THE BASS COLLEGE

In this, the introduction to our series, it's appropriate to begin by trying to define what a swimbait is, and what it isn't.

When I think of a swimbait I think about an artificial lure that mimics a baitfish. It's a lure that's characterized by a lifelike action and a lifelike appearance, a lure that puts bass in the boat because they believe it's the real thing. They want to eat it.

It's not a reaction bait they want to kill, nor is it a flash bait they bite because they're curious. And size and weight have nothing to do with anything. There are swimbaits as small as 3 inches and as big as 16 inches. Some weigh much less than an ounce while others exceed 3 or 4 ounces.

It's not characterized by its construction, either. Some are made from soft plastic, others from wood or hard plastic. Some are jointed, but just as many get their action from a lip or from the engineering design of the bait's body and tail.

In short, a swimbait swims and looks like the real thing.

I started fishing with swimbaits in the ocean off the California coast in the early 1990s. I noticed that I caught rather small saltwater fish on really big baits. At the same time I was getting serious about bass fishing in freshwater. The lakes I was fishing were stocked with trout. In fact, they were the primary forage.

Around the same time a small group of California anglers were fishing for the world record with live bait — mostly crawfish. I reasoned that if they could catch giant largemouth bass on a tiny crawfish surely I could catch them on a big swimbait, especially if they were feeding naturally on big rainbow trout.

By 2000 I was hard into swimbaits. They were my bass fishing thing. I was attracted to them mostly because they were different. No one else was using them. My success was a closely guarded secret. So secret that when I caught one on a big bait during a tournament, I'd express surprise that it actually caught something. That kept my co-anglers from catching on and spreading the word.

All of my baits were handmade at the time, and most of them resembled rainbow trout in one form or another. Commercial production was non-existent. You either made them yourself in the garage, or you didn't have any. Over time, though, a few small custom shops began producing them. But even then they were mostly one of a kind special order items.

Over time my swimbait skills matured. I quickly learned the single most important lesson about these baits: Without exception, a swimbait must match the hatch. If it doesn't, it's useless.

Matching the hatch isn't just about color, or size or movement. It's about all those things combined. A good bait must look like the real thing. First, that means the color must match the color of the prevailing forage. The best tilapia bait in the world won't be successful in a lake that doesn't have tilapia in it.

Bait color is also affected by water color. Colors don't look the same in clear, slightly stained and muddy water. They take on a different appearance. The lure must look like what's in the lake given the current water conditions.

Size is another factor. A 4-inch thin bait looks very different than a 4-inch fat bait. They make different profiles when pulled through the water. Size isn't just about length. It's about bulk and the appearance of bulk, too.

Think of it this way: A rainbow trout doesn't have the body shape of a bluegill. So a rainbow trout finish on a bluegill body doesn't match the hatch, regardless of how accurate the colors may be on it. It doesn't look right. It doesn't have the right bulk.

Finally, we come to movement. Motion is made up of two parts — lure design and angler retrieve. A good swimbait — one that catches bass — must be engineered to swim like the real thing. If the lure isn't capable of a natural swimming action, you can't catch fish with it.

Next, your retrieve must match the real thing. If the local baitfish swim long distances without stopping or changing speed, your retrieve should duplicate that. If, however, the local forage stops and starts as it swims along, your bait should do the same.

Summertime means schooling bass, and schooling bass mean swimbaits. It's really just that simple, in my world anyway.

Schooling bass are feeding bass. They are not territorial, they are not interested in bigger baits and they are not shy. When I see a bunch of them busting the surface, or maybe a flock of birds diving repeatedly in the same area, I reach for a swimbait.

This is especially true on waters where traditional schooling baits are common, places where the bass know more about the color and running depth of a bait than you do. Very few bass have been conditioned to swimbaits. They're a first-class choice at this time of year.

In late summer and early fall open water is the most common schooling pattern you'll encounter. Often they'll be found off bluff walls or long, sloping points that drop into deep water. At other times, however, they'll be roaming haphazardly above depths of 80 feet or more with nothing underneath them except blue-green mud.

