CHELBOED Posted May 20, 2015 Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ed from KCMO here. 1: I love looking at all of SU's FB posts. Monster nice fish! 2: Is swimbait bass fishing for me? I live near Kansas City and don't have a boat of any kind. I bankfish exclusively. My PB is only 21" (~5.5-6#). I know that there are bodies of water with 8lbs fish around here...our state record is almost 14#...but will I be killing all of my catches by switching to big swimbaits versus the standard Senko / Spinner / Crankbait type fishing I do now? 3: How many of you fish swimbaits exclusively? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northeast_trev Posted May 20, 2015 Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hey Ed, Swimbaiting is all about what you put into it. There's a lot of guys on here fishing only from the shore, trying to make the best out of what they have. Certainly there are baits/techniques that aren't cohesive to bank fishing, but that doesn't mean it cant be done. There's a lot of members on here that have DD's and PB's from fishing from shore. Just like being in a boat, it's something you learn to adapt to. Most members on here fish swimbaits exclusively. The variety of size and bait types give you options for almost every scenario. Sometimes conventional tackle may be the way to go if that's what the fish are biting, but sticking to the swimbaits will only make you more confident with them and soon you'd be throwing huge baits into tight places just like you would with any conventional gear. As far as your bite numbers, expect those to go down. But that's part of it. You're looking for bigger fish with swimbaits. Fish that aren't always willing to bite, and you will probably go hours or days in between fish/bites, but that's part of the grind. The main idea is just keep throwing, sooner or later your new PB will be on the other end of that line. I'm sure everyone on here may have a different opinion/something else to say, but that's just my 2 cents. Trevor Darth Baiter, wallyc and Neo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceaser Posted May 20, 2015 Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 if swimbaits can effectively target the largest fish where they are holding than they will be a good option. But thats exactly what they are, there are times and places they will outperform all other baits for size of fish, but theres a lot of times sticking with a swim bait is not the best choice for catching the biggest fish. hard to know these times without dedicating a lot of times to swimmers though. nightbite, bassturds, lmv_bassfishing and 11 others 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassturds Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 if swimbaits can effectively target the largest fish where they are holding than they will be a good option. But thats exactly what they are, there are times and places they will outperform all other baits for size of fish, but theres a lot of times sticking with a swim bait is not the best choice for catching the biggest fish. hard to know these times without dedicating a lot of times to swimmers though. bingo!!! i was fishing with my buddy, has swimbaits but doesnt use em! he has a rod brings and never picks it up. maybe a cast or 2 one day i was using hudds with him! i wasnt getting anything! only caught a big pickerel! i had some smaller bass 2-3lbs on a 4 inch hudd but the biggons wanted nothing to do with the 6 inch perch. we cast out lands a 7lbser on a texas rigged plastics! few cast later! he catches another! he had 3 bass that day and a milion pickerel! 2 7s and a 3lbser! while i had 7 bass 2-3lbs. he was getting mad cuz i kept catching bass. but he was using a bright orange senko! THATS THE REASON YOUR CATCHING A MILLION PICKEREL!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassturds Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 oh and those were his first 3 bass of the year! he has 5 bass total this year! while i have a 100 biggest 5.9 caught on a hudd. 2 of his are 7s. NOT HAPPY!!!!!!!!! THAT @#$%er. oh and to add salt to the wound! i lost a bass bigger then the 7s, we got a good look at it! it was 8+. biggest bass of my life! took one last run and spit the hook! that was on a weedless 4 inch hudd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jschulz11 Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 I'm from KCMO as well and I can say I've started to throw swimbaits exclusively this season. I'm not a tournment fishermen this year but if you decide to fish big baits you need to decide if you can commit bc you need to be all in to learn the baits, how to fish them and what fits your style. I believe that by tossing big baits this will help my overall fishing ability by adding patience and dedication to my arsenal. If I decide to go back to fishing tournments next year I will have a new skill that a lot of others don't have. If you can follow my logic lol. I also fish from shore but have joined a few clubs and they always need co-anglers. PM me if you want to talk further but the decision is a hard one bc getting into it is something that you need to be committed to but that's just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishDr Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Okay, this