Want To Get Into Swimbaits 2025
Dypsis reply :
I want to start and toy with hard body swimbaits. My heaviest rod is an IMX 844 rated to 1oz, so I know that certainly limits my options.
Looking for recomendations on a few to start with. Also, any other info you want to share.
Thanks
Matthew2000 reply :
Okuma big bait rod is a favorite on this site.
bigturtle reply :
I think he's asking for baits, not a new rod.
For under 1oz, try Savage Gear swimabits. I personally use the glide swimmer(1oz) and lipless 4play swim&jerk(3/4oz). Both hardbody
Livetarget also makes 2? hardbody swimbaits, never tried them but both under 1oz.
Dypsis reply :
Yes, sorry - looking for lure recommendations.
Matthew2000 reply :
- BBZ 1 4" model
- savage glide swimmer
- River 2 Sea S. Waver
- Hudd weedless shad
- optimum line thrus
stkbassn reply :
You can throw the bbz rat on your rod too. I have two now and they are easily thrown on my Powell 723 Diesel. Lighter than I expected. Fun bait for waking and even cranking down a foot or two.
everythingthatswims reply :
You should be able to toss an s-waver 168
Big C reply :
Go with a Spro Rat. Hudd 68 is a good option too, I know it's soft plastic but it is incredible (and weedless).
Jrob78 reply :
If you want to get into swimbaits, why not a get a proper rod?
Lacustrine reply :
You can get a lot of swim baits for the cost of one good rod and reel.
Jrob78 reply :
On 4/29/2015 at 10:15 AM, Lacustrine said:You can get a lot of swim baits for the cost of one good rod and reel.
Not that you can throw on a 7' rod with a 1 oz rating.
Lacustrine reply :
True.
einscodek reply :
Yer not gonna be throwin any real swimbaits by west coast standards with that rod..
Dypsis reply :
On 4/29/2015 at 9:58 AM, Jrob78 said:If you want to get into swimbaits, why not a get a proper rod?
I'd prefer to start slow and get a few to try, learn how/where to use them before buying a dedicated setup for them.
Brnnoser6983 reply :
On 4/29/2015 at 6:39 PM, Dypsis said:I'd prefer to start slow and get a few to try, learn how/where to use them before buying a dedicated setup for them.
That's the best thing. When I was looking into swim baits someone told that. You can drop 30, 40 and much more on a swim, but if you don't use it right. Or it's not your thing, it's a waste.
Catch and Grease reply :
On 4/29/2015 at 8:26 AM, Matthew2000 said:- BBZ 1 4" model
- savage glide swimmer
- River 2 Sea S. Waver
- Hudd weedless shad
- optimum line thrus
Just curious, have you used any of these baits your recomending?
Dogmatic reply :
A "light swimbait" set up is worth the investment, and could be used for more than swimbaits(umbrella rig, big cranks, ect.). Just my opinion, but really limited at a an ounce max. Mainly BBZ's, tru tungsten's, couple others mentioned.
timcauliffe reply :
Start cheap - the best thing about smaller swimbaits is they are cheaper and as effective as bigger swimbaits. You should definitely be able to throw the River2Sea S-Waver 168, Savage Gear 6" Slide Swimmer, Savage Gear 6" line-thru trout or the Savage Gear 5"-6" trout (top hook), Cabela's Live Image Swimbaits, Kanan Swimbaits, Spro BBZ 4" swimbaits, etc.
Mostly all can be purchased at Cabela's, Tackle Warehouse, Bass Pro or your local tackle shop.
Your best bet is to start with a slide-swimmer / s-waver or get 1 of each kind: 1 sinking trout (moderate or fast), a s-waver, a wake bait, and anything else you think would do well in your local ponds & lakes. This will give you the basics to learn not only the individual swimbaits themselves, but retrieves and techniques that will help trigger the bites.
BW208 reply :
With the Hudd baits how do you determine what rate of fall you want?
