Northern Swimbait Fishing

[MR. Fisherman]

Hello all, I'm what people's experiences have been like regarding swimbait fishing (6-8 inch baits more or less). I want to get more into it, but I'm afraid I live a little too north to be around big swimbait eating bass. Any knowledge would be much appreciated, 

 

Tight lines,

Marinus

[MR. Fisherman]

I guess it should also be noted I fish for largemouth often, and smallmouth when I can find them.

[Kirtley Howe]

Have you ever used a large Zara Spook? How about a size 13 Rapala? Or a 6" or 8" worm? If fish eat those, why would they not eat 6" or 8" Swimbait? Don't be afraid to use a large swimbait in Northern waters...

[Mr. Aquarium]

I fish in MA. I love swimbait fishing. I tend to stick with wake baits 6-9 inches.  5-7 inches soft baits and 8 inch glide baits.  They work year round. I’ve caught wake bait bass in middle of winter.    A 3lber will absolutely nail a big wake bait.  My biggest is 8-2 I caught on a DS 8 inch glide bait. There’s big bass to be caught! 

[WRB]

You need swimbait rod for the heavier lures over 2 oz.

Hard swimbaits, wake baits, glides and soft lures as noted above should work OK.

Animals including fish don’t know their own size and will try to strike big lures. 
Bass may turn away the last second unwilling to strike at that moment so watch closely for followers.

If you have musky and pike be prepared for toothy fish!

Tom

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Just be prepared to get into a whole new form of Bass fishing.    There is a level of commitment and effort that comes with big swimbaits that many I'm sure aren't expecting.   Are you willing to chunk a 2-3oz bait for hours on end, sometimes for only a follower or two.

 

It's super addictive and requires special gear and expensive lures.   More than worth it imho though.

 

As for your question itself, while I don't live in the north, I've seen enough people on here slay up there with them to know they work.   I also know any size Bass will strike a swimbait, they are just hardwired to be aggressive.   

 

Again just be prepared to go down the rabbit hole as you can't really just touch your toes into the water with big swimbaits.  

 

 

[PhishLI]

15 hours ago, MR. Fisherman said:

Hello all, I'm what people's experiences have been like regarding swimbait fishing (6-8 inch baits more or less)

They work up here in the north. Even a 2lb bass will try to eat those quite often. It's a myth that big baits weed out smaller bass. Buy some and try them, but at the same time don't neglect buying and trying 4"-5" class hard baits also, and let your fish tell you what they're most interested in at the moment. A 5-7lb bass that's in a feeding mode will eat a crappie magnet, so they're quite happy to eat a 4" hard swimbait if it's presented properly. 4" may sound small, but they're not really all that small compared to conventional bass baits like 1.5-2.5 sized cranks, so they have drawing power. Additionally, they're a manageable meal for bass when the water is in the 30's and low 40's where they're metabolism is very slow. During my last two trips in 37*-38* water, every bite and fish caught came on a 4" Spro BBZ-1 Shad Floater weighted down for an ultra-slow sink and worked back as slowly as humanly possible. It was the most interesting bait to the fish. Nothing else even got a sniff.

[WIGuide]

They'll still work. I've caught 10" bass on 12" worms. As Tom stated, bass don't know their own size so they will try to eat things bigger than they can handle. Around here musky fishermen catch some big bass, both largemouth and smallmouth while throwing musky baits. It doesn't happen all the time, but often enough and those baits are far larger than the 6-8" range. 

[softwateronly]

Agree with everyone else before me, the crazy thing after throwing swim baits for a few years is how I never think about 6” baits as special anymore. Bass up north will all hit a bait that size. I think @8” is where you start limiting bites. 
 

scott

[dgkasper58]

I agree with everything said above.  I would say I fish MI more than IL and I use 6-8" often and catch many shapes and sizes.  Very surprised at the amount of small fish too.  You definitely need to have patience and I have the most luck in early spring and then at night throughout summer.  I do wish I had FFS to watch and see what I am potentially missing though!