Regardless of where you find them, however, you should keep two things in mind — throw smaller baits and work them fast.  CLICK THE TACKLE WAREHOUSE BANNER TO VIEW THESE AND OTHER SWIMBAITS>>>

No one except the fish knows why smaller lures work best at this time of the year. My theory is that the bass are feeding and that small lures create the appearance of vulnerability. They look like easy pickings, one quick bite that requires little effort.

Some of the best lure choices are the new 4- and 5-inch Tru-Tungsten Tru-Life swimbaits. They're hard-bodied, heavy enough to cast a mile, can be adjusted to run at various depths and look very much like the real thing.

If you prefer soft-bodied swimbaits, try one of the Basstrix models or a Berkley Hollow Belly. Both have excellent action and catch more than their fair share of fish. I never rig them weedless unless it's absolutely necessary. My preference is to use a jighead with the hook exposed above the lure's back.

This method looks realistic. The hook resembles a dorsal fin. And, just as important, the exposed hook point increases my hooking percentage. Taken together, these two factors make a huge difference in my fishing success.

No matter which bait you use, keep in mind that you need to move your swimbait along at this time of year. I make very long casts using light line — 12- or 15-pound-test — and a long rod. I bring my bait back with a high-speed reel, usually something in the range of 6:1.

Learn to adjust your retrieve so that the bait will run at various depths. That's a more important skill than many anglers realize. A few inches up or down in the water column can make of world of difference in the number of bites you get.

Fishing main lake docks will also fill your livewell in late summer and early fall. This is not a light line, long rod and high-speed reel pattern, though. It's much more traditional.

Find a dock that sits near — but not necessarily in — deep water. (A little wind will make a good dock great.) Cast your lure around the pilings, any brush you can find or into shady areas. Slow roll it back with a steady, even crank of the reel handle. Don't be afraid to fish the same spot from several different directions and angles. Sometimes that'll trigger strikes from otherwise lethargic bass.

Again, never go weedless unless you have no other choice. If that's your only option, however, put a belly hook on your plastics. You'll miss a few fish, but let's be realistic — swimbaits aren't cheap and fishing time is precious. Losing several a day, or spending half your time getting them back, is expensive and frustrating.

Depending upon where you live in our country, fall will be here in a couple of weeks... or maybe in a couple of months. Either way, now's the time to start thinking about catching big bass when the wind cuts an edge and the leaves turn gold.

Before I get into the details of this piece, however, I want to acknowledge Rick Clunn's role in my thinking and in the development of my techniques. Many years ago he pointed out to me that nearly every tournament ever won in the fall — especially in the month of October — has been won in the back of a creek, in a pocket or in a bay.

He's absolutely right. Bass move into these areas as the air temperature drops and forces the water temperature down. Maybe they're following the forage; maybe they're following the water temperature. No matter, they're there. That's what matters to us as anglers. (The length of daylight may have an important effect on this, too. But that's a topic for another day.)

Ok, so you're not fishing a tournament. All you want to do is have some fast action with your family or friends. That's fine, but you still can't catch them if they aren't there. You must fish where the fish are to have any success. Clunn's observation stands — tournament or no tournament.

There's no better lure than a swimbait at this time of the year. They mimic natural forage like nothing else you can throw. In order for them to do that, however, two conditions must be operable.

First, the water must be clear. That's usually not a problem in the fall, but if it is go with something different. Swimbaits are sight baits. They are not effective in heavily stained or muddy water.

Second, you need a little wind. I'm not as hard-nosed about this as I am about water clarity because they will catch a few bass under slick water conditions. Nevertheless, a little breeze to break up the light penetration will do wonders for your catch rate.

Try to pick a bait with more size to it at this time of year. Fall is a time when the forage is at its largest. Most of it has had all year to grow... so it's going to be big, or at least bigger than it was two months ago. As you've heard me say a dozen times before — nothing is more important with swimbaits than that they match the hatch. That starts with size.

The next step in matching the hatch is finish. You need to find a bait that looks like what your bass are chasing. In some lakes, that'll be bluegill; in others, it'll be shad. Less frequently, it'll be something else such as trout or tilapia.

That's why I prefer Tru-Tungsten's Tru-Life Swimbaits late in the year. They're available in a wide array of sizes and finishes. No matter what forage you're trying to duplicate — size or type — there's a Tru-Life Swimbait that matches it in size or finish.

