SDMF10 Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Looking for a bigger bait to target pretty much the biggest fish I know of in my local lake. It has no interest in a 250 but has followed a k9 twice. I know a lot of people like the Hinkle trout but Im not even sure where to get one. That being said a DRT Ghost would be my guess to get a better chance of it eating since it liked the k9. Any ideas on big baits with slow glides and realism that giants like? Why have I never seen anything over 8lbs on a K9? This jumbo big bait thing has me stumped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossypumpkin Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Keep something in mind, being a successful swimbait fisherman doesn’t mean just find the biggest bait you can and chucking til your arms fall off. It means figuring out what the biggest fish wants, when it wants it, where, and how. So maybe your k9 is too big, wrong color, wrong action, wrong depth, wrong time of day, time of year…..etc. For me, my biggest fish of the season tend to be in spring, during the day, and on 5-7” baits. But in summer I have to go to 8-11” baits to get bigger fish. There’s a science to it bigpoppabass, SoFloW, Csweitzer and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurdaJ Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 just get a manifold and be done with it Jon P, maine y yak, 168 Rookie and 2 others 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefchris Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 I have one whole fish on the ghost last season, keep in my I’m in the NE and it’s a big bait, I don’t throw it a ton, this year I plan to more now that I have the bumpers and really played around with the swim and options, took a lot of notes and ready to get out there with it now that being said it was one of the sickest eats I’ve ever witnessed, was burning and pausing it on the surface in wake mode after sunrise and this 3lber came Out of no where and absolutely t boned it like 15’ from the boat. Was awesome to watch the whole thing unfold. Would have been better if the fish was way bigger but I’ll take it. SDMF10, basskickinrednick, Hmoob and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbass Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 (edited) I think Jesse nail it. Here is one over 8lbs on the K9, a little over 10. The ghost is one bait I could not get a fish on, had one about 4lbs but came unbuttoned. For me the sweet spot is between 6 and 8 inches for consistent catching. Edited February 27 by bassbass Jim137a, SoFloW, basskickinrednick and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayAreaAngler Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Roman mother is a big slow glide SDMF10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAS Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 I’ll represent for the ghost it’s become a favorite of mine and I had it tied on most of the time last season. Was skeptical when I first thought of getting one but once I got one I loved it. Fun to tinker with and it produces. Top two last year about 4.5 pounds. Small fish aren’t afraid of smoking it in my experience. Super fun to fish on the drt rod too it’s short which makes it easy to work. I’ve thrown other giant stuff like the hinkle you mention and I’ve decided to stick with the ghost as my main big bait no need to chase others. Action can be tweaked which is a big plus - swimmer, glide, crank, dead walk. On the k9 I get the same size fish typically when cranking only. SoFloW, maine y yak, SDMF10 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDMF10 Posted March 1 Author Report Share Posted March 1 On 2/26/2024 at 7:37 PM, Mossypumpkin said: Keep something in mind, being a successful swimbait fisherman doesn’t mean just find the biggest bait you can and chucking til your arms fall off. It means figuring out what the biggest fish wants, when it wants it, where, and how. So maybe your k9 is too big, wrong color, wrong action, wrong depth, wrong time of day, time of year…..etc. For me, my biggest fish of the season tend to be in spring, during the day, and on 5-7” baits. But in summer I have to go to 8-11” baits to get bigger fish. There’s a science to it Thanks. Never thought of that. Was thinking of the ghost cause of the ability to dead walk it which is what it did when it followed. Hit the same spot a bunch before I knew that fish and have been all around this super small lake and nothing on anything else but some 6 pounders (not that that's a bummer). Thinking I might try gill/crappie stuff and see what happens. Mossypumpkin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDMF10 Posted March 1 Author Report Share Posted March 1 On 2/26/2024 at 7:49 PM, chefchris said: I have one whole fish on the ghost last season, keep in my I’m in the NE and it’s a big bait, I don’t throw it a ton, this year I plan to more now that I have the bumpers and really played around with the swim and options, took a lot of notes and ready to get out there with it now that being said it was one