Going Big Ish Style
When To Break Out The Big Fish Baits

Swimbaits have changed fishing, there is no doubt about it, and there is no turning back now. The guys in the west realized this about a decade ago where as the eastern United States is just starting to catch on. The big tournament wins by Byron Velvick and more recently Steve Kennedy have given swimbait fishing a national stage on the Bassmaster television shows, and created curiosity among anglers on what these things were and can they really catch fish. I receive more questions about swimbaits then just about anything and I’ll try to sum up the most important things remember.
There are some guys who are considered trophy hunters who will go out and fish a swimbait on a point for days on end looking for that one giant, but I’m really not an expert on that type of fishing. I’m a tournament angler so I’ve learned how to be successful with the big baits in a tournament setting.

The first thing you need to figure out is what philosophy you are going to have when throwing the swimbait. There are two ways to look at it. One, you can pick up the bait and throw it all day preparing to get few bites but those bites are really good quality fish. With that philosophy you should be prepared to put every other rod away and know that you’re five bites away from the winning bag of fish. The other method of utilizing the swimbait is putting together a decent sack of fish and then going “hunting” looking for that one big bite that will give you a kicker and upgrade your bag. For me I usually choose the first. Take falcon for example, I knew it would take 30-35 pounds a day to win that tournament. The fish were big, and they wanted to eat a big meal. I made the decision that I would throw the Tru-Tungsten tilapia bait all day and not put it down and it was responsible for 28lbs on day one.

Another important aspect of throwing the swimbait is making sure you are able to cover all depths. Some days the fish will want a topwater bait, and others a bottom bouncer, and then some days it’s both. You have to listen to the fish and adjust to how they want the bait and at what depth. That kind of versatility used to require 3 different baits, but now with the Tru-Tungsten Tru-life swimbait you can have all those baits in one. What makes the Tru-Life swimbait unique is that you can add or remove tungsten balls in order to change that rate at which the bait sinks. You can even remove all weight and have a wake bait. That kind of versatility out of one bait makes it much simpler to fish, and saves you the effort of retying baits or switch back and forth between different rods.

A common concern from anglers trying to get into throwing swimbaits is how important the color of the lure is. Generally, I will throw the trout style baits during the prespawn when the fish are bulking up looking for that one big meal and during the post spawn I will throw the bluegill, tilapia, or shad patterns a lot more while the bass are up feeding on the spawning forage fish. I think that color is a lot more of an angler confidence thing; the fish aren’t as concerned about color as they are about profile. Again referencing the success Steve Kennedy had at Clear Lake, you’ll see that he was throwing a trout colored bait. Anyone who knows Clear Lake knows that there are no trout in that body of water, but there are other large forage fish which resemble the same profile as the bait he was using. The key is that the bait is something big and slow moving; any big bass in that area will be interested in the bait. You have to remember you are fishing for the best bites you can get and the biggest fish in the body of water you are at.

Finally, another question that people ask all the time is whether or not the splash is a bad thing. I don’t think the splash is negative at all; in fact I think it draws the bass’ attention to the bait and gets them more active. It may surprise some of the guys when they first throw an 8-10 inch bait, but I’m telling you that any fish that’s spooked by a splash isn’t the fish you are going for anyway so don’t worry about it.

A thing to note when throwing these big baits is that regular tackle isn’t going to cut it. If you’ve ever tried throwing the big five ounce trout baits on a flipping stick you know how poorly they perform. You are only asking for trouble trying to fling a bait of that size with a rod weighted for baits up to two ounces; your hook sets will be awful and your casting will be inaccurate. I throw the larger swimbaits on the Daiwa Light and Tough swimbait rod and the smaller swimbaits on the Daiwa Light and Tough frog rod. Both have solid backbone required for success with swimbaits. I use a Daiwa Luna reel and 20 lb maxima monofilament which provide enough strength to horse the fish in.

Don’t make swimbait fishing more difficult then it is; it’s a technique just like any other that has its time and place that will catch you fish. Success will come by using the right equipment, making adjustments, and being persistent.