Calif style swim baits

[iPodrodder]

...Spend big....win big! No one ever said fishing was cheep.

i 2nd that



gotta pay to play

Meh...I have caught plenty of 2+ pound bass (you're right, not huge, but I haven't had a chance to get any bigger ones) on one lure, one color. It cost 2.50 for a bag of 10 or 12 or something. Just a little 3" Kalin's twisty tail grub. It doesn't have to be extremely flashy.

[fish4brains]

SwimBaits are awesome I have caught some large bass on them in the PNW. I have been throwing the 3/8oz Northland Mimic Minnow, I know its not as big as a hudd or matt, with great success. A buddy and I were on Liberty Lake near Spokanistan and came upon a bank fisherman who said he just had a huge bass hit his 8" trout he was trying to real in. He then said he tied on a big hook and sent the trout back out to have the bass eat it and bust his line! Well needless to say we threw troutbaits for a couple hours to no avail but hey you never know. this is a great topic so lets keep the info coming. Oh yeah all my fish that ate the swimbait ate it on a slow retrieve that ticks the bottom avery couple a cranks. When you feel the strike "wait for the weight" then set the hook, HARD!

[Anonymous]

Good pick up Silent Angler. I would be hesitant to throw that model due to the fact that I would be affraid of getting it hung up and losing it. Throw it with caution, like you probably do, and keep throwing it. The key is to find where those big fish hunker down at. It will pay off throwing that bad dog. Looks like you caught a pretty nice one in your avatar pic.
iPodrodder have you caught plenty of 5+lb bass? I think you should at least have one swimbait in you bag. They're tested and proven to catch large bass. I can totally understand if your happy with 2lb. bass all the time. I don't mind it either, but there is something in me that has to try for a monster. They eat bait fish and what better lure than something that looks exactly like what they consume. I think you would be surprised at how exillerating throwing swimbaits can be.
fish4brains, great story. The reason that bass didn't hit your swimbaits is because she already consumed her meal for the day. Try that same spot again and again and again. She's there as long as someone didn't catch her and pull her out. What's your biggest fish on a swimbait? Also, what type Mimic Minnow do you throw? I'm kind of interested in perch.


fishnislife

[Anonymous]

iPodrodder Watch these three videos and tell me they don't get you pumped up to throw swimbaits. Do you think the fish that Butch catches in the vids you could catch with a 3" twisty tail grub?
Go big, win big.
http://www.huddlestondeluxe.com/generic ... WPERWRJPX0

fishnislife

[Silent Angler]

i just bought several new swimbaits by 3:16 ---the mission fish 6 inches long model. i went to st. clair lake (thurston country) yesterday. i decided to give it a try as i worked down inside and out of cove adjacent to the deep water.

i just wanted to see how it swims because i only had one-hour window of fishing time...and i really really like how it swims and it is even weedless as i tested it through the lily pads, weed, and grass. i highly recommend for a serious swimbait angler to own this model to fish in a sparse or heavy cover. you could even use this swimbait for the bedding bass as well.

but anyway the good but not the best news, i even got many nibbles ...no takers but it got me pumped up. i was not sure if the nibbles were from a schooling perch or several but cautious hefty largemouth bass licking it off.

i went home and thinking about it. there were many variables but i think i should have got the five inches model because the forage are still small at this time of year. perhaps the six inches model will work better next month or two as the forage get bigger.

the mission fish swimbait caught the world's 4th heaviest (21 lbs and something) largemouth bass by jed dickerson when he was sight fishing insouthern california, fyi.

[bpm2000]

I'm afraid of losing these baits so I might try out these weedless ones - have u ever tried the basstrix paddletails?

[fish4brains]

fish4brains, great story. The reason that bass didn't hit your swimbaits is because she already consumed her meal for the day. Try that same spot again and again and again. She's there as long as someone didn't catch her and pull her out. What's your biggest fish on a swimbait? Also, what type Mimic Minnow do you throw? I'm kind of interested in perch.
fishnislife[/size][/quote]

Yeah we I figured that same would not bite for a while so we tried swimmers on a lot of that lake to no avail. Some days they are great and some not so much. The Mimic minnow that I have had best success with is the 3/8oz shiner. I have thrown the perch but no luck yet, thats right "yet", I am no quiter! My biggest smallie is 6.13lbs and my biggest largmouth is 8.3lbs. I only throw swimmers at peak feeding times ie., early morning and late evening unless the fish are cramming other baits during the day then I switch to a swimmer. You will not get the numbers but they are bigger.