There's another reason I like them, too. I can adjust their weight with the tungsten balls that come with each bait. That's critically important.

Sometimes the forage moves fast. That causes the bass to move fast. When that happens I can remove the tungsten balls from my lure, crank it fast, and keep it near the top of the water column.

On the other hand, if my bass are down in the water column I can add a ball, or two, or three, or four, and get down where they are with a slow roll technique. That's equally useful on occasion.

The Tru-Life system allows me to rig two rods, exactly the same except for lure weight, and fish anywhere I need to fish to put the lure right in front of feeding bass. In the sport of bass fishing, that's as good as it gets.

Sometimes guys will tell me that this type of system may work, but it's just too expensive for their budgets. I'll answer that by giving you a few tips on how to save money and still fish with them.

You don't need everything they make. You should know if the forage in your local waters is bluegill, threadfin shad, gizzard shad, or something else. The only finish you need is the one that matches your local conditions.

And you don't need every size they make. You only need a couple to match the size of your local baitfish. Remember, you can adjust the weight up and down on the same lure as necessary.

Try swimbaits this fall. See how they do when compared to more conventional offerings such as spinnerbaits, crankbaits and jerkbaits. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Winter bass and swimbaits are not often talked about in the same conversation. That's too bad because there's a lot of unexplored territory out there. There are winter patterns and effective coldwater swimbaits that have yet to be discovered, patterns and swimbaits that just might make big changes in your winter fishing.

It's important to keep in mind that winter is as much a term of art as it is a season of the year. In Michigan it's defined by bitter cold and thick ice. In Florida, southern Texas and Southern California it's defined more like pleasantly cool.

I firmly believe that Florida bass, for instance, can be caught in the winter on swimbaits. They may be holding in deeper pockets, or they may be cruising the shallows getting ready to spawn and feeding on shiners. Regardless, they're feeding. If you can match the hatch you can catch them.

Of course, that scenario isn't applicable in Michigan. And I'm not saying that jigging a 12-inch hardbait through the ice is the way to go for lunker hard-water bass. Understand this, however: I'm not saying it isn't, either. I'm saying we don't know.

Swimbaits have opened a new frontier in freshwater fishing that needs more exploration and more refinement. That's going to take some time, and a lot of guys out there are doing crazy stuff, the kind of stuff you never talk about unless it works. There are no shortcuts. It's all about trial and error.

To illustrate my point further let me tell you a story from a recent trip I made to Alaska.

We were filming for Going Coastal. The segment was about trolling for coho salmon with a guide. He had us working traditional coho lures — spoons and other similar baits — in 72 feet of water. The bite was good, but not great. We wanted something better if we could get it.

I decided to try something wacky, something that everyone except me knew wouldn't work. I rigged a Berkley PowerBait Hollow Belly plastic swimbait and trolled it alongside his spoons and his other "go to" lures.

Within minutes I was out-fishing the other guys in the boat two to one. It was amazing. The cohos were absolutely slamming my Hollow Belly. It didn't take long before our guide was asking me all about swimbaits — how they worked, how to rig them, what they cost and anything else that seemed remotely relevant.

In fact, when we got ready to leave, he asked if he could have my stash. Now, this man earns his living catching fish. He uses what works, and doesn't use what doesn't work. It's a matter of economic survival for him. He now uses plastic swimbaits as a matter of course in his business.

I know coho salmon aren't largemouth or smallmouth bass. Nevertheless, the idea is constant. They'll often catch fish better than anything else you can use. They are versatile. Their application is limited only by our imaginations.

Winter is beginning to settle into many parts of our country. That means less fishing and more dreaming about next year and what you're going to need to catch them come spring. It also means your family will be asking for a gift list from you for Christmas.

Either of those tasks can be tough given the amount of fishing tackle, and the number of fishing lures, on the market. No fear, however. I'm here to help with my list of four "must-have" swimbaits.

Soft Baits

1. Berkley Hollow Belly

This soft swimbait is an excellent choice for most parts of the country. It has a narrow body — sort of a herring shape — so it'll imitate many different species of forage.

