What Kind of Swimbaiter Are You?

[Csweitzer]

My mindset is typically based around a tournament limit because I am usually either practicing for a tourney, or competing in one. I think I might make the switch to trying to catch one giant next year. Swimbaits are a tool, but they just so happen to be the most exciting tool in the game! 

[danthefisherman]

I think I'm a bit of both as well but leaning more towards #2. Catching trophy fish is my overall hope for throwing swimbaits, but I just love fishing big baits in general and nothing quite beats catching on them. It's an art form...on the same level as but on the opposite side of the spectrum to fly fishing (which I've never tried). The feeling of excitement in hooking into a swimbait fish is something that fishing a senko can never give me.

On the flipside, I also enjoy fishing certain conventional baits for fun. I've recently discovered in the past few years that my all time favorite conventional methods are fishing spybaits and tiny jerkbaits on light tackle. Bass of all sizes absolutely crush those two baits for me, and even the small ones put up a good fight on light tackle. Although I try to focus on throwing big baits mostly, I'll pick these two up every once in awhile to fun fish or get a feel for new waters.

Awesome replies everyone! It's great to see everyone's take and approach on this...keep it coming!

[El_Weruso]

28 minutes ago, danthefisherman said:

I think I'm a bit of both as well but leaning more towards #2. Catching trophy fish is my overall hope for throwing swimbaits, but I just love fishing big baits in general and nothing quite beats catching on them. It's an art form...on the same level as but on the opposite side of the spectrum to fly fishing (which I've never tried). The feeling of excitement in hooking into a swimbait fish is something that fishing a senko can never give me.

On the flipside, I also enjoy fishing certain conventional baits for fun. I've recently discovered in the past few years that my all time favorite conventional methods are fishing spybaits and tiny jerkbaits on light tackle. Bass of all sizes absolutely crush those two baits for me, and even the small ones put up a good fight on light tackle. Although I try to focus on throwing big baits mostly, I'll pick these two up every once in awhile to fun fish or get a feel for new waters.

Awesome replies everyone! It's great to see everyone's take and approach on this...keep it coming!

Perfectly said with the type of swimbaitunderground guy i am. I'll mainly fish swim baits of all sizes from 3" (Deps 115) to my Mother/Hinkle/12"TT and such. But i love fishing and won't keep myself from fishing conventional stuff. I fish 85% Swim baits and 15% everything else. In the last 10 months I've done the best I've ever done with catching swimbaitunderground fish, although they haven't been the biggest i feel there's something key that i'm not doing to get the bigger girls 6+ and such.  

[azsouth]

I fish everything, but I personally have seen, caught and dropped my biggest fish on swimbaits. when it comes to swimbaits, wake baits are by far my favorites ( yes I have a problem ) the best thing for me with fishing wake baits by far are the EXPLOSIVE HITS!  the kind of hits that will flat out scare you out of your shoes! I always have a swimbait tied on my rods.

Fishing swimbaits is a lot like life, what works for you, does not work for the next person. 

Always looking for that DD fish.

[morgantm16]

Mannn, I just like to catch fish.

[morgantm16]

6 minutes ago, morgantm16 said:

Mannn, I just like to catch fish.

And with that being said, I just put whatever lure in my hand is gonna do that.  Just fish the conditions the best I can.  If it calls for a drop shot or shakey head, that's what I do.  If it calls for a spinner bait, thats what I do.  If it calls for a crankbiait, jig, Arig, topwater, whatever, thats what I do.  If the conditions are there for the big bait, Im going to whip out the big guns and sling em until I'm blue in the face and have to ice my shoulder.  Its very very rare, but if its trophy season and the conditions are right, sometimes i'll have that big stick in my hand all day.

Im not nailed down to one thing, I like catching fish a whole lot more than getting skunked.  

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by morgantm16

[bassbass]

If you decide to go 100% swimbaits your quantity of fish will go down but your quality of fish should go up.

I keep a log of what days, water temp, name of lake, bait type and color, noon sometimes, for many years. 

When in RI I used to catch 1,200 to 1,500 bass in a 9-10 mouth season, give or take. In that my best years where 3-5 fish over 5 pounds. First year going to swimbaits it changed to about 350-500 fish for the season but 15 over fish with one over 6.

Down here I am doing over 40-50 over 5 pounds and 3-4 over 8 pounds and under 12 pounds.

So looking for the trophy bass your chances are greater, but there are people killing it with regular tackle also.

I think anyone throwing a 4" black worm should be able to catch a bunch of fish in a 4 hour trip, but after awhile that 10-12 inch fish are not really doing it for you. Then you should start trowing big baits. 

I also don't understand how I read about people going months without a fish. The fish are in the ponds so it is up to you to figure it out. You really need to change things up and try different presentations using different baits. One week I has using the HPH hard tail, cast out swim it stop it and the fish would hit it, the next week could pay a hit doing the same thing. So cast out swim  it stop it let it sink 1 to 2 feet and then pop it, fish would hit it.

