Swimbaits on a Budget, do I even bother? 2024
cgolf reply :
I am likely to pick up a couple of 6th Sense Speed Glide 100s for Christmas and already have a SG Shine Glide I got on trade and 2 Strike King Baby King shads.
The question is can I get good swimbaits for 20 bucks or under, or am I just wasting my time? I do fish on a budget so a 50$ swimbait would eat up about a ¼ of it. To top it off we have a lot of Pike and Musky which also love swimbaits big and small, so the chances of losing them or getting them destroyed is pretty high.
Are there really conditions where a Bass will only eat a swimbait, or should I just stick to my standard offerings of cranks, soft plastics, and Jigs.
bigturtle reply :
Heavy fluoro leader solves the bite off problem
DINK WHISPERER reply :
Check out Savage gear and live Target. Awesome swimbaits on a budget.
bunkerbstr reply :
Jackall Giron is pretty decent bait.
Chance_Taker4 reply :
I only throw R2S S-Waver. Great baits and good for budget anglers.
fishballer06 reply :
I highly recommend the S Waver for the budget priced glide style swimbaits. It definitely performs above it's price point.
bigbill reply :
Where headed into uncharted waters with the early pre Black Friday sales it’s never been done. The deals are coming out. Look for deep discounts with the free shipping offer.
Example,,, I just saved $60 on the k cup coffee order with free shipping plus a 15% savings per box. Anyone can shop smart if we wait patiently for the deals.
Im still eating above the dollar menu at Mickey d’s.
cgolf reply :
On 11/14/2017 at 5:52 AM, bigbill said:Where headed into uncharted waters with the early pre Black Friday sales it’s never been done. The deals are coming out. Look for deep discounts with the free shipping offer.
Example,,, I just saved $60 on the k cup coffee order with free shipping plus a 15% savings per box. Anyone can shop smart if we wait patiently for the deals.
Im still eating above the dollar menu at Mickey d’s.
Unfortunately I am locked into TW this year as a gift from my parents. On my order so far I have 2 of the 6th sense baits and some wiggle room to free up some money for other deals. Really hoping they do extra off on SK and Gambler again, but will see what they decide to do this year.
we definately bargain shop too and rarely eat out, so that we can vacation and enjoy the stuff we want to and ignore the rest.
WRB reply :
Nothing anyone can do to prevent toothy fish from tearing up soft plastic swimbaits. You can use Surflon Micro tieable stranded wire leaders to prevent being bit off by toothy fish.
Tom
Angry John reply :
I am trying just what your talking. I have swaivers, big keitecks, trash fish and huddlestons. Toss in a bbz-1 and a BBZ rat and your in big business. Stick to known baits that work. Having a million baits is not better. My buddy got a bunch of expensive baits and has quickly gone to only fishing his hinkle shad. Now that bait is good money but if your only buying one or two then its not that bad. I don't know what your limits are but it can be done. The costs associated with being bit off are unknown so i cant speak to that. If your baits are big enough then that may limit the problem.
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
Do you have rod and reel for swimbait? Some of those swimbait are 2oz or even heavier, you might need to buy a whole new setup for something that you would throw a few months/year. I, just like you also considered anything that on budget side, I traded my beloved reel (Calcutta 50) for a handful of swimbait. I did caught a few fish on hudd 68 but they were only 2-3 lb. which you can catch that size bass with any other lures.
cgolf reply :
On 11/14/2017 at 11:50 AM, JustJames said:Do you have rod and reel for swimbait? Some of those swimbait are 2oz or even heavier, you might need to buy a whole new setup for something that you would throw a few months/year. I, just like you also considered anything that on budget side, I traded my beloved reel (Calcutta 50) for a handful of swimbait. I did caught a few fish on hudd 68 but they were only 2-3 lb. which you can catch that size bass with any other lures.
Yes, I have a St Croix Mojo swimbait stick and a couple of musky sticks that would also work as well.