is a bit tongue in cheek, but my flight is delayed and I've got to do something to avoid curling up on the unbelievably filthy ground and sobbing like a baby. Not trying to insult anyone or hurt any feelings here... You are ready for swimbait fishing when... You can take a $50 dollar bill out of your wallet, tape it to a 1 oz. lead weight, toss it in the water, and then reach in your wallet, grab another $50 dollar bill, and get ready to do it again without any feelings of remorse. ​If you can do this, you're ready for the potential pain of losing an expensive bait. You are willing to stand still while someone pounds your shoulder with a hammer for about 20 minutes. Take a 20 minute break, and then have them do it again. If you're really tough, go for a third round. Swimbait fishing can physically beat you up, but if you're willing to take a licking, you can get to the point where it just doesn't hurt anymore. You can go to a lake with your conventional gear, tie on a 1 oz. lead weight, and cast it into likely fish holding areas all day (or all night) and not wonder if you're doing something wrong - and you focus as hard on the first cast as on the last. Remember that you're fishing for one or two good bites per trip - and you will likely have a number of trips where you get no bites. If you make the mistake of losing focus, a big fish is going to make you pay…if you can keep focus, and don't mind casting all day or night while waiting for that bite, swimbait fishing might just be for you. You can go to your local aquarium, pick out a single big fish in a single tank, and spend all day watching it. Ignore the other fish, ignore the other patrons, even ignore the security guards who are sure to sidle up behind you after a couple of hours. As a hard-core swimbait angler, you're targeting a select few fish - sometimes you head out with just one fish in mind, and you zero in on that fish something wicked. Invite your friends over for a party or dinner, and order really good food and provide them with great beverages and entertainment. However, do not touch any food, and do not drink anything. As others have said, you will have occasions when people are flat spanking the snot out of your favorite fish (bass, walleyes, pike, musky, whatever) on non-swimbaits and you will be drawing blanks on swimbaits. Are you willing to keep drawing a blank, or will you crumble? If you are lucky, when you start throwing swimbaits, you'll get your first fish, or follows, soon after you start. However, it may also happen that you go hours, or days, or even weeks before you get your first fish. Are you resilient enough for that? Get a really heavy ball or tire (like a tractor tire). Find the steepest hill in your neighborhood, and slowly push the ball or tire to the top of the hill. Just before you reach the crest, let go of the tire/ball, and watch it go careening back down to the bottom. This is the closest I could come to simulating the all-too-common experience of swimbait anglers where you throw a monster bait for hours, or days, or weeks, and finally, FINALLY, hook a monster, fight it with the best of your skills…only to lose it at the bank/boat. There are few swimbait anglers who don't have a tale of heartbreaking fish losses - and because the number of fish you catch is small, and the size of the fish you catch tends, on average, to be larger than the typical fish caught on other gear, it hurts. Can you handle it? Anyway, these are just a few things that you might consider before stepping off the deep end. Having said that, I've had both the worst day of my fishing life, and the best one, while throwing swimbaits. I think it's worth it, but, as I and others have said, it definitely isn't for everyone. questionable, lunkerglx10, Rogervang and 18 others 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R8R Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 You ask if swimmers will kill your fish, I highly doubt that because I notice that swimbait fish don't get hook in the gut or gills that often, I would say less than 1%. There are people that just straight up fish swimmers only. Right now I'm like almost right there but once in a while just to break the rut I catch fish on conventionAL gear like a fish or two in a trip then back to swimmers just in the same trip, just changes your train of thought and reguvinate yourself and ready to catch that next big one. Definitely have to use swimmers long enough to get the understanding it's greatness and weakness of using swimbaits in certain bodies of water. Good luck to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC37 Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Invite your friends over for a party or dinner, and order really good food and provide them with great beverages and entertainment. However, do not touch any food, and do not drink anything. As others have said, you will have occasions when people are flat spanking the snot out of your favorite fish (bass, walleyes, pike, musky, whatever) on non-swimbaits and you will be drawing blanks on swimbaits. Are you willing to keep drawing a blank, or will you crumble? If you are lucky, when you start throwing swimbaits, you'll get your first fish, or follows, soon after you