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.

Lure Selection

The term swimbait includes both jointed large wooden lures (AC Plug, Original Castaic Trout, and M. S. Slammer) that rank sizewise with the largest muskie lures, and the more common soft-plastic variety. While wood baits float and dive when cranked, soft swimbaits may float or sink at various rates of speed, based on lead content and plastic formulation.

While no industry definition for “swimbait” exists, we suggest that the category includes baits that not only produce a wiggling tail action, but also move somewhat in the manner of a crankbait, a complicated 6-part motion that provides much of their appeal. While some have bills, others gain action from the shape of the plastic, in combination with the weight of a jighead.

Swimbaits used for trophy-sized bass can reach the dimensions of Ken Huddleston’s Deluxebow, a 12-inch, 10-ounce trout imitator that looks good enough to grill; or Jerry Rago’s Dead Stick, a 16-inch wooden floater. Baits from 7 to 10 inches long and weighing 1 to 3 ounces are used most commonly. Since giant bass consume lots of stocked trout in many California waters, the most popular colors imitate the stocker rainbow in color as well as size.

Terry Battisti of Meridian, Idaho, has fished swimbaits with experts in California and has tried smaller versions on the natural lakes of his home state. For working fast over deep weedbeds, Battisti likes the 5-, 6-, or 7-inch Mission Fish lures that sink fast and have a great swimming action on a fast retrieve. “They’re weedless and slender in profile, so they work through grass well. Smaller editions of the Bass Trix bait also work well up here, and I’ve had success with several of the new models from Storm Lures.”

At the miniature end of the scale, Optimum’s 2- and 3-inch versions of their weighty trout-sized bait work for white bass and crappies, and as finesse swimbaits for bass. And they offer intermediate sizes. Storm’s WildEye Swim Shad is available in 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, and 9-inch sizes, the smaller ones matching most popular crankbait profiles. Their latest swimbaits are the WildEye Live series of seven natural shapes including perch, sunfish, pike, minnow, leech, and trout. Swimbaits are available to match nearly any bass fishing situation, from the surface to 35 or more feet deep, and to imitate prey ranging from fathead minnows to rainbow trout and perch.

“Lighter baits are better for slow-rolling or stop-and-go retrieves from the surface down to 5 feet or so,” Battisti says. “Mid-range weighted baits can be slow-rolled or retrieved at a faster rate, while heavily weighted lures are for deep work and also for fast retrieves. Also, they will not roll when twitched hard.”

Ken Huddleston, veteran swimbait designer who worked on the original Castaic Trout and then teamed up with the Castaic Soft Bait Company, has his own business, Huddleston Deluxe, producing the prodigious Deluxebow. Models are rated according to Rate Of Fall (R.O.F.) based on 10 seconds of sink time. His 0 R.O.F. model floats, while the R.O.F. 13 edition will be at about 13 feet.

Swimbait Strategies

Casting—Casting swimbaits is the most popular approach, though tossing the most pendulous models will tax your stiffest muskie rod. According to Terry Battisti, whether you’re casting a 10-incher for 15-pound sows in Lake Casitas or working Coeur d’Alene for 3-pounders doesn’t much affect swimbait strategy.

“In either case, you concentrate on presenting the baits naturally on ambush points. Ambush spots can include underwater points, but also floating peat bogs, boat docks, fallen trees, or any other prime feeding location. Always consider the shape of the structure or cover and the direction you want to retrieve the bait. Knowing the key angle to trigger a strike can be critical in swimbait fishing.”

When casting big baits for giant largemouth, anglers often experience follows, much as in muskie fishing. Bass will tail the lure to the boat, in states of activity ranging from lazy curiosity to surging aggression, as with the bass Wolfgram encountered last fall.

Wolfgram outlines his approach: “If I’m familiar with a lake, I may have 20 areas that offer good ambush spots or where I’ve encountered big fish in the past. On my first round [many of these big bass haunts are less than a couple hundred acres], I might see fish on five or six spots. On my second round, I might just fish those spots again, and maybe a few others that look right for the conditions.

“I usually stick with the same lure that the bass initially followed, as I know they are interested in it. You catch so few giant fish that it’s impossible to construct a fishing pattern, in the tournament fishing sense. You just gotta keep throwing. Sometimes, I can catch a bass that follows a trout lure by finessing them with a nightcrawler or a tiny live crawdad. Usually, though, I either stick them on the first sighting, or I don’t.

“Giant bass see a lot of baits in these small, clear reservoirs, and they’re hard to deceive. If bass were as easy to fool as anglers, I’d catch hundreds. Every time out, I bet 10 other fishermen comment, ‘Oh look, he’s got one’, as they watch me pull in my trout lure. During slow periods, I may go weeks without catching a bass. During the best times, I average about 1.3 bass per week for three 10-hour trips, but nearly all are over 8 or 9 pounds.”

Trolling—To keep baits in a deep strike zone, Jerry Rago favors trolling. His Generic Trout (both soft and hard models are available) is a favorite for casting, but to reach the 15- to 30-foot range, Rago rigs with wire line. “I watch for fish on my sonar and try to keep my baits running just above them. Then I may slow or stop the boat to make them fall, a deadly action for suspended bass.” Other experts use braided line and sinking swimbaits to reach into the depths. Ken Huddleston uses his trolling motor to slowly carve big figure eights over productive areas, keeping baits back 40 to 50 yards to lure boat-shy fish.

