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i was wondering a few things about swim baits
first is... are they worth getting, i don't want to spend money on something that will just end up collecting dust in the back corner of my tackle box
second is when is it most effective to use them in the Rhode island area
last is where to use, until now i have been more of the type that hugs the shoreline and has had lots of luck doing so, but with swim baits i have no clue, it would be in a small 2-4 acre pond, maybe a few larger lakes if i get the chance, but it has heavy weeds in some ares, big flat hard plains in the center, and 1 rock pile at least, haven't thoroughly explored the whole thing yet and there is also some nice cover in the form of grasses along the edge some lily pads and overhanging trees
any help would be appreciated and if you need any other info i will try to give
thanks and good luck fishing
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There are all sorts of swimbaits but it sounds like you'd be better of with something you can rig weedless like the Yum Money minnow or the Powerbait swimbaits. I like to use them in the spring when bass are feeding before the spawn but I'll always have them handy during the summer and fall. I like to fish them near deeper water but when rigged weedless I'll throw them right in the junk and let them sink down in the open pockets.
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what about the hard swim baits, because there is some weedless areas in the pond, and would these possibly catch bigger fish because i have only caught fish around 2 lbs in one of the ponds (there are 2 back to back one with bigger fish) but i know there are fish up to 4+ lbs that i haven't caught
thanks
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I like to use The big soft swimbaits like the Yum Money Minnow as well. Here isd a rule of thumb to follow. Throw these thing any time and anywhere that you would throw a spinner bait. Thats how alot of people fish them with great success. And something very important to remember is to real them just fast enough to get the tail beating. Thats how they are designed to be worked. The biggest mistake people make is reeling them to fast. Reeling them slow will give the bait a nice slow wobble, which when riged right it how you want it to look.
Hard swimbaits are great, but i only seem to use them right at ice of in the spring for pike. They work well for those guys. The one i have the most luck with is the River2Sea S-Waver. I swims in a big S pattern and the pike just destroy it.
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I've had mixed results with swimbaits in the last couple years since I first picked one up. In general, I'd recommend using small soft swimbaits for your area.
First of all, in Rhode Island you're probably finding bass of similar size as I am here in Pennsylvania. From a size perspective, we're limited in what swimbaits will work. The 2 oz jointed trout that are 9" long are not going to work for us. I had the opportunity to talk at length with Matt Servant from Matt's Lures out of California about swimbaits in general. He told me to stick with the 4" minnow swimbait that his company produces. He said the bluegill swimbaits and the trout are going to work in California, Texas, Georgia, Florida, etc... where the 6 to 10 pound bass population is healthy.
In 2009, I threw a 4" Spro BBZ1 Shad (jointed, hard swimbait) and a 4" Jackall Giron (jointed, hard swimbait) and caught zero bass in Pennsylvania on them. They are only 4" baits, but they are enormous looking when you see them next to crankbaits. The 4" soft swimbaits have a much smaller profile and that's what I would stick with.
If you want to see the ones I use, go to [url "http://www.mattlures.com"]www.mattlures.com[/url] and check out his products. You'll also be amazed at the ridiculous number of 10+ pounders that he's got pictures of... all caught on his lures.
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thanks for the info, but i was wondering if i should try some that look like bluegills because i n the ponds i am fishing it is literally bass and bluegill, the blue gills ranging from 1inch to one that i saw in the spring about 13-14 inches, it it would have bit it would have defiantly been a state record, who knows it might bite a swimbait, what have you heard abouth the storm kicken slabs, they are also 4 inches but are soft.
and i know that some of the bas in one of the ponds are very glutenous, i had a5 inch bluegill on m fly rod and a bass,looked like 3-4 pounds whacked it but left before i cold switch to a lure.
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just wondering.... where would you throw a spinner bait, that is one o the few techniques i have neglected to really get into
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you throw them any place you see a bass or any place you would cast with a swim bait.
