Swimbait Help? 2024

The Young Gun reply :

I'm a fifteen year old male from northern Wisconsin.

I've been fishing pretty hard now for 2 years now, mainly bass and walleye. I'm a self-taught angler; everything I know about fishing has come from reading books, internet, and self experience. Never was taught by my father or grandpa or male figure. So here I am today with a question for someone with lots of knowledge.

I've done most of my fishing with hard lures like jerkbaits and crankbaits, and some plastic worms wacky rigged, but seeing all these swimbaits I began to wonder what if I could add that to my inventory and arsenal..

1.) Good swimbaits to use brand wise

2.) Tackle, Hook sizes, weights, lines, ect.

3.) Places to use and wayst to fish

4.) Lengths, colors, and retrieves.

Any information would be a help!

irnwrkr reply :

Check out Huddleston, 316, Jerry Rago, and Matt lures. They are some good brand names. You usually fish swimbaits on heavier equipment and line. I started off with a flippin stick. Points, humps, ridges, and channels are good places to fish them, but you can fish them any place. Good luck, but be careful. Once you catch the swimbait bug it can get expensive!

The Young Gun reply :

Thanks a ton!

Are swimbaits pretty expensive? What can I do for weights too; slip weights; or weighted bass hooks?

Bair reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 6:32 AM, Mr_MightyJay said:

Thanks a ton!

Are swimbaits pretty expensive? What can I do for weights too; slip weights; or weighted bass hooks?

Oh yeah their expensive.The cheap castaic trout imitataions at walmart cost about $10 for a small one. The BPS Mini Z9R costs about the same again thats not even the full size one which I think is 15. The Hudds run about thirty a piece and the Matt lures are 20-25 in my area. If your going to buy them buy them off Ebay, craigslist, or in the Fishing Flea Market Forum. For weights use weighted bass hooks,

webertime reply :

On a 15 year old budget in waters that have Pike/Musky as well... I'd get a bunch of 5.8", 4.8" and 3.8" Keitech Swing Impact Fats. Fish them on Jig heads in open/not too weedy water (1/4 and 3/8 oz Yammamotos are good) or on weighted swimbait hooks when around weeds/snaggy stuff (I like the Davis hooks with the screw-lock 3/0-6/0 1/8-1/4 oz.) I was fishing them on 16lb fluoro and made the switch to 30lb braid and get more hook ups. I fish them on a 7' MH (Phenix Recon 715) with a Curado 201E. I fish them slow and leisurely. Keitechs are $7.50 for 4-6 of them, Jigheads and hooks are ~$4 a pack.

roadwarrior reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 7:49 AM, webertime said:

On a 15 year old budget in waters that have Pike/Musky as well... I'd get a bunch of 5.8", 4.8" and 3.8" Keitech Swing Impact Fats. Fish them on Jig heads in open/not too weedy water (1/4 and 3/8 oz Yammamotos are good) or on weighted swimbait hooks when around weeds/snaggy stuff (I like the Davis hooks with the screw-lock 3/0-6/0 1/8-1/4 oz.) I was fishing them on 16lb fluoro and made the switch to 30lb braid and get more hook ups. I fish them on a 7' MH (Phenix Recon 715) with a Curado 201E. I fish them slow and leisurely. Keitechs are $7.50 for 4-6 of them, Jigheads and hooks are ~$4 a pack.

The Young Gun reply :

Holy crap! I'll probably try to pick up some of the cheaper brand ones, becauase it looks line an really underused method in my fishing community...

Just wondering, but what is a fluke compared to swimbait?

mikeeasttn reply :

Since the water is warm start with the soft swimbaits with the paddle tails. They are usually best in water above 65 degrees as they make more thump and move more water. As you know everything in spring and summer moves faster. That is not to say that the vertical tail swimbaits like the Huddleston will not work. The Hudds will work all of the time but chances are better with the paddle tails. At this time of year with the paddles tails make a normal retrieve as you would on a crankbait or try different kinds, the fish will let you know what they want.

