New system promises the biggest bass in the area, wherever you live.

I’ll try the 9-incher,” Jeff Simpson stated bluntly. Tying on the slab of a lure, the In-Fisherman editor heaved it toward a windblown bank, counted it down, and started winding. Two cranks into the retrieve, his rod bowed deeply.

A surging largemouth ripped line from the spool, then cleared the water twice before coming boatside. The massive Storm WildEye Swim Shad was barely visible in the 8-pounder’s maw. The scene was Lake Huites, Mexico, and typified the action we enjoyed casting big soft-plastic swimbaits. Later that afternoon, Simpson nailed a 10-pounder on a 9-inch BassTrix, a lure that’s accounted for hundreds of bass over 10 pounds in California, Arizona, and other lunker bass locations.

Swimbaits have gained fame over the last decade, enticing the biggest bass in the world to bite. Witness Mike Long’s 20-pound 12-ounce largemouth lured off a nest in April 2001 with a 6-inch Castaic Trout soft bait; the 21-pound 11.2-ounce leviathan from Dixon Lake taken by Jed ****erson with an 8-inch Mission Fish sinking bait; or the Japanese record bass (19.4 pounds), hooked on an Optimum swimbait.

The idea of bass this big is exciting, and In-Fisherman contributor and die-hard lunker bass chaser “Fish Chris” Wolfgram tells how incredible the action can be. His account of a recent visit to a small northern California reservoir: “This evening, about 6 p.m., I pulled up to a fallen tree and cast across the trunk, about 2 feet from where it entered the water at a 30-degree angle. As my trout lure passed over the main trunk, a humongous bass surged up over the trunk after it. This fish, certainly in the 17-to 18-pound class, charged up over the tree with its back half out of the water, then began exploding the water with five tremendous kicks from its tail as it chased the trout just feet from my boat. It just about bumped the tail of the bait when it spied the boat and bolted away. I’ll be back.”

Swimbait success isn’t confined to places where giant bass roam, however. Editor In Chief Doug Stange has enjoyed great success casting Berkley’s Inshore Power Swim Bait for walleyes, ripping it through weedbeds and cranking it across points. He found himself battling some mighty impressive Minnesota largemouths, along with walleyes into the 10-pound class.

Stange rigged the 5-inch boot-tail lure on a 1/2-ounce Owner Ultrahead Saltwater Bullet. To fire long casts across weedy flats, he used a 7-foot medium-heavy Pflueger Trion spinning rod and large reel spooled with 20-pound-test Berkley FireLine. The braided line slices vegetation, keeping steady pressure on big fish.

Stange’s accounts of fishing swimbaits for walleyes and muskies have inspired readers to write in about their own successes with this type of lure. From Ontario to Idaho to Mississippi, we’ve received swimbait success stories.

This revelation won’t surprise western bass anglers, as swimbaits are standard fare for spring fishing on Clear Lake, as well as known lunker factories like Castaic, Casitas, Hodges, and San Vicente. Even on the weedy, tidal California Delta, swimbaits have become a go-to lure. Wherever you cast for bass, this lure style can up your catch. In mild regions, you can fish ‘em right now.