lol 

[bulldog1935]

We have a trout tailwater in America's 100 Best Trout Streams (I fished with John Ross when he was down here).  Our infrequent, though often massive floods wash stripers over the dam, and they munch the rainbows, especially from the end of folks' fly lines.  Several times tried Castaic rainbow in a known striper pool, pretty much dialing the whole structure, with never a sign of interest.  

One monsoon summer, swinging streamers in the same pool to check for holdover rainbows, brought two stripers to hand (on 5-wt and Hardy click reel - serious work in the high flow).  

Barely got the second one landed before the size 10 streamer gave up.  

Went back with more appropriate fly tackle and slightly stouter streamers, and managed to harvest 7 stripers into fall.  

One friend accidentally landed one on a San Juan worm, and would have been the record, but he ate it.  

(my theory is the striper flared on the baitfish attracted by the SJ worm)

Another friend set the state record striper in the same pool - 37 lbs, 43" - there were five 5 rainbows to 16" in its stomach, but John caught it on a 3" streamer.  

[Jason.Domingo]

10 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Well, I've days w/o a bite, but never weeks..I guess it depends on your fishery. Going weeks w/o a bite would give me pains..lol 

Well the fishery I frequent theres limited bank space. Even worse is that the water fluctuates to really high to really low. On top of that its a trout stocked lake so the banks could be littered with trout anglers especially on days they stock. When the bite is on though its really on.

[crispychurro17]

On 1/29/2021 at 7:09 PM, Big Swimbait said:

My board name gives me away but I love throwing big baits. It is true that some of the time you're fishing for one or two bites a day. But that could be the fish of a lifetime. But the more I use them and learn how to impart different actions for different baits, I have had many days with 20+ fish - not giants but as the pics in this thread show bass are predators. The little guys will hit a big bait too. The Cardif/iRod combo was my first and it is a great start. I am 100% braid to leader. I had never heard of the Sunline Shooter Defier Armilo line until I read Tom recommending it. It is all I use now for my leaders. More stretch than fluro but less than regular mono for good hooksets but still forgiving for treble hook baits. I highly recommend the 6" Bull Shad, the S-Waver 168, the weedless Hudd 68 and for numbers a rat ! Good luck!

Biting the bullet this Friday picking up a irod, but I'm stuck on reels the Cardiff is good I'm sure but I was looking at either a tranx or lexa 

[Bluebasser86]

12 minutes ago, crispychurro17 said:

Biting the bullet this Friday picking up a irod, but I'm stuck on reels the Cardiff is good I'm sure but I was looking at either a tranx or lexa 

I'd go Tranx of those 2, and I'm a Daiwa guy ?‍♂️

[PhishLI]

45 minutes ago, crispychurro17 said:

I was looking at either a tranx or lexa 

If you're using heavy mono mainline take a look at the Tatula 300. It's currently my favorite 300 sized reel. A beast. Both the Tranx 300 and the Tatula 300 are a nice step up from the Lexa.

[crispychurro17]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

If you're using heavy mono mainline take a look at the Tatula 300. It's currently my favorite 300 sized reel. A beast. Both the Tranx 300 and the Tatula 300 are a nice step up from the Lexa.

Is the tatula 300 saltwater ready? I was also looking into that one wanted to use this set up for both salt and fresh water 

 

I was looking into the kaimana series of irod but I figured save the 50 bucks and go with the genesis 3 and get either the tranx, tatula, or lexa

[ATA]

On 1/28/2021 at 11:12 AM, WRB said:

Shimano Cardiff 300A with Dobyns FR806

X2, I am agree with that, best choice for starter

[Darth-Baiter]

Bulldog talking about big swimbaits? 

[Big Hands]

21 hours ago, crispychurro17 said:

Is the tatula 300 saltwater ready? I was also looking into that one wanted to use this set up for both salt and fresh water 

 

I was looking into the kaimana series of irod but I figured save the 50 bucks and go with the genesis 3 and get either the tranx, tatula, or lexa

If salt is in play, I would go Lexa or Tranx. They are designed for that environment. I'm generally a Daiwa guy, but I went with the Tranx. The physical size alone was a big factor in that. My 400 Tranx is the the size of a 300 Lexa.

