168 Rookie

Nice hit! Got my S-Waver and rookie swimbait setup on the way from TW, should be here this week. I'm STOKED to become a part of the crew!

Nice fish man, looks like they love the Dowz huh.

Actually Chicago ' burbs, so still the Midwest but I think you're south of me. 4-5 pounds is a real nice fish here too. On another note, those Roman Made baits look SO good, my my.

DOPE weekend, nice! I'm in the Midwest too, so I know the weird spring we've had. SOLID fish right there man, good work.

NICE, man--I know Matt at Tactical Bassin likes his jigs to have that beat-up look, thinks that it's more natural and realistic (cuz when have you ever seen a perfect fish/crawdad/etc with nary a scratch, bump, wound, cut fin...). I tend to agree. Good work, looks dope.

Thanks for posting this story--as an angler trying to get into the swimbait game, I take a lot of good info and encouragement from these words.

Cool, thanks for the info.

Thanks for the breakdown K--I actually live in the northwest burbs of chicago, about an hour out, so unfortunately I don't get the clear water of Lake Michigan itself. Im fishing weedy spots for the most part. And yeah I added the Shine Glide to the baits, I've settled on: 7" Shine Glide (Hitch); S-Waver 168S (Yellow Perch ); Saveage Gear 3D bluegill 6" line-thru; couple 7" Jenko Booty Shakers. I think those should cover my foray into swimbaiting, let me get my style down before I go bigger.

Logan, So you'd say overall you're satisfied with your KastKing experience? I got my first baitcaster this year, put a KastKing Stealth on it and I'm satisfied (don't have anything to compare it to though, so I can't say if it's better or worse than other higher-end reels). I ask because I'm about to get a setup for swimbaiting and I'm thinking of going with the KastKing Royale Legend to pair with my swimbait rod. I don't see too many people post KastKing reviews, so just wondering if I got lucky with the first one or if they're pretty consistent with decent quality. Thanks,

Oh wow, I had no idea. Thanks for the info, I'll definitely search.

Bad experience?

Word, thanks D.

I haven't, but I'm considering getting the larger 7" version. You're impressed with yours so far?

Got it, thanks Logan. You guys have given me some things to think about, much respect.

Thanks D. Just so I'm clear; when you say the Hudd "swims better at speeds," you're saying the Jenko doesn't really thump as well if I were to slow-roll it? Cuz yeah, I know there's gonna be times where I wanna slow-roll the bottom, and I know the Hudd is renowned for its ability to still give off great thump even when you're crawling it during cold water/tough bite conditions. Thanks for your help and 2 cents.

Hey All, I posted my intro in another thread here, asking about getting started swimbaiting: After getting some info and advice from other forum members (thanks so much for that), I was thinking about going with the Hudd 68 Special ($25) as my starter soft bait. While researching, I came across the Jenko Booty Shaker: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Jenko_Fishing_Booty_Shaker_Swimbait/descpage-JNKOBSB.html The rod I'm buying (iRod Jr. Swimbait MH) is rated up to 4oz baits, and the 7" Booty Shaker is 2.3oz. My question: how does this bait compare to the Hudd? I know the Hudd is the original, and catches tons of fish. As a budget fisherman though, the 2-pack price of $5 for the 7" Jenko is pretty appealing to my situation. Has anyone fished this bait yet? I can't find any YouTube vids that really go into detail about it, and I'm wondering how much I'll be giving up in quality/action/fish catching if I go with this one instead of the Hudd. Just looking for opinions or comparisons between the two. Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate it.

Thanks Sdm--it's encouraging to hear someone up my way has had success with these baits. It'll be about a month until I make my final decisions (birthday gift to myself), I'll keep everybody apprised. Tight lines all.

@Dan--thanks man, that DEFINITELY helps. Thanks for the info on iRod.

Thanks both of you for the feedback and advice, you've given me more options to think about. Much appreciated.

WOW, look at the GUTS on that toad! NICE, man, great work!!! Yeah, I'd say a 5 looks about right, keep it up. My PB's about a 5 too (I didn't have a scale either so I had to guesstimate just like you); difference is, I caught mine last summer when I was 38 years old so you're WAY ahead of me! You're killin it man, keep fishing!

OH, forgot to mention, and I think it's important: I'm STRICTLY a shore fisherman. Don't own a boat, and my couple fishing buddies don't either. I'm sure this'll be important pertaining to the info/advice you guys will offer. Thanks again.

Hey all, I joined a few days ago, been lurking around, and if I can say first off, the amount of info here is absolutely phenomenal. Thanks for the knowledge, from a rookie lurker. I'm up in the northwestern 'burbs of Chicago, and want to get started swimbaiting/glidebaiting. One day I came across BigBassDreams in my YouTube feed and was blown away by what you guys do. I'm a budget fisherman by necessity (married, two sons, and a third on the way), and I just wanna run my plan across you guys, see if it makes sense or if I'm way underdoing it... The biggest bass in the waters I fish are probably in the 6-8lb class--smaller (anywhere from 3-acre ponds to 25-acre "lakes") bodies of water, somewhat weedy when the summer's in full swing, mucky/weedy/slightly rocky bottoms. Main forage here is bluegill, perch, and some gizzard in one of the lakes. My plan is to start my journey with an iRod Jr. Swimbait rod (7'8" MH, mod-fast, lure rating 1-4oz, line rating 12-20lbs--$150), a KastKing Spartacus Plus (holds 85yds of 15lb test--$46), an S-Waver 168S (1-5/8oz--$19), and a Savage Gear 3D bluegill (5in, 2oz, slow-sinking--$15). I'm looking at about $230 before I get the line I'll need, so call it $250 to get on the water. Is this a viable setup to get started with, or am I half-@ssing it somewhere along the way? iRod Genesis II Jr. Swimbait: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/iROD_Genesis_II_Series_Casting_Rods/descpage-IRGCT.html KastKing Spartacus Plus: https://www.kastking.com/kastking-spartacus-plus-baitcasting-reel_p0214.html S-Waver 168S: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/River2Sea_S-Waver/descpage-R2SW.html Savage Gear 3D gill: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Savage_Gear_3D_Bluegill/descpage-SG3DLTB.html I do appreciate so much the help you guys have given me, even before my first post, just reading here and soaking up the wealth of knowledge. Sorry for the length of this post, and thanks for taking the time to read this. Good luck to all out on the water. And mods, apologies if I've posted this in the wrong section, I'm sure you'll move it where it belongs. Tight lines and PBs boys.