Your gotta have big swimbaits

[SouthArkFishin]

Just starting to dip my toe into the swimbait waters and I'd be interested to hear y'all's list of swimbaits that you consider "must have." So far I've only messed around with some smaller soft plastic baits, the Kawashi Mikey, the Shellcracker G2, and some Fringe Tackle 7" soft baits. Looking to get into some bigger hard body swim/glide baits in time for the spring warm up. I've read a ton of articles and reviews and I know all the big name baits out there, but I'm interested in hearing opinions from you guys that are out there fishing them.

[slideaction]

Deps 250, hardgill, hudd

[Farnorth]

I would put a 3:16 wake jr on your list. They are a bit expensive but well built. They also float so if you cast it off while figuring out the proper setup you should be able to retrieve it provided you have access to the water. I also really like 3:16 soft baits. The rising son (top hook version) has worked really well for me and they are quite reasonably priced for high quality baits.

Mattlures also has high quality hard and soft baits at reasonable (for swimbaits) prices.

I personally like the Megabass I-slides and believe it or not they are reasonably priced compared to some of the competition. (You will want to change the hooks and split rings in my opinion.

The Deps baits are great but you are paying a big premium for them right now because they are in high demand ( there are some deals on silent killer 175's out there if you are willing to convert them to slide swimmers yourself.

Roman Made same as Deps. Good baits but high prices even second hand due to availability.

Overall I would say buy a wakebait, a glide bait , and a few soft plastics and try them out before you stock up too much. You will quickly see what works for you.

[SouthArkFishin]

I would put a 3:16 wake jr on your list. They are a bit expensive but well built. They also float so if you cast it off while figuring out the proper setup you should be able to retrieve it provided you have access to the water. I also really like 3:16 soft baits. The rising son (top hook version) has worked really well for me and they are quite reasonably priced for high quality baits.

Mattlures also has high quality hard and soft baits at reasonable (for swimbaits) prices.

I personally like the Megabass I-slides and believe it or not they are reasonably priced compared to some of the competition. (You will want to change the hooks and split rings in my opinion.

The Deps baits are great but you are paying a big premium for them right now because they are in high demand ( there are some deals on silent killer 175's out there if you are willing to convert them to slide swimmers yourself.

Roman Made same as Deps. Good baits but high prices even second hand due to availability.

Overall I would say buy a wakebait, a glide bait , and a few soft plastics and try them out before you stock up too much. You will quickly see what works for you.

All of those baits, except for the roman made, are on the starter list I have running in my head along with a MS Slammer, an AC minnow, and a Jointed Claw. I want the Mattlures gill for bed fishing and I had the I-slide pegged for the same reason you mentioned. How would I go about converting a silent killer to a slide swimmer? And I don't have a problem ponying up the money for a wake jr, but is eBay or second hand my only option. I don't know if I just stated looking at a bad time, but nobody has had any of the 3:16 hardbaits in stock for the last couple of months that I've seen. Do they not make them very often or only in limited runs? I also thought about trying one of the Fish Arrow Jack series. They're reasonably priced if you get em from Japan. Oh, and I've read bits and pieces here and there about trout patter baits being effective in water without trout. Is that really true?

[ctgalloway21]

Bull Shad for my hard bait
S-Waver for my glide
occasional Hudd

[Farnorth]

All of those baits, except for the roman made, are on the starter list I have running in my head along with a MS Slammer, an AC minnow, and a Jointed Claw. I want the Mattlures gill for bed fishing and I had the I-slide pegged for the same reason you mentioned. How would I go about converting a silent killer to a slide swimmer? And I don't have a problem ponying up the money for a wake jr, but is eBay or second hand my only option. I don't know if I just stated looking at a bad time, but nobody has had any of the 3:16 hardbaits in stock for the last couple of months that I've seen. Do they not make them very often or only in limited runs? I also thought about trying one of the Fish Arrow Jack series. They're reasonably priced if you get em from Japan. Oh, and I've read bits and pieces here and there about trout patter baits being effective in water without trout. Is that really true?

