SwimBaits

[bassbusta01]

Ok I know thier is a lot of swimbait fishing going on because I went to my local tackle shop and they were sold out of a bunch of swimbait stuff and the guy said they are catching big bass.I am just getting started in this swimbait thing any help would be great like baits to use and what lakes to fish thank you for your help.

[haulin'bass]

yeah i was getting ready to post something about swim baits and I would like some information about them to

[Knot in leader]

A great place to check out is swimbaitnation.com they have most of the latest swimbaits. They also have videos on what they look like in the water and how to fish them. Just get your credit card out and order them off the site. :nerd: :dance: $$$$$$$

[Dave Smith]

I would tell you that there are two catagories: swimbaits and SWIMBAITS. swimbaits are wriggley little elongated "sassy shads" and are all the rage- incredibly trendy right now. You get the surprise factor on bass- youre showing them something they may have not seen before and so will even get a big fish to eat it one once in a while. In a short time the fish learn that they're really not much more than a rubbery crankbait and all is back to normal.
Now, if you want to fish SWIMBAITS, you're in for the most exciting and the most frustrating and trying experience of your bass life. You will need to invest in a new rig, and the reel is expensive. The baits are expensive and you WILL cast one off the end of your line sooner or later. If you don't loose a bait once in a while on structure, your not fishing them where fish live. You will get followers that will break your heart, you can go 7 days in a row without a bite (my new record- only two followers in that period).
If you stick with them, you can and will break your PB, but of the 100 or so guys that say they will, 99 of them drop out and 66 will drop out halfway through the first day.
There is alot of good information that comes from down south, but keep this in mind: A bass down south grows twice as big and lives half as long as ours. To do that, it needs to eat FOUR times the amount of food, so guys down south talk about 20 fish days and catching handfuls of 2 1/2 pounders on 10 inch baits- not likely here. In the NW, you are hoping for intercepting that one fish that decides to eat a big trout- she may not eat again for two weeks- it may take her over a week just to digest a big trout with her slow metabolism. What I'm getting at is you are in for some long days, tired arms, a big investment, you'll get scorned at constantly by trout fisherman and bass fisherman, you'll constatnly have to fight off the temptation to tie on some sissy bait the you know you could get bit on, but it's worth every minute.
Dave

[tnj8222]

could you recomend some good swimbaits to get Dave?

[bassfishingnw]

Great info DAVE.

A great website is http://swimbaitnation.com/ for info on SwimBaits!!

It is tough to put down that SENKO when you know you can fill the boat and throw the $45 dollar SwimBait on 65# braid and you might get a bite :)

BUT ITS WORTH IT :)

Happy Catching!

[Dave Smith]

Yup- stocker trout is a great one- very shallow runner. Ofcourse huddies. ROF 0 for dead-sticking and twitching, 5 for shallow flats or a super slow presentation at any depth, and 12's and 16's for deeper or faster fishing- there is not much difference between a 12 and 16. RAGO raptor and real trout- the real trout has a 7 inch version which looks like a sucker and bass around here love suckers. It's nice because you can throw it on a little lighter set-up and a 16 inch fish can inhale it so you are not weeding out all small bass (btw, I just caught a 12 inch fish on a 9 inch bait so it DOES happen, just don't expect it). BBZ-1: the floater is a very good bait and a great twitcher and OK dead-sticker. The slow sinking and fast sinking are almost worthless IMO. They swim like a snake- not like a fish and you will get alot of turn-downs from fish that would have inhlaled a stocker trout or Hudd. The trick with the BBZ-1 sinkers, if you already have them, is to fish them out- let them get down and twitch them down deep like you would on the surface and you will get bit. Mission fish are way overrated in the NW IMO, but the DO HAVE A PLACE. They are completely weedless so they will go where no other swimbait can. Be prepared to loose some fish and get alot of nippers with them. If you really want to get in the game, but don;t want to buy a 500.00 outfit to throw them, go with MATTLURES. Male bluegill, trout, or coho. Baby bass and perch will also do well. Also, even though they don't look as real, don't overlook EAGLE'S, OSPREY'S, and OPTIMUMS. The all swim perfectly and a good swimmer will get bit over a beautiful gimper any day. Finally, a good summer bait is a 3-16 wake bait jr. There is a new bluegill twitch bait just out that I haven't tried, yet, but looks really good, and also for summer, alot of guys swear by MS SLAMMERS, but I have almost zero sexperience with them.
Dave

[Dave Smith]

I had to leave that blooper in and not edit it: "sexperience". Did I just invent a new word? :cheers:Also I guess I could mention a couple more hard baits- the Triple Trout is good one and so is Bettencourts. Bettencourts is colored using a photo of a trout and really attracts alot of attention in the water- the TT is pretty good, but not quite 70 dollars good. Dave

[boblag]

What kind of rod/reel set-up is needed?