start. However, it may also happen that you go hours, or days, or even weeks before you get your first fish. Are you resilient enough for that? very well said. perfect word for the cause. #resilient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reelfish Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Ed from KCMO here. 1: I love looking at all of SU's FB posts. Monster nice fish! 2: Is swimbait bass fishing for me? I live near Kansas City and don't have a boat of any kind. I bankfish exclusively. My PB is only 21" (~5.5-6#). I know that there are bodies of water with 8lbs fish around here...our state record is almost 14#...but will I be killing all of my catches by switching to big swimbaits versus the standard Senko / Spinner / Crankbait type fishing I do now? 3: How many of you fish swimbaits exclusively? Thanks in advance. I live in KC. I have been throwing swimbaits in MO for over 8 years. They don't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMarino Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 I fish with freinds that dropshot and catch 20 fish in the back of the boat, when I see they are 1-3 lbs I really dont care how many they catch, Im looking for one BIG bite and know that it may happen that trip or maybe the next. Sometimes I go months without a bite, When you get followers you start to dial in key areas and where big fish are holding. It adds the pieces of the puzzle together. You have to ENJOY Throwing big baits, sometimes i syke myself out saying (wow that just looked sick) and then BOOM you get a bite that could be the biggest bass you ever caught, thats what the stoke is all about that excitement of getting a big bite on a swimbait. If you can give up throwing the normal bass gear stuff, you can live with throwing swimbait's. Sometimes you also have to know when to put the swimbait down and fish and thats when I'll pickup a big power team lures 10" worm, 4.5" Texas Rig jig, 7" senko, jig etc... Baits that I know that will also stick a big fish. If you get real desprate real bad then man you better dropshot a 4" robo LOL I do fish tournaments and balance out my swimbait/conventional techniques and have succeded winning multiple tournaments nearly winning an angler of the year and tons of top 5 finishes by knowing when to put the swimbait down. Same way you know when to throw a worm or crankbait/spinnerbait. Its something that you can adapt to, for starters you really want to take a few swimbait rods with you and learn the baits and adapt. Theres no way around it but time on the water to find out if its right for you, theres really no loss by trying swimbaiting you buy the right baits you can always trade or sell them if you dont have the confidence on it, or want to try new stuff. Good starter baits that dont break the bank is the rising son, 68 and 8" huddleston, and a 8" BBZ Floater or rat. If your really ready to go all-in buy a Deps 250, 8" hudds and a 9" MS slammer, you got it covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskickinrednick Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Ok if you have to ask yourself is swimbaiting for me then no you either do or you dont I still fish with frogs and jigs but 98% im throwing for the trophy fish with swimbaits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmayer88 Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 I fish with freinds that dropshot and catch 20 fish in the back of the boat, when I see they are 1-3 lbs I really dont care how many they catch, Im looking for one BIG bite and know that it may happen that trip or maybe the next. I think I would reassess my location if my friend was cranking in the little guys on drop shots. May not be the spot for the big girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmayer88 Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Is Swimbaiting for me? Without being long winded or redundant with previous posts.........I'd have to ask what motivates you while fishing. Sure everyone wants to catch big fish, but do you get more enjoyment out of the "catch" or the "hunt". Catch many unmemorable fish......or hunt all day and catch one memorable fish. swimbait 24/7 and biggfeast 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyc Posted May 22, 2015 Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 Ok if you have to ask yourself is swimbaiting for me then no you either do or you dont I still fish with frogs and jigs but 98% im throwing for the trophy fish with swimbaits X2, I've been all in with swimbaits for a couple years now, but, as we ALL know, they also eat crawfish and frogs. 90% swimbaits & 10% pigs & craws for me. You get way up into the pads, coontail etc...when everything is up to the surface, other than a Weedless Hudd, not many choices except a frog. Like some of the other members said, some of the biggest bass have come from shore, (the big bass use the shore to "Pin", or, corral baitfish). I only have a 10' aluminum pram, but, there are many times I've got big bass from shore. If you really feel the need to buy a boat, check out the want ads, or E-bay for a used one. Good luck out there, and, set the hook hard.... basskickinrednick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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