When the water fall below 60 degrees it is time to go to the vertical tail swimbaits such as the Hudds. They should retreived very slowly. In cold water when you think you are retreiving to slow,slow down some more.

Swimbait Nation and Swimbait Underground are 2 good sites to go too as you will learn alot just by reading the posts.

Bluebasser86 reply :

Are you looking for big swimbaits or just swimbaits in general? Hard or soft? Prerigged or not? If you don't mind ordering them offline Huddleston makes a 4" weedless shad that is a great bait and it can really build your confidence in swimbaits because it only takes about a 12" fish to completely engulf the bait. They can be fished on pretty much the same setup as you fish your worms or jigs on. I fish them on a 7' M/F Mojo with a Curado 200E7 and 15lb fluoro. Make sure to sturdy them up some before you fish them because they will tear pretty easily if you aren't careful. Check out Mattlures website for tips on how to make your soft baits last longer. The Havoc Grass Pig is a great boot tail style bait that you can do lots of things with and at $3 a pack they won't break the bank on you.

I prefer baitfish colors and I fish them pretty much everywhere. The weedless Hudds you can fish through timber, grass, around docks or rocks, pretty much anywhere. The grass pig you can fish in the same areas on a weedless swimbait hook or put it on a swimbait jighead or football head and slow roll it along the bottom.

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 9:09 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Are you looking for big swimbaits or just swimbaits in general? Hard or soft? Prerigged or not? If you don't mind ordering them offline Huddleston makes a 4" weedless shad that is a great bait and it can really build your confidence in swimbaits because it only takes about a 12" fish to completely engulf the bait. They can be fished on pretty much the same setup as you fish your worms or jigs on. I fish them on a 7' M/F Mojo with a Curado 200E7 and 15lb fluoro. Make sure to sturdy them up some before you fish them because they will tear pretty easily if you aren't careful. Check out Mattlures website for tips on how to make your soft baits last longer. The Havoc Grass Pig is a great boot tail style bait that you can do lots of things with and at $3 a pack they won't break the bank on you.

I prefer baitfish colors and I fish them pretty much everywhere. The weedless Hudds you can fish through timber, grass, around docks or rocks, pretty much anywhere. The grass pig you can fish in the same areas on a weedless swimbait hook or put it on a swimbait jighead or football head and slow roll it along the bottom.

Yeah I just looked into that and that setup sounds great! That looks to be what I want to buy at the moment and probably going to run them with the sinking flurocarbon. Does that offer a good range of sensitivity over monofiliment?

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 8:28 AM, mikeeasttn said:

Since the water is warm start with the soft swimbaits with the paddle tails. They are usually best in water above 65 degrees as they make more thump and move more water. As you know everything in spring and summer moves faster. That is not to say that the vertical tail swimbaits like the Huddleston will not work. The Hudds will work all of the time but chances are better with the paddle tails. At this time of year with the paddles tails make a normal retrieve as you would on a crankbait or try different kinds, the fish will let you know what they want.

When the water fall below 60 degrees it is time to go to the vertical tail swimbaits such as the Hudds. They should retreived very slowly. In cold water when you think you are retreiving to slow,slow down some more.

Swimbait Nation and Swimbait Underground are 2 good sites to go too as you will learn alot just by reading the posts.

Thanks for the tips! Just recently people have een explaining to me how water temp not just sun hight and lunar calender effects fishes feeding habbits. Knowing with what temperatures and a good idea of what to run when and with the right retreive.

jerzeeD reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 9:09 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Are you looking for big swimbaits or just swimbaits in general? Hard or soft? Prerigged or not? If you don't mind ordering them offline Huddleston makes a 4" weedless shad that is a great bait and it can really build your confidence in swimbaits because it only takes about a 12" fish to completely engulf the bait. They can be fished on pretty much the same setup as you fish your worms or jigs on. I fish them on a 7' M/F Mojo with a Curado 200E7 and 15lb fluoro. Make sure to sturdy them up some before you fish them because they will tear pretty easily if you aren't careful. Check out Mattlures website for tips on how to make your soft baits last longer. The Havoc Grass Pig is a great boot tail style bait that you can do lots of things with and at $3 a pack they won't break the bank on you.

