Swimbait Help

[djpeterbilt]

I’m new to fishing swimbaits. I need some tips and tricks, I don’t want to spend a lot of money on baits. Right now other than some soft plastics swimbaits I went with Academy’s H2O Express’s Sexy Shad and Bluegill.

 

So far the only luck I’ve had is with the Sexy Shad and it has been in a small pond. I would think that in a pond with lots of Sunfish that the Bluegill would work but I have had no luck. The Sexy Shad however has worked in that pond go figure, and I seriously doubt there are shad in the pond. Another factor each time I’ve caught fish on the swimbait it has been over a hundred degrees outside.

 

I’ve tried at 2 tournaments I fish as well. On large bodies of water filled with shad I have had no luck. Saturday night I fished a tournament and the lake is filled with 8 plus lbs bass. The winner of the tournament had 13 lbs on 2 fish it was 10lbs and 2 place 1 fish 9lbs. I fished it in weeds off rocky points and deep water bluffs. Then at a local lake I fish it near rip rap.

 

Please help me.

[Cochran53]

Just look around the site. There is a multitude of information already here that I'm sure will help out.

[Top Ramen]

Don't be in a huge hurry to move to hard baits. Soft baits can be very effective and are a great way to learn the fundamentals. In fact, I still throw a soft bait most of the time.

 

In the summer, one of the most effective swimbaits you can throw is the 3:16 Rising Son. Start with the smaller size and, if your lakes are like ours here in TX, get the top hook version. I use two colors -- the blue shad and the sunfish. Start by slow rolling it and, if that doesn't work, vary the retrieve to cover the mid and upper water column.

 

Since you have a lot of shad in your area, another bait I would recommend is the Huddleston weedless shad. The shad are still pretty small this time of year so the size will match the fish schooling in your area. The Huddleston grass minnow also works well. They are both fairly small baits, but that means they can be thrown with regular bass gear and don't require a special rod.

 

As far as 'tips and tricks' the most important thing is to figure out where in the water column (depth) the feeding fish are or and what kind of structure they are relating to.

 

Good luck!

[djpeterbilt]

The fish I have been catching depending on where I'm fishing are all fairly shallow even though the water temp is pushing 90 degrees. Yesterday I went out, outside temp was 113 degrees and I caught 1 fish on a Sexy Shad swimbait and my other fish on a Gene Larew Salt Craw. Both fish were in about 2-3 feet of water.

[jonathando23]

try a hudd shad, cost 5 bucks. and the straight catch fish, when u get comfortable with the hudd shad then get a 6 inch weedless trout, also made my huddlston, then the 8 inch.

[mcm83]

The fish I have been catching depending on where I'm fishing are all fairly shallow even though the water temp is pushing 90 degrees. Yesterday I went out, outside temp was 113 degrees and I caught 1 fish on a Sexy Shad swimbait and my other fish on a Gene Larew Salt Craw. Both fish were in about 2-3 feet of water.

if you wanna catch fish on a swimbait, dont fish with other baits. i would recommend that you pick ONE swimbait to fish with. use THAT bait ONLY whenever you go bassin. it'll force you to learn how to use it. throw it long enough and you'll eventually land something on it.

good luck!

[djpeterbilt]

try a hudd shad, cost 5 bucks. and the straight catch fish, when u get comfortable with the hudd shad then get a 6 inch weedless trout, also made my huddlston, then the 8 inch.

 

We don't have many trout in Oklahoma City

[evans_usmc69]

try a hudd shad, cost 5 bucks. and the straight catch fish, when u get comfortable with the hudd shad then get a 6 inch weedless trout, also made my huddlston, then the 8 inch.

 

We don't have many trout in Oklahoma City

 

Doesn't matter! Get an 8" hudd in a color that somewhat resembles the bait fish or smaller fish in the lake, it will still get bit! People catching TOADS on hudds in lakes that have never seen a trout in their life. Good luck man!

