Swimbait/Glidebait Fishing Chronicles (2020)

[coldfront]

Just delivered!!



Beauty!!

I have the 'ghost' gill.  just wait until you see it in the water.  tell me then, Lou:  it doesn't look like schooling gills.  dare you!

[Capt. BassinLou]

Banked fish for about 1.5 hrs with the Gantarel Jr. and had several decent bass  following on this outing, biggest estimate was 4lbs +. But no takers. I would speed up or make the lure turn 180 degrees but the bass would stay cool and collected following from a safe distance.

I did catch my personal best Jaguar though...almost yanked the rod out of my hand when it struck my G. Jr.



PB Jaguar

[PSUangler]

That jag was 18" long, prob 4" thick or more?  Biggest I've kept in an aquarium was maybe 12".  Beast!

[caddyjoe77]

Banked fish for about 1.5 hrs with the Gantarel Jr. and had several decent bass  following on this outing, biggest estimate was 4lbs +. But no takers. I would speed up or make the lure turn 180 degrees but the bass would stay cool and collected following from a safe distance.

I did catch my personal best Jaguar though...almost yanked the rod out of my hand when it struck my G. Jr.



PB Jaguar

related to a cichlid?

[coldfront]

not related to.  IS a cichlid.  from south america.

[Capt. BassinLou]

related to a cichlid?

Yep, Coldfront hit the nail on the head. It's a cichlid.

[Pacific NW Ron]

I've been following this thread for a while and I'm not sure if it's about the soft body or hard body swimbait or both?  If this post does not relate to the topic please feel free to delete it.
I have a "Soft body Swimbait" tied on at all times.  The soft swimbait is my most productive bass and striper bait that I throw.  I like them because they are so versatile.  You can burn them on top or work them on the bottom and anywhere in between.  You can use them weighted or weightless and with a bare hook, naked jig head or a skirted head. 
They work in open water to the thick stuff.   I like a fairly slow retrieve right at the edge of a pad bed occasionally bouncing it off of a stem.  Other than a frog some of my bigger fish have come with this technique.  I also like throwing it weightless and slowly dragging it across the top of the pads.
My favorite soft swimbait is the Keitech Fat Swing Impact in 3.8", 4.3" or 4.8".  I will vary the weight from weightless to 3/8oz.  About the only colors I use around here are the silver flash, bluegill flash and perch.  Silver flash is my favorite though.  I like the Keitech because to me they are the most durable soft bait that I use.  I probably catch an average of 15 fish, maybe even more on a bait before it gets destroyed.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I've been following this thread for a while and I'm not sure if it's about the soft body or hard body swimbait or both?  If this post does not relate to the topic please feel free to delete it.
I have a "Soft body Swimbait" tied on at all times.  The soft swimbait is my most productive bass and striper bait that I throw.  I like them because they are so versatile.  You can burn them on top or work them on the bottom and anywhere in between.  You can use them weighted or weightless and with a bare hook, naked jig head or a skirted head. 
They work in open water to the thick stuff.   I like a fairly slow retrieve right at the edge of a pad bed occasionally bouncing it off of a stem.  Other than a frog some of my bigger fish have come with this technique.  I also like throwing it weightless and slowly dragging it across the top of the pads.
My favorite soft swimbait is the Keitech Fat Swing Impact in 3.8", 4.3" or 4.8".  I will vary the weight from weightless to 3/8oz.  About the only colors I use around here are the silver flash, bluegill flash and perch.  Silver flash is my favorite though.  I like the Keitech because to me they are the most durable soft bait that I use.  I probably catch an average of 15 fish, maybe even more on a bait before it gets destroyed.

Ron this thread is dedicated to both styles of swimbaits hard and soft, along with glide baits.
Thank you for sharing. The profile of those swimbaits you provided should attract bigguns. 

[CraigP83]

Love this new color magdraft and grabbed a gantrel for the bluegill spawn

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[coldfront]

i went with ghost gill in the gantarel jr.  (from a couple years back)

[Capt. BassinLou]

Looking forward to fishing with this one soon.
This is the 6" model

[fishballer06]

Looking forward to fishing with this one soon.
This is the 6" model

I have a few of these that I tried last June in Canada. I got a few strikes, but none that I ever hooked up with. Definitely a solid bait to throw. Chris Zaldain is proof of this.

[apiazza]

I stumbled upon tactical bassin's newest video about swimbait fishing. Figured I'd drop it here in case anyone is interested and hasn't seen it yet. I like their content, very educational and doesnt seem super sales-like.




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[bucketmouth 87]

I stumbled upon tactical bassin's newest video about swimbait fishing. Figured I'd drop it here in case anyone is interested and hasn't seen it yet. I like their content, very educational and doesnt seem super sales-like.




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Love their stuff too.  It doesn't seem like a sales pitch but try resisting their recommendations haha.  Best fishing channel on YouTube by far!

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[apiazza]

Love their stuff too.  It doesn't seem like a sales pitch but try resisting their recommendations haha.  Best fishing channel on YouTube by far!