I prefer baitfish colors and I fish them pretty much everywhere. The weedless Hudds you can fish through timber, grass, around docks or rocks, pretty much anywhere. The grass pig you can fish in the same areas on a weedless swimbait hook or put it on a swimbait jighead or football head and slow roll it along the bottom.

Good luck getting huddleston grass minnows or weedless shads. TW and everywhere else I have checked are backordered until mid-august. I just ordered a bunch of berkley ripple shads. Hopefully they will perform well. They are inexpensive at about a dollar each, but I can' t testify to their effectiveness yet.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 9:30 AM, Mr_MightyJay said:

Yeah I just looked into that and that setup sounds great! That looks to be what I want to buy at the moment and probably going to run them with the sinking flurocarbon. Does that offer a good range of sensitivity over monofiliment?

It is more sensitive but you won't have a hard time feeling the bites with either, they crush those things.

On 7/28/2012 at 9:32 AM, jerzeeD said:

Good luck getting huddleston grass minnows or weedless shads. TW and everywhere else I have checked are backordered until mid-august. I just ordered a bunch of berkley ripple shads. Hopefully they will perform well. They are inexpensive at about a dollar each, but I can' t testify to their effectiveness yet.

TW has a few of the weedless grass minnows in stock, I orded 3 today. I keep a stockpile of the shads and order a few whenever they get some in.

I've fished the ripple shads but couldn't get them to swim right on a weighted swimbait hook. They are cheap and durable but couldn't keep them from rolling over.

The Decoy Hydratails are another good option for a little bigger swimbait that aren't too expensive and lasts very well.

jerzeeD reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 9:37 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

It is more sensitive but you won't have a hard time feeling the bites with either, they crush those things.

TW has a few of the weedless grass minnows in stock, I orded 3 today. I keep a stockpile of the shads and order a few whenever they get some in.

I've fished the ripple shads but couldn't get them to swim right on a weighted swimbait hook. They are cheap and durable but couldn't keep them from rolling over.

The Decoy Hydratails are another good option for a little bigger swimbait that aren't too expensive and lasts very well.

d**n. TW at least didnt have the hitch pattern in either. And they were out of rainbow trout shads and blue/green back minnows. Those are the patterns that have been working the best for me. Now I am worried about the ripple shads working right. I can't friggin win! :-(

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 9:37 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

It is more sensitive but you won't have a hard time feeling the bites with either, they crush those things.

TW has a few of the weedless grass minnows in stock, I orded 3 today. I keep a stockpile of the shads and order a few whenever they get some in.

I've fished the ripple shads but couldn't get them to swim right on a weighted swimbait hook. They are cheap and durable but couldn't keep them from rolling over.

The Decoy Hydratails are another good option for a little bigger swimbait that aren't too expensive and lasts very well.

I've seen berkley ripple shads before and some lesser quality swimbaits I think! As being a low money flow 15 year old, something cheap but effective is what im looking for. Could you possibly give me a list or some links to cheaper swimbaits like the berkleys, and other brands. Im fine with ordering offline and testing them personaly, I just dont want to order something completely useless with my knowledge..

The Young Gun reply :

And ovbiously, since its an eratic minnow action, is it common to get other fish on the swimbait? Walleye, Sauger, Pike, maybe some carp?

jerzeeD reply :

I know dicks has berkley ripple shads. Just can't remember which size the local one carries. I ordered 4" ones from ***.

Bluebasser86 reply :

http://www.basspro.com/Berkley-Havoc-Grass-Pig-Softbaits/product/1111030500567/309619

http://www.basstackledepot.com/decoy-swimbaits-hydratail.aspx

There's the Grass Pig and Decoy bait. There's a hard bait called a Banshee that is pretty cheap and effective also. The Storm prerigged baits are also pretty decent bait but try to stick with the 4" or bigger baits, they just don't swim very well when you go smaller than that. Good thing is you can buy them at Wal Mart or about anywhere else.

