Northern swimbait help/big fish. 2025
Ksam1234 reply :
I wasn’t sure when to put this in northern fishing, tackle or general but my question is about what people throw up North for swimbaits or big fish lures. I live in Ny and don’t expect to be fishing for 10+ fish. I know down south and California and Texas throw massive swimbaits , 8-12inches and huge presentations for bass but up here we don’t have fish that big. I know where there are some 7-8 pounder fish but I don’t think throwing a 10 or 12 inch hudd would get a bite. Yes I know fish try to eat anything and everything but realistically I’m wondering what others throw for those big fish? 6 inch huds? Perch huds? I tried a jackall ganteral jr for about 4 hours with not even a follow. I’m sure 4 hours is nothing when chasing big fish but I just didn’t think anything would eat it. I have caught plenty of 2-5 on swimjigs or regular jigs. Spinnerbaits but I’m looking for that step up.. any help or thoughts ? Sorry if this is a repost.
WRB reply :
R2C S-Waver 168
Tom
Lincoln reply :
Maybe try some bigger keitech swing impact fats?
Ksam1234 reply :
On 9/3/2018 at 9:59 AM, WRB said:R2C S-Waver 168
Tom
Now would you consider this mainly a pre spawn bait? Or woukd
you fish this from pre spawn till fall?
webertime reply :
9" Slammer today on Champlain... about as Northern and Swimbaity as it gets.
MassYak85 reply :
MS Slammers are a bread and butter bait here in New England. Guys use everything from the mini to the Super Slammers with success, but the 9" is VERY popular. 8" and 68 Hudds get a lot of love, Swaver has been mentioned. Mattlures ultimate gills and hardgills are a good one because bluegill play an important role as a forage species here. Real Prey swimbaits out of MA here makes some KILLER Perch, Alewife, and Golden Shiner soft baits. Gantarels are a solid choice so don't get discouraged. Spro Rats and G2 shellcrackers are relatively cheap but flat out work too.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 9/3/2018 at 10:53 AM, MassYak85 said:MS Slammers are a bread and butter bait here in New England. Guys use everything from the mini to the Super Slammers with success, but the 9" is VERY popular. 8" and 68 Hudds get a lot of love, Swaver has been mentioned. Mattlures ultimate gills and hardgills are a good one because bluegill play an important role as a forage species here. Real Prey swimbaits out of MA here makes some KILLER Perch, Alewife, and Golden Shiner soft baits. Gantarels are a solid choice so don't get discouraged. Spro Rats and G2 shellcrackers are relatively cheap but flat out work too.
Ok awesome thank you! I don’t fish from a boat so I small small waters. Usually 200 acres or less. Most of the lakes 75% of the time are 100 or less. I know they have lots of perch and bluegill and one is actually stocked with rainbows and brown trout. I tried the ganteral as I said just didn’t have anything.. idk if I was fishing it wrong or what. I tried s slow retrieve, fast retrieve and tried twitching it kind of like s jerkbaits and making it do 180s with nothing. I’ll take a look at mattlures and the other one you mentioned. I have been wanting to get a MS slammer for awhile so I might take the plunge on that. The perch color looks good
WRB reply :
On 9/3/2018 at 10:11 AM, Ksam1234 said:Now would you consider this mainly a pre spawn bait? Or woukd
you fish this from pre spawn till fall?
It's a all season lure that can be fished effectively using Heavy crankbait rod/reel combo whereas anything heavier then 1 5/8 oz you should be using swimbait tackle. New Bluegill color should be effective where you fish.
Tom
Bluebasser86 reply :
I've caught fish here in Kansas on 8" Hudds and 9" Slammers. Not exactly the big bass Mecca here either. The only thing limiting how big of a swimbait a bass will try to eat is how big of a bait you're willing to try to throw.
A Savage Gear Slide Swimmer 185 is good sized bait to catch all sizes of fish and they're really affordable when it comes to swimbaits. I've caught hundreds of fish on them from 12" to just shy of 6 pounds, smallmouth and largemouth, plus lots of white bass and wipers.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 9/3/2018 at 1:26 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I've caught fish here in Kansas on 8" Hudds and 9" Slammers. Not exactly the big bass Mecca here either. The only thing limiting how big of a swimbait a bass will try to eat is how big of a bait you're willing to try to throw.
A Savage Gear Slide Swimmer 185 is good sized bait to catch all sizes of fish and they're really affordable when it comes to swimbaits. I've caught hundreds of fish on them from 12" to just shy of 6 pounds, smallmouth and largemouth, plus lots of white bass and wipers.