I know I am going on and on but one more thing that is very important. As you are trying different things and you finally catch a fish, you really need to pay attention and key into where the fish hit. You will be surprised that a very little detail makes all the difference in catching or not catching. Examples are what type of structure, and you can also break that down to size of structure. Let's say there are pad clumps and then some single pad in the same area, if you catch a fish off the single pad focus on those single pads. Sunny vs shady side of structure. Big wide weed edge with the front side to deep water and the back side to a flat, if you catch a fish on either side focus mainly on that side for the length of the weed edge. On big water focus on water temp also the difference in 2 degrees can make a difference in finding fish. Things like this you really need to key in on, most people just go oh wow I catch a fish.

I will stop typing now.

Thanks

[PKNNH]

Definitely a 3 myself. New to the game and excited to learn and catch some. I'm staying away from any bait over 7 inches until I get used to the smaller guys. I've been mainly using 2-3 inch swimbaits and jerkbaits my entire life. In terms of what I throw, it really depends on how I feel. If I can take a skunk then I'll throw a swimbait the entire day whereas other days if I just want a bite then I'll throw anything. That might change in the long run though...

[lurejunkie]

7 hours ago, Loganodum38 said:

although i love swimbaits to death and throw them 95% of the time, im more of a big bait in general guy. small/medium swimbaits arent really my thing either.  i love big wakes, big glides, big softbaits and one of my favorite things to throw are 16" and 20" uptons worms as well as the 12" manns worm, a huge mop jig with one of those magnum baits 7" trailers.  i am a believer in big baits as a whole, they dont necessarily have to swim. look at a punker, whats the difference between it and a huge 16" straight tail worm thats as thick as your finger. not much except ones soft and ones hard. some of my jigs are bigger than slob stoppers and some of my worms are bigger than punkers but they arent "accepted" around here.  i like to find a technique that i like and that works and supersize it to target big fish.  

+1   I totally agree. I don't limit myself to only swimbaits if I think there is a more effective lure for trophy bass with the current conditions. Some of my biggest bass have come on big  jigs and  large soft plastic worms.

[chevro1et]

I'm still learning how to fish for bass in general. Being from Western Canada, I grew up fishing for perch, walleye, and northern pike. Always used spinning gear, and often used bait (live or frozen minnows / smelt / etc). I started bass fishing here in South Korea in 2015, also with spinning gear. Never casted a baitcaster in my life until 2016.

I quickly progressed through some power fishing techniques, and learned about the power and draw of big baits. I've thrown enough finesse to last me the rest of my days. I don't always throw swimbaits, but I do more than half the time. It's all a learning process for me, and I really enjoy doing it with swimbaits as much as possible.

[KeepinItReelFishing]

#1 - through and through.  

I always go a little nuts when I hear people say they are stoked because its a "swimbait fish".  A 3lb fish is a 3lb fish, regardless of how its caught.  The sole, singular, and only reason the truly large swimbaits were made was because anglers were purposefully trying to target the biggest bass possible.  The Mike Shaws 9" Slammer, Ken's 8" Huddleston, Rago's full size Generic Trout, and Deps' 250 Slide swimmer (just to name a few of the more recognizable) were not developed in an effort to catch mediocre fish on a giant lure...they are BIG, to catch BIG.  Its always been a simple equation; big lures are made to catch big fish.  Listen, its a free country....do whatever you like.  But, by that psychology you would drive in nails with a sledgehammer, use a table grinder to sharpen a pencil, and buy a Porsche only to pick up groceries.  You can use any tool is whatever way you wish, but it becomes obvious that the tool we refer to as truly large swimbaits were expressly created for the purpose of catching giants (of which statistically they achieve their goal over their traditional size counterparts).

If the priority is catching a fish on a big swimbait, then at a minimum you should be able to present a few significantly different options.  Just like with traditional lures if you try to force a bite on a presentation they are not cued in on you will eventually get a bite, but you are spinning your wheels.  Have a purposeful mix of soft big baits, and hard big baits.  Notice I said 'big bait' and not just swimbait.  I would strongly advise anyone to channel what makes big swimbaits catch bigger fish, and condense it down to the foundation....larger size.  Its not a fish profile that makes a disproportionate amount of giant fish bite, its the fact the lure is very big.  In the same way many musky anglers catch trophy bass while using their giant musky spinners and such.  Size is the key determinant here.  Having said that, in pressured waters and/or very clear waters the realism that is unique to some of the big swimbait manufacturers (Hudd is a great example), without question does play a significant role in their success.  

Fish are not perpetually keyed in on a big meal.  You will waste many a day if you don't allow for the fact that huge fish also eat plenty of small things.  There are many telling images from State's Fish & Wildlife departments that show the gut contents of giant bass when they conduct electric fish shocks in order to accumulate data on the health and presence of various fish species in a waterway.  Yes, giant fish will often have a giant meal in them, but usually accompanied by a whole lot of average size baitfish, craws, etc.

