Swimbaits- In reply to Bassn Blvd

[fourbizz]

Well I am sure that this will seem like a vague, cop-out answer, but....

Asking someone how to swimbait is just like asking someone how to bass fish. There is no one way. It is a technique that is HUGE in scope. Just about as diverse as "traditional" bass fishing. I, at least, fish from 1foot of water up to 100 feet of water. Surface, mid-column, and on the bottom. You can deadstick, stitch,slow roll, moderate retrieve, and burn them. Twitching, hopping, directional changes, cover/structure collision..... Man I could go on, and on, and on, doing absolutely nothing to help you :-/

Now you fish in florida and from what little I know of Florida fishing in general and what I have seen from your outings posts, we are talking about shallow water, lots of grass, and some docks thrown in. We have 2 waterways here that fit that description pretty well in the California Delta and Clear Lake. I throw a scant handful of baits at these waterways. I do not fish either of them much, mind, but the first tourney I ever fished was on the Delta and was an 82 boat team tourney, we won, swimbaits in hand.

I like to relate big baits to traditional baits when I am describing their application to guys just starting out. I'll just relate my key baits for the Delta and Clear Lake. In order of preference.

• #1 3:16 Lure Company Mission Fish-7"
      My go to bait. I fish this in two distinctively different ways that I     relate to a jig and a spinnerbait. I like to flip it to key spots, let it sink, shake it, hop it. You can do this all the way back to the boat or just target the primo spots and burn it back. Anywhere you might throw a jig, you can fish a mission fish there, in much the same way. My favorite way to fish them, is much like a spinnerbait. A fairly fast, midcolumn retrieve going through and over any cover you can find, this bait is as weedless as it gets. The bites are savage when fishing like this. Bumping cover and ripping it free of grass (much like a ratl trap) really bumps up your number of bites.
  
• #2 3:16 Wake Jr.
      Now this is fun right here. Wakebaits are my favorite way to catch big fish. Now I realize that is an expensive bait, but it is by far my favorite. The MS Slammer, AC Minnow, and Mattlures Woody, are all more budget friendly and get bit too. But regardless of which you buy, the application is same. Think spook. If the conditions scream SPOOK! then big fish are aching to get poked on a wakebait. Just a slow steady retrieve with OCCASIONAL pauses or twitches will get you bit. Obviously the closer you get to the ambush spot, the better, but fish will travel A LONG WAY to eat a wake bait. (got on a bite last year where fish were suspending 25-35ft down over 100, and would come up to eat the wake jr!)
  
• #3 Osprey Talon/ 3:16 Rising Son
      I don't fish these nearly as much as the two above, but they sure do work. If I were to relate them to something, it would probably be a shallow crank. These baits are not weedless, but they run comfortably from surface to about 3ft down. Great for running over the tops of weedbeds or along outside weedlines. A very slow retrieve seems best as the baits tend to roll if you move too quickly. Works well for pulling fish out from under deeper docks that you can skip under, or even parallel.
  

Those are really the only baits I throw at the places that resemble my idea of Florida. As I have mentioned before, I dont believe that the "paddletail tube" and knockoffs are big fish baits at all. Frankly, I think they are a waste of money/time. If I am gonna pay big bait prices, I want big bait results. And as much as I have bellowed it out in the past, I will say it again, have the proper equipment! I know someone who tried throwing an 8" bait on a MH rod when he first started, it cost him no fewer than 15 double digit bass. I wouldnt even be able to stomach 1 DD loss if it was due to my refusal to use the correct gear. Big rod, big reel, big line, big fish, big fun.

I dont know if that is any help whatsoever. But if Mattlures or Randall would like to chime in, they could probably help all of us

[Branuss04]

 Nice info.

[Bassn Blvd]

Thank you very much for the help/advice.  I think you did a good job answering my question.  I use big artificial and swimbaits for Snook so I definitely have the right equipment. I guess I grew up just using the "traditional" bass lures and never thought about going BIG for bass.  One thing I have noticed though is there are a few techniques and baits that are relatively new to bass fishing (or just becoming popular) that have been used for YEARS in saltwater.

I guess the bottom line is that I just have to get out there and try'em for myself and practice different techniques.  

Thanks again for the post.

[preach4bass]

Great post 4bizz.  You could easily turn this into an article for BR.

[jrhennecke]

Very good post! I think 3:16 lure company just sold some baits.

[Mattlures]

Bizz I cant add a whole lot to what you said. I dont know Florida either and I agree with every thing you said. Of course I would throw my baits in there but I am bias but I do get reports from a lot guys down in FL. I do think you might have forgotten a good bait for FL. I think the 6in Hudd in ROF5 golden shinner color would also be a good choice.

[fourbizz]

  Quote

Bizz I cant add a whole lot to what you said. I dont know Florida either and I agree with every thing you said. Of course I would throw my baits in there but I am bias but I do get reports from a lot guys down in FL. I do think you might have forgotten a good bait for FL. I think the 6in Hudd in ROF5 golden shinner color would also be a good choice.

Haven't fished the 6" enough yet to say, but that bait IS sick!

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

great post

[Catt]

That went into the safety deposit box  

[Bassnajr]

To quote Mark Zona, the way to fish a swimbait is "Just fish it!!!"

bassnajr

[grimlin]

  Quote

That went into the safety deposit box  

X2 Definely learned some more swimbait stuff.Trying to pack in all that knowledge out there.

[Catt]

A couple people have asked about this post so I'm bumping it back to the top  

[surfer]

Great info.  Thanks for the descriptions and specific bait knowledge.  Can I ask you to add one more recommendation to the Florida baits?  I have a favorite spot that is a 9 to 12 ft deep eel grass flat with 15 ft visibility.  Do you have a recommended bait for that depth.

[Tpayneful]

I bumped a Mattlures Baby Bass off of stumps on a moderate retreive at Stick Marsh / Farm 13 to catch nice fish.  I was catching fish in 2- 3' of water.  It was the first time that I had used the lure and had my first fish in the first 10 casts!  Yes they will work in Florida!

[bpm2000]

Wats up biz.  Do u ever deadstick the wake jr?  Deadsticking and slapping the tail was my favorite tech with the baby wake.  What kind of conditions do u look for if you do?  I just kinda randomly did it to tell you the truth next to good looking cover.

Funny how the wake jr looks small now too  ;D.

[Jimzee]

Well done Fourbizz.  This one went into my favorites section as well.