Seasonal swimbait fishing

[angry john]

I was watching a u-tube video and there were some idea's presented that i find very interesting. I have very little swimbait knowledge so i am looking to you the experts to help me understand. The idea's presented were
1. Hard swim baits are best for summer
2. soft bait tail shape is very seasonally important, the normal paddle style best for summer. The huddelston style better for the off seasons.
3. The trout shape and color is the most effective bar none.

Is any of this true or mostly correct. There are always exceptions but i am looking to get some effective generalizations to set me on the right track. Right now i Have keitecs which i have had some ok catches, a new 6" trout bbz-1 and was looking into getting a 6" trout huddelston. I am open to other suggestions to help round out and have a good selection but please don't recommend a $250 3:16.

[johns]

Not to sure I agree with any of the three. They maybe somewhat true for some lakes, but not so true where I fish. This time of year is great for cranking down the slammer and baby possum in left over matts here in Ma. I would think ct would be the same. Don't know about the Hud style vs paddle tail either. The hud works good when they are deep in the summer ,fall, and winter. Also the perch color and shape seem to work best in a lot of the lakes here in the north east.

[angry john]

I to have found a fondness for perch colors up here in the north east. There are not a lot of great options out there in that color/shape. I was looking at a 4" perch bbz. Any other good choices?

[damian_megabass]

Hmm the above is pretty much obsolete if you can't present the swimbait correctly.

TONS of people fish hudds during the summer and catch fish. You can still catch fish on a boot tail style swimbait and hardbaits, such as 3:16. Again a swimbait is another tool and you just have to learn how to use it and present it correctly. IMO, you just have to use the tool accordingly to the weather/water temp/time of day(night)/and most important is presentation. I am no expert and still learning everytime I go out and fish, but I have caught quite a few SB fish

I caught this chubby on a VERY slow roll and she hit the bait head on as soon as I did one full fast turn of the reel to make the bait do a quick turn.

30 degree temp and the water was colder....

[Tokugawa]

I was watching a u-tube video and there were some idea's presented that i find very interesting. I have very little swimbait knowledge so i am looking to you the experts to help me understand. The idea's presented were
1. Hard swim baits are best for summer
2. soft bait tail shape is very seasonally important, the normal paddle style best for summer. The huddelston style better for the off seasons.
3. The trout shape and color is the most effective bar none.

Is any of this true or mostly correct. There are always exceptions but i am looking to get some effective generalizations to set me on the right track. Right now i Have keitecs which i have had some ok catches, a new 6" trout bbz-1 and was looking into getting a 6" trout huddelston. I am open to other suggestions to help round out and have a good selection but please don't recommend a $250 3:16.

Matt Allen is right. He is also right that those are generalizations. You have to keep in mind that he is targeting primarily Florida strain fish in So Cal waters. His "winter" is more like NE Ohio fall. In fact, fall right now is colder than So Cal sees in 100 years. You really need to adapt things your regional seasonal patterns. Baitfish speed and activity level is also something to consider when choosing a bait.

Fusiform profiles "tend" to be more effective as the baits get bigger. Bass, particularly large and educated bass, know they are easier to eat than a big platter of sunfish. In fact, a large sunfish can be fatal to an overly eager bass. Shad is fusiform, so it is not like the profile is foreign to non-trout populated waters.

[angry john]

That is a brilliant idea to go with a region. The issue i have is most recommendations are not area specific. I dont know any people in my area that are using swim baits, and the few that are, seem to be keeping tight lipped. Not being huge here in the north east like out west, i was hoping to show these fish some new stuff. Like by previous question about best time and the response as being all year, i just had to laugh as i pictured a swim bait bouncing off the ice . I figured i would try and be very general with information, and try and select a few winners. The hud seems to get great reviews cross the country so i have to get one to try. The bbz seems popular so i have one of those as well. Having the two big winners will show me which direction to go. I plan on making 2013 my year to figure out swim baits. I would like to have a good spread to have on hand and test them out in rotation to see what works. I might consider grabbing a fifth if there is a product that lot different, that works well. Currently working with 1.bbz slow sink 6" trout, 2.Keitech 4.8 swim jig 3. plan to grab a 6" huddelston in trout. 4. I found 2 cheap Reaction innovations 4" in pearl and ghost shad to round out the mix.

[johns]

That is a brilliant idea to go with a region. The issue i have is most recommendations are not area specific. I dont know any people in my area that are using swim baits, and the few that are, seem to be keeping tight lipped. Not being huge here in the north east like out west, i was hoping to show these fish some new stuff. Like by previous question about best time and the response as being all year, i just had to laugh as i pictured a swim bait bouncing off the ice . I figured i would try and be very general with information, and try and select a few winners. The hud seems to get great reviews cross the country so i have to get one to try. The bbz seems popular so i have one of those as well. Having the two big winners will show me which direction to go. I plan on making 2013 my year to figure out swim baits. I would like to have a good spread to have on hand and test them out in rotation to see what works. I might consider grabbing a fifth if there is a product that lot different, that works well. Currently working with 1.bbz slow sink 6" trout, 2.Keitech 4.8 swim jig 3. plan to grab a 6" huddelston in trout. 4. I found 2 cheap Reaction innovations 4" in pearl and ghost shad to round out the mix.

There are other forums that pertain to the NE that have swimbait sections. I don't know the exact rules of this forum so I won't name them.
My biggest fish last year(6lb 12oz) was caught the weekend before Christmass on a slammer. There were a few weekends where I had to plow my way thru the ice in my canoe just to get to open water and caught fish. The slammer is a proven fish catcher and fairly cheap. Think you should add that to your collection .

[damian_megabass]

If a 6" Hudd is one you want you should consider Hudd 68. They are 6" long with the action of a 8" hudd. If it's weedy there make your own weedless hudd 68.

[Tokugawa]

A slammer is an excellent suggestion...as is a Lunker Punker. I'm serious. My first 3 casts yielded 2 fish, and it keeps producing.

[siuol7]

A slammer is an excellent suggestion...as is a Lunker Punker. I'm serious. My first 3 casts yielded 2 fish, and it keeps producing.

I agree with the lunker punker, I live in RI and have been catching monster fish this past month on the punker

[angry john]

found a bunch of swimbait informaiton on tactical bass, and he tends to agree that the hudd tail shape is much better for cold water than the paddle. Are there other good sites out there to learn more about swim baits.

[Tokugawa]

Matt Allen is a good source. Matt from Matt lures posts here occasionally...along with other forums that have a bit more "drama" in them.

Have you checked out the TT Reviews and Shootouts from the Swimbait Wars a few years back? Probably a good source for reference.

[angry john]

30 degree temp and the water was colder....

laugh every time that i read the water was colder than 30

[i_am_R2]

angry john, I have a hudd 6" that is probably never gonna see water again. If you like, you can PM me your info and I'll drop it in the mail for you. It can use a good home

[trav]

30 degree temp and the water was colder....

So, you caught that through the ice? You must be quite the swimbait fisherman if you can pull that off. You should start your own website