Angry John reply :
I am using a st croix avid 7'4" casting rod heavy. Rated to 1.5 but feels good to 2. The 178 swaiver is the heaviest i have used so far right about 2oz. I am using a sv103 reel and the zillion is supposed to be really good up to 3ish ounces. I have another setup much heavier but i haven't used it in a long time.
cgolf reply :
On 11/15/2017 at 8:57 AM, Angry John said:I am using a st croix avid 7'4" casting rod heavy. Rated to 1.5 but feels good to 2. The 178 swaiver is the heaviest i have used so far right about 2oz. I am using a sv103 reel and the zillion is supposed to be really good up to 3ish ounces. I have another setup much heavier but i haven't used it in a long time.
I have an avid X for smaller swimbaits to an ounce with a Daiwa Viento and the Mojo has a ridiculous range of 1-4 ounces around 8 feet and will either use my Abu Musky reel or my quantum accurist for smaller baits. The mojo will likely have a weight it tosses best, seems like a very wide range.
Angry John reply :
See a lot of rods with a 1-4 or 5 range. Will fish a lot of the baits i am willing to toss. Have no major plans on using this as a work out plan. Some of the glides like the shadly and the hinkle shad are 5 ish so that may be a stretch. The good news is the largest baits are not cheap at all so for my purpose i dont care...
cgolf reply :
On 11/15/2017 at 9:28 AM, Angry John said:See a lot of rods with a 1-4 or 5 range. Will fish a lot of the baits i am willing to toss. Have no major plans on using this as a work out plan. Some of the glides like the shadly and the hinkle shad are 5 ish so that may be a stretch. The good news is the largest baits are not cheap at all so for my purpose i dont care...
I have some 10 1/4" 6 1/2 ounce storm thundersticks if you decide you need a workout plan
Those are a lob cast and to be honest sound like you threw your buddy over board when they land.
J Francho reply :
Check out the Savage Gear 3D Glide and the Glide Swimmer. Both baits have proven themselves to me. For just a bit more, you can get into an MS Mini Slammer. Mine has caught so many fish over the years. It's what I consider a "gateway bait."
Bluebasser86 reply :
The Shine Glide is one of my top 3 favorite swimbaits. I reach for it over my Deps 175 anymore, just outproduces them and swims better imo. I have a bone colored Shine Glide that is all chewed up from all the largemouth, smallmouth, and wipers it's caught. Get the bigger size, a lot of allure of swimbaits to the fish is the large profile. The Savage Gear 3D bluegill 5" floater is a good bait for me over grass. A Spro rat 40 or 50 would be another one I'd add to the list. The R2S S-Waver is a popular bait but having owned both, the Shine Glide was a much better bait for me.
cgolf reply :
On 11/15/2017 at 9:49 PM, Bluebasser86 said:The Shine Glide is one of my top 3 favorite swimbaits. I reach for it over my Deps 175 anymore, just outproduces them and swims better imo. I have a bone colored Shine Glide that is all chewed up from all the largemouth, smallmouth, and wipers it's caught. Get the bigger size, a lot of allure of swimbaits to the fish is the large profile. The Savage Gear 3D bluegill 5" floater is a good bait for me over grass. A Spro rat 40 or 50 would be another one I'd add to the list. The R2S S-Waver is a popular bait but having owned both, the Shine Glide was a much better bait for me.
I never ended up tossing that swimbait this year, but for 2018 figuring out swimbaits and topwaters are going to be a goal of mine, especially when to toss them.
J Francho reply :
A few years ago, a very successful "catcherman" and fellow kayak angler that happened to be a broke college student posted an eye opening admission: He had only one lure, and fished with it exclusively all season long. What lure? Lucky Craft Sammy 115. I was like, "huh?" So, I started throwing a topwater, specifically a Megabass PopMax almost exclusively. All times of day, all depths, all conditions. Much success. That one bait accounted for more fish in the past two years than all others combined. Something to chew on, considering I feel like I'm a stronger jig/worm, crankbait, spinnerbait kind guy.
