Swimbaits in general...discouraged.

[SKSlide]

 I am getting a little discouraged with the big bait thing right now. There's such an allure to the whole style with the gear, baits , and the potential for the fish of a lifetime on the end of any cast but there's a ton of fish-less hours in there too which causes me to wonder why.if fish have to eat and we are putting
something in front of them that's slow , large, and easy to eat why they take a small bait instead.

 

The other day I threw several big baits with no success so  I downsized to a Buzzjet and in three casts , boom! Nice 3 pouder. Picked up a Deps gilde for a bit, nothing, back to the rat , nothing, back to Buzzjet and bam!! Big fish, over 5 pounds easy. Buzzjet cooled off...picked up a spinnerbait, bam! Another fish over 5......so it was a slow day overall but I caught 3 very nice fish...sadly not on any of the big baits I threw that day and honestly that's usually the case except for one particular lake we go to around here.

 

I see so many guys doing so well with big baits and this is inspiring but sometimes I feel like giving up on the special baits and going back to conventional to catch fish.  I know that it could be the wrong mentality to have when throwing big baits as I do know that they aren't always numbers baits but when I say big, I mean the 175, the Swaver 168, the Bullshooter Jr, WSB 125. so that's big for me...I can't imagine throwing a 250 with one ounce of confidence after getting mostly blanked on these smaller swimbaits.  

 

Another factor for me is I don't get to fish a ton, once per week, sometimes twice....so I suppose if I had 3 or 4 days I could get out my odds would increase...

 

Just a general rant. Any advice appreciated , encouragement welcomed! lol

[deaknh]

 I am getting a little discouraged with the big bait thing right now. There's such an allure to the whole style with the gear, baits , and the potential for the fish of a lifetime on the end of any cast but there's a ton of fish-less hours in there too which causes me to wonder why.if fish have to eat and we are putting

something in front of them that's slow , large, and easy to eat why they take a small bait instead.

 

The other day I threw several big baits with no success so  I downsized to a Buzzjet and in three casts , boom! Nice 3 pouder. Picked up a Deps gilde for a bit, nothing, back to the rat , nothing, back to Buzzjet and bam!! Big fish, over 5 pounds easy. Buzzjet cooled off...picked up a spinnerbait, bam! Another fish over 5......so it was a slow day overall but I caught 3 very nice fish...sadly not on any of the big baits I threw that day and honestly that's usually the case except for one particular lake we go to around here.

 

I see so many guys doing so well with big baits and this is inspiring but sometimes I feel like giving up on the special baits and going back to conventional to catch fish.  I know that it could be the wrong mentality to have when throwing big baits as I do know that they aren't always numbers baits but when I say big, I mean the 175, the Swaver 168, the Bullshooter Jr, WSB 125. so that's big for me...I can't imagine throwing a 250 with one ounce of confidence after getting mostly blanked on these smaller swimbaits.  

 

Another factor for me is I don't get to fish a ton, once per week, sometimes twice....so I suppose if I had 3 or 4 days I could get out my odds would increase...

 

Just a general rant. Any advice appreciated , encouragement welcomed! lol

 

nope, they weren't.

[SKSlide]

they were, we weighed them...

[danthefisherman]

I feel you, Stuart. For me it all comes down to how dedicated I am to the swimbait game. I know that I will catch fish if I use conventional, but if catching fish alone was my end goal then I would never pick up a swimbait again. Of course the main purpose in using swimbaits is to target trophy fish, but one must realize that big bait methods cannot be approached in the same exact way as conventional ones. Swimbaiting almost seems like an entirely different way of fishing sometimes...from the mindset to the methods.

 

For this reason I'm not ashamed to say that I still use conventional gear occasionally. Sometimes I just need a little bend in my rod to sustain the long hours of grinding away with swimbaits! I don't get to fish much either and so I want to make the most of the time I have on the water. Still when it all comes back to big baits, you need to remain dedicated to what you do. Start by finding at least one bait that you can build confidence in. All it takes is one fish.

 

Hope this helps!

[deaknh]

they were, we weighed them...

proof

[WABASSER]

You're catching fish on the buzzjet, and spinner bait. Not too familiar with the buzzjet, but it's a topwater? Both conventional baits you're getting bit on, don't compare to the Deps that you're throwing

Try a wake or walking bait, to match the buzzjet. And a bait like the triple trout to get that reaction bite similar to the spinner bait. Don't just expect to catch big fish because you are throwing a "swimbait". It has to be the right sb for the right condition.

