Choosing a swimbait.

[T Dot]

No durability problems so far but with zero fish and only a little practice I'd say they haven't been tested yet. About the Rock Hard Platinum: all I can say about it is that it looks super slinky in the water, it's 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a Triple Trout (e-bay prices) and it is available in 6" (medium) and 4" (tiny) sizes from Bass Pro.
Auburn Sports and Marine has lure retriever/ knockers in stock.
I almost forgot: if you do go to Auburn Sports and Marine check out the picture of Tag holding an 11lb and an 8lb largemouth that he caught two weeks ago on a Triple Tungsten bluegill.

wow 4inches, thats tiny

i have to check them out

[platinumroof]

Correction: I called the bait Tag used a triple tungsten. It's actually a True Tungsten I think. I am just used to using the abbreviation TT.
The 4" Rock Hard Platinum is smaller looking than I expected when I ordered them. I haven't tested the 4" size yet. If it swims like the 6" & 8" ones it will be a killer.
If you want a super versatile soft bait check out the Baitsmith in the shad shape. They sink kind of slow but the tail kicks on the way down. They have flotation (like a Hudd) in them so they won't roll over at any speed. I haven't tested the bluegill/crappie shape yet but if it swims as well as the shad shape I will be super pumped.
I'll keep you guys posted.

[fishnislife]

Correction: I called the bait Tag used a triple tungsten. It's actually a True Tungsten I think. I am just used to using the abbreviation TT.
The 4" Rock Hard Platinum is smaller looking than I expected when I ordered them. I haven't tested the 4" size yet. If it swims like the 6" & 8" ones it will be a killer.
If you want a super versatile soft bait check out the Baitsmith in the shad shape. They sink kind of slow but the tail kicks on the way down. They have flotation (like a Hudd) in them so they won't roll over at any speed. I haven't tested the bluegill/crappie shape yet but if it swims as well as the shad shape I will be super pumped.
I'll keep you guys posted.

Thanks platinumroof. I would like to hear how they roll. I haven't had the chance to test drive them yet.




fishnislife

[Bigbass Dez]

There is a guy in my club that owns a tackle box with nothing but swimbaits , and he owns atleast one of all the good one's (over 5k in worth) BBD

$5K?? That adds up to about six lures, right?:-"

LOL , you think that's insane you should have seen the tacklebox he made for them. the best way i can describe it is something like a large size u-haul packing box ..I have never seen anything like it .. but i will say that the guy is great angler and he takes his skill set very serious ...

[Anglinarcher]

There is a guy in my club that owns a tackle box with nothing but swimbaits , and he owns atleast one of all the good one's (over 5k in worth) BBD

$5K?? That adds up to about six lures, right?:-"

If so, I want to know where he get's them. I priced them and it looked like I could only get 5.

[kevinb]

Why are swimbaits so expensive...where they developed by NASA:-"

[danielt]

Why are swimbaits so expensive...where they developed by NASA:-"

They really aren't. The ones that are, are hand made or very hard to come by so people paid top dollar for them. There are a hand full that are fairly expensive out of the box and very available but that's because of the quality. Think about a lucky craft pointer can be $15 well an 8" swimbait can run $30. Considering is a lot bigger in size that alone should justify the price. Those big hard baits are basically 1 crankbait times 10. The big plastic just use more plastic and are made from a quality mold with very detailed color schemes. This "box" that Dez is talking about was a suitcase and was probably worth $2500 still a lot but it was a lot of baits. Most of them were only about $7-$15 each but the guy did have some high end baits too. Also if you take into consideration the value of the baits he had that aren't made anymore that helps the worth value go up.

castaic's
mission fish
baby E's
osprey
baitsmith
berkley hollow belly....

are all "popular" soft baits and under $10 (give or take and depending on number per package)

[kevinb]

I've looked at a few that you mention. I'm amazed,they look pretty lifelike. Very cool and detailed.

[cavdad45]

I have to confess that over the winter I bought a 6" Castaic rainbow trout swimbait and I have a few packs of BassTrix lures that did not make it to eBay (most did,but I did keep a few). I am very curious to try them this year, but not as a go to bait.