Berkley offers this lure in at least three sizes — 4, 5 and 6 inches — and in quite a few colors. Think about the local forage in your lake or river and pick the model that most closely resembles it. If you're in doubt about color go with gizzard shad. It's good almost anywhere.

2. Basstrix Swimbaits

Basstrix makes a ton of different styles of swimbaits. The ones you should take a close look at are the ones with deep bodies — they're long if you measure from the backbone straight down to the belly. Their body shape is much like that of a panfish, something that lives in almost every lake in the country.

Again, choose a size and color that matches your local forage. Remember that size isn't length. It's a package that consists of length, depth and width. If you're having trouble picking a color, bluegill or bream is a great option. They're universal and about as common as anything that swims.

Hard Baits

1. Tru-Tungsten Tru-Life Swimbaits

Their series of hard swimbaits consists of several models. You can purchase them in 4-, 5-, 7-, 8- and 9-inch sizes, and in a wide variety of colors.

Tru-Life baits are designed to have weight added to them, or removed from them, by means of small, tungsten balls that fit into the belly of the lure. They'll catch fish from top to bottom. Adjusting the weight doesn't affect their action. Heavy or light, they still have one of the most lifelike swimming motions I've ever seen on a hard bait.

If you're in doubt about color, choose tilapia. I know they don't live in very many places around the country, but they look like what a fish ought to look like. In the end that's what matters.

2. Black Dog Lunker Punker

This one's a bit controversial. Not every angler would select a topwater plug as a "must-have" lure. Nevertheless, it's on my list.

The original Lunker Punker is available in 6 ½- and 8-inch sizes. The new G2 is 6 inches in length. Throw it anywhere and anytime you're fishing shallow, or even over deep water if it's clear.

The best all-around color is probably bluegill, at least in most venues, but in other areas — notably California — rainbow trout might be a better choice. Oki Shad is not a bad choice, either.

These four lures should give you a solid start on your swimbait journey. As you gain proficiency and confidence, you can expand your selection — slowly, one lure at a time — to meet the needs of specific fishing situations.

Finally, let me remind you that small swimbaits catch more fish. If you're new to this game, you might want to think small. Nothing will increase your confidence in a lure like catching fish with it.

Much of our success — or lack thereof — with swimbaits comes from the way we offer them to the bass. These lures are in a class by themselves. They must be fished that way.

Far too many recreational anglers fail to fully appreciate this fact. I see lots of guys out on the water fishing in the right spot, with the right lure, but not catching bass. Almost always the reason for this is that they're reeling their lures too fast. They're fishing them like they were crankbaits — which they definitely are not.

Over the years, experimenting with swimbaits on the West Coast, and more recently on Lake Amistad, I've developed a technique that I call the hover. By that I mean that I make long casts and bring my lure back very slowly with an easy bow in the line and my rod tip up, slightly above the waterline. This causes my lure to suspend or float — hover — over the bass as it slowly moves along.

I want to make my lure look like clueless prey swimming around out in the middle of nowhere. In clear water lakes, I like to keep my swimbait in the 5- to 8-foot depth range. If the water has a little more color to it I may go shallower or deeper depending upon the circumstances.

This presentation makes sense if you stop to think about it. Swimbaits are designed to imitate the real thing. As anglers we're not trying to evoke a reaction strike. We're trying to make a bass think he or she is in for an easy meal.

It's almost impossible to do this with a high-speed reel. It sounds great to talk about cranking slow when you're on the dock. In the real world, however, it just doesn't work. You need something with a low gear ratio.

Because of that, I always throw my swimbaits on an Abu Garcia Revo Toro 5.4:1 gear ratio reel. The larger spool on the Toro allows me to spool more line for my long casts and the lower gear ratio helps me keep my cranking speed down.

My line choice for this technique is either 20- or 25-pound-test Berkley Trilene XT or Trilene Big Game. Braid is too unwieldy and fluorocarbon sinks too fast. You want the bait to move along, hovering above the bass as it inches along. The only way to get that presentation is with heavy monofilament.

Another reason to use heavy mono is economic. Throwing big, heavy swimbaits will cause you to backlash. It's going to happen. That's a fact. Don't be embarrassed about it.