Some topwater footage for you:
Angry John reply :
Wish we had a way to create a poll for the top 3 starter baits. Cost is not always a direct factor as some would have you believe but there are more expensive baits that are amazing... Value is very hard to determine as a 50 spro rat is large but costs a lot less than the same size slammer. Both are very well rated in SB communities...
the reel ess reply :
On 11/15/2017 at 11:15 PM, J Francho said:A few years ago, a very successful "catcherman" and fellow kayak angler that happened to be a broke college student posted an eye opening admission: He had only one lure, and fished with it exclusively all season long. What lure? Lucky Craft Sammy 115. I was like, "huh?" So, I started throwing a topwater, specifically a Megabass PopMax almost exclusively. All times of day, all depths, all conditions. Much success. That one bait accounted for more fish in the past two years than all others combined. Something to chew on, considering I feel like I'm a stronger jig/worm, crankbait, spinnerbait kind guy.
Some topwater footage for you:
Were there days you caught nothing? I agree that bass will kill a topwater more than a lot of people think. I'm a topwater kinda guy. I'd rather catch 1 topwater bass than 2 on the bottom. But I know there would be days when I caught a goose egg if I threw nothing else.
J Francho reply :
On 11/16/2017 at 5:08 AM, the reel ess said:Were there days you caught nothing?
There some days I caught nothing on topwater, if that's what you mean. I know how to adjust
the reel ess reply :
After buying a couple swimbaits I'm asking myself if they're worth the price. I've only caught bass on the BBZ-1 Rat. The other is a Savage Gear Glide that has been unsuccessful thus far. Well, I also have that cheap Academy H2O bluegill that the bass just laugh at.
WRB reply :
Suggesting soft swimbaits for use where pike and musky are present isn't doing the OP any favors. Back in the late 70's to early 80's I shipped my soft Worm King Dinosaur 10", 12" and 16" trout swimbaits to Ontario Canada to use for musky fishing, what was I thinking? Small to medium size 8 to 10 lb pike and musky shredded those swimbaits beyond repair, bad idea. They worked great but 1 fish per swimbait gets expensive fast!
The swimbait that worked very good in Canada was 22nd Century 8" Triple Trout, not an inexpensive lure but I have the same lure for over 15 years now, very durable lure.
Tom
Angry John reply :
On 11/16/2017 at 6:02 AM, WRB said:Suggesting soft swimbaits for use where pike and musky are present isn't doing the OP any favors. Back in the late 70's to early 80's I shipped my soft Worm King Dinosaur 10", 12" and 16" trout swimbaits to Ontario Canada to use for musky fishing, what was I thinking? Small to medium size 8 to 10 lb pike and musky shredded those swimbaits beyond repair, bad idea. They worked great but 1 fish per swimbait gets expensive fast!
The swimbait that worked very good in Canada was 22nd Century 8" Triple Trout, not an inexpensive lure but I have the same lure for over 15 years now, very durable lure.
Tom
You lost me TOM dont know where anyone was talking soft a lot of hard baits mentioned though...
WRB reply :
On 11/14/2017 at 7:44 AM, Angry John said:I am trying just what your talking. I have swaivers, big keitecks, trash fish and huddlestons. Toss in a bbz-1 and a BBZ rat and your in big business. Stick to known baits that work. Having a million baits is not better. My buddy got a bunch of expensive baits and has quickly gone to only fishing his hinkle shad. Now that bait is good money but if your only buying one or two then its not that bad. I don't know what your limits are but it can be done. The costs associated with being bit off are unknown so i cant speak to that. If your baits are big enough then that may limit the problem.
Keitecks, Trash Fish and Huddleston's are all soft swimbaits.
Tom
Angry John reply :
On 11/16/2017 at 6:22 AM, WRB said:Keitecks, Trash Fish and Huddleston's are all soft swimbaits.