If you like hard bodied swim baits "crank baits"
go with the minnow shaped ones like repallas, even jointed repallas work great.
threre is a combination hard soft swim bait that is outstanding in action, bass love them, but their greatest down fall is pike, they love them too so the Charlie Swim bait gets torn up by pike... "this is made by mega bait lures and are expencive..."
when casting spinner baits, you can do a count down for your depth, not one mississippi, but a regular 1-2-3-4 ect for every foot you want your spinner to drop,
Newtons law of gravity dose not apply in water, heavier lures drop faster than lighter ones.
some times with spinners you want them right on top of the water, especialy if you are fishing weeded and shallow areas. other times you will want them to drop close but not on the bottom shelves or drop offs.. some times you may want to be in mid water when fish are suspended...
the only to know if the fish are on top, mid range or bottom is to cast in those places and switch back and forth till you find them, then when you do keep casting in that range and you will get your best creel results..
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i was wondering if this would change what size swim bait to use, i was talking to the only person who has more hours on that pond than me and this spring he caught a 7 lb bass ............ i need to catch it
will a bigger swim bait help or is it 90% a luck game to hook that thing, i mean really the other person has been fishing there so long he was the person who put the fish in the pond... 30 years and the only one that big, has to be luck
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The only thing that i can add to what dave said is that sometimes in the spring i like to tickle the tops of weed mats. I just let the lure drop to the depth of the weed and start to reel. you should be able to feel the skirt just touching the tops of the weeds. this takes time to perfect but you will get the hang of it. Remember when you are working a spinner bait deeper keep your rod tip down. That will help you maintain your depth better. Same applies to soft swim baits. As a rule of thumb bigger bait means bigger fish for the most part. so if you are after a bigger fish you may wanna throw a bigger swim bait. that dont mean that you wont catch it on a smaller bait but it helps. I caught plenty of bass on lures that were bigger than the fish when i fish for pike. So just play around a little and see what you come up with.
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there are definitely a lot of swimbaits available for the money Yum money minnow, Berkley Hollow Belly swimbait , 316 minnow and Reaction Innovations skinny dipper. Hardbaits Strike King Shad and the River2sea
shad and Tru Tungsten swimbaits.....
Texasbasstackle.com
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You can try the bigger stuff and who knows, you might get that 7 pounder to bite. Personally, I have tried the Storm swimbaits, 3" and 4" wild eye crappies and perch, etc... I never had one swim right. They always seem to plane sideways. They're cheap, that's about the only benefit.
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A 4 in Storm Paddletail or Yum money minnow rigged weightless and weedless across grass with slow retrieve
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The pond you Re talking about I have one just like it in my neighborhood try throwing a senile magic swimmer or a tru tungsten or. Huddleston deluxe 6 inch babe bass weedless u will get that 10 pounder u r looking for
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thanks, ill try that, cant wait for the ice to melt
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Yea I hear that my pond just un froze today caught two nice fish a 3lb 9oz and a 2lb12oz I live in ga so fishing sucks in lanier except striper
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at least there isnt over 4 inches of ice where you are, im in rhode island so i have around a month before i really can expect anything, doesn't mean i wont try tho
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Yea I just bought new bait cast combos I left shimano and we had about 5 inches thick it was 12. Degrees like 5 days in a row
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BEST TIPS FOR SWIMBAITS: Guys how are you fishing your swimbaits??? I real mine straight in, with slow retrieve... Sometimes fast retrieve if the fish are on fire.... I hear some people jig it to the boat....
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Most of the plastic swimbaits that I use tend to turn on their side or twirl if I reel in too fast. I have an account with Big Hammer swimbaits and I use the 3/8 oz 4/0 'hammer heads' and rig the swimbait sideways (turned 90 degrees). I saw this on a fishing show and tried it out and have had more success that way and the bass don't seem to care, it still looks like a minnow swimming through the water and I can vary my speed without it turning on it's side.
As far as different techniques go there is no right or wrong way. I usually use a slow retrieve back to the boat but sometimes during that slow retrieve I'll rip it and let it flutter down a couple feet and I've had good success that way. Of course, that was last year and who knows what they want this coming season. It never hurts to try different tactics and very often you'll find what triggers a bite.
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