Top 5 Swimbaits For Noobs

[scrutch]

When it comes to swim baits, I'm a total noob. I want to pick up a few over the spring/ summer and I want you swimbait guys to make me a grocery list.

I want to know what your top five swimbaits are please.

Remember that I'm in Indiana and fishing for NORTHERN strain LMB. State record is from southern Indiana...14-12. I'd guess there's nothing that large north of Indianapolis.

[webertime]

I assume you aren't talking Hollow Belly/Shadalicious types

I started with:

Weedless 6" Hudds both ROF 5 and 12

Blackdog Lunker Punkers and Shell Crackers

Mattlures Perch and Ultimate Bluegill.

I ended up LOVING the Hudds and Shell Cracker, the Punker was pretty cool to fish but the Pike were always first on the scene when I used them. The Mattlures baits were nice, not something I'd replace if I lost them though. I did get a floating Mattlures Pumpkinseed, now THAT thing is SICK!

[Scorcher214]

LFT magic shad is awesome, especially on a swarming hornet head. That is about all the experience I have with swimbaits.

[Hooligan]

If you want hard bodied baits, there are a few that are necessities. Jackall Giron in Gill is a great one. The SPRO BBZ-1 is a "gotta have." I've done very, very well on the Sebile magic swimmers, as well. There are some that are similar, in terms of construction: Koppers, Storm. MattLures Hard Gill is one that you absolutely must have, too, in your area. A lot of people haven't been fond of the Vagabond, but I've done well with it on numerous occasions.

Soft bodies= Hudds for sure. They're just good, that's all there is to it. Castaic baits have produced for me for years, they've been a tournament staple for me on the West Coast and in TX since the mid 90's. Optimum and Jerry Rago are great big fish baits, too. Smaller baits like the Havoc and Tabu are very, very good, too. Osprey makes what is probably my favorite in-line, the Talon Tournament. The trash fish is a super series of baits, too.

[RyneB]

I like the shadalicious swimbaits by strike king, also the Castaic swim Jerky J.

[mr.mallard]

BIG HAMMER

[WookieeJedi]

I tried out my Jackall Giron in bluegill for the first time today. It works, and it is really easy to use. It seemed like a lot to pay of a lure, but I used my Cabela's points for the first one. I would gladly pay the price now that I see how well-made and effective it is. I'll get the orange belly bluegill next.

http://www.jackall-lures.com/products/hardswim_giron.html

[Bluebasser86]

Wake King shad, H2O 4" swimbait-good bait and very cheap so it's easier to talk yourself into fishing and buying it. Spro BBZ-1 has caught me some nice fish and isn't too expensive.

6" Hudds, Decoy Hydratail-another inexpensive bait that isn't too big so it isn't intimidating to fish when you're new to it. Optima makes some smaller baits that I really like also along with Castaic.

[Hammer 4]

Well, I don't need 5 6" weedless hudds, rof depends on where you fish, same for a 8" hudd. if you choose to go that big, the 795 is better for the 6"

Get a 6" spro in ss, and a floater, in whatever pattern you like.

3:16 Missionfish in 5 and 7" sizes, pick your pattern.

6" Lunker punker, in your favorite flavor.

Those will catch you fish, IF worked properly, and you dedicate a fair amount of time to chuckin big baits.

[lavbasser]

also, Keitech Swing Impact Fat and Basstrix Paddletail

[Vinny Chase]

I have been catching bass in MN on swimbaits for a while and own many different options, but I have the say the bait that has put the most fish in my boat is the Berkely Hollow Belly - Purple Tiger.

Others I use are:

Big EZ

Skinny Dipper

Cane Thumper

[roadwarrior]

LFT magic shad is awesome, especially on a swarming hornet head. That is about all the experience I have with swimbaits.

I don't really consider this a swimbait, but it is my #1 producer in the spring!