 

If I had it to do over again, I might go with a round reel or a Tatula 300 or a Curado 300 (and a lighter weight rod) since I have no plans to expose that rig to saltwater. Maybe I'll add a lighter duty rig to the quiver with that size reel and a rod that isn't quite the stud-stick that my Phenix PSW869H is. That big gear with a magnum swimbait will wear you out.

[crispychurro17]

13 hours ago, Big Hands said:

If salt is in play, I would go Lexa or Tranx. They are designed for that environment. I'm generally a Daiwa guy, but I went with the Tranx

if I'm going Tranx ill probably go with the 200 size i never plan on throwing anything over 4 -5 ounces 

But im just getting started dont wanna spend almost 500 dollars on something i may or may not enjoy lol so lexa is looking more and more appealing

[J Francho]

46 minutes ago, crispychurro17 said:

But im just getting started dont wanna spend almost 500 dollars on something i may or may not enjoy lol so lexa is looking more and more appealing

They're about the same price?

[crispychurro17]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

They're about the same price?

tranx 200 cost $200 and the 300 cost like 301 after tax and to a 18 year old like me thats big difference lol

 

[ajschn06]

I have seen a lot of the swimbait specific rods having a more moderate action.  Are these specific to the treble hooked swimbaits?  I’m looking to throw something like a 6” hudd and wondering if I’ll want something with a fast action for those?

[J Francho]

32 minutes ago, crispychurro17 said:

tranx 200 cost $200 and the 300 cost like 301 after tax and to a 18 year old like me thats big difference lol

 

It sounded like you were comparing the price of a Lexa with a Tranx.  $200-300 ain't cheap for anyone at any age.

[crispychurro17]

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

It sounded like you were comparing the price of a Lexa with a Tranx.  $200-300 ain't cheap for anyone at any age.

i re-read and you're right lol it seems like im comparing the 2 and you got that right lol its a bitter sweet moment exchanging money for fishing gear ?

[JustJames]

If you are not even sure, you are gonna like big swimbait why don’t you start with something cheap enough like @WRBmention, shimano Cardiff 200-300. Big swimbait is not only cost but also time consuming and really need some dedication. You can kiss good bye to those 5-10 bass/day. Some might go day, week or even month to get one good bite. 

[crispychurro17]

Im sure ill enjoy it lol ive been wanting to get into a for a while and maaaaaaaaan i wish i had 5-10 bass/day these L.A ponds are so tough its painful lol so i'd rather chase the bigger fish in these city ponds. Maybe i just suck lol but good days for me are catching 2-3 half pounders 

Ive caught some nice fish in these ponds so im willing to give up those 2-3 half pound to a pound fish for that 3-4lber in there

[JustJames]

If you are strictly fishing LA pond, and you are targeting 3-4lb bass, I would recommend you rethink it. You don’t need big swimbait to catch 4-5lb fish. Most of the swimbait guys I know, they are sick of catching those 4-5lb bass and searching for instead Trophy bass. It might be cheaper and even more effective if you start with something smaller and still able to catch bigger fish like chatter bait, 4-5” paddle tail swimbait or even Jig.

[crispychurro17]

4 minutes ago, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

If you are strictly fishing LA pond, and you are targeting 3-4lb bass, I would recommend you rethink it. You don’t need big swimbait to catch 4-5lb fish. Most of the swimbait guys I know, they are sick of catching those 4-5lb bass and searching for instead Trophy bass. It might be cheaper and even more effective if you start with something smaller and still able to catch bigger fish like chatter bait, 4-5” paddle tail swimbait or even Jig.

i agree 100% but i dont fish strictly freshwater and want to expand what i fish and where i fish, ive been doing more saltwater than fresh recently and really just want to expand my knowledge on different types of fishing ? figured might as well stop thinking about it and just do it

[Mr. Aquarium]

I went out yesterday  in Massachusetts Fished a jerkbait got one fish. No other hits on a jerkbait but I tried out a new 9 inch swimbait, got nailed. Missed a good fish and had another whack on this new bait.   The day before I was ice fishing on 5 inches of 5 miles away from the pond I hit yesterday’.  I had another whack on a smaller 5 inch swimbait.