The hardest part is one has to have some serious time under their belt with a strong foundation on bass behavior, environmental factors, and most importantly knowledge of particular waters in order to even make the smart choices as to when to focus on big lures vs traditional.  For instance, I have smaller bodies of water here in NJ and fish places usually under 50 acres.  Even so, only after about 3-4 years of putting in a lot of time on a body of water do the particulars of that place and the nuances of the bass there begin to come clear.  Yes, general seasonal patterns are a given, but regular, repeatable success comes in different and specific ways even on these smaller waters.

To summarize:

Put in the bulk of your time in an area with your big baits, but before leaving for the next spot cover that same area with some smaller traditional baits.  You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.  Lastly, I always advise being a 'big bait angler' instead of focusing on a 'swimbaiter'.  Employing a variety of giant sized lures (giant jigs, giant worms, giant spinnerbaits, giant crankbait, etc) affords you to appeal to not only the fish's desire for a big meal, but also varied types of meals.

 

-Carl / Keepin'ItREEL Fishing

Edited April 17, 2019 by KeepinItReelFishing

[Rogervang]

A lot of good read here.

I am 100% swimbait ever since my frog rod snapped in three pieces from the back door of my truck. I chose swimbait fishing because I believe, big bait big fish. Sure I can prove myself wrong again and again, but consider how many big fish vs little fishes I've caught on big swimbaits, its a huge difference. As mentioned swimbaits can cover any sanrio conventional gears can, just A LOT more expensive. I dont consider myself a trophy hunter, just another big fish is good enough for me. And if i do catch a monster, then that'll be a plus in my book.

Knowing your body of water is the number one key. That's something a lot of people over look. As Brian mentioned, keep a log of what when and where the fish was caught. What bait, what pattern, what presentation. All these little thing make a world of a difference. Also play attention to what the fishes are feeding on. Sometimes they might want something different but a lot of time they are locked on what they're after and I think swimbaits does a really good job imitating the bait/prey fish. One last thing, moon phase. It plays a big roll, well atleast for me. I chased the moonphase for a year straight and I've notice in my experience, on a new moon the fishes sits right at shore and on a full moon they sit in the shadows. Again this is all night fishing. I like to think the bigger fishes hunts at night where I'm at due to the amount of pressure they get during the day. And the bait fish repositioning themselves after a long day has the big fish targetting them. Almost as they know where the bait fishes are going.

In the body of water I fish, I found that big swimbait eliminate the little fish to bite compare to conventional gears. That is why I am 100% swimbait.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Rogervang

[mjw2121]

18 hours ago, bassbass said:

also don't understand how I read about people going months without a fish.

Brian, not sure if this applies to everyone but definitely to some locals on here near me.But I will say the months without a swimbait bite happens to me over the winter.Mainly because I am fishing park lakes that are tiny,with guys on every hole throwing everything you could imagine. Most guys will go a few trips without even catching a fish on conventional gear. There’s actually a YouTube video of one of the bodies of water I fish that I find hilarious.Guy fished my home park lake, started off optimistic and throughout the day slowly but surely he broke.He began to get frustrated and started cursing.Fished for 4-6 hours with conventional gear and caught nothing,also found 2-3 guys at every single hole. I find it funny not because of the downfall but because of how relatable it is! Pressure is unreal here. BUT I also suck at fishing so that mixes in too! Hahaha

[surfk9]

"Fish are not perpetually keyed in on a big meal.  You will waste many a day if you don't allow for the fact that huge fish also eat plenty of small things. "  KeepinItReelFishing has a great point...Two of my fishing partners (brothers actually ) love to fish for stripers with minnows, whereas I chuck & wind while they dunk away...I catch fish sporadically compared to them....but they occasionally snag a beauty ...of which I remind them "It doesn't count cuz you caught it with a minnow" lol...michel ...Go Fish!!!...by the way the biggest Iv'e landed on a swimbait is 10lbs...so i have a ways to go to equal their "don't count minnow fish"

[bassbass]

43 minutes ago, mjw2121 said:

Brian, not sure if this applies to everyone but definitely to some locals on here near me.But I will say the months without a swimbait bite happens to me over the winter.Mainly because I am fishing park lakes that are tiny,with guys on every hole throwing everything you could imagine. Most guys will go a few trips without even catching a fish on conventional gear. There’s actually a YouTube video of one of the bodies of water I fish that I find hilarious.Guy fished my home park lake, started off optimistic and throughout the day slowly but surely he broke.He began to get frustrated and started cursing.Fished for 4-6 hours with conventional gear and caught nothing,also found 2-3 guys at every single hole. I find it funny not because of the downfall but because of how relatable it is! Pressure is unreal here. BUT I also suck at fishing so that mixes in too! Hahaha

Didn't write that to hurt anyone's feelings or to make anyone feel bad. There is also alot of pressure on many lakes and ponds. Just trying to help.