The mindset of fishing for big bass

[Keithscatch]

As many of you know I know fish on the Stick Marsh/Farm 13. Probably Florida's best chance at producing a 10+ or even a teen bass. I have been considering buying a Huddleston for instance just to see if fish will hit this large of a lure here. Well, I tookk Avid fishing with me a few weekends ago and low and behold he has one. So I got to see it up close and personal. I was really impressed with it and it is big   However, the way the double hook hangs down would never and I mean never fly at the Stick Marsh or Farm 13,. Apparently out in California you guys don't have wood of any kind and probably fish deep rocky type lakes. Well, that lure is made for open coverless water. Fished anywhere near stumps or laydowns and that thing would last all of 2 casts haha.

So, what other options would I have then? Matt's lures have hooks on top which I think are the only option here. Anything hanging underneath the lure would never work in this lake. I will probably get a male perch from Matt before our spawn in November and December so I will be saving up for that. What other swimbait options would work in a shallow lake of less then 6 feet that has allot of wood in it? I am thinking of a soft bodied swimbait option. I will be making my own hard bodied jointed option that is probably 9" long or so. Maybe 10". I would buy one but the prices are just so out rageous that I just can't see myself ever paying as much as some folks want for their lures. But if anyone knows of any reasonably priced hard floating swimbaits then let me know. When I say reasonable I would say in the $30 or below range and even more so in the $20 or less range. Otherwise I will just make my own.

[fourbizz]

I think that you should use a a Hudd. ROF 5 so it stays shallow. Don't run a hook off of the belly hanger. Run a treble off of the line tie using sevenstrand cable. this keeps the hook on top and  the bait shallow. If I was in florida, I would run either the silver, or brown back colors, rigged as above. Also the AC plugs manufactured by optimum are a pretty good cheap hardbait option.

9" 29.99 at TW.

7" 24.99 at TW

[Captain Cali]

I think that you should use a a Hudd. ROF 5 so it stays shallow. Don't run a hook off of the belly hanger. Run a treble off of the line tie using sevenstrand cable. this keeps the hook on top and  the bait shallow. If I was in florida, I would run either the silver, or brown back colors, rigged as above.

That's great advice! I have thought about rigging a 5 like that since I fish from the bank 99% of the time. Looks like I need to pick up some 7strand and some big trebles.

[Keithscatch]

FB, you mean the treble hook is stuck on the top of the bait? I am not sure I am following you if not. Can you post a picture of this rigged this way. Also, what is a ROF 5? Never heard of it.

Thanks.

[Captain Cali]

Keith,

Yes, he means the trebles would be on the top/back of the bait. A picture would explain better.

ROF means Rate Of Fall per 10 seconds. Huddlestons come in 3 ROF's. ROF 5 falls 5 feet for every 10 seconds. ROF 12 falls 12 feet and a ROF 16 will fall 16 feet in 10 seconds.

The 5 falls parallel to the the bottom while the 12 & 16 fall nose first. Click the link below to see a better explaination:

http://www.huddlestondeluxe.com/generic34.html;$sessionid$BSU4EGYAABRZTTZENUFJPQWPERWRJPX0

There used to be a ROF 0 for topwater fishing but those are not in production anymore.

[biteme]

Hmm I must be doing something wrong. If I put the hooks any other place then this spot it swims funny.

http://www.swimbaitnation.com/huddlestonrigging.html

[fourbizz]

I just realized that it made it sound like I wouldn't use Matt's lures. I think that they will work great. I have a little bit of troube fishing the bass in heavy cover, but the shape of the bluegill, IMO helps keep it from snagging. I think Matt's baits are the best bait to gain confidence in when you start, and an indispensible tool later.

I just wanted to show how you could fish a Huddleston in your specific situation. The hudd colors aren't great unless you fish the trout. In trout free waters, matt's colors are far superior.  His six inch trout will outperform Hudds under certain conditions as well.

Keith:

As far as building your own bait:

I have built my own and I am very happy with the results. Without the tools ( I am a carpenter) It would be very time consuming and tedious. By the time I bought hardware and painting supplies, I had spent more than a pre-fab bait would have cost me. I have one of these baits, they are real big, but pretty cheap. They are 11" , I've never been bit on it, but I haven't really threw it. http://www.muskyinnovations.com/images/hot%20headtop.jpg

[fourbizz]

Hmm I must be doing something wrong. If I put the hooks any other place then this spot it swims funny.

http://www.swimbaitnation.com/huddlestonrigging.html

I don't use frog hooks. But I haven't had any problems with placing trebles along the back or belly.

[Guest avid]

www.swimbaitnation.com is a very cool website.  Dedicated to trophy bass lures and different ways to rig baits.  It's a fun site to visit and you can learn alot about that "big bass mindset" we talk about here so often.