For converting you can look at this video: [youtube]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=InbJnwmjstg[/youtube]

For a wake jr you options are ebay, second hand, or samurai tackle. The good news is if you buy a bait like this and don't like it you can likely sell it for the same price and just be out some postage. 3:16 baits are released in small batches and you need to stalk their site to get what your after. Baits are usually sold out within 15-20 mins of being posted.

For patterns, trout seems to be a favorite even in non trout holding waters. I try to choose things that are similar in color to local baitfish even if not 100% faithful to the pattern. I am not a bass fisher so take my advice here with a grain of salt...

[SouthArkFishin]

Bull Shad for my hard bait
S-Waver for my glide
occasional Hudd

My buddy and I talked about getting a couple of S-Wavers. Just haven't done it. Which size do you throw?


I did see the 3:16s on Samurai. That may be the way I end up going. I can pick up a silent killer or jointed claw at the same time and the color selection and prices are better. Plus ordering multiple baits is the only way to make the shipping even out. I quit fooling with knives over all that limited production, site stalking mess and now it looks like I'm right back in it

[slideaction]

S wavers are great starters and well priced look up matt allens vid on it for retrievings

[a1712]

Tripple Trout and MS Slammer, they've been catching Hawgs for a while now. Brian.

[toddmc]

It looks like you guys have covered most of them. The Baby "E" and Baby "E" Jr. were the first swimbaits that I started wearing them out on in the early days of swimbaiting. I think everyone wishes that they could get some more of the original versions, although they are not that large by today's standards.

[SouthArkFishin]

Thanks for all the input guys. Gonna try and snag a few of these over the next couple of months and hopefully catch a big girl or two when it warms up.

[lund40]

Gancraft jointed claw 178
R2s s-waver
Mattlure

[SwimbaitsatLMV]

Hudd, Triple Trout. Watch southern trout eaters and big bait posse. 2 of the best producing baits out there.

[igl00jx]

Don't forget an MS Slammer. Doesn't look like much, but they get smashed!

[Toadslayer72]

Idk if you've already gone on your shopping spree but my advice would be to keep it simple, as in only worry about a handful of baits. There have been some great suggestions already as far as baits go but I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Hands down, get some kind of Hudd, I know you said hardbaits but the Hudd is by far the best bait going. It has a history as far as fish it's produced that smokes all other baits imo. If you are intimidated by the 8" then get a 68.

Next up, Mattlures gills, both hard and soft, another bait w an incredible track record.

MS Slammer, I like the 9" original. It's not much to look at out of the water but that sucker comes to life in the water. It's super versatile and responds well to many different retrieves. My favorite is an erratic stop go with the reel, you can really get a nice surface cadence that gets those wooden sections slapping nicely. You can also wake it and even straight crank it as it dives a couple of feet. Great bait and a must have.

Then of course some kind of glide bait, talk about versatile. Obviously if you don't mind shelling out the money then, by all means, Deps, Roman Made etc. I only have a Deps 250, a couple of S-waver 200s, a 168 and a perch bait made by a guy in Colorodo (I think that's where he is). But there are a lot of good glide baits out there. This is one style of bait where I can see having many different ones because the action, as in the slalom, can vary from bait to bait and the fish might be in the mood for one over the other on any given day. Either way, be prepared to see some crazy stuff w your glide baits, like packs of followers or some of the biggest followers. Even though I've had my 250 for a couple of years now, I'm still amazed at how this bait hypnotizes the fish and gets them to dance, it's crazy.

A couple of other things to keep in mind. This style of fishing is not a numbers game, if you dedicate yourself to it full time, you will get blanked, sometimes a lot. But on the flip side, the payoff is often greater. Get and watch Southern Trout Eaters. It's the best video out imo as far as sharing information, particularly for beginners. Matt Perers is a good dude and he will tell you why he does what he does. His word isn't gospel but his conviction is addicting. And definitely get yourself some Mend-It for your soft baits, it's magic in a bottle.