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Hooking, Playing and Landing
Big Swimbait
Bass
Byron Velvick
Swimbaits
are unique. Aside from muskie and striper plugs, these are the
biggest baits we fish in freshwater, and when it comes to hooking,
playing and landing trophy bass on big swimbaits, you'll need to keep a few tips in mind.
Here's what I've found to be the most productive methods.
When working the swimbaits,
no matter how far you cast, it's important you always stop retrieving the
swimbait
once you reach the boat. Just let it sit there for a moment so a following
bass thinks the bait is trapped. You may not see the bass, but just like
in muskie fishing, boatside follows and strikes will be numerous.
If you do get a hit close to the boat, it's going to be vicious. Unless,
of course, the bass is still coming at you, in which case it will feel more
like an oversize worm bite. But no matter the type of hit--vicious or subtle,
nearby or far away--the hookset should be the same.
Simply said, you NEVER set the hook. You do more of a sweep. You crank up
and load up the fish. You pin it. You don't pop it, because you can pop
the bait right out of their mouths. With a 7-10 rod heavy rod,
heavy line and big-torque reel, a lot of times you can pop the bait right
out.
When you get a longline hookup, it's the same--get on them quick, load up
and do a little sweep. A lot of your bites will come right when the bait
hits the water. You'll throw out there, it'll hit the water, you'll engage
your reel, and a fish that's roaming subsurface rushes right over and explodes.
I've had a lot of mind-blowing hits way out there.
Once you set that fish, you
hold that rod down and crank as fast as you can. If you need to, put
the  trolling motor on high and chase it to cover the gap as quickly
as possible. Your goal is to maintain constant, heavy tension and
exert leverage by reeling, not by moving the rodtip. After you're
hooked up, remember, you really don't have a lot of time to play with
these fish because of their tendency to throw the baits--especially
when throwing the heavier swimbaits.
Just think, if they can throw a 1/2- or 3/4-ounce leadhead, they
have an even better shot at throwing a 5-ounce bait. It's
phenomenal to me how well they can throw them. First of all,
they're big fish with hard mouths; and second, they're good at
throwing hooks and know what to do when hooked. They've been
through the school many times.
You'll notice a lot of times, when you hook a big one, it'll
quickly come out of the water and start exploding and
regurgitating that bait. The more time you give that fish, the
more time it has to wear a big old hole in its mouth.
I've seen it go from, on the first jump way out there, you don't
see anything but line going into the mouth. Halfway to the boat,
the head of the bait has appeared in the mouth. By the time you
get it to the boat, the bait is ready to fall out.
In short, get 'em in quick.
Lastly, I don't lip these big swimbait fish very often, it's just
too risky, so I recommend having a good quality net ready at hand.--Byron
Velvick
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