[Keithscatch]

FB, I know what you mean about buying stuff to make your own lures. I already bought the stuff as I have made a few baits already. I posted them in the tacklemaking section a while back. Most of the fun to me is making them. My best talent is art not fishing or selling which is what I do for a living. I would prefer to use my art talents but alas for now anyway, I am unable to. So every now and then I get an itch to make things. I start from scratch too and make stuff. Those lures you posted several posts up do not look worthy of $30 in my opinion. I honestly believe I can make a better looking hard bait then the ones you posted. So I will have to do that and post my product when I am done.

Thanks for the help though. Swimbaits are not my thing. Have any of you ever used those large swimbaits that are just bodies that require you to use a large jig head in them? I have several of those that are easily 6 or 7 inches and look darn sweet if you ask me. What size jighead should I match those with?

[Lightninrod]

I would have to agree with Mattlures, that regardless of the state you can catch big bass. I throw a lot of 6" Storm Swimshad in Ontario and frequently catch good sized bass on them. I have caught 20 smallmouth in a few hours on this bait, with about a 2lb average. Largemouth will eat it too up here.

I also have a question for Mattlures. I find that the largest of the bass seem to follow the lure to the boat then turn around and swim away. What is the best way to convert these followers to strikes.

Cody

Cody:  Read this short article a couple of times.  It's not "the" answer to your question but it offers some possibilities.

Some swimbaiters(as well as non-swimbaiters ) will tell you to look BELOW and then behind your bait as it gets to the boat, looking for a follower(s).  If there's one there, pointing your rod downward and making the bait swim in a figure '8' may excite the follower enough to bite.  Better have a good rod and a smooth drag reel with stout line and knot if that follower hits though  I'd back off on the drag a tad too in that situation.

Dan

[Gotta Love It]

I am buying one of these!!!  30" of swimbait and some guy said he caught a 100lb bass with it...

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=69777&hvarSearchValue2=248&hvarSearchValue3=917&hvarSearchValue4=01&hvarTarget=search&AFID=&sourceid=&cmCat=SEARCHRESULTS

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[baitandtackle]

gotta love it, let us know if it works  ;D ;D ;D ;D

[GAMEOVER]

Matt, I truely admire your swimbaits and I do plan to purchase a couple just to have but in all honesty I cannot picture myself fishing with such a thing all the time. For one your lures are just so realistic that I dont feel it would present enough challenge for me to really get into them as I do other baits. Id like to encourage you to make some other baits aside from swim baits but include your level of quality at a reasonable price. Im talking about crankbaits and jerkbaits primarly. Take your time and do some R&D and come out with solid baits in the categorys I mentioned above that look just as amazing as your swimbaits. I for one would buy them off you if they met my needs like the Rapala DT series (crankbaits) does and the Lucky Craft lures (jerkbaits) do just for the fact their made in the USA and by the so called "little-man".

[BD]

I regularly catch big fish on jigs and big worms. (5lbs up)

With that being said, I fish alot more than most too, and OWN matt's swimbaits. I also agree with Matt's post. There is only ONE reason I have not thrown my baby bass lures often....I don't want to loose them. I have caught however nice fish off his lures, even a 2 lb bass EXPLODED on one, so they will catch 'smaller' fish too.

If I had the money to afford to loose them often, Matt/gang/etc I can swear to you, I would throw these solely as well.

[Lightninrod]

I regularly catch big fish on jigs and big worms. (5lbs up)

With that being said, I fish alot more than most too, and OWN matt's swimbaits. I also agree with Matt's post. There is only ONE reason I have not thrown my baby bass lures often....I don't want to loose them. I have caught however nice fish off his lures, even a 2 lb bass EXPLODED on one, so they will catch 'smaller' fish too.

If I had the money to afford to loose them often, Matt/gang/etc I can swear to you, I would throw these solely as well.

I get my Matt's swimbaits unsnagged with one of these.  It works for all baits and has saved me mucho $$$.  I do not attach a treble hook to the belly hanger on his baits.  The stock hook usually sticks them in the roof of their mouth.

Dan

[fourbizz]

I dont use the exact same one, but fundamentally mine is the same as Dan's. Definitely a good thing to have on board, and it has payed for itself a few times over.

[BASS fisherman]

Dont those lure retrievers only work from a boat?  From shore I heard they are useless, therefore requireing a big pole with a corkscrew type of thing on the end.  How exactly does that wind up lure retriever work?  Do you tangle the chain in the hook and then rip it out of the snagged material?  I am confused as to how they work.

[GeneinTX]

Man, I am glad that I don't have the big bass mind set.

Sounds like a great way to miss a lot of good fishing to me.