Clear Water Drawing Power
There are some subtle , yet important , nuances we ’ ve noticed while traveling around the country that you can apply to your fishing on just about any body of water . For instance , trout-pattern swimbaits work almost anywhere – whether or not there are trout in the body of water . It ’ s a complex color pattern that imitates a variety of prey species . If your bass are bluegill eaters , they will eat a bluegill bait much better , but many will still fall for a trout offering . The same applies to shad eaters , shiner eaters , perch eaters , etc .
The clearer the water , the larger the baits you should be throwing . Most beginner swimbait anglers reach for 5- to 6- inch soft swimbaits and unknowingly hurt their chances of getting bit . Bigger swimbaits have incredible drawing power , much like an umbrella rig can have . Fish will swim 5 , 10 , 15 , or even 25 feet just to look at a large swimbait in clear water . The larger the bait , the larger the drawing power .
Instead of starting out with a small bait , we like to pick up an 8- to 12-inch glide bait like a Baitsanity Explorer Glide and fish it high in the water column , paying close attention to the area 5 to 10 feet behind the bait .
You ’ d be amazed at what comes up to have a look at these baits . From giant smallmouth on Lake Michigan to huge largemouth and spotted bass on lakes throughout the Midwest , the size of fish that rise up out of the depths of these fisheries not known for producing size would blow your mind . Most of the time , these fish don ’ t strike the huge baits – they only follow it to the boat – but they ’ ve given up their position .
Once you know where these fish are positioned , the rest becomes very simple . We like to give the fish a short 15- to 20- minute break , then come back with a different bait tied on . The first style we throw is a 6- to 8-inch glide bait like a River2Sea S- Waver or G-Ratt Sneaky Pete . These baits represent a generic baitfish profile and have the ability to draw a reaction strike when fished in the middle of the water column , combining a slow , methodical swim with aggressive reel twitches to elicit a feeding response .
The second option is a soft bait that imitates an appropriate forage species and can be fished slowly near the bottom . Depending on the species we ’ re imitating , we might be throwing a Savage Gear Bluegill , a Huddleston Deluxe Trout , an 8- inch Megabass MagDraft or any number of similar baits . With
Savage Gear Bluegill
soft baits , the proper technique is to fish them slowly and methodically near the bottom in hopes of drawing a feeding response .
If fish are positioned in a way that allows you to get behind them , it ’ s ideal to swim the bait from open water directly into their position . Make one or two of your best casts , and if you don ’ t get bit , leave the area . Continuing to pepper the water with cast after cast will not help your cause ; it ’ s better to leave and return again later .
When the Rules Change
If you live near a fishery with murky water , the game changes entirely . While the fish are perfectly capable of hunting down a large bait in open water , it ’ s not their primary means of hunting . The murkier the water , the more likely it is that the bass are ambushing prey around cover . In warmer water , this will be shallow cover , but in the colder months , they ’ ll be around deeper structure .
When the bass are up around cover , the 6- to 7-inch baits are your best bet . Focusing in on baits like the S-Waver 168 , the Bull Shad , or a Jackall Gantarel will allow you to trigger a feeding response through a combination of steady reeling and hard twitches . This is about as far away as you can get from the “ trout-fed ” origins of big swimbait fishing , and it happens to be our favorite way to catch big swimbait fish .
Megabass MagDraft
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