hatrix Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 I'm looking to buy some new hard swim baits and I am not really sure what to get. What does every one like the best or what ones are working the best for you? There is so many out there and I am sure a lot of them are probably junk and those are the ones I am trying to avoid. Quote
1234567 Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 The 316 freestyle shad, spro bbz shad, and tru tungsten trulife 5 inch have all been very good for me. Quote
Super User deep Posted July 12, 2011 Super User Posted July 12, 2011 316 hard baits are anything but cheap lol. The Spro BBZ shad, BBZ Jr and the BBZ are all great. Tylures baits get decent reviews as well, along with Black Dogs. And of course, the Mattlures. Must have forgotten a few baits, but plenty of good ones out there to choose from. Of the ones I mentioned, I have the 4" BBZ shad, the 6" BBZ Jr, Black dog shellcrackers and punkers, and one Hardgill. Stick with a few decent baits that cover the whole water column, and fish them hard until you lose them. EDIT: MS Slammers, AC minnows are pretty good too. Quote
Primus Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 Here are few that have worked for me... 6" Spro BBZ- I like it so much that I recently purchased an 8", great value for the money. I like both the slow sink & floater. 3:16 Baby Wake & Wake Jr. - expensive but effective baits are a blast to fish, not going to fit everyone's budget. I like to get the tail kicking to splash on the surface, you can also twitch it, walk it , slow crank and sometimes get bit combining these in the same retrieve MS Slammer- 7" & 9" - app 1/2 the price as the 3:16 and much easier to get. I like to twitch and slow wake it. Not the prettiest bait out there but it gets bit. Matt lures Hard Bluegill- awesome bait, my favorie is the slow sink but I've also caught a few with the floater as well. My underrstanding is Matt is working on updating his hard bait line so for the time being these are not easy to get. Matt Lures Hard Perch Slow Sink- I loved this bait, unfortuneately mine is now sitting on the bottom of Big Star Lake in Baldwin, MI. Very natural swimming motion. Hopefully Matt starts making these again, need one bad! 5" Tru Tungsten- there are some very good deals out there as these have been discontinued. This bait gets bit, the negative is the finish wears off easily. If you can get them cheap it's worth it in my opinion. High Power, Bull Shad & 3:16 shad- I'm expierimenting with these baits but haven't used them enough to form an opinion. Well regarded by many, I'm sure they would perform well in lakes with shad. Not technically a swimbait but the wood Lunker Punker is well thought of, I'm new to this bait as well. I tend to like these type of baits as surface or slightly subsurface fishing, I prefer the soft baits for slow rolling & bottom bouncing in deep water. Quote
Super User deaknh03 Posted July 12, 2011 Super User Posted July 12, 2011 Academy makes some nice ones, and I have one from a company called Savage Gear, they can be found fairly easily and aren't very costly, but they are worth every penny, very nice bait. Quote
hatrix Posted July 13, 2011 Author Posted July 13, 2011 Well currently i have a spro 4" slow sink and the spro 2.5" or whatever it is the baby one. They both work pretty alright but I have never really had a day yet where I just wore them out. I was thinking I might like to get the spro floater or another floater so I could really work it super slow in the open pockets of weeds. I have been thinking about getting the matt lures blue gill bit I cant find that or the baby wakes. Quote
Primus Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 I've bought one of the 2.5" Spro and haven't got aroung to using it yet. I personally like the 6" much better than the 4" Spro, I've gotten more bites and the fish typically are bigger. If you want to stick with smaller baits try the 95 size (3-3/4" ) River to Sea V joint Wake Minnow. The only thing to keep in mind is it's more a shallow jointed crankbait than a wake bait as its name implies. That said I've caught a lot of fish on the Chartreuse Shad and it's a bait than you can fish fast without rolling over etc. Very reasonably priced as well. Quote
NateFollmer Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 I have a few Sebile Hard Magic Swimmers. The action on those things is amazing! They are pricey, but worth it. I tend to use them in open water or trolling behind the kayak so I don't have to worry much about getting hung up and losing it (I'll have go scuba diving if I ever lose it... Too expensive!). Quote
Super User Crestliner2008 Posted July 14, 2011 Super User Posted July 14, 2011 You cannot go too far wrong with the inexpensive Spro BBZ-1 Jr. at about 6". This bait is an excellent starter and will catch almost anything. I have the perch pattern in slow sink. But I would prefer the fast sink in this model. On a pause, this bait turns around to face a follower. Incredible action that seals the deal! Quote
