I have been trying to learn about swimbaits for the last year or so and I thought it might be interesting to relay my experiences with them.  This is not intended to be “the everything you need to know about fishing swimbaits” post but just what I have learned or think I have learned. First , a photo of most that I have tried, and a poor one at that.  It’s good enough to show the basics however.The names of the players:

1. Storm wild eye 2. Luck-e strike Bass Magic 3.5 inch (rigged two ways) top, 3/0 weighted hook with screw in keeper, bottom simple jig head 3.Net Bait 4 inch, smelt color, rigged with a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook with no screw in keeper and 1/4 oz weight 4. Bass Magic 4.5 inch, natural shad color, rigged with a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook with no screw in keeper, 1/4 oz weight  5. Robo Worm E Z Shad 5 inch, SXE Shad color rigged with a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook with a screw in keeper, 1/4 oz weight  6. Bass Magic 5.5 inch, natural shad color, rigged with an 8/0 Gamakatsu hook with a screw in keeper, 3/8 oz weight 7. Strike King King Shad, Ghost color, with suspend strips (if you look closely) 8 & 9 are hooks to be detailed later. I have tried two other swimbaits  but have none to photograph. They are a Strike King Shadalicious and a Bass Pro Brand 5 inch swimbait.  You might notice there are none of those $100+ baits on my list.

My observation of swimbaits in general are they are most effective in clearer water, 2 feet of visibility and more. The more vibrations you can feel in your rod tip the better. Since the water is so clear the more the appearance is like a baitfish the better. A swimbait must be rigged perfectly straight for it to have the right action. Hook slots make it much easier to rig it straight. They seem to catch the larger fish but probably not as many numbers as other baits. They work better with a slow retrieve where you can feel the tail thumping. The slow retrieve helps to keep the bait deeper. The soft plastic baits have the tendency to run shallower the faster you crank. A heavier weight, and a pause in the cranking to let it sink, will help this situation.  Some of the best results have been by letting the bait sink all the way to the bottom and then starting to retrieve. A lot of fish have been caught on the fall, so watch your line. I’ve had better luck hesitating before setting the hook except with the King Shad. A 7 foot rod does a good job of setting the hook. The ones with the Texposed hooks or hooks sitting on the top of the bait are  very weedless.

1. Storm Wild Eye:  This is the first one I tried and the first one I caught a bass on. It has a big chunk of lead in the head and will go deep quickly. Very sharp exposed hook that comes with a cover on it. Not as much vibration as I would like.

2. Bass Magic 3.5 inch: First started using it with the weighted hook but it had to be retrieved too fast to get the right action.  The jig head seems to work better, especially in open water and if the fish are smaller. Even with the jighead, it needs to be retrieved faster to get the right action.

3. Netbait 4 inch: Has a slot for the hook for easier rigging.  I’ve used it with a 5/0 hook but it would have probably had more action with a 3 or 4 /0 hook. The color is good.

4. Bass Magic 4.5 inch Natural Shad color: Has been my mainstay. It’s shown here with a hook that does not have a screw in keeper. I start off with a screw in keeper hook and when the plastic gets torn up ( after catching a few fish ) so the hook will not stay in, I use the hook without the keeper to get some more use out of the bait. This one is shown with the hook Texposed but I’ve started to use the hook just sitting on top of the bait.  It seems to get a higher percentage of hookups that way and is still very weedless. The bait is hollow and I drop some scent in the hole in the tail, because out of the package the baits have a strong chemical scent. This bait has a good vibration at relatively slow retrieve speeds and good tail action on the fall.  I’ve caught more fish on this bait than any other swimbait but I’ve used it more too.

5. Robo Worm E Z Shad 5 inch SXE Shad color: It’s shown here with a 5/0 hook with a screw in keeper and a 1/4 oz weight. Notice you can’t see the hook point. It’s in an indention between the two small dorsal fins. Neat idea. It has a hook slot for easier rigging, The slot is also a good place to apply the scent that is needed to dispel the chemical scent. This bait has a different wiggle than the rest. It has more of a tail “swish”  than the others. It looks just like a fish swimming. Has good tail action on the fall.The others  seem to have more of a body roll. The minus on this bait is the eyes come off and it is slightly more expensive than the others, $6.75 for 3 on the net, the only place I could find them.  A place in TN had the beat deal on the shipping, $3.75 for a $18 or less order.  This one is my new favorite. A detailed photo of the hook hider. Pretty cool.

6. Bass Magic 5.5 inch 8/0 Gamakatsu with a screw in keeper and a 3/8 oz weight: I thought this might have been a little large for around here but the first one I caught was 2 1/2 pounds. Small bass not afraid of it at all. Notice the hook just sitting on top of the bait. Good for hook sets.  This one makes a good “thump” on the retrieve. Caught the FOY (fish of the year), so far, an 8 1/4, the first day I used this one.

Here would be a good place to tell about the ones not pictured. Strike King Shadilicious: Had a good action but the skin was tough. I was Texsposing the hooks then so that was a factor in a reduced hookup percentage. Not good then but if you were just  laying the hook on top it probably would make no difference. Bass Pro Shops brand:  It just did not have an action I liked. The action was “rolly poley”. I could not feel it on the retrieve like the others.

7. Strike King King Shad, ghost color, with stick on suspend strips. This is the second swimbait I tried. The hooks are so sharp I’m afraid of them. With the strips the bait might go as deep as 5 feet.  It makes a good vibration and in clear water the fish will come up a long way to get it. No hesitation with this one, just set the hook.  This one is a great cold water bait.

8 & 9. Gamakatsu 5/0 hooks with 1/4 oz weight. Eight is with the screw in keeper  and nine is without it.

Swimbaits are a “California thing”, relatively new in the South. I’ve been determined to try to learn how to use them effectively. No matter how old you are, if you listen or pay attention you can learn something new every day, or in this case every year.  I certainly do not claim to know it all about swimbaits but my knowlege base is growing. So far this year on swimbaits, I’ve caught 4 bass over 7 pounds, and one of those was over 8. I say this not to brag, but to show how effective a swimbait can be, especially in catching larger fish.  Perhaps sharing this information will help someone make their fishing more enjoyable, as the information that they have shared with me has made mine more enjoyable.