There's no bait that's accounted for more 10+ pound bass in the last ten years than swimbaits. In fact, I bet that there isn't even another bait that comes close. The swimbait craze started in California where bass fishermen started using rainbow trout baits to match the stocked trout in the local lakes. The big bass went crazy over them, and in the course of a year fishing for monster largemouth was turned on its ear.
Perhaps nobody has done more for making swimbaits popular than a San Diego resident by the name of Mike Long. With over 400 ten-pound bass to his credit, and 71 over fifteen, Mike is the greatest big bass fisherman on the planet. His personal best, is a 20-12 fish also out of Lake Dixon.
Mike Long catches double-digit bass the way most anglers catch keepers. Living in the big bass hot-bed of Southern California doesn't hurt, but even there no one even comes close to Mike in the amount of big fish caught. Mike credits swimbaits as one of the key factors to catching the huge bass he's been able to land through the past 15 years.
I asked Mike for some advice on fishing swimbaits and here's what he told me:
I first always match the hatch and let the weather dictate where to fish. Swimbaits are a search bait and that is exactly how I use them. I always pick the color and size for what the bass are feeding on size and color wise. At times i use a larger say 12" bait to cover water and get some giants to follow then switch up and toss a smaller swimbait to trigger a bite or come back later to fish that target fish. The key to swimbaits is timing and in my opinion low light is one of the best times to use a swimbait.
Mike with another pig bass with the magic lure still in it's mouth.
While we don't have very many double-digit largemouth here in Canada, swimbaits are still a highly effective bait. While you won't see much action on a 10" trout pattern (although supposedly lake trout love them and I bet pike do too), 4 to 6 inch swimbaits can be absolutely dynamite.
If you're just getting into fishing swimbaits, don't fuss around too much with the hard baits. A really good place to start is with the soft-body swimbaits that became popular a few years back and are usually sold in packs of 3 to 5. One example is the Berkley Hollowbelly swimbait, but just about every major plastics company has a version including Strike King, Yum and Baitrix. The Baitrix version was the one that started the craze and was virtually impossible to find due to its popularity. Packs were selling for well over $20 on eBay at its peak.
The 5" Berkley Hollowbelly is my favourite soft-body swimbait and I'll fish it on a 5/0 offset hook. Sometimes I will use a weighted offset hook if I want it to swim a bit deeper, like when I'm fishing a deeper weedline. Usually I will just fish it weightless and texas-rigged. Tennessee Shad and Blueback Herring are both great colours for clear and stained water as they match any light-coloured forage, while Bluegill is a great colour for lakes with lots of sunfish.
This 6.5 pound BC bass fell prey to a Berkley Hollowbelly swimbait. This fish is a big one for Canada, but it's puny compared to Mike's!
The reason I love this bait so much is because its virtually impossible to get snagged. You can fish it through the thickest weeds and through any reedbed without any concern at all. You might need heavy line and a fast reel to get the fish out of there, but you'll quickly lose your fear of casting in gnarly cover after seeing this bait in action,
My Swimbait Set-up
7'6" Heavy Action Abu Garcia Vendetta Rod (it's actually a flippin' stick)
Abu Garcia Orra Reel
Fishing cover: 50 or 65 pound Spiderwire Camo Braid
Fishing open water: 17 pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon
5' of 20 pound Trilene Fluorocarbon (if fishing clear water)
A heavy-duty set-up is absolutely necessary since you will be catching some of the biggest bass in the lake you're fishing and you'll need it to pull them out of the heavy cover they live in. Bass can be absolutely savage when they're striking a swimbait on the surface, but just like fishing a frog you'll have to be patient with your hookset so that you don't pull it away from them when they blow up on it. A good rule of thumb is to count to three after you see the blow up before setting the hook.
Remember these tips and swimbaits might just catch you your biggest bass ever in 2012.
Check out the Hollowbelly Swimbaits at: Hollowbelly Swimbaits
Mike uses Dobyns rods, Maxima line and many different swimbaits from Matt Lures, Rago baits, 3:16 Swimbaits, Castaic Baits, Huddleston Deluxe, and BullShad Swimbaits.
For more info:
www.mattlures.com
www.ragobaits.com
www.316lurecompany.com
www.castaicswimbait.com
www.huddlestondeluxe.com
www.bullshad.com