[bpm2000]

A lot of rod companies have come out with "big bait/swimbait" lines of rods these days. Powell, Okuma (<--seems to be a budget favorite), kistler, Loomis, etc... I know a lot of people were using heavy flippin' rods before as well.

[Dave Smith]

I have four different set-ups, but the one that I tie my best baits on and use 90% of the time is my G-LOOMIS BBR965C, with a Calcutta TE 401. I use 25 or 30 pound Maxima- never braid! The rod is rated for 17 to 40 and 2 to 8 ounces. It has a Medium fast taper and casts and fished like a dream- the fish can eat the bait, you don't get tired, etc. I would never post any of this on swimbaitnation or Calfishing because the people that have helped me don't want this spread around CA, so keep this in OR and WA- he he. The Okuma seems like a great rod- that will be my next rod. I have another loomis, a Rogue and Diawa- all great. On reels, you can't beat Calcuttas- I also have the Daiwa Luna. The Okuma is also OK- it will work. I don't own one but have fished them- it's only 100 bucks, just like their rod! Dave

[tnj8222]

thats some awesome info!! james smiley straight knocked em dead with sandz on thos ms slammers

[Tar Heel]

What about using a smaller version for smallies? Anyone trying swim baits on smallies these days. We have tons of smolt runnig out of the Col. and Willy, and, unfortunately, smallies must prey upon them like#%!&$%^.

[Dave Smith]

Smallies love swimbaits. You can go to any of smallmouth fisheries and get bit by fish that have seen every 3 inch wacky rigged Senko on the planet and otherwise just won't bite. Most people don't realize how big you can go and still get bit, especially if you rig your baits right, but a great jumping off point are 4 inch and 5 inch Optimum sinking baits- NOT the suspending ones. The Mattlures trout is a great smallie bait, but it will get destroyed in one day of fishing- smallies are very aggressive and will hit anything, no matter how big so you will get ripped by alot of fish that can't eat the bait. Because of this, you're better off to go big or go small, but not so much in between. Dave

[Knot in leader]

I just got the new Loomis swimbait rod SWBR956C and love it. It will throw the big baits with ease and feels nice in your hands. :grin: Not that I ever throw swimbaits He! He!

[Dave Smith]

956C?? So it's 7-11 and a 6 power? the big question with all these is: are they making a new taper for swimbaits or jumping in the market with a back-bouncing rod that they call a swimbait rod??????? Don't really care- just curious.......

[Knot in leader]

They make a med heavy, heavy, and extra heavy 7'11 for differant sized baits. I think they put alot of time in designing there rods. I wouldn't fish anything but a Loomis :cheers:. O'douls

[Tar Heel]

Smallies love swimbaits. You can go to any of smallmouth fisheries and get bit by fish that have seen every 3 inch wacky rigged Senko on the planet and otherwise just won't bite. Most people don't realize how big you can go and still get bit, especially if you rig your baits right, but a great jumping off point are 4 inch and 5 inch Optimum sinking baits- NOT the suspending ones. The Mattlures trout is a great smallie bait, but it will get destroyed in one day of fishing- smallies are very aggressive and will hit anything, no matter how big so you will get ripped by alot of fish that can't eat the bait. Because of this, you're better off to go big or go small, but not so much in between. Dave

[Tar Heel]

Thanks. I will give it a shot, as the bite gets a litle slower this summer. Crankbaits all day are wearing me out. 5 fish over 4 lbs in last three trips out! New to smallmouth fishing, and love it! I guess I can get by w/ ordinary tackle as I give swimmers a shot on the smallies. I have rigged a crummy soft plasitc shad w/ a trailer that should work for short strikes. Will look for a smolt imitation as described.:cheers:

[Dave Smith]

I wouldn't fish anything but a Loomis :cheers:. O'douls
I'm with ya, there, I have eleven of them, but will be down to nine by the end of the day because three of them are on ebay!:shocked::frown: It's OK, they're rods I haven't used in a long time- mostly those really weird ones that use that really weird reel.....what do you call those?......Oh yeah: "spinning" rods. he he:applause: Oh yeah, and good luck, david prange- sounds like your doing great on those smallies- post up some pics when you get some more! Dave

[DJD]

Hey Dave , do you think swimbaits would work in that old mudhole we call fern ridge?

[Dave Smith]

DJD- YES! I have typically sought out the deepest, clearest lakes I could find and have learned on that type of water, but am discovering that shallow, stained water is great, too, it just takes a different approach. There are two ways that I know of that you could apporach a place like FR. One is to go really big and slow, like a 9 or 10 inch loud-colored Osprey or Eagle. The other is to go smaller and fast, but with a wake bait. You can use a real wake bait, such as a 3-16 wakebait jr. or a top-dawg, or you can just use any swimbait that has a really slow ROF and just wake it- some wake better than others, but they will all work. I have been meaning to try it on Fern Ridge. So many lakes, so little time..... Dave

[DJD]

I would love to go along on that trip!

