All About Swimbaits 2024
HoosierHawgs reply :
I know nothing-and I mean nothing- about swimbaits, so I figured why not turn to you guys for help! Please post any tips, articles, and past threads that would help a newbie out! Both hard and soft swimbait info would be appreciated!
Happy Holidays
gulfcaptain reply :
What do you consider swimbaits?
HoosierHawgs reply :
On 12/20/2014 at 10:08 AM, gulfcaptain said:What do you consider swimbaits?
Soft paddle tail baits (the big 5 in ones with the holographic prints, not the trailer style ones, hard glid baits, and the sebile magic swimmer, which really interest me)
A-Jay reply :
Here you go ~ Start here
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/swimbait_gear.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/swimbaits.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/how-to-swimbaits.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/swimbaits_2.html
http://www.bassresource.com/hank-parker-fishing/swimbait-tips.html
A-Jay
gulfcaptain reply :
I don't fish the holographic print baits, mainly stick to the Hudds and Savage Gear line thru's with the few 6" Rago BVD's. Glide baits, the S Weaver is probably the most inexpensive bait or Savage Gear's glide bait. Hard Gills are hard to find but have no experience with them. As far as fishing these "bigger" baits, one tip, get yourself a rod and reel dedicated to fishing the bigger baits and when you go take nothing else with you. Fish only the swimbait. You have to throw it to be successful with it. It can be frustrating at times, but it can also be really good. Don't give yourself the option to stop fishing it when you start by bringing another set-up with you.
JakeKeenom reply :
I personally like to throw swimbaits weedless it an 1/16 middle weighted hook and reel it as slow as I can between march and november the get bigger ones in the winter
HoosierHawgs reply :
Thanks for the help guys! Really enjoyed the articles. Thanks!
timsford reply :
I used to throw a lot of the paddle tail baits, and caught some pretty good fish when they first became popular. Now if i throw the paddle tails its usually slow rolled near the bottom with a big jighead. I mostly throw them on 1/2 oz to 1 oz jig heads. If im fishing shallower i like the hudd 68 if theres shad present and mattlures ultimate or u2 gill if i see a lot of bluegill or im fishing a small body of water with no shad. If you fish any ponds or small lakes id definitely reccomend the mattlures baits, my 5 biggest largemouth ive caught came on those out of small ponds
gobig reply :
The hardest part about swimbaits is that there is a limited supply of good information. Most of the articles listed above are out of date and tend to be one dimensional. A 7' muskie rod with a high speed reel. really? No real mention of floaters or wakebaits. The most informative article was the first one written by Jay. Understand you are appealing to a hand full of people who are catching the biggest fish and asking them to give up what they have learned and worked so hard for. With that said there is more info now than several years back. The best advise I can give is to google these... The BBZ, Bill Seimantle, Southern Trout Eaters, Matt Peters, In pursuit of Giant Bass, Matt Allen and *. Get copies of the books, DVD's and watch any videos that come up free. I am sure I have probably missed something but this is enough to get you on the right track. Most people will never take the time to learn this stuff. The guys getting the big ones fish the same stuff as everyone else in many cases they just do it different.
Cburgert reply :
I've been using BBZ-1& BBZ-1Jr for seven years about. I always had great luck in early spring with them, I'm thinking on testing out some hudds this year.
gobig reply :
On 12/31/2014 at 11:16 AM, CBurgert said:I've been using BBZ-1& BBZ-1Jr for seven years about. I always had great luck in early spring with them, I'm thinking on testing out some hudds this year.
I have tested Hudds they work.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 12/31/2014 at 11:40 AM, gobig said:I have tested Hudds they work.
Kind of like needing to test a senko to see if they work isn't it? How many fish over 10 pounds should a bait have to catch to prove it works? 
I'm falling deeper and deeper into the swimbait world, unfortunate considering my geographical location. Still, I enjoy the challenge and so few people throw them around here that it's one of the only style of baits that the fish really haven't seen. I wasn't very confident at first, but then I had a really tremendous day fishing a Decoy Hydratail where I caught dozens of fish and seeing how a 12" fish could just choke a 5" swimbait helped my confidence in the baits a lot. I started watching videos trying to learn about them and ended up with the Southern Trout Eaters video. From watching that video I ended up with a 7" Slammer, a couple 6" Hudds, a 6" weedless hudd, half a dozen 68 hudds, and an 8" hudd. The Slammer has since become a confidence bait for me, the drawing power is incredible and it's such a visual bait to fish that it's really a blast. I've added several Savage Gear 3D line throughs in the 6" and 8" along with a glide swimmer, a couple Bull Shads, a Lunker Punker, a 9" Slammer, 168 S waver that has been a great bait for me in the cooler water, I have a Lucky Craft Real Gill that should be here any day now and I just took the plunge into the deeper end of the pool and ordered a Deps 175 Slide Swimmer.
It isn't for everyone, but it is really addictive if you give it a real chance to work for you. It isn't something you can pick up and make a couple cast and expect to get bit every cast, but when a fish does blast a Slammer or swallow a Hudd it's a heck of a rush. I'm still pretty new at it and obviously the chance at a truly big fish just isn't there for me, but I fish the right water that if the state record were to be lurking around, I just might be the one to catch her.
hatrix reply :
Where did you ever find a 175? 
NAbassman reply :
I love fishing swimbaits.I use the KVD perfect plastic swin'n caffeine shad and the KVD shadalicious swimbaits. I kill them in or on top of grass. I got numerous spots that swimbaits are the only thing they will bite. I catch them on the ledges with swimbaits because everybody else is throwing crankbaits and jigs. I use mostly a slow to moderate retrieve, great versatile bait shallow or deep.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 1/1/2015 at 12:40 AM, hatrix said:Where did you ever find a 175?