Tom
They are supper cheap unless your talking large Huddlestons and it your getting bit off its not a huge loss. I feel that 4.8 with hook is around 2 dollars and can be a great start. Your right they are soft but the cost of a loss is no worse than any other lure, and maybe a lot less... I guess everyones ideal of reasonable for a loss is different but if its zero then fishing might not be the right gig... Is the devil in the details or are we looking at being realistic... No conflict desired...
WRB reply :
On 11/16/2017 at 6:27 AM, Angry John said:They are supper cheap unless your talking large Huddlestons and it your getting bit off its not a huge loss. I feel that 4.8 with hook is around 2 dollars and can be a great start. Your right they are soft but the cost of a loss is no worse than any other lure, and maybe a lot less... I guess everyones ideal of reasonable for a loss is different but if its zero then fishing might not be the right gig... Is the devil in the details or are we looking at being realistic... No conflict desired...
Little Creepers Trash Fish, 8" is $20, agree Kietechs are inexpensive.
Tom
BassB8Caster reply :
There are a lot of great options at all budget levels. A bag of yum pulse 4.5" swimbaits are a great deal. The side to side wobble with great tail kick action is a great producer for me. Either on a jig head or even texas rigged on a twist lock hook. Keitechs are a great value for the action they have. And they produce. period. Savage gear line thru trout and 3d trout are good prices (10 and 13). The spro bbz 40 rat is 25 but has lasted me 2 seasons and caught me a ton of good fish. So imo a great value. I just picked up 2 savage gear 4play lipped swimbaits (buy one get one 50% off at dicks) for $15. So lime i said, more options than one needs to catch fish. Dont need to get into the expensive baits unless you want to and have the budget for it. But dont cheap out on your rod and reel for pricier baits. Need a stout rod for the bigger baits!
TnRiver46 reply :
I catch a lot of angry fish on the h20 express jointed hardbaits. They are $5.99 regular price, sometimes on sale cheaper. I get my soft swimabits handpoured by a retired bass catching machine
cgolf reply :
On 11/16/2017 at 6:27 AM, Angry John said:They are supper cheap unless your talking large Huddlestons and it your getting bit off its not a huge loss. I feel that 4.8 with hook is around 2 dollars and can be a great start. Your right they are soft but the cost of a loss is no worse than any other lure, and maybe a lot less... I guess everyones ideal of reasonable for a loss is different but if its zero then fishing might not be the right gig... Is the devil in the details or are we looking at being realistic... No conflict desired...
On 11/16/2017 at 8:03 AM, WRB said:Little Creepers Trash Fish, 8" is $20, agree Kietechs are inexpensive.
Tom
I guess I really didn't specify, but I was thinking the harbodied fish imitating swim baits not wanting to mess with the larger plastic swimbaits which like Tom said would get trashed by pike and musky. Saying that though Musky guys love their bull dawgs.
I hadn't thought of Keitech like baits as swim baits which I have a few of that I haven't tossed much either. I will likely be tossing those more too and if they get bit off who cares. Too many baits and so little time.
Later I will get a pick of what I already have.
BaitFinesse reply :
Revolution Shads come in all sizes, sink rates and catch fish. They swim well too.
cgolf reply :
Alright I have 3 savage gear, Strike King King Shad, 2 Cabela's generic swimbaits, a big old creek chub, and not sure if it counts, bug a Lucky Craft LL Pointer.
I do really have my eyes on a Jackall Mikey wake bait, they have an incredible perch imitation and the reviews on TW sound good. Plus some others you all have mentioned.
If you think I have a good enough starter set, please save me some money and I will work with these next year.
In hindsight I should have started with this picture.
cgolf reply :
Thanks all for the advice. I am glad it is only 8 days away from when I place my Black Friday order, as my list is shifting daily. I might even shock myself and get a Megabass Popmax.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 11/17/2017 at 1:35 PM, cgolf said:Megabass Popmax.
Get a River2Sea Bubble Walker 80 instead. I can't tell the difference except the price tag.
Angry John reply :
I have both and they both work. If your looking at the bait the mb is way more detailed and has wayyyyy nicer paint. Do the fish care most likely not.
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