Soft Swimbaits

[Joel]

I've never gotten into soft swimbaits, but I'm really interested in trying out the Strike King's Shadalicious 5.5 inch swimbait. I just can't decide on which type hook and wt to use. I'm really leaning towards a plain old round ball jig head over a weighted shank hook as I've got literally boxes of them.

[jcw1503]

I was like you, I was never in to swimbaits, but then one day i was bank fishing by myslef and was just throwing everything i had with no luck...I decided what the hay, so i but one on and i had 3 fish in the next 20 minutes!!!!

Now i use to get made fun of when i would go fishing with my brother in-laws...they said swimbaits was a scam and did not work...but i got the pattern down on how to work them..and they were not laughing when they would leave with no fish and i with 4 or 5...where i am from, they will not work all the time, however, on days where the fish are being selfish, this will most likely get a bite from some of them....

just some advice...you do not always have to go big with the swim baits i caught an 7 pounder off of a 2 inch swim bait...

[Joel]

A 4'5 or 5.5 inch swimbait seems to be on the smallish side. I'm just confused as to the best hook wt and size to use.

[cassidyta]

You can be fine with a 2/0 or 3/0 hook. I seldom put mine on jig heads because I think it affects the swim bait action too much.
Depending on the conditions, I will either throw it weightless or add a swimbait hook with the weight on curve of the hook.

I also will also put them on a chatterbait when the skirt no longer holds.

[REDBULLCUBAN]

i see these baits gettin more and more attention. im gonna start to use them and try out different techniques.

[Joel]

Originally Posted by cassidyta

You can be fine with a 2/0 or 3/0 hook. I seldom put mine on jig heads because I think it affects the swim bait action too much.
Depending on the conditions, I will either throw it weightless or add a swimbait hook with the weight on curve of the hook.

I also will also put them on a chatterbait when the skirt no longer holds.

If I decide to go with some swimbait hooks, what size and weight is a good starting point?

[woody]

Originally Posted by Joel

If I decide to go with some swimbait hooks, what size and weight is a good starting point?

I have some 5" swimbaits and the manufacturer suggests using the 6/0 - 1/4 OZ. weighted hooks.


Mark

[Nitro 640]

I like to set mine up sometimes with a 3/0 just behind the where the dorsal fin would be, going threw the side of the bait. Gives a diff action and seems to work when nothing else does. Well sometimes.

[Bryan]

Treble hooks work well too. Run the line through the nose, out the belly, slide on a 3/16oz weight, and tie on a #2 treble hook. This setup worked well for me the last couple years when fishing open water, specifically for smallmouth. Since the bait easily slides up the line after you hook a fish, you also go through less baits.

The weighted 5/0-6/0 hooks also work very well, especially in cover, but if you're going to be fishing open water you may want to try a treble.

[cassidyta]

I have used the 5/0 and 6/0 but felt that I had better hookups on the smaller hooks. I can not give a scientific reason for this, but in my experience I liked going a 2/0 on anything under 5 and a 3/0 on 5 and 6 inch swim baits.

[Lilmoosecountry]

I have a very big collection of swimbaits hard & soft. I even have some up to 12 inches. I catch 2 to 5lb bass on 8 inch swimbaits. But i tell yeah the loyalty for me is still the good old sassy shad. The orignal swimbait.

[Jim45498]

This is a good one in 1/8oz. 5/0 size. made by Gamakatsu

[3dkicker]

Originally Posted by Joel

If I decide to go with some swimbait hooks, what size and weight is a good starting point?

Falcon hooks, 5/0 or 6/0 should do it for you. Weight depends on how fast and the depth you want to work the baits. There is a specific way of hooking the bait so check that out before you destroy the head. Also you may want to buy some Mend-it to repair the baits after you do some damage to them.

With this bait you really have to wait a while before setting the hook. My hook up ratio is horrible so I chatted with a friend about his success with the bait and my troubles. He stated that he just allows the fish to swim away and then stop, and then he sets the hook.

[jasonfish320]

Try out one of these if you get a chance, I love this hook style and it works great! These also last a lot longer that your typical swimbaits... http://sfttackle.com/index.cfm?fusea...0&ParentCat=30

[keithdog]

Hey Joel. You might want to check out the Feb edition of The In-Fisherman magazine. In particular, page 10. There you will find an article which is very interresting, and deals with using hollow bodied swim baits with jig heads.

[Joel]

Thanks to all that responded. Moving into the soft swimbait world is a big step for me, as I tend to stick with what has worked for me over the years.

I'm going to with a 1/8 oz EWG 5/0 hook to start with. Gamakatsu also makes a swimbait hook with a hitchiker screw instead of the more traditional method of tex rigging. I've made my own shaky head jigs with them, and they really hold the soft plastic securely. Has anyone used this type of hook with soft swimbaits.