when
When anglers ask me when they should fish a soft-bodied swimbait , I usually tell them , “ Whenever they ’ re biting a softbodied swimbait !” Swimbaits can be great at any time , but they ’ re especially effective from the pre-spawn through the post-spawn . where
Pre-spawn to post-spawn , I ’ m generally targeting water less than 10 feet deep near spawning areas . Three or more feet of visibility is ideal , but it ’ s not critical . You ’ ll get ( and be able to notice ) a lot more followers when the water ’ s clear , but I ’ ll throw a swimbait even when visibility is as little as 6 to 12 inches . the basics
Generally , a slow , steady retrieve is best for these big swimbaits , but conditions vary , and you ’ ll want to experiment until you start getting bites . Quite often , I ’ ll “ pop ” or snap my rod tip to make the lure move quickly and erratically . That sometimes triggers a strike .
If your boat ’ s moving or drifting while you ’ re fishing a swimbait , there ’ s a tendency for a bow to form between your rod tip and the lure . That bow or sag in your line can cause your bait to swim in an unnatural way rather than in a straight line , plus it cuts down on your sensitivity and ability to get a good hookset . You want to eliminate that bow as much as possible and to keep a tight line between your rod tip and the bait .
“ THERE ’ S JUST NOTHING LIKE A BIG SWIMBAIT BITE . YOU JUST KNOW IT ’ S GOING TO BE A BIG FISH .”
One way to do that is to watch out for unnecessary boat movement or to change the angle of your casts to allow for that movement . It also helps to point your rod directly at the lure as you retrieve it . You ’ ll get a lot more strikes if your swimbait moves naturally .
Ultimately , a big swimbait is just a tool , like any other lure in your tackle box . They may be more expensive than some of your other lures , but you can ’ t let that stop you from putting them where fish live .
I regularly fish an 8-inch swimbait in places where most anglers would only cast a hollow-bodied frog , and I ’ ll skip that same swimbait 40 feet up under a boat dock where bass have never seen a lure like it .
If you fish a swimbait like you ’ re afraid to lose it , you ’ re not going to have the kind of success you ’ re looking for – and you just might lose it anyway . These lures are tools designed to get a bite or to reveal the presence of a big fish . If you ’ re not using them like tools , you ’ re missing a great opportunity and a lot of big fish . advanced
As a general rule , you don ’ t want to fish the big soft-bodied swimbaits by positioning your boat in deep water and casting to shallow water . Too much of your retrieve is out of the strike zone when you do that . You generally want to keep the bait near the bottom , and that ’ s harder when you retrieve from shallow water to deep water . You have to slow your retrieve way down or even stop it to regain contact with the bottom .
That ’ s why I prefer to position my boat in shallower water and cast to deep water or to fish parallel to the shoreline across water that ’ s likely to be about the same depth . When you fish uphill ( deep to shallow ), it ’ s much easier to control your depth and to keep your bait near the bottom .
There ’ s a lot more to fishing big soft-bodied swimbaits than most anglers realize , but , as with most other bass fishing techniques , it all starts with proper boat positioning . Put yourself in the right position to make a good presentation before you make that first cast .
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