[BuKuBass]

What about using a smaller version for smallies? Anyone trying swim baits on smallies these days. We have tons of smolt runnig out of the Col. and Willy, and, unfortunately, smallies must prey upon them like#%!&$%^.

Speaking of Bettencourt's...I used a
http://bettencourtbaits.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=31&osCsid=e56e0bb045b8637793545ed937852835
on the John Day this past Thursday and Friday during the new moon. What a blast! Which is the right word to describe how some smallies reacted. Heddon's
http://fishingcollectables.com/images/he287.jpg
is a cheaper alternative altho the fur doesn't move like the "Rodent's" does.

For the price of what most are asking for their swimbaits, I can buy two to five Luckycrafts which IMHO are more versatile. BTW I just received some large Pointers and Staysees from an outfit that charges a flat rate shipping charge of $1.99 and shipping is free for orders over $50. Just to drive to the nearest store that handles LCs cost me much more than that, not to mention the time invloved.
PM me for a link.

Round up the usual disclaimers regarding affiliation.

[boblag]

Thanks for all the great info! My next purchase will have to be one of those Okuma rods.

[Dave Smith]

One thing I forgot to mention: If you are going to fish big swimbaits, you need to get a tool to remove them from a fish's mouth!!!! Alot of times, you cannot get the bait out with pliers and you will kill a fish sooner or later. Especially up here where some of our fastest growing fish have small mouths. The best one I have found is the one made by JimTeeny- The Teeny Nymph Co. Sorry- I don't have a link. They make three sizes- get the red handled one and don't go fishing- even one day- until you have one! Dave

[tnj8222]

hey dave im curiouse what you think on how this guy riggs his hudds. looks like he knows what hes doing.

http://www.trophybassonly.com/id224.htm

[bpm2000]

Chris has caught more than enough big fish to say his ideas are pretty good I would think... i've been thinking about trying a slimmed down version of this for the 4/5" baits for smallmouth - I cant hook up at all or keep the hook in them with the single tophook - I'm starting to suspect hook placement.

[tnj8222]

yeah i agree man.i really like how he modified the hudd im sure it will work on other swimmies as well. i have only had one good hit so far on mine but it didnt stick either. but my swimmy has a treble on the bottom which i dont like so far.

[Dave Smith]

I have never done it that way. I think you would slightly increase you're hookup ratios, but I also think you would tear your baits up faster, so now that's up to you- he he. Alot of the guys that are willing to rig with barbed, curved hook points burried in baits also get them for free or cheap and I'm not in that category- he he. For burrying trebs (btw: the hook he recommends is a great hook), I straiten it out a little and then cut the barb off and even a little bit of the point. The idea is to make it stay good enough to cast with, but pull out easily when you hook a fish. I use seven-strand wire if I need a stinger on a deep diver, and run it from the jig hook back to about the adipose fin. With this rig you can crawl it along the bottom or set it on the bottom without fear of hanging up, otherwise, I just go with a treb on the bottom eyelet if I'm not going to be on the bottom. As far as cutting the jig hook off- I don't know if I have it in me to do that on a 30.00 lure. Any fish that will hook that top treb would've probably hooked the jig hook. In cold water, I get more fish that eat the whole bait and the jig hook gets them (or both the jig hook and the bottom treb get them), in warm, I get more fish on the trap hook(s), which is the opposite of how I would've guessed it would go. Dave

[bpm2000]

I watched a few good sized smallies hit my swimbait this past weekend and quite a few of them were coming up from UNDER them and slamming them from the bottom while I was sloooow swimming them, then quickly trying to take them under. The bait I'm using has only the top hook. The few I did managed to hook went STRAIGHT for the top and jumped/shook my hooks. I wasn't able to keep them down since I am fishing from docks and platforms so I cant get my rod tip to the water even in most places.

Eh, what can u do.

[Dave Smith]

The basic rule of thumb is: shallow running baits, hooks on the bottom because fish will most likely attack from below, deep running baits, hooks on top because fish will most likely attack from above. There are all kinds of exceptions because the fish aren't kind enough to read about how they're supposed to act. One thing to keep in mind is that smallmouth are notorious for htting or "knocking" the bait before eating it, if they eat it at all. Unlike LM's, I don't swing on them until the rod loads, and sometimes you might get 5 or 6 knocks or more from multiple fish on one cast. Rig a trap hook, fish a hard bait with multiple trebs, fish a small jig-hooked bait, or simply keep fishing with what you have and sooner or later one will commit to it and you'll hook'em. Maybe somebody has some other ideas?:shrug:

[bpm2000]

yea i think im going to try looking into rigging another hook and see if that affects the rate of hits I get at all.
thx

[tuanchau]

I'm jumping in headfirst to try out this SWIMBAIT technique.

Heres what I picked up
http://rs.tacklewarehouse.com/tac/ProductImages/SPBBZS-FR.JPG
http://rs.tacklewarehouse.com/tac/ProductImages/MLUBG-MB.JPG
http://rs.tacklewarehouse.com/tac/ProductImages/MLBB-LB.JPG