Hey guys, I know some of you will throw some pretty expensive swimbaits. Last season I decided to spend a lot of time cranking and build up some confidence with a new bait. This season I was thinking maybe spending a little money on a swim bait and was looking for some suggestions. So, If you had around 25 bucks what would be the one swimbait that you would buy? Also, what type of setup would you throw it on? Thanks in advance guys
$25 won't get you much. You can invest in ROF 12 Huddlesten ( either the 68 specials or the bigger 8" version. Only problem with the 8" bait is you will definitly need a "swimbait" rod ( 7' 6" - 7' 11" Heavy or extra heavy in Medium fast or fast taper. For a litle more you can pick up an MS Slammer Its a wake/ crank down Bait. I like the 2 jointed ones in 9".
There are a bunch of smaller soft plastic swimbaits that BPS sells that you add your own weighted hook to. I personally have not had any amount of success on this type of bait but I am sure others have. I would suggest you buy 3 baits that cover the various depths.... A floater like the slammer, a slow sinker like a Spro BBZ 6" or 8" and a fast sinker like a Huddlesten.
You could throw a smaller 7" slammer and the 6" spro on a Heavy flipping stick. No way you could with the 9" slammer, 8"hudd or the 8" bbz. The slammer is 2.5 oz., the hudd and BBZ are 4.5 oz.
An inexpensive beginners swimbait specific rod would be something like a Diawa Heartland Big Bait Special for around $80.
I throw my baits on 65lb braid. At times I use a 20lb flor leader.
Hope this helps.
There are a bunch of smaller soft plastic swimbaits that BPS sells that you add your own weighted hook to. I personally have not had any amount of success on this type of bait but I am sure others have. I would suggest you buy 3 baits that cover the various depths.... A floater like the slammer, a slow sinker like a Spro BBZ 6" or 8" and a fast sinker like a Huddlesten.
You could throw a smaller 7" slammer and the 6" spro on a Heavy flipping stick. No way you could with the 9" slammer, 8"hudd or the 8" bbz. The slammer is 2.5 oz., the hudd and BBZ are 4.5 oz.
An inexpensive beginners swimbait specific rod would be something like a Diawa Heartland Big Bait Special for around $80.
I throw my baits on 65lb braid. At times I use a 20lb flor leader.
Hope this helps.
You are exactly the person I had in mind when I wrote this. Thanks man. Maybe I'll test out the drop shot lol. I was thinking I'd probably have to have a setup just for a swimbait. Would you use that setup for any other applications. I'm a cartopper guy so space is limited. When I'm alone I bring 3-4 rods and when someones with me usually 2 each.
I personally throw all sorts of different swimbaits, my personal favorite being the 6" weedless huddleston. At 15.99 each they arent too bad and you could throw them with a heavy flipping stick, I spool with 30# Braid and a 20# Flouro leader.
I beleive that you dont have to spend a ton of money on a bait either, save some cash and doctor it yourself. In these following shots the baits are Calcutta saltwater 5" baits. 4.99 for a package of 3, ugly as hell but with a few mods you can make them shine!
I cut off the front jig eye and the rear jig hook. I use 80#Braid and ash a free swinging treble to the remaining jig eye. I cut the gills and pectoral fins free with an exacto knife, then added red pipe cleaner to the gills and a peice of rubber glued under the pectoral fin to make them stand out. There lots of little tricks you can find on Youtube!! I also store my soft swimbaits in plastic ziplocks with a couple sprays of gulp attractant.
You can all see which is "stock" in these photos, The smaller bait is a 3" yum I believe.
I beleive that you dont have to spend a ton of money on a bait either, save some cash and doctor it yourself. In these following shots the baits are Calcutta saltwater 5" baits. 4.99 for a package of 3, ugly as hell but with a few mods you can make them shine!
I cut off the front jig eye and the rear jig hook. I use 80#Braid and ash a free swinging treble to the remaining jig eye. I cut the gills and pectoral fins free with an exacto knife, then added red pipe cleaner to the gills and a peice of rubber glued under the pectoral fin to make them stand out. There lots of little tricks you can find on Youtube!! I also store my soft swimbaits in plastic ziplocks with a couple sprays of gulp attractant.
You can all see which is "stock" in these photos, The smaller bait is a 3" yum I believe.
You are exactly the person I had in mind when I wrote this. Thanks man. Maybe I'll test out the drop shot lol. I was thinking I'd probably have to have a setup just for a swimbait. Would you use that setup for any other applications. I'm a cartopper guy so space is limited. When I'm alone I bring 3-4 rods and when someones with me usually 2 each.
Shawn, I have been a cartopper guy for a few years now. My big boat sits with a blown powerhead. I never leave home without my swimbait rod. I start throwing them in early April and don't put them down until sometime in November. The best days are cloudy with a decient breeze going. Ponds with no real deep water are better on average then those with lots of deep water. The deeper the pond the more I lean toward the slow sinkers and the ROF 12 Hudd. A swimbait rod is really too heavy for another application unless you are going to use the Alabama rig.
I use the slammer like a top water at 1st. Cast it out, pop it , twitch it, slowly let it crawl its way back to the boat, then Istart to jerk it like a BIG jerkbait with pauses inbetween, Finally I will crankk it down and retrieve it like a crankbait, again pausing and twitching inbetween. I throw it at docks, around downed trees, along breaklines and pad and other weed edges. You will be suprised at how "weedless a 9" piece of wood with 2-3 sets of treble hooks is. The slammer will catch 2lb fish as well as 5,,6 and 7 lb class fish.
The Hudd take a lot of patients, but those patients are rewarded with BIG fish. The hudd has no "feel" to it. It feels like you are draging a hunk of plastic along the bottom but believe me the tail is working. I cwarl it along at a painfully slow pace making contact with the bottom as I go. The hits are usually angry in nature. My biggest Hudd fish is in the 5lb class but I have had 7's and 8's follow it back to the boat and turn away
With swimbaist you want to think BIG and when you think you are using a BIG bait, go up in size AGAIN. My 1st swimbait was a 7" slammer. I threw it for a whole season with good results. Over the following winter I purchased two 9" baits. I threw them the following year and my catch size went up without a significant drop in numbers. Now when I look at the 7" bait it looks small to me. I still throw it, especially early in the year bu the 9" Slammers are my "go to" wake baits.
* If you can find ( not made anymore) either a Generation 1 or Generation 2 Muits Mouse, They are awesome wake/ cranking baits that can be thrown on a 7' heavy flipping stick
My Rod is a Shimano Crucial 7'11" Extra heavy Fast. It is like 4-5 years old. It is a bit heavy ( actual weight of the rod) and they make lighter models but the price increases as the quality goes up. I pair it with a Shimano Cardiff 300a. If I am throwing the Muits or the smaller slammers and smaller Spro, I opt for my St. Croix Ledgend 7' flipping pitching stick with a Curado dhvs.
Tackle Warehouse has a lot of swimbait stuff. Check them out. There is also a swimbait specific website called swimbaitnation. TONS of great info there and you can even pick up some used stuff in their classifieds.
Tackle Warehouse has a lot of swimbait stuff. Check them out. There is also a swimbait specific website called swimbaitnation. TONS of great info there and you can even pick up some used stuff in their classifieds.