Slammers seem to be common in everyone’s arsenal
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 9/3/2018 at 9:19 PM, Ksam1234 said:Slammers seem to be common in everyone’s arsenal
They're a proven bait, one of my favorites.
Angry John reply :
Keeping it real fishing on youtube is strait out of new jersey. His struggle seems like exactly what your talking about and i really enjoy his show. The G2 shell cracker is what he caught his pb on, which was a heavy 7. Big baits is how he has dedicated his last few years and he is going big on everything to include jigs and worms. I think most of your questions will be answered by his show and there are plenty of cast to catch video supporting his claims of what is working for him. The HUDD is a classic lure that i dont favor but a lot of people do. Hope this helps you on your big fish quest.
smithy97 reply :
Ladybass on youtube fishes the Peterborough area lakes in Ontario, and she's been slamming some fish on the s-waver 168 this year. She gets a lot of follows, but when they hit it, they slam it! I'm heading to that area in 2 weeks and I've got my 168 rigged up and ready to toss on one of my lighter musky rods. I think its a great size of bait to start with for our northern bass.
MassYak85 reply :
On 9/4/2018 at 12:48 AM, Angry John said:Keeping it real fishing on youtube is strait out of new jersey. His struggle seems like exactly what your talking about and i really enjoy his show. The G2 shell cracker is what he caught his pb on, which was a heavy 7. Big baits is how he has dedicated his last few years and he is going big on everything to include jigs and worms. I think most of your questions will be answered by his show and there are plenty of cast to catch video supporting his claims of what is working for him. The HUDD is a classic lure that i dont favor but a lot of people do. Hope this helps you on your big fish quest.
His channel pretty much singlehandedly convinced me to start throwing big baits here in MA. Seeing him crush his PB on that shellcracker was awesome. Just goes to show you got to grind through the tough times and not quit.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 9/4/2018 at 7:07 AM, MassYak85 said:His channel pretty much singlehandedly convinced me to start throwing big baits here in MA. Seeing him crush his PB on that shellcracker was awesome. Just goes to show you got to grind through the tough times and not quit.
I just watched the video And wow. That’s crazy ! I would love an 8. I got a soft 7 now. It went between 6-14 and 7 bsck n forth. I would love s true 8
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
I wouldn't even waste time with the 168, go right for the 200 S Waver. It's really not that big and will draw more fish than the smaller sizes. Same with a Slammer.
8" Hudds, Deps 250 are all in regular rotation for me in PA. They (along with others obviously) put fish in the boat consistently.
Primus reply :
Listen to Speadbead, he knows what he is talking about and has posted pictures of countless big fish to prove it.
One lure I would like to recommend that will build your confidence and will also attract large fish along with their small & medium sized relatives would be a 7" Triple Trout. I like the Baby Bass color. Works well on a slow to medium retrieve, that said I often due well with a few fast reels and then quick pauses. Also light twitches will also trigger bites, that said don't overdue it as it is prone to having the line wrap around the hook if you overdue do it as it does not have a lip like a jerkbait . That said if it looks like a cross between a jerk bait and a swimbait you are doing it right, be sure to hang on though a straight line retrieve will work better at times so try both. The triple trout flat gets bit.
Raul reply :
Go big or go home !
N'uff said.
Don't get why you yanks think them itsy bitsy teeny tiny 5 lb yankee bigmouths ain't gonna strike a 10 inch swimbait.
WRB reply :
On 9/8/2018 at 2:03 AM, SPEEDBEAD. said:I wouldn't even waste time with the 168, go right for the 200 S Waver. It's really not that big and will draw more fish than the smaller sizes. Same with a Slammer.
8" Hudds, Deps 250 are all in regular rotation for me in PA. They (along with others obviously) put fish in the boat consistently.
Agree, Requires swimbait specific tackle rated up to 10 oz, the OP hasn't defined what he has.
Tom
Angry John reply :
6" Huddleston and 168 can be fished on a flipping stick. Bigger is a no go. Mattlures makes a lot of baits that are lighter draw good bites and are high quality. The hard gills and strong shad are money.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 9/8/2018 at 10:51 PM, WRB said:Agree, Requires swimbait specific tackle rated up to 10 oz, the OP hasn't defined what he has.
Tom
I actually don’t have a swimbait rod yet. I am literally just getting started and have been researching for a good rod. The heaviest rod I have now is the irod gen2 Fred’s magic stick. I was looking at the okuma swimbait rods guide select or the 13 muse rod. I think I want a moderate fast or fast tip. Looking to be able to throw swimbaits from 2-6 oz
NorthE97 reply :
@Ksam1234 I use a Dobyns Fury 795 for the 6" hudd and 168 S Waver. If you were to upgrade bait size Dobyns makes an 806 in the Fury line as well that should cover bigger swimbaits. Reasonable price too.
fishwizzard reply :
On 9/8/2018 at 11:26 PM, Ksam1234 said:I actually don’t have a swimbait rod yet. I am literally just getting started and have been researching for a good rod. The heaviest rod I have now is the irod gen2 Fred’s magic stick.
