If you’re not having a lot of luck this fishing season it’s time to start using swimbaits. Swimbaits have been taking off the past couple years and for good reason. What started as a fad out west has quickly taken off across the United States.
Modern hollow bodied and jointed swim baits have really changed the game. Fish high pressured lakes with ease and catch more bass this season.
How to Fish Swimbaits
Swimbaits are one of those lures that are just difficult to classify. They come in all shapes, materials and sizes. Made out of wood, hard/soft plastic and other composite materials that are all designed to swim naturally. With so many different styles and designs it’s no surprise that people don’t understand swimbaits.
Where to Fish Swimbaits
Swimbaits will bring in bass all season long if you know how to fish them. With fluid natural movement they work extremely well in clear and dingy colored water. The only time you’re going to want to skip a swimbait is after a storm when the water is kicked up. With all that mud in the water bass can’t see the main thing swimbaits have going for them(their movement).
When to Fish Swimbaits
It’s really hard to find a day that you can’t fish a swimbait. Whenever my normal baits aren’t working I like to throw a Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad. They excel in colder water, but they’ll do really well in current and warmer water. I’ve found that the best days are going to be overcast with a little bit of wind. On extremely bright days you’d be better off with a bright Strike King Sexy Shad Crankbait.
Swim Bait Fishing Depth
You can fish a swimbait from the surface all the way down to 50 feet below water. You just need to know how to properly weight it. By using different weights you can adjust the overall depth of your swimbait.
To fish just under the surface use a buoyant unweighted swimbait. Swimbaits that are weighted with lead can fished all the way down to the bottom or somewhere in between.
Hard vs Soft Swim Baits
Swimbaits are one of the weirdest fishing lures on the market. There’s no one set style of swimbait that works well in every situation. Typically I’ll use hard swimbaits in topwater applications and soft swimbaits in deeper water.
Fishing With Hard Swim Baits
Hard swimbaits typically have multiple segments with joints in between. Typically you’ll see double segment swimbaits, but there are some manufacturers with lots of segments. The biggest advantage of hard swim baits is their casting distance. Long casts with varying retrieve speeds will really bring in a ton of bass. Slight adjustments in the retrieve speed will change the action.
You’re going to want to use a hard swim bait in the same areas as other topwater lures. You can spend a lot of money on hard swimbaits, but I’ve had a lot of luck with cheap Soljer Hard BlueGill Swimbaits. When you’re having a slow morning (especially in the summer) you can cover a lot of water fast. With a big splash cast over your favorite fishing spot and rip it back through.
Fishing Soft Swim Baits
Soft swim baits look more like plastic worms than their hard body brethren, but they have excellent movement. They come in a variety of sizes and styles, but it’s hard to beat the Strike King Shadalicious Swimbait. When rigged properly with lead and the right hooks, they can be fished at almost any depth.
Cast a soft plastic swimbait and slowly reel it back to your boat. Adjust your retrieve speed to allow the bait to sink deeper into the water. You can even go all the way down to the bottom without having to worry about hooks snagging on cover.
Swim Bait Sizes Change Up Your Approach
Most people are going to want to use small to medium sized swimbaits. I prefer the mid sized 4-5 inch swim baits that will bring in bigger bass. A 5 inch Berkley Havoc Grass Pig in clear water will out perform soft plastic worms on almost any day.
Fishing bigger 8-10 inch swim baits is going to require specialty fishing equipment. You’re going to need oversized specialty swim bait rods, with a heavy line and reel. Stronger gears and heavy guts allow you to lob the lure farther than you could imagine.
Different Swim Bait Materials
The main things all swim baits have in common is a lifelike appearance and smooth action. With so many different species to mimic it’s not surprising there are a ton of different materials used. Most manufacturers use either some form of PVC or a rubber/plastic mix called TPE.
If you’re looking for a longer lifespan try to avoid PVC baits. Soft Plastic TPE Swim Baits are going to last forever if left in your tackle box. The only way to destroy a soft plastic swim bait is with lots of bites and that’s a good trade off.
Rigging Up Swimbaits
Swim baits come in all shapes and sizes so describing the proper tackle gets a little bit difficult. Smaller lures are a little difficult, but with larger 5+ inch swim baits things get a little bit easier. Use a heavier rod with a medium-heavy action. For line you want a heavier test 20 lbs or more is best. 50 lb braid was popular for years, but 20lb fluorocarbon line has been popular in recent years.
Fishing Swimbaits in Different Water Depths
Shallow Water 3-5 Feet Deep: I love throwing swim baits on overcast days in clear and shallow water. They work really well from 3-5 feet around docks and grasslines. When I’m not having a lot of luck with more traditional topwater lures, larger swim baits offer enough commotion to attract a bite.
Mid Range 5-10 Feet Deep: When fishing moderately deep water look for bass suspended around vegetation and fallen timber. With realistic motion they work really well at drawing bass out of heavy cover.
Deep Water 10+ Feet: Personally I’m not a huge fan of swim baits in deeper water, but some fisherman have a lot of luck with swim baits. Fish a swim bait in deep water after the spawn and throughout most of the summer.
Fish The Shad Spawn
One of the best times to fish a swimbait is during the shad spawn. Prespawn Largemouths go absolutely crazy for the Strike King Shadalicious Swimbait during the shad spawn. When matching the hatch it’s going to be hard to beat a swimbait.
The hard part about fishing the shad spawn is that bass stage at different locations. You’re going to want to start around points, structure, and boulders. I love working around docks and grasslines around spawning flats that hold fat females.