Deadsticking—Leaving a motionless or barely twitching bait on the surface or near it often entices suspended bass in clear water. According to Ken Huddleston, “Even if they’re not in a mood to eat, bass can’t help beating up the injured.” His 12-inch floater is designed for this approach. “When you’re getting follows but no bites, try deadsticking,” he says.

“Make a long cast and let your bait sit for at least 15 seconds. Then twitch the bait so the tail moves slightly, but the bait should move no more than 6 to 12 inches. Pause again, 10 to 15 seconds, then give another little twitch. If you had bass following right to the boat, continue that retrieve all the way in.

“From that standard retrieve, you can then slow down. In extreme cases, I’ve found that pausing up to 20 minutes between twitches works best.” That’s patience. At times, Huddleston replaces a belly treble with a 1/2- to 1-ounce bell sinker on a 3-inch dropper. He fishes this rig in deadsticking fashion, but on deep shelves to imitate a trout feeding on the bottom.

Tackling Up

Tackle selection depends on the style and size of swimbaits fished and, to an extent, personal preference. For Storm’s 3-inch WildEye Jigging Swim Shad or Swim Shad or miniature Osprey and Optimum baits, a 61⁄2-foot medium-power spinning outfit with 10-pound-test braid is ideal. Lures 4 to 6 inches long call for standard crankbait outfits, including 61⁄2- to 71⁄2-foot medium-heavy power baitcasters or spinning rods.

Monofilament in the 12- to 15-pound-test range fits these applications around vegetation and light brush. Fluorocarbon lines excel for running swimbaits a bit deeper, and also allow more powerful hooksets than mono at the end of long casts, due to reduced stretch. When using braids, match with a softer rod to prevent pulling the lure away from biting fish or tearing hooks loose. Enhanced feel with braided line will help new swimbait users get used to the relative “nothing feel” of these lures, as compared to crankbaits.

For the heaviest lures, most swimbait experts prefer heavy mono or fluorocarbon line (20- to 30-pound test), as its greater diameter and stretch help prevent break-offs from surging giants. Small snarls in braid can snap the line when you’re fishing heavy lures, launching an expensive bait into the depths. Yet few western anglers seem to use braids in the 80-pound class, which might help in some shallow presentations in thick cover. Experiment to find the best combination for your applications.

Flippin’ sticks from 71⁄2 to 8 feet long can handle baits up to 2 ounces. For fishing megabaits, select from heavier muskie rods or from a small group of specialized rods built to cast swimbaits. Kistler Rods builds the 7- and 7-foot 4-inch Swimbait Special as part of their California Series, and they recently added an 8-footer to their Helium Series that’s proved popular with swimbait anglers.

In their Graphite-USA Series, Hastings Rods of San Diego builds several rods favored by California swimbait experts Mike Long and Mike Gash, including the 7-foot 11-inch extra-heavy and the 81⁄2-foot Mega Mag model with a moderately fast tip. Working with swimbait expert Byron Velvick, Rogue Rods of Oregon has produced three models for swimbait fishing—a 7-foot 9-inch light-power model, and medium- and heavy-power 8-footers. These actions are built on modifications of salmon rods, with tip actions to cast more accurately and to feel the subtle swimming action of the baits better.

For trolling, Jerry Rago selects 71⁄2- to 8-foot fiberglass rods to provide some give when fishing stiff singlestrand wire. His are medium-power models by Fenwick, rated for lines to 40-pound-test.

High-capacity reels match the big rods best and hold sufficient line for long casts. Western experts favor Shimano’s Calcutta CTE 400 for its smooth drag and oversized main-drive gear that increases torque, allowing an angler to cast and reel big baits all day with less fatigue. Abu-Garcia’s 6500C3 or 7000C3 also are great options.

Lure Care

Storm has made big inroads into the swimbait market with their lures that cost less than crankbaits. No problem if a pike tears the tail off. Original Castaic Trout lures sell on eBay for over $200 apiece, and Jerry Rago’s Generic Trout aren’t cheap. Ken Huddleston’s Deluxebow sells for $64.99.

To keep soft swimbaits running right, it’s important to prevent kinks in the tail, so hanging them vertically from the forward line tie is recommended. Keep lures separated so they won’t bleed colors. When tears occur in soft baits, superglue closes wounds cleanly. In a pinch, a lighter will mend a bait, but that damages color and the spot remains weak.

Because bass have such a powerful bite, they often seize swimbaits and fight powerfully, only to open their jaws and spit the bait. This is particularly common with big, soft plastic lures that can be squeezed. Unless the lure slips, hooks can’t penetrate. To increase slippage, apply viscous flavor formulas like Hot Sauce, Nitro Grease, or Lure Doctor to lures. They adhere to lures for many casts.

In Mexico, we found that dyeing the tail chartreuse triggered lots more strikes. In other situations, adding red accents along the gills or painting large “shad spots” on the sides enhances lures.

Some swimbaits come with a single large upturned hook behind the head. While lures often are engulfed, sometimes a stinger helps stick a nipping fish. Moreover, the weight of a swimbait makes it easy for a leaping bass to sling it. An extra hook helps pin it securely.

To a single hook, a treble can be slipped over the point and pinned in the back of the bait, then secured with a piece of tubing. Mike Gash ties a stinger treble to the forward hook, securing it with wire or braided line. If a bait comes with a belly hook, he adds the stinger on the back, and if it’s made with a back hook, he adds one to the ventral side.

Swimbaits represent a whole new way of catching bass—a lure with its own niche, not a knock-off style or an extension of an existing technique. Along with the still-developing drop-shot story, and the magic of the weightless stickbait, I’d say bass anglers everywhere have a decidedly new and potent technique to add to their repertoire.