Master Bait'r reply :
OP just get some Decoy Hydra Tails. Best 1oz top hook swimbait at a reasonable price IMO. I like top hooks because they are decently weedless but you can still just rip for the hills when you feel the thump. Those and the Biwaa S'Trouts- but you've got to be more careful w open trebles. Then you've got the small slide swimmers and S-Songs but that's $$.
basshole8190 reply :
Try and find a baby hardgill they can be thrown on mh-h rod And 100-200 size baitcaster. And they get bit!
Or a black dog baits g2 shellcracker they can be thrown on conventional tackle that work really well
cgolf reply :
I used a Strike King Baby King shad some last year and had some success. It doesn't require a heavy rod, and while I didn't hit any big bass, I did get a follow from a solid 40+ Muskie with it, so the big fish potential is their. it was a very user friendly bait to toss.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 4/30/2015 at 11:36 AM, cgolf said:I used a Strike King Baby King shad some last year and had some success. It doesn't require a heavy rod, and while I didn't hit any big bass, I did get a follow from a solid 40+ Muskie with it, so the big fish potential is their. it was a very user friendly bait to toss.
My biggest 5 fish limit in Kansas was on a full sized King Shad. They're fragile but they have the right profile to attract big fish and don't require any special equipment to fish them.
The Decoy Hydratail is a great bait that is affordable and easy to fish on MH rod, same with the Opti line thru or Savage 6" Line Thru.
Ozark_Basser reply :
Smaller ospreys and jerry ragos.
primetime reply :
Check out the Reaction Strike Swimbaits on Overstock bait and tackle for $2.99 and $3.99 if just getting started. They OEM for many of the expensive companies and many lures by companies like Bettencourt and others are usually super cheap on that site since the market is saturated with swimbaits...You will need to upsize the treblE hooks on the reaction strikes, I use the same size hook that comes on the Spro BBZ which I belive is 1/0 or 1, but the 3" and 4" come in wake, slow, suspend, fast...I find wake and fast fall are the 2 I use most, and the colors are not the best from Reaction Strike since they put the nice paint on the expensive lures, but they are plenty good...
Also, Cabelas makes a Copy of the Sebile for $4.99 But ebay has the Sebile Magic swimmers for under $10 and they are really good imo. We just had a batch of Spro BBZ 4" arrive for $7.50 each here in Florida so I would guess guys are selling them on ebay for $10 or so, I picked up a dozen for myself since they list for $25 and I actually do well with the Spro. I have had 2 S Wavers and neither was a quality Glide bait imo, I like the Savage Glide a bit better but that is normal since they are considered cheaper glides, however the Bomber Glides and Rapala Glidin Rap, strike Pro and Sebile's work just fine...I am a river2sea guy, I like the wide glide lure itself in suspending and floating, just not lucky with the S wavers, Check Overstock, they have Deals for the expensive Swimbaits that usually are like $50 for $20, but you may not enjoy fishing them......Maybe try the soft versions first? Megabait Charlie is a good starter.
Dypsis reply :
Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll take a look and grab a few and see where it takes me.
Any help on what situations are better from throwing swimbaits? I'll start looking around on here, google, and youtube but any tips would be great.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 4/30/2015 at 6:30 PM, Dypsis said:Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll take a look and grab a few and see where it takes me.
Any help on what situations are better from throwing swimbaits? I'll start looking around on here, google, and youtube but any tips would be great.
Swimbaits is a lot of trial and error man. There's times I throw them and I'm braced every cast because everything seems perfect, and nothing ever happens. Then I get days like yesterday when I'm fishing a lake with mostly small, heavily pressured fish while the sun is high and the wind is calm, and I catch fish.
I prefer there to be fairly good visibility for most of my swimbaits, but other than that it's just a matter of getting yourself to actually commit to throwing them.
Nice_Bass reply :
Stay cheap until you build confidence and I don't really have any others to add other than if I were to have only two I would have a Matt lures baby hardgill and a mini MS slammer on the rod that you are using. I also don't really throw giant baits and most of the folks here are going to know more than me, so listen to them. These are the two I use 90% of the time now.
best advice for getting started for me though is to give them a fair shot. Don't pick it up and make some casts and give up on it, etc. I still find myself doing this with giant baits, thus why I have not figured out they do catch fish (yet in musky lakes I catch bass on musky baits lol).
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