Ok you swim bait boys

[Catt]

I've got the rod, I've got the reel, & I've got the bait  

I'm sitting on a deep water hump, ridge, or creek channel

Now what?  

Tell me what techniques work?

Do I just chunk & reel?

[Guest avid]

I hardly consider myself a "swimbait guy"  but my understanding of the technique is pretty much what you said.  Of course you might want to be selective about the "where"  known big fish areas are the place to experiment at first.  Swimbaits often come with basic fishing instructions.  Usually a slow steady retrieve, but I suppose different baits may have other suggestions.

which bait?

OH, I know alot of guys who will slow troll a swimbait while "power fishing" with crankbaits or other fast presentations.

Just remember that once you get the bait far enough behind the boat to set the drag as light as possible.

Hate to loose that equipment.

good luck, have fun, and let us know how your  doing.

avid

[Supermat]

Obviously there are a lot of things that will come with time but yes,  basically you just chuck and wind. You want that bait cruzing along just screaming, "I'm a dumb fish, come eat me!"

[burleytog]

Make that bait look like the dumbest fish in the history of fish.

[Catt]

That's it? What's up you big bass guys don't share?

[Infidel.]

All of my big bait fish have come by either dead sticking or waking the bait just off the shore.

I have never caught one doing the ol' chuck and reel.  But a lot of people do.

[Raul]

That's it? What's up you big bass guys don't share?

What bait ?

[Supermat]

For the most part, no, we don't. But the truth is, CHUCK AND WIND. You overthink it, you hurt yourself. Its 60 percent confidence, 30 percent skill, and 10% right place, right time.

[senile1]

Catt, I'm glad you started this thread.  I'm really wanting to up my personal best this year and I was thinking about purchasing some bluegill swimbaits by Mattlures, or possibly a shad swimbait.  I normally catch my biggest fish with big plastics and jigs, but this year I'm expanding my repertoire.  So I'm curious about this as well though I don't know how well these will work in our Missouri waters.  Ten lb fish are rare here, but an 8 or 9 lb'er will do for now.  

[Raul]

A 6" swimbait is just a good size chunk for a self respecting 3 lb northern strain bass. You 'll get a big bunch of 2-3 pounders on a 6" hard or hybrid swimbait.

[senile1]

A 6" swimbait is just a good size chunk for a self respecting 3 lb northern strain bass. You 'll get a big bunch of 2-3 pounders on a 6" hard or hybrid swimbait.

Hmmm . . . you're kidding, right?  Our northern strain bass must not have much self-respect because I can't see catching a bunch of them on a big swimbait.  But then, I've never fished a swimbait so maybe I don't have a clue.

[Raul]

Just let me ask you, why do you think that I 'm kidding ? not all bass in Mexico are Florida strain, we 've got a bunch of northern strain specially in the center of the country.

[Supermat]

Senile1,

 You have NO IDEA what a little bass is capable of! LOL! I've caught smallmouth as small as 2 pounds on 8" swimbaits, smallmouth as small as 1 pound on 6" swimbaits. Largemouth... I've caught 10"ers on 10" baits. Its mind-blowing what they'll try to eat, you're going to have no problems at all catching the fish in your waters. Here's an example, the bait is 9"!

[Lightninrod]

edit

dan

[Catt]

Let me get this right, some swim bait guys come on this web site hyping up swim baits and what these baits are capable of catching but have no intention of sharing info.

Very interesting  :-?

[Tenka]

CATT,

I've seen a few answer to the question asked in the thread already.

Now something that others haven't pointed out is that i depends on the type of swimbait you have.  

Floating, suspending, slow sinking, or sinking.  also it depends on hook styles, stinger or trebles.

Stinger style baits theat sink can be used it like a really big jig, bouncing it off the bottom like it is dieing.  

With trebles on the bottom you really need to know what depth you are trying to fish because the bottom will eat your lure.

Most swimbaits i've seen are designed for a slow steady retrieve surface or sub-surface.  Hence cast and reel answers you recieved, they were not joking.

I hope this helps

Dave

[.ghoti.]

Hey Catt, I'll share, for what little good it is. I'm not a very experienced swimbait guy. I've been using the Storm 6" baits, the ones with the internal weighting, and the Berkley Brody series swimbaits. I've had the best success swimming them very slowly, just off the bottom. Both of these baits are basically big pieces of soft plastic, and both sink. The Storm baits sink quicker than the Brody's. To keep the storm's near the bottom just atkes a slow steady crank. To keep the Brody's near the bottom requires a slow retrieve with pauses to let the bait sink back down. They both have a considerable amount of "lift", rather like a large spinnerbait.

The only other fish I've caught with them is by cranking the bait just fast enough to make a bulge in the surface, leaving a wake behind. I've only caught a handful doing this, but I've had a lot of follows.

I've caught none by cranking mid-depths with either of these baits.

My best tactic, so far, has been cranking one down a point, trying to keep the bait as close to the bottom as I can.

And yes, you will catch some fish that are entirely too small to be trying to eat such a big bait.

There you have it. That's all I have on this subject. I've only been using these two baits for the last two years, and I do not have any of the high dollar, super realistic, giant baits. I'm sure some of the Cali guys will weigh in with a lot more info.

Cheers,

GK

[Raul]

Let me get this right, some swim bait guys come on this web site hyping up swim baits and what these baits are capable of catching but have no intention of sharing info.

