swimbaits

[crankybait]

hey guys... ive been doing a bit of research, and just happened to remember swimbaits. i dont see them mentioned anywhere! do any of you use them? are they good? if so, which ones would you say are best? i dont see them in any articles, so i dont know when to fish them either. i think swimbaits look pretty realistic, id think almost everybody uses them...

[PowerBass]

Cranky, to use swimbaits you need heavy rods, musky rods are what are usually used. They are also heavy baits, 1/2 or bigger I beleive. I am currently eyeing up the Strike King King Kong 8 inch swimbait. I want to get in rainbow trout, seeing as The Bass in Round Valley eat the trout they stock, RV is a trophy torut lake and a big bass lake. The great thign nis you can use them at anydepth, and vary retrieves. Defientley one of the hardest bait to learn to, or at least IMO. PLus they require some big bucks to buy.

[crankybait]

ooh damn... i was actually looking at the storm ones, then i found one called mattlures and i was like... woah. thought i might include that in the stuff of lures to buy. so youd need a heavy rod... think my ugly stik would do???

[PowerBass]

No not an ugly stick, I am talking Heavy Action Casting rods, in the 7ft minimum length, at least 20 lb line, and a hell of a casting reel.

I will be using a Quantum 7ft 6in Flipping Stick Heavy Action wiht a Shimano Curado 200 Baitcaster and 20-30 lb Mono, or get a braided line.

Basically these are big fish baits, and we do have muskie in our lakes, and they wont hesitiate to destroy one.

This is balls to the wall muscle fishing!

[crankybait]

oh damn, sounds like fun lol! but i may just decide to use the ugly stik with some thick line anyways, otherwise it wont get used at all and it would eb a waste of my money... even fighting the fish fish a few seconds would make it worth it. think ill use braided, it should be better for this

[PowerBass]

Isnt yor Ugly Stik a Medium Action and 6ft 6in? I would just sell it for 15 dollars, save and get a nice casting rod/reel combo!

[crankybait]

yup, thats exactly what my ugly stik is. and i would sell it, i made a thread, but nobody replied

[zooker]

cranky swim baits look good move real good but they hang up on every dam limb,tree,brushpile,stump they come to..

zooker

[PowerBass]

Zook, but when they hang up, you know that you are fishing the right areas!

[crankybait]

you also know you lost a really expensive lure!... they dont have any sort of texas rigged swimbaits, do they?

[Rebbasser]

Originally Posted by PowerBass

Zook, but when they hang up, you know that you are fishing the right areas!

You don't understand, PB-hanging up occasionally is one thing. Hanging up EVERY cast is a whole different deal. I pretty much quit using them for that reason.

Cranky, I wouldn't worry about swimbaits right now-I'd concentrate on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and soft plastics.

[JB]

reb,
I agree, every new bass angler should get the basics of worm fishing down before exploring the entire spectrum of crankbaits , spinnerbaits, and all the rest...cranky you need to just get them mechanics of fishing skills, and there's no easier way than to getting the worm bite down.

[crankybait]

yeah i know i was just curious, since i saw them and wondered why i never hear of em. thats all... and wow, i started off learning with crankbaits and inline spinners... ive been taking the total wrong aproach. i neevr really thought plastic worms worked, since i went once, and had no clue what i was dong, so i casted a chartruse grub into the middle of a crystal clear lake, and didnt catch anything. i was like 8, and didnt try plastics until i was 12.

[Rebbasser]

ive been taking the total wrong aproach.

No, you haven't, cranky, unless it is trying to cover too much ground too fast. Stick with the basics for now-learning how to cast, how to use a few different types of baits, how to maintain your equipment, and move on from there. As you gain more experience you will get better.

[crankybait]

thats the thing, i cant really ask stuff like how do i cast exactly and stuff like that, its stuff that needs to be shown in person. i was thinking about fishing lessons, but google didnt come up with anything good, and when i asked here, bassintom said not to tellme about the guide on this forum.
i dont know stuff i should know because nobody told me im supposed to... ive never sharpened a hook in my life, didnt even knnow i was supposed to move the lures, until i asked what i was doing wonrg and someone told me...

[bass kicker]

cranky the storm ones are good we use them for pike and musky down here so you hight want to invest in a bait casting rod and reel if you are thinking of trying them

[Rebbasser]

i dont know stuff i should know because nobody told me im supposed to... ive never sharpened a hook in my life, didnt even knnow i was supposed to move the lures, until i asked what i was doing wonrg and someone told me...

Like I said in another post, you are building a good foundation-I guess what I am trying to say is don't get overwhelmed. Yes, you have a lot to learn, but don't try to learn it all i one day-it'll give you a real bad headache .

[KenDammit]

Rebasser is giving the exact same advice as I would give. Three types of baits will catch you fish on most occasions. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and worms/soft stickbaits. The good thing about all those lures is that they give you the groundwork for fishing the more advanced lures like jigs, jerkbaits, swimbaits, so on and so forth. I think I remember you saying that you're 13...so what I would be working on right now is lure placement and casting while using those kinds of baits.

[bassguy2004]

Cranky, like everyone has said learn the basics before moving on to bigger things. The swimbait can be and is a very productive bait in the right conditions. Several guys here on the West coast have put in long hours for years to be able to fish these baits properly. Where to fish, how to fish and what sort of structure and or cover that holds the giantic fish you read about. It doesn't happen over night. It takes a different rod, reel and a different set of circumstances for everything to come together. What I'm trying to get at is there is a real disappointment in fishing a bait all day, I mean 8 to 10 hours and not even get a bite, or even to go days in a row without a bite. Here check this movie out. This is from lots of time on the water. Just click it where it says Butch Brown_512k.

[PowerBass]

Cranky,

wrong approach- not tryin to learn, never goin out
right approach- tryin to learn, goin fishin, learnin lures

So far I think you are on the right track.

[crankybait]

k. yeah ill work on placement now. but can anyone tell me how to figure out the botom structure without snagging??? and yeah ok ken, ill probaby be trying to get the worms straight, since that seems to be what people use around this time. then spinnerbaits and cranks. bassnguy ive read some articles on swimbaits, your right. they catch lunkers and only lunkers, not anything small. forget it, id be happy enough with a 1 pound fish. ill check the movie after school.

powerbass- lol i just went fishing 2 days ago and im thinking ill go again today

[flbassman]

Cranky, have you thought about going to the tackle shop one morning and just hanging out with the guys? See if you can get somebody to mentor you. I had my dad, but if you don't grow up in a fishing family, it's kind of difficult.

[crankybait]

yeah i didnt grow up in a fishing family, i just took up a pole one day and went sunfishing. but nope, ive never thought of that. ive never seen any tackle shops around,a nd ive looked around a bit. but there is one near the highschool ill be going to, so i can just hang out there

[Wishing2BFishing]

Swimbaits look cool but never seem to work for me.

[bassnman30]

The Storm models come in 5 baits to a pack. What Zooker said was absolutely on the button. I guess thats why they come 5 to a pack. I've lost a load of these baits. I recommend the 4" version of the shad color (black back, siver sides). Have had great success on these baits.
They are great in relatively clear water.
What I do is just pull the bait up and let it fall, and then repeat.
As was mentioned before, use the basics (spinnerbaits,top water,crankbaits and worms) Thats how most fish are caught anyway. The swim baits are used for specific applications.