of the sickest eats I’ve ever witnessed, was burning and pausing it on the surface in wake mode after sunrise and this 3lber came Out of no where and absolutely t boned it like 15’ from the boat. Was awesome to watch the whole thing unfold. Would have been better if the fish was way bigger but I’ll take it. Read your notes on another thread and that was helpful with this too. Seems like one of those baits that's either so versatile that you have to really mess with I to find what fish like or they only like it in certain areas of the country. Im in the north east too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDMF10 Posted March 1 Author Report Share Posted March 1 On 2/26/2024 at 8:31 PM, bassbass said: I think Jesse nail it. Here is one over 8lbs on the K9, a little over 10. The ghost is one bait I could not get a fish on, had one about 4lbs but came unbuttoned. For me the sweet spot is between 6 and 8 inches for consistent catching. Id take that lol. That's the first fish Ive seen that size on it. Or at least one I heard the weight of. maine y yak and bassbass 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDMF10 Posted March 1 Author Report Share Posted March 1 On 2/26/2024 at 9:06 PM, BayAreaAngler said: Roman mother is a big slow glide Been thinking about it but we have a lot of pike where Im at. A 250 is one thing cause they can be found cheaper even though they have that skin but something in that price range made of wood Id be way to scared of. Had a negotiator and pulled several teeth out of it after a pike hit it. BayAreaAngler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDMF10 Posted March 1 Author Report Share Posted March 1 On 2/26/2024 at 9:27 PM, CAS said: I’ll represent for the ghost it’s become a favorite of mine and I had it tied on most of the time last season. Was skeptical when I first thought of getting one but once I got one I loved it. Fun to tinker with and it produces. Top two last year about 4.5 pounds. Small fish aren’t afraid of smoking it in my experience. Super fun to fish on the drt rod too it’s short which makes it easy to work. I’ve thrown other giant stuff like the hinkle you mention and I’ve decided to stick with the ghost as my main big bait no need to chase others. Action can be tweaked which is a big plus - swimmer, glide, crank, dead walk. On the k9 I get the same size fish typically when cranking only. That's gotta be fun in the kayak. Seems like a better bang for the buck compared to others and Im confused why I don't read about it producing for a lot of other people. That thing looks awesome CAS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpoppabass Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 Don't have any idea how to catch that fish. Your swimbait has done good work and has located the home of a giant. So long as it is not a spawn situation etc., it will be there for good. Focus on possible feeding windows, fronts etc. would be my suggestion. PS. I have never been a fan of Deps 250. Most overhyped bait or all time. I have said that before. It doesn't have any flash or wobble. SDMF10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDMF10 Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 15 hours ago, bigpoppabass said: Don't have any idea how to catch that fish. Your swimbait has done good work and has located the home of a giant. So long as it is not a spawn situation etc., it will be there for good. Focus on possible feeding windows, fronts etc. would be my suggestion. PS. I have never been a fan of Deps 250. Most overhyped bait or all time. I have said that before. It doesn't have any flash or wobble. I tried so many times. Before and after a rain. Coldest days of the season and the hottest and saw the fish a total of 3 times. Ive never held a 10 so take this with a grain of salt but it was so big idk if id be surprised if it was a teener lol. The 250 on the other hand caught me two 6's and a fish that was probably 8 or so that threw it. That thing flashes like crazy for me where I fish. Sun hits it perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpoppabass Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 (edited) Another thing when dealing with biggest fish in the lake, they usually have a weakness for a single bait. Gotta find which one. One fella out here Dave Lynch, caught a state MA pin award winner 2x in one year on a certain ms slammer, the second time to get the pin for biggest fish in MA caught that year. He was prepared with a cooler the second time to certify it and release it. There is something about that slammer that triggers this one fish. He will tell you, he has swimbaits that get used once or twice a year for a particular spot or fish. It can get technical. PS. I have had similar experiences but with an og monster jack. I now have a collection of about 30 of them. There are certain lakes where that bait just triggers fish. Won 2 early season 2 fish torneys on em. Edited March 3 by bigpoppabass SDMF10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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