Swimbaits and Swimbait Rods

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Daniel Bavery on August 6, 2012 at 8:28am

The state doesnt matter. Use the exact same swimbaits as anyone else would, you will find what YOU have confidence in and what works best. All swimbaits out there will work, including the big ones. You will see what I mean when Tag and Chris B chime in on this.

 

If you use a flippin stick or similar you will pay for it. You need good bend in rods when tossing heavy swims, flippin sticks wont really give you that, although they can work well if throwing lighter baits. At least a 7'6" rod is needed, i dont own a swim rod under 8' now, I learned the hard way. Your shoulders and forearms will thank you if you get a dedicated swim rod.

 

You will hear people say thier favs are Huds, hardbaits, paddletails, or bluegill variations. Honestly, you will need to get some of all and figure out what YOU have confidence in. Personally I have confidence in bluegill variations and perchies, but I have caught tons on troots also.

 

There is no need to become a master on one size then move to another. With the smaller swims you will catch plenty of smaller fish, which could give you a false confidence thing concerning swims.

 

If you want to use topwaters, color isnt an issue. They all have white or semi-white bottoms, so the top half really doesnt matter much. One more thing, dont buy cheap ones, this is a huge mistake everyone does. There is a reason there isnt many higher end used baits for sale compared to cheap ones. They are cheap for a reason, stay away.

 

No matter what you do or what baits you buy, dont use cheap gear. Get a good dedicated reel that is proven, and get good proven rods or you might lose that fish of a lifetime

 

Dan

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on August 6, 2012 at 8:03pm

Hey Larrick,

Dan makes a lot of great points and offers some very sound advice. I'd be happy to get together with you one of these evenings and we can go through my tackle. You'll be able to get a good idea of the rods, reels, line, lures, hooks, split rings, etc. involved in big bait fishing. Shoot me a PM and we'll connect here in town.

Take care,

Tag


Daniel Bavery said:

The state doesnt matter. Use the exact same swimbaits as anyone else would, you will find what YOU have confidence in and what works best. All swimbaits out there will work, including the big ones. You will see what I mean when Tag and Chris B chime in on this.

 

If you use a flippin stick or similar you will pay for it. You need good bend in rods when tossing heavy swims, flippin sticks wont really give you that, although they can work well if throwing lighter baits. At least a 7'6" rod is needed, i dont own a swim rod under 8' now, I learned the hard way. Your shoulders and forearms will thank you if you get a dedicated swim rod.

 

You will hear people say thier favs are Huds, hardbaits, paddletails, or bluegill variations. Honestly, you will need to get some of all and figure out what YOU have confidence in. Personally I have confidence in bluegill variations and perchies, but I have caught tons on troots also.

 

There is no need to become a master on one size then move to another. With the smaller swims you will catch plenty of smaller fish, which could give you a false confidence thing concerning swims.

 

If you want to use topwaters, color isnt an issue. They all have white or semi-white bottoms, so the top half really doesnt matter much. One more thing, dont buy cheap ones, this is a huge mistake everyone does. There is a reason there isnt many higher end used baits for sale compared to cheap ones. They are cheap for a reason, stay away.

 

No matter what you do or what baits you buy, dont use cheap gear. Get a good dedicated reel that is proven, and get good proven rods or you might lose that fish of a lifetime

 

Dan

Permalink Reply by Larrick on August 7, 2012 at 2:25pm

PM sent.

Tag Watson said:

Hey Larrick,

Dan makes a lot of great points and offers some very sound advice. I'd be happy to get together with you one of these evenings and we can go through my tackle. You'll be able to get a good idea of the rods, reels, line, lures, hooks, split rings, etc. involved in big bait fishing. Shoot me a PM and we'll connect here in town.

Take care,

Tag

Permalink Reply by Chris Blandi on August 7, 2012 at 6:37pm

Dan gave you some good information.  Once you hook up with Tag, you'll be more than ready to give it a go.