Small swimbaits:

Keitech Swing Impact Fat

Shadalicious

Hollow Belly

GYCB Swimming Senko

RI Skinny Dipper

[scrutch]

I assume you aren't talking Hollow Belly/Shadalicious types

I started with:

Weedless 6" Hudds both ROF 5 and 12

Blackdog Lunker Punkers and Shell Crackers

Mattlures Perch and Ultimate Bluegill.

I ended up LOVING the Hudds and Shell Cracker, the Punker was pretty cool to fish but the Pike were always first on the scene when I used them. The Mattlures baits were nice, not something I'd replace if I lost them though. I did get a floating Mattlures Pumpkinseed, now THAT thing is SICK!

Yeah, I was sorta thinking non-soft plastics...

Is the Hudd ROF 5 more of a suspending bait?

[buzzfrog]

not really a swim bait guy but i lovet the skinny dippers

[Primus]

I personally consider baits like the Skinny Dipper swimming grubs and with the exception of Bluegill baits the baits should be 6" plus to be considered a true swimbait in my opinion, I don't expect everyone to agree with this.

If you are just starting the 6" BBZ series is a great bait to test the waters as it is modestly priced for swimbait and can be thrown without having to buy specialty gear.

If you really want to get into fishing the bigger baits I would strongley reccomend you get the right rod/ reel combo as most of these baits are 2 oz plus and there are many must have baits that weigh 5 oz or more. I presently have 4 swimbait combos with different rods for certain appliations all with the 301 size Curado reel.

There are lot of great baits available, here are a few of my favorites...

6" River to Sea Bottom Walker- inexpensive , weighs app 2 oz. This bait sinks like a rock, I like using this for slow rolling in deep water. I like the large jighook on this bait and it sets a little farther back for solid hook-ups. This bait is great bargain and a great way to get started.

8" Hudd- I'm started fishing this late last summer, wish I got around to this sooner. First 5 minutes stuck a nice 5-1/2 lber and added many more nice fish since then. I'm still new to this bait but I would start with the slow sinking ROF 5 for shallow water and the fast sinking ROF 12 for deeper water. These baits weigh app 5 oz, need a beefy rod to throw this.

7" Rago BVD- I like using this slow falling bait in shallow water, the Hitch color has done well for me.

Realprey Alewife- I like the medium falling bait which stil sinks pretty slowly. This bait is made out of high grade silicone, works great at slow speeds and is very durable.

The rest are hardbaits....

9" Slammer- not the prettiest bait but it sure gets bit. Think of this as large floating jointed Rapala. I like to twitch this bait or slow wake it, somtimes a combination of both.

316 Wake Jr.- Another great surface bait, pricey, hard to get but worth it if your willing to drop the coin.

8" Floating & Slow sink BBZ- Heavy bait, need big boy gear for these baits. Readily available and reasonably priced.

8" & 10" Triple Trout- wide S motion, works good in the summer. First time I swam this bait I thought it looked ridiculous until the bass told me otherwise.

Matt Lures Slow Sink HardBluegill- Awesome bait that gets a lot of bites. The older version was prone to chipping. Matt has come out with a new version that apparantly has addressed this issue. Weighs app 2 ozs. Must have bait in my opinion.

Good luck.

[1234567]

Primus,

Save those hooks on your R2Sea bottom walkers when there no good anymore, those hooks are BEEFY and stout! I take the lead off and use them on my plastics now. I like how the eye is not even with the point of the hook like on most EWG's. Getting the plastic straight is a little tricky, just run it up the line a tad bit more.

[Bryce C]

BIG HAMMER

shhhhhh!

big hammer and spro bbz 1 floater have produced well for me.

[SoCalFisher]

BIG HAMMER

Never fished a swimbait for freshwater bass but these are the best for saltwater bass.

[tylerdanielmoser]

I would pick up something first that's in your price range!!!!! Don't go out an spend $15 on the new an totally awesome new product! Get something for the area you fish in, if not sure just pick up something that is 3-5'' long and is the color of bait fish that you see where you fish! goodluck!