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 9:48 AM, Mr_MightyJay said:

And ovbiously, since its an eratic minnow action, is it common to get other fish on the swimbait? Walleye, Sauger, Pike, maybe some carp?

Walleye, sauger, white bass, wipers, stripers, pike, musky, even catfish, pretty much anything that will eat baitfish. Never have caught a carp though, I doubt they could get the bait in their mouth fast enough to get the hook in. You might be able to snag one if your bait runs into one though.

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:01 AM, jerzeeD said:

I know dicks has berkley ripple shads. Just can't remember which size the local one carries. I ordered 4" ones from ***.

Yeah, ill go to dicks, and local baitshops tomorrow and look for them! Thanks!

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:05 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Walleye, sauger, white bass, wipers, stripers, pike, musky, even catfish, pretty much anything that will eat baitfish. Never have caught a carp though, I doubt they could get the bait in their mouth fast enough to get the hook in. You might be able to snag one if your bait runs into one though.

Thanks for the links! I like the looks of them, the hyrdas look a little bit more expensive. Thanks a ton!

Because of the any fish kinda catching with these swimbaits, is that why you run 15lb fluro because you never know what will bite it?Especially toothed fish? or is that for feel and horsing them in?

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:10 AM, Mr_MightyJay said:

Thanks for the links! I like the looks of them, the hyrdas look a little bit more expensive. Thanks a ton!

Because of the any fish kinda catching with these swimbaits, is that why you run 15lb fluro because you never know what will bite it?Especially toothed fish? or is that for feel and horsing them in?

It's mainly because it's a fairly large hook you're trying to drive in and big bass have very tough mouths. That is actually very light for most swimbait fishing. With bigger baits I actually fish them on 25lb copolymer with a 7' H/F rod and a medium size round reel. Also it helps when fishing around heavy cover and horsing a big fish in.

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:16 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

It's mainly because it's a fairly large hook you're trying to drive in and big bass have very tough mouths. That is actually very light for most swimbait fishing. With bigger baits I actually fish them on 25lb copolymer with a 7' H/F rod and a medium size round reel. Also it helps when fishing around heavy cover and horsing a big fish in.

Oh wow! I've been inlove with my 6'6 H/F rod with my normal small profile baitcaster/. I dont think I can afford several spools of fluro, so what size pound wise should I buy for mainly swimbaits, and big crankbaits.? 20?

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:22 AM, The Young Gun said:

Oh wow! I've been inlove with my 6'6 H/F rod with my normal small profile baitcaster/. I dont think I can afford several spools of fluro, so what size pound wise should I buy for mainly swimbaits, and big crankbaits.? 20?

You don't have to get fluoro, it's just what I use on mine. I also fish t-rigs on the same rod and I have it on that rod more for the T-rigs than the swimbaits. P-line C21 is what I would use if I was using it strictly for a small swimbait rod. It's strong and easy to fish and only 4.99 a 300yd spool. I'd probably go with 15lb if I was going to try to fish cranks and swimbaits on the same rod. If you're fishing really heavy cover I'd step up to 17 or 20 though.

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:27 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

You don't have to get fluoro, it's just what I use on mine. I also fish t-rigs on the same rod and I have it on that rod more for the T-rigs than the swimbaits. P-line C21 is what I would use if I was using it strictly for a small swimbait rod. It's strong and easy to fish and only 4.99 a 300yd spool. I'd probably go with 15lb if I was going to try to fish cranks and swimbaits on the same rod. If you're fishing really heavy cover I'd step up to 17 or 20 though.

Jeez, I don't know how I can thank you enough! You definitely are a great testimonial to the sport. I'm only 15, but one day with all this information I know it'll help me land more fish! Thanks again!