The Fred’s MS is the rod I started my swimbaiting adventures with. Imho it is fine for an S-waver 168 or other glides that size, a 68 Special weedless is doable but you gotta set the crap out of the hook, amd the BBZ Rat50 is too heavy for it.
I think an exposed hook 68 Special would be a lot better then the weedless one on it. I prefer it for treble-hooked swimbaits in general though.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 9/8/2018 at 11:46 PM, NorthE97 said:@Ksam1234 I use a Dobyns Fury 795 for the 6" hudd and 168 S Waver. If you were to upgrade bait size Dobyns makes an 806 in the Fury line as well that should cover bigger swimbaits. Reasonable price too.
I’ll look into those , are they pretty light ? I wanna be able to throw some of the bigger lures if needed. So I figure I would go for something up to 6 oz but I’m sure you can still throw a 2 oz bait on
On 9/8/2018 at 11:50 PM, fishwizzard said:
The Fred’s MS is the rod I started my swimbaiting adventures with. Imho it is fine for an S-waver 168 or other glides that size, a 68 Special weedless is doable but you gotta set the crap out of the hook, amd the BBZ Rat50 is too heavy for it.
I think an exposed hook 68 Special would be a lot better then the weedless one on it. I prefer it for treble-hooked swimbaits in general though.
Yeah I have a couple smaller swimbaits like. 120 s wager and ganteral jr but that’s it. I heard braid to leader is pretty much the go to for swimbaits bc you have to set that hook hard.
NorthE97 reply :
On 9/8/2018 at 11:54 PM, Ksam1234 said:I’ll look into those , are they pretty light ? I wanna be able to throw some of the bigger lures if needed. So I figure I would go for something up to 6 oz but I’m sure you can still throw a 2 oz bait on
Yes, they are light and balance well, just like all Dobyns rods. The sweet spot on the 795 is around 2-3 oz. I have not used the 806 so can't comment on that but I'd assume somewhere in the 4-6 oz range for it's sweet spot.
WRB reply :
On 9/8/2018 at 11:26 PM, Ksam1234 said:I actually don’t have a swimbait rod yet. I am literally just getting started and have been researching for a good rod. The heaviest rod I have now is the irod gen2 Fred’s magic stick. I was looking at the okuma swimbait rods guide select or the 13 muse rod. I think I want a moderate fast or fast tip. Looking to be able to throw swimbaits from 2-6 oz
When buying a swimbait rod always go heavier, Dobyns FR 806 SB, Okuma GS Heavy or Irod Heavy are all good entry level swimbait rods and Cardiff 300 series reel makes an affordable combo.
Tom
Mark888 reply :
On 9/4/2018 at 6:30 AM, smithy97 said:Ladybass on youtube fishes the Peterborough area lakes in Ontario, and she's been slamming some fish on the s-waver 168 this year. She gets a lot of follows, but when they hit it, they slam it! I'm heading to that area in 2 weeks and I've got my 168 rigged up and ready to toss on one of my lighter musky rods. I think its a great size of bait to start with for our northern bass.
Hey Smithy!
Yes, been throwing baits such as the s-waver, i-slide, tiny klash, magdrafts etc, and doing pretty good! Biggest thing for me is picking the days and time to throw a big swimsbait for maximum efficiency, since i still got to get videos out :D
smithy97 reply :
On 9/11/2018 at 6:11 AM, Ladybass said:Hey Smithy!
Yes, been throwing baits such as the s-waver, i-slide, tiny klash, magdrafts etc, and doing pretty good! Biggest thing for me is picking the days and time to throw a big swimsbait for maximum efficiency, since i still got to get videos out
I'm starstruck! Thanks for the shout out
I never got to fish my 168 last week because my motor quit while I was on the water and kinda ruined my fishing trip...I'm still a firm believer that bass up here love the big baits and that they are very underrated
WRB reply :
It's important to understand that bass, like other animals, can't determine their own size verses everything around them including prey.
A large size lure creates more pressure waves as it moves through the water and bass can pick these up with thier lateral line nerves further away then thier sight. Bass either ignor the swimbait or go check it out. If the bass is simply curious it may follow it or may strike it depending on several factors. You will get more interest in large size swimbaits, however the bass may not be willing to strike. This happens with every lure a bass checks out.
The only way to know us try the lures.
Tom
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