[scrutch]

Humor me on this for a minute...

You know, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered...

In my OP I stated that I doubt there are any fish of state record size north of Indianapolis. This could be true, but what if it isn't?

What if...there ARE double digit fish in the northern half of the state that are untapped because nobody goes after them. I mean, I don't think there are any "trophy hunters" up here looking for those fish exclusively. You don't really think trophy bass in northern Indiana.

Which brings me to the main point, large swim baits are basically unheard of up here. It is an intriguing thought that I could "introduce" those baits to some of our large waters (3000 acres for northern Indiana). I could see using them on deep structure and deep weed edges in summer on some of those lakes.

I'll bet we would all be surprised if we could "magically" see all the fish in a given lake. I may be all wet here, but maybe what I need is more of a "Big O" mentality. Target the big girls. To do that, I think big swim baits would be a great start.

[deep]

I suggest you get a copy of Bill Murphy's book (In Pursuit of Giant Bass), and one of Bill Siemantel's too (The Big Bass Zone); and start from there. Are there any lakes in your region that stock trout over the colder months?

I don't share too much region specific knowledge about big baits anymore on this or the swimbait forums, but PM me if you'd like to learn a little from another noob. I'm in central Virginia btw.

[scrutch]

I suggest you get a copy of Bill Murphy's book (In Pursuit of Giant Bass), and one of Bill Siemantel's too (The Big Bass Zone); and start from there. Are there any lakes in your region that stock trout over the colder months?

I don't share too much region specific knowledge about big baits anymore on this or the swimbait forums, but PM me if you'd like to learn a little from another noob. I'm in central Virginia btw.

There are a few lakes in northern Indiana that get stocked with trout the most notable is Clear lake, but it is two hours away in the far northeast corner of Indiana.

I'll check out those books. Sounds like there is some interesting info for me to discover. Thanks Deep.

[iceintheveins]

Dynamic lures outkast swimbait is the best midsize hard swimbait I have used. At 6" long it will catch 3 - 4 pound bass all day. My favorite soft swimmers are the money minnow and shadalicious.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

I agree with Murphys book, the guy is a legend, and its a great book.

Id say a Slammer is a must have, same with a punker. If you get a rod able to handle 8" hudds, and I would def suggest you do, don't be afraid to throw it. They have produced my first fish over 8, 9 and 10 pounds, but they will also get fish 5# regularly, and lower from time to time.

A ROF 5 is a good all around hudd, you can bottom bounce em even deep if your willing to fish slow. 0's are usefull from time to time, as are 12's, but a 5 is a great all around.

6" hudds will catch fish below a pound, so dont think your throwing something too big. But I have never caught anything over 5 on a 6".

NGaHB

[Mattlures]

Humor me on this for a minute...

You know, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered...

In my OP I stated that I doubt there are any fish of state record size north of Indianapolis. This could be true, but what if it isn't?

What if...there ARE double digit fish in the northern half of the state that are untapped because nobody goes after them. I mean, I don't think there are any "trophy hunters" up here looking for those fish exclusively. You don't really think trophy bass in northern Indiana.

Which brings me to the main point, large swim baits are basically unheard of up here. It is an intriguing thought that I could "introduce" those baits to some of our large waters (3000 acres for northern Indiana). I could see using them on deep structure and deep weed edges in summer on some of those lakes.

I'll bet we would all be surprised if we could "magically" see all the fish in a given lake. I may be all wet here, but maybe what I need is more of a "Big O" mentality. Target the big girls. To do that, I think big swim baits would be a great start.

I wish my waters were untapped! One thing about big swimbaits is they show you big fish. You get a lot of big bass that will just follow thw bait. there are many theorys as to why they do this. I think it because they sence the fisherman. No matter why, they do show themselfs. Sometimes you catch them on the swimbait and other times you can go back and hit that same area knowing there is a big fish there.