[T Dot]

Why are swimbaits so expensive...where they developed by NASA:-"

i would say the time and effort put into these things. the great ones come tested and tuned. they are price above or around $100 for a reason, as they put big fish into the boat.

some of the paint jobs are outrageous, then again some of them are ugly, but do alot of damage on the water. ugly or pretty, the big dollar baits are priced that high because they are that good.

$5000 would put you around the 50 lure mark. now if you choose to purchase the rare and discontinued ones, you can easily cut that in half. all terminal tackle must be swapped out, so that is an added cost to the game.

lol the nasa cant hold a candle to g14 classified

[HillbillyGeek]

So would these be considered "swimbaits"? (3, 4 & 6 inch)



"WildEye Swim Shad" by Storm. They are a tad heavier than I would like, but the extra weight makes them easy to throw with a baitcaster & heavy line.

[platinumroof]

Sure, those are paddle tail soft baits. River 2 Sea makes some like that too. They call their's the Bottom Walker. I have some but haven't used them much. A friend of mine says they work best if you fish them on the bottom. I guess I should have figured that out from the name.

[kevinb]

I only have 1, its a 9inch Rainbow by Storm. So far I've only used it once(tigers) This thing has some serious weight. I think when it hits the water,anything within 20 yards bolts.

[Slabking]

The main thing I look for is the action of the bait. Color, size, etc are not that important I've found (at the least in the waters I fish). I've caught smallies on 6"-7" baits and even 1lb largemouths will suck down a 6" swimbait in a heartbeat. One thing I've found is that during the pre-spawn bass will gorge themselves on stocked trout since they make for easy prey. The floater/shallow running type of baits seem to work best during this time. They will still hit swimbaits once the spawn is over and there are a ton of baitfish in the water but you'll have better luck fishing for the bass that prefer to hold in deeper water (aka the bigger fish). That's when the sinking baits work better and they will allow you to work the deeper points and breaks. I don't have it all figured out yet but I've done pretty good the last two years or so.



Little bass love swimbaits too



Lake Sammamish

[ChrisB]

Good to see you back posting Slabking. Thats a nice fish, on a nice bait

[bpm2000]

nice pics slab - even the little guys suck em down!

[fishnislife]

The main thing I look for is the action of the bait. Color, size, etc are not that important I've found (at the least in the waters I fish). I've caught smallies on 6"-7" baits and even 1lb largemouths will suck down a 6" swimbait in a heartbeat. One thing I've found is that during the pre-spawn bass will gorge themselves on stocked trout since they make for easy prey. The floater/shallow running type of baits seem to work best during this time. They will still hit swimbaits once the spawn is over and there are a ton of baitfish in the water but you'll have better luck fishing for the bass that prefer to hold in deeper water (aka the bigger fish). That's when the sinking baits work better and they will allow you to work the deeper points and breaks. I don't have it all figured out yet but I've done pretty good the last two years or so.



Little bass love swimbaits too



Lake Sammamish

Looks like a little Mattlures action you got going on there. Great post Slabking. You are very right about the pre-spawn gorge fest. Very soon it will be on. Then as you stated after the pre-spawn, smaller offerings are the best because now they are inhaling there own young and other fry. I will throw an SBT 4" in baby bass or Mattlures in the bluegill or trout series during this time.
As far as the monster bass go, anytime of year they are eating trout. In their case, as an angler it's just knowing where they are, at what time they're feeding, hitting that right angle and putting into their wheelhouse.



fishnislife

[T Dot]

I've caught smallies on 6"-7" baits and even 1lb largemouths will suck down a 6" swimbait in a heartbeat.

that aint nothing!

:joker:

my 1st was almost a < 3inch largie. totally killed the lure, and had him hooked. he shook off though. the thing was tiny as hell. it was quite the sight.

[HillbillyGeek]

I only have 1, its a 9inch Rainbow by Storm. So far I've only used it once(tigers) This thing has some serious weight. I think when it hits the water,anything within 20 yards bolts.

I know what you mean... the six incher hits the water like a bomb! Storm should reduce the weight by 50%.

They are not very expensive compared to other swimbaits. The 3 & 4 inchers are 6 for $4, and the six inchers are $1 each.

[bpm2000]

yea i hate the way those storms are weighted - they would probably be decent otherwise but they sink like a f'n rock.