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:43 AM, The Young Gun said:

Jeez, I don't know how I can thank you enough! You definitely are a great testimonial to the sport. I'm only 15, but one day with all this information I know it'll help me land more fish! Thanks again!

Stick with it. I've been fishing my whole life but only really been fishing for bass since I was 13 and I'm almost completely self taught too. Never really had anyone to teach me much about it, maybe why I enjoy helping people get into this sport now. There's other guys on here who are much more accomplished swimbait fishermen than I am that I'm sure will give you some input also but the info I gave you should be good to get yourself started and get a feel for it.

deep reply :

"The Young Gun", if you got a rod stout enough to handle upto 4 oz baits (maybe a light musky/ inshore rod?), I got a few baits for you. All you have to do is PM me a mailing address, and promise to fish the heck out of those baits until they they get torn up by fish, or you lose them.

Primus reply :

The young gun if you can get a rod/ reel combo that can handle baits in the 2 oz range spooled with app 20 lb line try the 6" Spro BBZ, gets a lot of bites and is very affordable for a hard swimbait. As you get older and if your financial resources permit look into hardbaits from 316 lure company , Matt lures, Bull Shad etc. One of the real affordable gems is the 6" River to Sea Bottom Walker, works great slow rolling in deep water. Another good soft swimbait is the Matt lures tournament series, he duplicates just about any forage that you care to imitate.

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/28/2012 at 10:32 PM, Primus said:

The young gun if you can get a rod/ reel combo that can handle baits in the 2 oz range spooled with app 20 lb line try the 6" Spro BBZ, gets a lot of bites and is very affordable for a hard swimbait. As you get older and if your financial resources permit look into hardbaits from 316 lure company , Matt lures, Bull Shad etc. One of the real affordable gems is the 6" River to Sea Bottom Walker, works great slow rolling in deep water. Another good soft swimbait is the Matt lures tournament series, he duplicates just about any forage that you care to imitate.

Okay thanks! I've cheked into the matt lures. Once I can get the money I want to try to invest in some possibly

cueball reply :

I live in Wisconsin so I understand the issues with finding swimbait tackle that is more common in other regions.

On my last trip to northern Wisconsin I was using the 3.75" Lunker City Swimfish with a 3/0 Mustad screw lock hook and a 3/8 oz tungsten bullet sinker. This easily fished on a 7' MH casting rod with 30# braid and a 12# test fluorocarbon leader. The screw lock hook helps extend bait life. I like the tungsten sinker because it is smaller profile than lead and matches the bait better, but lead definately would work. This whole package fishes real well in weeds.

I am sure that the 4" Berkley Ripple Shads would work on the same set up. I have a pack, but the Swimfish lasted through a number of fish so I never broke into the Ripple Shads. Most Walmarts I have been in recently have the sinkers and hooks.

If you are fishing in light cover a jig head is definately a good option, just make sure it has a big enough hook.

Other swimbaits I have seen in local stores are Big Bite Baits Cane Thumpers and Havoc Grass Pigs. Probably would need a 4/0 hook for those, but the same rod and reel will work fine. There are also hollow swim baits like Berkley Hollow Belly's available locally, but I have stayed away from them because I have been catching fish on what I have and the hollow baits are more expensive and less durable.

For info on the web, Rich Zaleski (google RichZ) has a blog and he fishes the Swimfish a lot and gives details about how to do it. If you are going to fish bass in northern waters you really should read his stuff. I have been reading him since the 70's and he knows how to catch fish and teach's people how to do it. There is also a video of Jeff Kriet talking about using the cane thumper which gave me the idea to try the rig I used on the Swimfish.

The Young Gun reply :

On 7/29/2012 at 12:40 AM, cueball said:

I live in Wisconsin so I understand the issues with finding swimbait tackle that is more common in other regions.

On my last trip to northern Wisconsin I was using the 3.75" Lunker City Swimfish with a 3/0 Mustad screw lock hook and a 3/8 oz tungsten bullet sinker. This easily fished on a 7' MH casting rod with 30# braid and a 12# test fluorocarbon leader. The screw lock hook helps extend bait life. I like the tungsten sinker because it is smaller profile than lead and matches the bait better, but lead definately would work. This whole package fishes real well in weeds.