Heavy mono won't cut into itself the way other lines do when it backlashes. As a consequence, your line won't break on the cast and cause your bait to sail out into the wild blue yonder, never to be seen again. Good swimbaits aren't cheap. None of us can afford to lose very many of them.

Besides, you can pick a backlash out of heavy monofilament quicker and easier than with any other type of line.

Every so often, maybe 20 percent of the time, I'll move up to a Revo Toro with a 6.4:1 gear ratio. I only do this when I absolutely have to crank fast — working my lure over a shallow weedbed — or when I yo-yo my bait down deep like a heavy jig. Under those circumstances I need the speed, so I gear-up.

But remember, swimbaits are not Rat-L-Traps. You don't need a high-speed, burner reel to fish them. It's a hindrance that'll frustrate you more often than it helps you. Give yourself every advantage you possibly can by gearing down.

In the next lesson, we'll talk about selecting the right rod and how to properly set the hook on these big baits. After that, we'll go catch some fish.

In this lesson, let's talk about early season bass fishing and the opportunity it presents. Late February through early April is probably your best shot at a giant bass. There's no other time when they'll weigh as much, or feed as heavily. The best way to take advantage of this opportunity is to throw a swimbait.

Begin by analyzing the water you'll be fishing. In the warmer sections of our country, the big females are moving toward the beds right now. In the colder areas, that'll happen a little later. Regardless, the process is the same.

The spawn is fluid. It doesn't happen all at once. Some of them will be staging at the first or second break in front of their spawning areas. Others, living in the same body of water, will be in shallow water on their beds.

I start my search by identifying the best spawning areas in the lake. The bigger bass move first so they typically get the best spots. For the most part, I like big, expansive flats, secondary points in creeks and the backwater areas of those same creeks.

You're looking for places with lots of sunshine on them, especially in the afternoons. Mostly that'll be on the north or northwest banks. But don't fall into the trap of mindlessly pointing your boat in that direction. Factors such as shoreline vegetation or rock, tree size and building placement all affect the amount of sun a particular place gets in a day. Think and analyze before you start casting.

Lure selection is critical at this time of the year. The first and most important consideration is size. Any forage that's survived the winter will be big. (The new fry are not yet born or hatched.) Therefore your swimbait should be large. In most waters, that'll be at least 6 inches long. In Florida, Texas or California, think 8 or 10 inches.

If you live where trout are a part of the forage base, go with a big lure in a rainbow finish. As the water warms, the trout drop down in the water column. At the same time, the bass are moving up. When they cross paths the bite can explode.

If trout aren't in the equation go with shad unless you have a good reason to do otherwise. Again, a big bait is key. Don't forget that shad have a different body shape than trout. Make sure the physical shape of your lure resembles a shad.

Position your boat well off the bank and make long, blind casts. Crank your bait all the way back to the boat. The idea is to cover water. Unless a bass is actually on her bed she'll roam around looking for something to eat, waiting for that final urge from Mother Nature to go to the bed. Give her every opportunity to eat your bait that you possibly can.

Make repeated casts over the same area from different angles. Give any bass that might be there several looks at your bait. For reasons we anglers don't understand a slight change in direction can make all the difference in the world to a trophy bass.

Depth and speed can be problematic at this time of the year. At times early season bass want a swimbait right on the surface. Waking can be a dynamite presentation during true prespawn conditions. Other times, however, crawling your swimbait along well below the surface, or even along the bottom, will generate the most bites.

There doesn't seem to be a good way to determine which depth or speed will work best in advance of any given day or time. I recommend constantly changing depth and speed until you find a combination that works.

My suggestions in this lesson are for big bass. If you want numbers, go with a smaller bait and keep moving. But if you're looking for a giant to give you bragging rights at the dock this year go big, back off and cover water.

These are the ones I am using myself this year.

ALL THESE SWIMBAITS AND MORE CAN BE SEEN AND PURCHASED AT DISCOUNTS BY CLICKING ON ANY TACKLE WAREHOUSE BANNER ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE!

20 new swimbait tips videos have been added today in the video section of the site.

Ive been catching some giant bass on the strike king shadalicious in sexy shad.