[jonathando23]

try a hudd shad, cost 5 bucks. and the straight catch fish, when u get comfortable with the hudd shad then get a 6 inch weedless trout, also made my huddlston, then the 8 inch.

 

We don't have many trout in Oklahoma City

first off go thunder, and they come in different colors. even if they dont come in a color baitfish u have still throw one, color dont matter

[djpeterbilt]

I appreciate it guys.

The main lake i fish main forage fish are shad. I'll look into the Huds.

[Top Ramen]

We don't have many trout in Oklahoma City

 

The bass don't refer to their Field Guide to Local Fish before they eat something. I promise you that if you threw a live trout into one of your local reservoirs, a bass would eat it.

[hallamiv]

We don't have many trout in Oklahoma City

 

The bass don't refer to their Field Guide to Local Fish before they eat something. I promise you that if you threw a live trout into one of your local reservoirs, a bass would eat it.

No doubt!

[djpeterbilt]

Alright guys you got me, I'm going to place an order for some Huddleston baits.

[Darth Baiter]

I’m new to fishing swimbaits. I need some tips and tricks, I don’t want to spend a lot of money on baits. Right now other than some soft plastics swimbaits I went with Academy’s H2O Express’s Sexy Shad and Bluegill.

 

So far the only luck I’ve had is with the Sexy Shad and it has been in a small pond. I would think that in a pond with lots of Sunfish that the Bluegill would work but I have had no luck. The Sexy Shad however has worked in that pond go figure, and I seriously doubt there are shad in the pond. Another factor each time I’ve caught fish on the swimbait it has been over a hundred degrees outside.

 

I’ve tried at 2 tournaments I fish as well. On large bodies of water filled with shad I have had no luck. Saturday night I fished a tournament and the lake is filled with 8 plus lbs bass. The winner of the tournament had 13 lbs on 2 fish it was 10lbs and 2 place 1 fish 9lbs. I fished it in weeds off rocky points and deep water bluffs. Then at a local lake I fish it near rip rap.

 

Please help me.

 

Ok, I finally got to respond to this: You said you don't want to spend a lot of money on baits. I have news for you: Unless you want crappy baits that don't swim right, or are made horribly, you're PROBABLY going to end up spending a decent amount of money on baits. Especially if you want bigger baits to go after bigger fish, id say most of the bigger baits I can think of that I would recommend will be in the $15-200 dollar range. Some people think a pack of Basstrix paddle tails is expensive, I don't. Now, you can pinpoint what you want in a bait, buy a bait for each part of the water column (floating, mid level, sinking/ bottom), find something good for each one that is reputable and fish catching( sometimes looking on the forums for what you want is a good idea) and go from there, depending on what baits, people sometimes sell them for excellent prices. How much would you be looking to spend PER BAIT?

[Ceaser]

Ok, I finally got to respond to this: You said you don't want to spend a lot of money on baits. I have news for you: Unless you want crappy baits that don't swim right, or are made horribly, you're PROBABLY going to end up spending a decent amount of money on baits. Especially if you want bigger baits to go after bigger fish, id say most of the bigger baits I can think of that I would recommend will be in the $15-200 dollar range. Some people think a pack of Basstrix paddle tails is expensive, I don't. Now, you can pinpoint what you want in a bait, buy a bait for each part of the water column (floating, mid level, sinking/ bottom), find something good for each one that is reputable and fish catching( sometimes looking on the forums for what you want is a good idea) and go from there, depending on what baits, people sometimes sell them for excellent prices. How much would you be looking to spend PER BAIT?

 

+1 on this... but Id have to say if your concerned with price softbaits are a good option, but a hard bait will produce for years. In your type of lake, if i was gonna pick one bait to focus on during these warm months Id go with a shad or bass colored baby wake. I think they are pretty cheap but thats a matter of opinion I guess. But after you have it a year or two and put umpteen fish in the boat the cost to catch ratio is nil. throw in a 3:16 K-9, Bluegill and Rising son(soft baits)and youve got most bases covered