djmax22 Posted July 16, 2011 Posted July 16, 2011 Typically in the hard swimbait market you get what you pay for. If you want some junk whose fins fall off or don't run true go cheap. I am not saying you have to go buy the top of the line 3:16 stuff to catch fish, but going cheap ends up costing you money in the long run. Tru-tungsten and Spro stuff is complete junk IMO. IF you have the money to spend, drop it on one or two high quality baits. I have owned just about every swimbait made at one point in time. Save yourself time, effort, and frustration and get yourself a high quality bait. Here is my list of proven fish catchers under 60 bucks in order of preference. 1. 3:16 Baby Wake 2. 7" Triple Trout 3. 7" (small) Ms Slammer 4. Lunker Punker (get the wood one, not the plastic one) 5. Mattlure Hard Gill Some of the baits listed above are hard to find. If you have an immediate need you should be able to pick up a TT and a Slammer. The other baits you will need to look toward the swimbait forums classifieds. If you pick up a sinking version of a swimbait make sure you have a lure retriever. Hope this helps. Quote
Primus Posted July 16, 2011 Posted July 16, 2011 I've been fishing the spro bait for a couple of years and have not had any quality control problems. Someone forgot to tell the nice fish that I catch on it that is a "junk bait". That said you've reccomended a lot of good baits though I obviously disagree with your take on the Spro bait. Quote
djmax22 Posted July 16, 2011 Posted July 16, 2011 I've been fishing the spro bait for a couple of years and have not had any quality control problems. Someone forgot to tell the nice fish that I catch on it that is a "junk bait". That said you've reccomended a lot of good baits though I obviously disagree with your take on the Spro bait. My experience with the Spro was with the BZZ-1. It is tough to recommend a bait you have to pull the fins out and re-glue before it even hits the water especially when in carries a $30+ price tag when they came out. I have not tried the 6" Spro simply because I have better options and I tend to throw 7"+ baits. I would much rather have a triple trout over a Spro any day of the week. Quote
herruberraschen Posted July 16, 2011 Posted July 16, 2011 I like the King Shad and Baby King Shad in sexy sunfish for imitating bream and green gizzard for imitating shad. Wake it on the surface early in the morning and twitch it like a jerkbait when you have good cloud cover. I have some Sexy Swimmers but haven't used them enough to report on them. Quote
djmax22 Posted July 16, 2011 Posted July 16, 2011 I like the King Shad and Baby King Shad in sexy sunfish for imitating bream and green gizzard for imitating shad. Wake it on the surface early in the morning and twitch it like a jerkbait when you have good cloud cover. I have some Sexy Swimmers but haven't used them enough to report on them. Nice looking, but there are reports of them breaking at the joints (reportedly solved the problem). A little small too. Quote
herruberraschen Posted July 16, 2011 Posted July 16, 2011 I haven't had one break yet. Not to say that they won't but not yet. Quote
djmax22 Posted July 17, 2011 Posted July 17, 2011 I haven't had one break yet. Not to say that they won't but not yet. Good to hear! Quote
hatrix Posted July 17, 2011 Author Posted July 17, 2011 I was really interested in the 3:16 and the Matt Lures Hard gill but when i go the look up the baby wakes it said they were ALL sold out and I cant find the hard gill either... I was at the bait store today looking for swim baits and they had nothing that really interested me. I did however pick up koppers hollow body and walking frog that I have high hopes for, and I also got there lipless crank in BG that I also hope will work very well. Quote
djmax22 Posted July 17, 2011 Posted July 17, 2011 I was really interested in the 3:16 and the Matt Lures Hard gill but when i go the look up the baby wakes it said they were ALL sold out and I cant find the hard gill either... I was at the bait store today looking for swim baits and they had nothing that really interested me. I did however pick up koppers hollow body and walking frog that I have high hopes for, and I also got there lipless crank in BG that I also hope will work very well. Baby wake are released a few times a year and they usually are sold out in hours if not minutes once they are released. Probably the best way to get one (or a Hard Gill) is to visit a swimbait forum and post in their classifieds section. Hope this helps. Quote
1234567 Posted July 17, 2011 Posted July 17, 2011 Try looking at the bullshad. These are herd to get sometimes but there supposed to be pretty good. I also agree on the triple trout, good durable baits. Quote
kayl. Posted July 17, 2011 Posted July 17, 2011 Mattlures Hard gill is my favorite, but the Baby Wake is nice also. The hard gill is just so much fun to fish; it looks alive! Check ***, baitbarn, etc for the hard gills and you'll be able to find what you want Quote
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