 

The big issue for me is the amount of Pike I get when targeting LM bass.  It can get EXPENSIVE quick...

[Reel]

I live north of every body else that commented and I agree with what was said.  I regularly catch bass, smallmouth and largemouth on 5 inchs and bigger swimbaits.  This is specially true during summer and fall.  A lot of bass feed on perch and most of them are that size. 

[Fried Lemons]

Yes, they do work on northern strain bass. The easiest way to get into it in my opinion is with a wakebait like a MS Slammer or a Spro rat. It's extremely simple to fish these types of lures. Cast it out over a likely spot and slowly reel it in. Play with the cadence, throw in some pauses and twitch it in place. This is more of a warm water technique but the New England guys make it work starting from ice out.

[JediAmoeba]

Northern swimbait fishing is great...

[MR. Fisherman]

Thank you guys for the affirmation, I took a fairly significant financial leap for a college student, and wanted to make sure the new rod, reel and baits were actually going to produce. Guess I'll just keep throwing it and wait for the bite to tell me what they like.

[Hammer 4]

JFYI, fishing big swimbaits like 8" Hudd, ect, try to think like a bait fish, i.e. don't just cast and start winding, pauses and little twitches can go a long way to hooking the big girls.

Also don't rule out SLOWLY working a 6 or 8" soft bait along the bottom to mimic a feeding fish, this makes your bait an easy target for bigger bass, as the really big girls would rather ambush a bait than to have to chase it.

This technique requires COMMITMENT, you may get skunked often, but keep at it.  

[Primus]

On 3/14/2023 at 8:40 PM, MR. Fisherman said:

Hello all, I'm what people's experiences have been like regarding swimbait fishing (6-8 inch baits more or less). I want to get more into it, but I'm afraid I live a little too north to be around big swimbait eating bass. Any knowledge would be much appreciated, 

 

Tight lines,

Marinus

 

I live in SW Michigan and been throwing them for years and am very confident throwing them when they are used in the right situation . The most consistent thing for me from Spring through fall are soft swimbaits , that said each category is it's own rabbit hole. Even though I live in smallmouth country I mainly target largemouth on inland lakes as I feel that it fits my fishing style more . We are approaching what is in my opinion my favorite time of year for fishing these type of baits , especially once the water temps start hitting the high 40's and when it's in the 50's then it's go time. 

 

Starting with the spring season , this is the time when I have my most success with the 7"-9 " size lures and I focus mainly on Glide baits and soft swimbaits. Keep in mind , if you are getting bit on a jerkbait in staging areas a Glide bait will probably work 8 times out of 10 during the same situation . This is a great time to also be throwing lures like the 8" Magdraft which makes a great 1-2 punch for me . Generally wind is your friend , fishing during a warming trend with a nice breeze tend to be my best days but always keep an open mind .

 

Once the weeds, lily pads etc start emerging in shallow water then I tend to throw a lot of soft swimbaits with beast hooks or baits like the weedless Hudd 68 which is another favorite of mine.  The last couple of years the Beast Coast Creep has been killer for me and the Little Creeper baits always contribute and don't sleep on their little Bluegill bait. That one is killer ! This is also the time I will start sneaking in wake baits , a real good one that is not expensive is the 6 " Fish lab Bio Wake. I tend to use the hard wakes on overcast days and the soft wakes when it's sunny . Another good one for fishing in shallow water are the 3:16 soft lures . The bigger one is called Rising Son , when it's calm and the fish are spooky I will often throw the Minnow which is a smaller profile. 

 

These are a few quick random thoughts as I now I gotta get ready for work , that said don't be afraid to throw 'em and you will get more bites than you think especially in this part of the country as there is not as many fishermen  up here utilizing bigger baits like they do on the west coast where it's more ingrained into their fishing culture so it presents a lot of opportunity to differentiate yourself from a large percentage of fisherman in our area and they are a blast to fish. Good luck.