Late Summer Swimbait Update

(Above: I like swimbaits so much that an extra graphic was thrown in on the post. Above is a brook trout swim bait pattern that looks absolutely delicious! Swimbaits are a pattern that I don’t use near enough but one of my late summer\fall favorites. P.S. My graphics department works for beer. lol)

Fishing a local pond that gets quite a bit of pressure I ventured out with a few swimbait patterns (mostly shad and bluegill). Throwing out a few casts I miss two big strikes right off the bat. It was a quick hit-n-get situation where the big bully fish took off without even going for my milk money. They would hit it instantly meaning the color and size was a viable choice but once they got a taste it was all over. I took the bait out of the water and felt it in my hand.

“They eyes…they are hard. Maybe that’s the problem.” I said popping off the eyeballs and tossing back out. The very next fish gave a bite that held on long enough to get the hookset in and then the land. The photo op was a quick one shot and out. “Man, if I would have lost one more fish…Sonofa. Should have looked at that from the start.”

(Above: Swimbait bucket taking part in my recent swimbait survey. 4 out of 5 bass say, “Forage fish and swim baits…it’s what’s for dinner”.)

The rest of the day went much smoother in regards to my swimbait taste test versus three other tactics: spinnerbait (yellow\white), senko (a few colors) and jigcombo. The swimbait outshined the others 3 to 1 at least. A little more experimentation with a few other swimbait types and an even more reliable pattern may develop. One of the great elements about the swimbait is its almost endless versatility in regards to selection.

Eye problems and missed hook sets aside, swimbaits are a great late summer\fall pattern. This is the first time I have had any issues with any of the Storm swimbaits and still use them. However I am always shopping around for new swimbaits in bluegill, shad, sunfish and even trout! Currently my swimbaits are under 10 bucks a package. They have some really awesome swimbaits that are really pricey in the 20 and above. My heart says “yes” but my budget says “no”.

Preferred gear selection is heavier line for larger swimbaits and lighter line for smaller baits. Generally I would suggest 10-15lbs for 6-8” swimbaits and 6-8lbs for 5” and below in regards to mono. Anything heavier than that and I would consider braided lines. Realize that I tend to go very light compared to most bass standards keeping most of my fishing in the 6-8lb range.

I prefer to run the swimbait very similar to a spinnerbait presentation with a medium retrieve for a short distance to lift the lure and then let the lure drop a foot or two depending on conditions. The retrieve speed is something best left to experimentation and the fish. Some days they want a fast swimbait and some days you have to literally bounce it off the bottom to get strikes. (I say this a lot and is an important aspect to any day of fishing with just about any lure). The swimbait accommodates that by being able to be run fast or slow.

Also worth noting: Some of the larger style swimbaits that I use (like the Wildeye version that storm makes) come equipped with a set of large trebles at the bottom. I find this lower set of trebles to cause far more trouble than they are worth by anchoring on to structure, plant material or wind up looking too obvious to a very discriminating fish. Removing this with a small set of pliers or wire cutters saves me trouble and pain without costing me more than one or two hookups at most.

If you have a great super slammin’ swimbait pattern that you would like to share with me, please feel free to comment or send me an e-mail at Coloradocasters@yahoo.com

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.