Let's just say I know a guy 
A-Jay reply :
On 1/1/2015 at 4:10 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Let's just say I know a guy
Send him my address PLEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSE ~
A-Jay
MIbassin reply :
On 1/2/2015 at 12:29 AM, A-Jay said:Send him my address PLEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSE ~
A-Jay
Check TW at the right time and you can get one
KritterGitter reply :
On 1/2/2015 at 1:53 AM, MIbassin said:Check TW at the right time and you can get one
On 1/2/2015 at 12:29 AM, A-Jay said:Send him my address PLEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSE ~
A-Jay
2 colors in stock now....
A-Jay reply :
On 1/2/2015 at 1:53 AM, MIbassin said:Check TW at the right time and you can get one
On 1/2/2015 at 2:34 AM, KritterGitter said:2 colors in stock now....
Thanks Guys ~
Those colors are a little zany and not for me.
But I'll keep an eye out
Thanks Again
A-Jay
FishTank reply :
I started to go down the swimbait road but it got to rich for my blood. I started with a dedicated rod and reel set up and the some of the soft plastic swimbaits. I found the soft plastic baits to be kind of unproductive so I then went to a few Megabass swimbaits. It was like night and day, I caught fish left and right with these baits. But after losing a $60 bait, I started to think twice. I thought about throwing some bigger baits but they started to get into the $100 range. After that, I decided it was a lot of fun but to much for my wallet.
KritterGitter reply :
On 1/2/2015 at 3:20 AM, FishTank said:I started to go down the swimbait road but it got to rich for my blood. I started with a dedicated rod and reel set up and the some of the soft plastic swimbaits. I found the soft plastic baits to be kind of unproductive so I then went to a few Megabass swimbaits. It was like night and day, I caught fish left and right with these baits. But after losing a $60 bait, I started to think twice. I thought about throwing some bigger baits but they started to get into the $100 range. After that, I decided it was a lot of fun but to much for my wallet.
Which Megabass? The iSlides?
FishTank reply :
On 1/2/2015 at 3:24 AM, KritterGitter said:Which Megabass? The iSlides?
The iSlide 185's and the Limberjack. I liked both of these.
Matthew2000 reply :
Keitech 4.8 fat sexy shad being my favorite and that's rare for sexy shad to be a favorite, use a 1/4 oz VMC screw lock hook reel just fast enough to see the wake up on the surface not the bait but the baits wake. Use around weeds and structure come back and thank me later caught 127 fish in 1 month doing this in the summer. If your waters clear reel fast enough so you can see the bait. It's pretty awesome sight fishing with them I pitched them into weeds and they get crushed on the fall.
Weld's Largemouth reply :
On 12/31/2014 at 2:54 PM, Bluebasser86 said:unfortunate considering my geographical location.
what are you talking about? You're in Kansas!!
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 9:57 AM, Weld said:what are you talking about? You're in Kansas!!
Exactly, not a very ideal location to be into fishing big swimbaits.
Weld's Largemouth reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 10:16 AM, Bluebasser86 said:Exactly, not a very ideal location to be into fishing big swimbaits.
Way better than anywhere in the northeast and here big swimbaits are thrown alot with great success!
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 11:45 AM, Weld said:Way better than anywhere in the northeast and here big swimbaits are thrown alot with great success!
I'm guessing you've never fished in Kansas? The lake around me a fish over 3 pounds is very rare. In most of them 80-90% of the bass are smaller than 15 inches and less than 1% are bigger than 20 inches. It's a long way from ideal.
Gundog reply :
I love the Shadalicious with a belly-weight hook when all I'm doing is casting and retrieving like I do mostly in the spring. I also use the keitech fat Impact with a ball head jig if I'm gonna let it drop to the bottom and jig it as well as a swimming retrieve.
Crestliner2008 reply :
Love the Shadalicious soft bellies. Have killed the smallmouth with the 5" in the spring on the river with this bait. Works well slow-rolling it along the bottom in summer as well.
I've also had a great deal of luck on the BBZ1-Jr. I have a collection of Hudds as well. I like the action of the 8" over the 6" though, but have had little success with either.
Dwight Hottle reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 11:28 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I'm guessing you've never fished in Kansas? The lake around me a fish over 3 pounds is very rare. In most of them 80-90% of the bass are smaller than 15 inches and less than 1% are bigger than 20 inches. It's a long way from ideal.
It may not be ideal but you do manage to post up some good pics of bass over 3 lbs.
HoosierHawgs reply :
And the swimbait experiment begins! I'll be looking to order some Hollow Bellies, S-Wavers, Savage Gear Line Thru and 4Play baits, and some Hard and Soft Magic Swimmers. I'll keep everyone updated when I do!
gardnerjigman reply :
On 1/4/2015 at 2:16 AM, Dwight Hottle said:It may not be ideal but you do manage to post up some good pics of bass over 3 lbs.
He seems to speak largemouth...
I will vouch it's far from ideal, but better than some. We take what we get, fish hard, and get rewarded often enough to keep us coming back.
Master Bait'r reply :
I had so much fun and luck with smaller swimbaits at the end of the year I've decided they're my big obsession for next season.
Keeping it 6" & under, and around 1.5 or less, there are a TON of options out there without having to go full swimbait setup. I personally love how it combines smooth reeling, pauses and elements of finesse movements but on a much larger scale. It's almost as exciting as frog fishing but far more versatile.
The prospect of seeing or feeling a hog pounce on your your little fishy as you limp it past a weed bed keeps me at the edge of my seat!
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 10:16 AM, Bluebasser86 said:Exactly, not a very ideal location to be into fishing big swimbaits.
You know my feelings on it.
BTW, your state record is 9oz higher than ours and yours was just upped an oz in 2008. Ours has stood still for over 30 years. 
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