Very interesting :-?

You said: I have the rod, I have the reel, I have the bait and I asked: WHAT BAIT ? .... was it so difficult to answer what bait you have ?

It depends greatly on what type of bait you have the info you will get and in most cases there 's nothing extraterrestrial about it:

Sinking baits: cast, let it sink to the desired depth and reel in steadily, that 's it, if you want you can give it a couple of twitches while you reel in slowly. ( like swimming a jig )

Suspending baits: since they suspend ......... cast, reel in, stop ( let it suspend ) and deadstick it or jerk it. ( like fishing a suspending crank or jerkbait )

Floating baits: cast, reel in, stop, twitch it, reel in steadily, stop, twitch and so on. ( like fishing a crankbait )

Diving baits: cast, reel in, stop, twitch, reel in steadily, stop, twitch and so on. ( like fishing a crankbait )

Surface baits: cast, let the ripples dissapear and begin reeling in steadily to create a nice wake. ( like fishing a Jitterbug )

If you have a sinking bait and want to wake it then you 'll have to reel in like crazy to create the wake, pretty much like buzzbait.

There 's no secret handshake or some sort of "for your eyes only" information in swimbaiting; the only "secret" information is that you have to prepare yourself mentally to the fact that you won 't get many bites with soft swimbaits, with hard swimbaits and hybrids swimbaits the story is different, since they 've got dangling trebles hanging from them it 's a lot easier for smaller fish to get caught on them, Supermat 's pic clearly exemplifies what I 'm talking about.

[senile1]

Just let me ask you, why do you think that I 'm kidding ? not all bass in Mexico are Florida strain, we 've got a bunch of northern strain specially in the center of the country.

Why did I think you were kidding?  Well, here goes.  You stated "You 'll get a big bunch of 2-3 pounders on a 6" hard or hybrid swimbait."  I've fished some other big baits but I haven't fished swimbaits.  The bigger the bait gets, the less the smaller fish bite.  I can see catching a few 2 - 3 lb'ers on a swimbait., but a "bunch."  Define a bunch.  

Supermat stated:

Senile1,

 You have NO IDEA what a little bass is capable of! LOL! I've caught smallmouth as small as 2 pounds on 8" swimbaits, smallmouth as small as 1 pound on 6" swimbaits. Largemouth... I've caught 10"ers on 10" baits. Its mind-blowing what they'll try to eat, you're going to have no problems at all catching the fish in your waters.

Supermat, I've been bass fishing since the 70s.  I know I have AN IDEA of what a little bass is capable of.  I know that small fish can bite big baits.  My question to Raul was regarding his suggestion that I would catch a bunch of 2 or 3 lb'ers.  I know I'll catch some but I thought he was kidding about a bunch.  I'm sure you're catching tons of 2 and 3 lb'ers on your 9 inch swimbait everyday.    

So take a breath guys because I was asking an honest question.  Now back to it.  Raul, since you aren't kidding,  how many 2 - 3 lb bass do you catch when using a 6 inch swimbait on an average day?

[Raul]

How many fish you catch with a 6" inch worm on an "average" day ?

How many fish you catch with a 4" crankbait on an "average" day ?

How many fish you catch on a jig on an "average" day ?

How many fish you catch on any bait on any average day ?

What is an "average day"  for you ? 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 fish ?

[senile1]

Raul, are you a bit testy today or am I just taking your posts the wrong way?  Just to make sure there are no hard feelings, I initially asked if you were kidding and I stated I that I hadn't fished swimbaits so I may not have a clue.  I'm not attacking you or anything.  You said I could catch a bunch of smaller fish on a 6 inch swimbait, so I was curious what you mean by a bunch.  That's all.  

I wouldn't think a 6 inch worm is a good comparison to a 6 inch swimbait, IMO, due to the width and thickness of the swimbait.  No offense intended.

[Catt]

Raul dude like senile said you in a bad mood or what?

I asked Tell me what techniques work?  

By definition of the word techniques a method of accomplishing a desired aim; what type of bait would be included in the method of accomplishing a desired aim?

What bait I have is irrelevant since I do not know what technique to use with any type swim bait.

What's so difficult with that question that you should get all offensive?

[Mattlures]

Raul is correct. The type of bait, not always the brand is paramount to giving you an answer. The term swimbait is used on so many diferent types of baits that your question is equivilant to, What is the best way to use a soft plastic bait? There are so many types that without knowing the bait a detailed answer is not possible. Most swimbaits(especialy the real ones) were designed by guys who use them and fish for big fish. Each bait was designed around a specific need. For instance if I was out on the lake and seen bass eating bluegill only when they jumped out of the water I would figure out a way to make a jumping bluegill bait. The technique for using this bait would be completly diferent than using a heavily weighted soft trout imitator. Personaly I need more detales in order to answer your question.

[Catt]

And what prey tell would those details be?

On Second thought I'll figure it out on my own!

[fourbizz]

The details would be, for at least the 5th freaking time, what dang bait are you using and what are you trying to immitate?

GEEZ!

Everybody brought their attitudes, and nobody brought their brain!

Apparently myself included, LOL!

But seriously, asking how should i fish "a swimbait" is like asking , "how do i fish a soft plastic?" well, without knowing what bait, and what you are immitating, about the only answer would be...FISH IT SLOW!