I am sure that the 4" Berkley Ripple Shads would work on the same set up. I have a pack, but the Swimfish lasted through a number of fish so I never broke into the Ripple Shads. Most Walmarts I have been in recently have the sinkers and hooks.

If you are fishing in light cover a jig head is definately a good option, just make sure it has a big enough hook.

Other swimbaits I have seen in local stores are Big Bite Baits Cane Thumpers and Havoc Grass Pigs. Probably would need a 4/0 hook for those, but the same rod and reel will work fine. There are also hollow swim baits like Berkley Hollow Belly's available locally, but I have stayed away from them because I have been catching fish on what I have and the hollow baits are more expensive and less durable.

For info on the web, Rich Zaleski (google RichZ) has a blog and he fishes the Swimfish a lot and gives details about how to do it. If you are going to fish bass in northern waters you really should read his stuff. I have been reading him since the 70's and he knows how to catch fish and teach's people how to do it. There is also a video of Jeff Kriet talking about using the cane thumper which gave me the idea to try the rig I used on the Swimfish.

Thanks a ton!

Sam Fisher reply :

banjo minnow

wisconsin reply :

Everybody seems to be focusing on soft swimbaits but floating and slow sink hardbaits are way more fun to fish and most of the Wisconsin bass season you'll be fishing warm water when the hard baits work as good or better. I mostly throw 3:16 hardbaits but rago,triple trout,ms slammer,matt lures,and plenty of others make baits that will catch fish.

They are expensive but if you buy one at a time and catch a bunch of fish on it (as you should anyways) before you buy more it hurts less. Matt lures hard gill,and 3:16 baby wake are great numbers baits to get your feet wet.

hatrix reply :

As for ordering the Hudd's just go to the actual Huddleston site. TW is always out of the Huddleston's I want. I just ordered some not to long ago from Huddleston cause TW never has what I want. Also those ripple shads work pretty good as trailers for me. I use them if I am out of Big Hammers cause I can get them locally. I get the biggest ones whatever size that is and cut the head off behind the eyes and throw them on swim jigs or chatter baits. They almost seem to last forever unless a little fish bites the tail off. I have one still on a swim jig from last year that has cause at least 60+ fish.

kayl. reply :

On 7/30/2012 at 12:18 PM, wisconsin said:

Everybody seems to be focusing on soft swimbaits but floating and slow sink hardbaits are way more fun to fish and most of the Wisconsin bass season you'll be fishing warm water when the hard baits work as good or better. I mostly throw 3:16 hardbaits but rago,triple trout,ms slammer,matt lures,and plenty of others make baits that will catch fish.

They are expensive but if you buy one at a time and catch a bunch of fish on it (as you should anyways) before you buy more it hurts less. Matt lures hard gill,and 3:16 baby wake are great numbers baits to get your feet wet.

The hard stuff is a lot more fun to throw and is more toothy-critter-resistant IMO.

OP- I live near Milwaukee and have caught some surprisingly small bass on big swimbaits; don't be afraid to buy a larger bait and throw it, even if your local anglers think your bait is ridiculous...

I'm a big fan of the Mattlures Hard Gills if you can afford one. Mattlures also has a bait called the Jitterfish that has been good for me and it's only $20ish. If you get a chance, definitely buy one of the 3:16 baby wakes or wake jrs....The Mattlures Hard Gill and the Baby Wake have been my most productive swimbaits FWIW.

Just watch out, before you know it, you'll have several hundred $$'s worth of swimbaits; they're addictive!

Primus reply :

I forgot another fun little bait that is affordable and will get you bit which is the River to Sea 95 size V joint wake minnow, despite it's name its really a shallow running swimbait. I used to catch a lot of fish on it but took out of the rotation as I wanted to focus on larger baits, runs about 8$.

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