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Choosing the right gear for soft-bodied swimbait fishing has everything to do with the hook ( or hooks ) on your swimbait . If your bait has a single jig-style hook coming out of the top of the bait , like the Huddleston Deluxe , you need a heavier-action rod to drive the hook into the mouth of a big bass . For that , I like a 7-foot , 6-inch heavy-action rod and 20- or 25-pound-test Berkley Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon line .
If I ’ m using a swimbait with one or more treble hooks , like the Osprey Talon Inline , I want a softer rod with a more parabolic action that ’ s more forgiving and that stays loaded up to keep pressure on the trebles . I use a 7-foot , 6-inch mediumheavy-action rod and 20-pound-test Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon .
I want something with a large line capacity in a 150 or 200 size for my reel . I use the Abu Garcia REVO Toro Beast in the 6.2:1 gear ratio . It ’ s an intermediate speed , so I can easily speed up or slow down and still maintain a comfortable retrieve cadence . lures
You can classify most soft-bodied swimbaits by their tail style . I mostly use boot-tails and paddle-tails . A boot-tail ( like the Huddleston Deluxe ) has a lot of thump , works well at slow speeds and is my choice in cold water . A paddle-tail ( like the Basstrix or Osprey ) is good at faster speeds .
Some of my favorite soft-bodied swimbaits are the Berkley PowerBait Sick Fish ( 4- and 5.5-inch ), the Berkley PowerBait Hollow Belly ( 6-inch ), the Basstrix ( 7-inch ), the Osprey ( 7- and 9-inch ), and the Huddleston ( 8-inch ).
“ THERE ’ S A LOT MORE TO FISHING BIG SOFT-BODIED SWIMBAITS THAN MOST ANGLERS REALIZE ...”
58 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2021