[SKSlide]

I feel you, Stuart. For me it all comes down to how dedicated I am to the swimbait game. I know that I will catch fish if I use conventional, but if catching fish alone was my end goal then I would never pick up a swimbait again. Of course the main purpose in using swimbaits is to target trophy fish, but one must realize that big bait methods cannot be approached in the same exact way as conventional ones. Swimbaiting almost seems like an entirely different way of fishing sometimes...from the mindset to the methods.

 

For this reason I'm not ashamed to say that I still use conventional gear occasionally. Sometimes I just need a little bend in my rod to sustain the long hours of grinding away with swimbaits! I don't get to fish much either and so I want to make the most of the time I have on the water. Still when it all comes back to big baits, you need to remain dedicated to what you do. Start by finding at least one bait that you can build confidence in. All it takes is one fish.

 

Hope this helps!

  Thanks Dan, I appreciate that. I agree with what you're saying 100%. I guess I'm not 100% dedicated to it and just can't take that leap entirely. I've definitely caught fewer fish since getting into the swimbait game and it gets pretty frustrating to spend so much on baits and gear and invest so much for trips where you get blanked. You constantly wonder if you're using the right bait, technique, color, in the right place....etc. The only bait I have any confidence in right now is the Deps 175 at least at one particular lake. Struck out everywhere else I've taken it. I'm downsizing my collection but not giving up entirely. Gonna try a 250, gonna keep trying big wakes and 175's... I hope for some better results once I can get out more. Thanks for being positive and encouraging and not challenging me like some enjoy doing with every step I take.

[Craig]

Hey Stuart. I feel your pain. Grinding on for no fish can hurt. Especially if those around you are catching fish.

I've had a rough season (it's almost winter here) and have to remind myself constantly that it's about the process of fishing and not JUST the result.

Like you I mix it up a bit, throwing other stuff amongst the big baits. It keeps you fresh and getting a fish or 2 helps the moral.

They session you described sounds like a good one though. I'd take 3 good fish every day. Just because they weren't caught on swimbaits this time doesn't mean they don't work. It could the other way around next time.

Last weekend my wife out fished me 10 to 1 but I was stoked because my 1 was just over 7#.

Swimbait fishing is high risk high reward stuff.

Keep on grinding!

[SKSlide]

You're catching fish on the buzzjet, and spinner bait. Not too familiar with the buzzjet, but it's a topwater? Both conventional baits you're getting bit on, don't compare to the Deps that you're throwing

Try a wake or walking bait, to match the buzzjet. And a bait like the triple trout to get that reaction bite similar to the spinner bait. Don't just expect to catch big fish because you are throwing a "swimbait". It has to be the right sb for the right condition.

Thanks for the input. I definitely don't expect big fish every time....just a fish would be nice more often if that makes sense. I've caught 1 pounders on the 175 and WSB 125 so I know little one's bite them. Done the same on the Hudd 6 inch...small fish eat big baits for sure. I just wish I could go out one day and have a banner day on a bigger bait on another lake other than the one where I have confidence in fishing the bigger baits. I know that the conventional baits aren't similar...just saying that I got bit on those and not a single sniff on the bigger baits so the question is, would they have ignored the big bait or hit it? And did I miss a bunch of good one's because I stuck with the bigger bait for so long before switching.......never know I guess.  Thanks for the input sir!

[bigpoppabass]

I have repeatedly said here that a one fish day is a goal for an experienced thrower. These sites spoil u cuz somebody is always catching em

[Hhunn]

I have repeatedly said here that a one fish day is a goal for an experienced thrower. These sites spoil u cuz somebody is always catching em

 

???

 

Maybe in your area this is the case but I commonly have multiple swim bait fish days, with a couple decent fish in the mix.  Yes there are some serious sticks on the forums but that doesn't spoil anybody. They are always catching them because they work harder than everybody else.

[Hhunn]

^And I am by no means an experienced thrower.

[danthefisherman]

I think that bigpoppa is trying to say that constantly seeing other people's outstanding success can get a bit discouraging for those of us who grind for months without a bite

[bigpoppabass]

It took me six months to get bit on a slammer, years on the hudd. Not kidding. There can be a multi year learning curve with sbs. One of the top 5 sticks in new England is a guy named Dave L. His famous line is you must have no memory when throwing SBS.

[waynem]

I think that bigpoppa is trying to say that constantly seeing other people's outstanding success can get a bit discouraging for those of us who grind for months without a bite

The flip side is that you might make people think that one fish per trip is good.  My friends and I have days of one fish and also days of no fish.  But In New England, I doubt an experienced swimbaiter averages one fish per trip (assuming a trip is in the 3-5 hour range and not a 15 minute lunchtime shorebanger).  Maybe a fish a trip is a good goal for someone starting out but an experienced guy should do much better than that and NOT be satisfied with averaging a single fish.  This applies to New England only- I won't try to speak for other parts of the country.