For most of us we have very little free time to fish and each day on the water is worth it’s weight in gold.  Each of us likes catching fish and most of us gauge the success of a trip by the number of fish caught.  Swimbaiting typically is not a numbers game but a quality game.  That’s not to say that big swimbaits don’t put numbers of fish in the boat because they do, and in a hurry sometimes, but generally that’s not what happens.  The everyday recreational angler has a very hard time spending his limited time on the water looking for one or two big bites.  It can be discouraging, the cost to benefit ratio appears less than favorable, and it’s just too easy to pick up a jig or dropshot rod.  I have seen many anglers go through the mental struggle of wanting to catch swimbait fish but also wanting to just catch fish.  In most instances that I’ve witnessed this struggle the angler lost interest in the swimbait and opted for a numbers technique.  An angler will never succeed as a swimbaiter unless he adjusts his catch expectations, clearly defines his objectives for each outing, and is willing to blank on each outing in order to gain enough experience where the number of successful trips starts outnumbering the unsuccessful trips. 

Steve Pagliughi

swimbaits flat out work. More and more I'm finding they catch small bass as well.

just wondering if anybody has had any luck using 4" tru-tungsten swimbaits in millsboro pond.  thinking about using them this weekend. 

No Millsboro is pretty weedy, but in any open areas they work anyway. I like a Yum Money Minnow there or a Huddleston or a Huddlston Grass minnow.

ok thanks for the information

Summertime is a great time to boost your swimbait confidence. When they come up busting the surface and making the water look like it's boiling, they'll nail swimbaits without a moment's hesitation. The trick here — like all swimbait fishing — is to match the hatch.

At this time of the year, they're mostly feeding on shad. That means you should downsize your lure, find a suitable body style that matches a threadfin or gizzard shad and then find a color that matches the color and slight variations in hue from one venue to another.

There are three baits I especially like to throw. They're good almost everywhere. The first is a small Berkley Hollow Belly, the second is a tiny Basstrix, and the third is a little Jerry Rago bait. They all come in suitable sizes, shapes and colors. Choose one that works in your water.

These are my recommendations. That's all they are, however. Don't overlook local favorites. Often they're perfect matches for the local forage, and they really catch bass. That's why they're local favorites.

To catch schooling summertime bass, you must make long casts. To do that it's necessary to have the proper tackle. I start putting my outfit together by selecting my rod. A Duckett Fishing Micro Magic 7-foot, 10-inch swimbait model is just right. It'll get your bait out past the fish so that you can crank it through the school, and it's soft enough that it won't tear the hooks out of the bass' mouth.

I use a faster reel at this time of the year than I do during the spring. Something on the order of 6.4:1 is about right. You need to be able to move the bait relatively fast through the fish and then get it back quickly so you can make another cast before the school goes down.

Line matters, too. My preference is 15-pound-test Seaguar Fluorocarbon. If the fish are especially big, I might go up a little, but not much. You need long casts. Lighter line helps, but be careful about going too light. You don't want to lose fat bass and expensive swimbaits.

Fishing for summertime schoolers with swimbaits is about as simple as it gets. Throw it out, way past the school, and crank it back right through the middle of them. When they bite, sweep the rod sideways — that'll be more than enough hookset — and wind them back to the boat while they fight near the surface.

The system I've just described is especially effective on highly pressured bass or on fish that have stopped biting one of the usual schooling lures. In most parts of the country, they've never seen a swimbait during the summertime. You can change that and catch a ton of them this year.

Because of that, I keep a rod or two rigged for schoolers on the deck of my boat from June through September. You should, too.

Hi!

Big swimbaits work really well in muddy water! Bass anglers always say that in muddy water you should use big baits that move a lot of water. Do you know a better bait for this than a big fat swimbait with a big boot tail? I don't... A big swimbait is much easier for bass to locate than a 10" worm...We just need to fish them closer to the cover/structure than we do when fishing clear water.

Bill Siemantel also says swimbaits work well in muddy water.

I am friends with Bill and we have his site and videos up in the video section here and his site is in the links section.

Nice :). Your website has A LOT of good information! Congratulations!

Good Fishing!

Marco Caetano