[Silent Angler]

hey bpm2000,

if you have some basstrix paddletails to share with me, since i have a decent bass boat and i would love to take you out for a bass fishing endeavor in olympia area..but seriously, i tried to purchase a single basstrix paddletail but they are all sold out since steve kennedy won the elite classic at clear lake a couple of months ago. he used the hitch basstrix paddletail to boost and claim the new record for the heaviest stringers of 122 lbs! He also throwed the huddleston swimbait. it was priced at 39 dollars when i was considering buying it but i never did buy it. it is now priced at 49 dollars!

[tnj8222]

if you like the basstrix paddletail you should also pick up some panic minnows they are good on a dropshot and awesome rigged with a darter head, they just kill the smallies!

[bpm2000]

Hey Silent Angler

haha I wish I had some to share man! Ive been looking forever as well - pretty much sold out everywhere!

[fishnislife]

hey bpm2000,

if you have some basstrix paddletails to share with me, since i have a decent bass boat and i would love to take you out for a bass fishing endeavor in olympia area..but seriously, i tried to purchase a single basstrix paddletail but they are all sold out since steve kennedy won the elite classic at clear lake a couple of months ago. he used the hitch basstrix paddletail to boost and claim the new record for the heaviest stringers of 122 lbs! He also throwed the huddleston swimbait. it was priced at 39 dollars when i was considering buying it but i never did buy it. it is now priced at 49 dollars!

Yo Silent Angler! BassTackleDepot.com has hudds for $35. Check it out. One of my go to sites beside Tacklewarehouse.

http://www.basstackledepot.com

fishnislife

[Silent Angler]

hey i think some of you guys want to know about the good deal buying on the basstrix tail tube. i was reading the bass fishing home page and found this thread:

7/12/2007 3:04:00 PM Submitted by Jim (131.7.52.17) from VA says Basstrix
Trust me, know one has them. Your best bet is Basstackle depot but you have to call them everyday at 1000 their time (pacific). This is the only place that gets them in everyday somehow and they are sold in like 20 minutes. I have tried for the last two weeks everyday and finally got some. They have them on their web site but it says call because they are so popular. Then number is 1-800-591-7171 and good luck. I have called other places such as tacklewarehouse but they said they have a ton of backorders for these. You can find them on Ebay and some idiot is charging $50 plus dollars for three packs. Bass tackle depot charges like $7 a pack. Good luck!



SA

ps
im buying some soon!!!

[Kevin K]

I have yet to fish a swimbait bigger than six inches, but have had good luck with them. Especially over at Potholes, where anything from large mouth and small mouth to walleyes will hit a swimbait. Just received the slow-sink BBZ-1 flat rainbow swimbait from Tacklewarehouse. I am trying it out this weekend, and will post when I get back in town.

[JWerner]

I went down to Clear Lk. this last spring and was able to bring back a bunch of different swimbaits. So far, the Basstrix 6" has worked very well. I have not used them much though as I tend to stick with other techniques. I use the Falcon 5/0 hook for this bait, but even the heaviest weighted hook - I believe 3/16 oz is not heavy enough. The bait has too much wobble and did not move like a trout. I then wrapped wire around the hook. This worked well as I was able to fish the bait slower and deeper. The added weight acted like a keel, which lessened the wobble of the bait. In regard to availability, your best bet right now is Ebay. Here's a pic of some pig pick up using the Basstrix:

[Anonymous]

Nice bass JWerner. Were those caught in Cali or up here. I never got to fish Clear Lake but have always wanted to.
I would use BassTrix all the time if I could afford it and of coarse find them.
I have heard since the company (BassTrix) has not been producing lures do to back orders for the past three months that your next best thing would be the Big Hammer Swimbait.
http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csc2.htm

I met the owner and creator of the BassTrix lure at a Fred Hall Show down in SoCal a couple years back. Seemed like a nice guy but very serious. I picked his brain a little and he told me about his patent pending way of making them. Awesome and ingenious idea.


fishnislife

[JWerner]

Those are western WA. largemouth. I have not used the Basstrix swimbaits much but will much more in the future. I have used them on about 5 outings. So far I have 5 bass in the boat and three others hooked, but they shook me off. The smallest of them was 3.6 pounds. I was at Clear Lk. in May and did not use swimbaits. Stuck with big lizards and worms, jigs and Senkos. I'll be headed back next Spring. Unreal fishery!!

[bpm2000]

wow those are western wa largies? nice!