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They certainly help drive sales for those products that they reccomend, but I love that they dont slam you with a specific brand. I think they have even said in their videos that they turned down tackle sponsorships so they can throw what really works and not what their sponsor makes. Huge credit to them for that. I need to buy some of their apparel because the amount I have learned from them is worth the support in purchases.

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[bucketmouth 87]

They certainly help drive sales for those products that they reccomend, but I love that they dont slam you with a specific brand. I think they have even said in their videos that they turned down tackle sponsorships so they can throw what really works and not what their sponsor makes. Huge credit to them for that. I need to buy some of their apparel because the amount I have learned from them is worth the support in purchases.

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They are diehard Shimano guys and I would be surprised if they weren't sponsored.  River2sea, megabass, owner, and roboworm tend to be favorites with them as well.  With that being said I think they are super sincere with their intentions to teach about the sport.  I have learned a lot from them ! 

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[coldfront]

count me in as a fan of roboworms too.

and a huge 'diehard' shimano guy.  not saying there aren't reels as good.  but for now over 20years, they've never let me down.

[bucketmouth 87]

count me in as a fan of roboworms too.

and a huge 'diehard' shimano guy.  not saying there aren't reels as good.  but for now over 20years, they've never let me down.

Yep.  I only own Shimano !

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[rcjoutdoors]

I just got in a DRT Joker, I will try to fish it this weekend. I recently picked up a S-Waver in Warden, late to the game, but no bites yet. I have caught fish on the Arashi Glide and Bass Pro S-Waver Clone. 

[coldfront]

Looking forward to fishing with this one soon.
This is the 6" model

once we get the water down a bit and it clears, I'll be out on 'jurassic creek' tossing the 8" magdraft.

just hope that's in the next 2-3 weeks.

[Steve81]

Got gifted a BPS gift card for Christmas... spent it already.    Just ordered another Mega Bass Mag Draft, but in the 6" variety this time. I wasn't kidding when I said I'm all in learning this new technique... 

Can't believe this is the first time I have seen this thread!

Lou, I know you aren't all that close to smallmouth waters but I have a friend that uses that 6" MagDraft and catches A LOT of tank smallies. It surprised the heck out of me when I watched him do it!

I have been using various smaller soft swimbaits (5" or smaller) since 2012 or so. I feel very confident in those. However, last summer, I started using some bigger ones like the 6.5" Creep from BeastCoast. While 6.5" isn't all that big in the grand scheme of things, this is a VERY BEFFY 6.5" swimbait. I rigged it on a Boyd Duckett 4x4 weedless swimbait hook and fished it over deep brush piles. I can't remember the last time I had bass hit a lure so hard!

For me, hard swimbaits are something that I have had absolutely zero luck with. I have had a few different styles but never really knew what was any good. So in the fall, I watched a Tactical Bassin video strictly about swimbaits. I figured if these guys couldn't give me some good advice, nobody could. Therefore, I got rid of all of my hard swimbaits that were smaller than 7" and then went out and bought the S-Waver 200. While that is WAY bigger than anything I would ever try, my thoughts are that by limiting myself to just that one big bait, I am forcing myself to use it while not having to worry about what other hard swimbait I "should" be throwing. Also, I know that any bite I get on a bait that big is going to be a good one.

[coldfront]

Looking forward to fishing with this one soon.
This is the 6" model

I should just be quiet until the classic starts... but here's why, on a hunch, I picked zaldain.



and that is one heck of an adult film star stache.

[Bretts_daddy]

Have any of you guys tried the Baitsanity Antidote? Matt and Tim from Tactical Bassin' love them. Apparently they're a relatively new small company and their glide baits work extremely well. I don't think you can get any other 8" 2.7oz. glide bait for just $25. I'm tempted to pull the trigger but hesitant at the same time as it would easily be the largest bait I've ever thrown...lol.

[Cuervo Jones]

I had a heart-stopping couple of minutes last weekend fishing swimbaits. A couple of hours into my expedition, I was throwing a tilapia colored Hiroshima Customs Godzilla glidebait around a mudline. The bay was really churned up thanks to the sustained 15 mph+ winds and I thought the big profile of this thing might draw some large ladies. It's a bulky bait with a thick profile, like Mae West. I had been throwing wakebaits for a couple of hours with no action. About 20 minutes into throwing the glide, I reared back to make a cast and as I swing forward there was a loud snap and then zero resistance. My first thought was the rod tip had broken. As I paused to evaluate the situation, I saw the bait coming in for a landing in the muddy chop. A quick look at my rod tip demonstrated that it was the mono that snapped, not the rod. Great. I knew I should be using 25 or 30# line for this monster bait, not the 20#. But I had forgotten to spool new line after last trip. Now I was angry AND sick to my stomach. I put the troller on full speed ahead and raced over to where I saw the bait touch down hoping I could possibly locate grey-tan lure it in the choppy, grey-tab muddy bay. Incredibly, after only a minute, I spotted it bobbing around just under the surface. Retrieving the wayward glide, I decided that that's it for big baits and it's time to find a nice sheltered spot and finish up the day tossing worms to relax. Turned out to be a good call.

You can be sure I'll start my next expedition with big wakes and glides and 30# line though!

[Capt. BassinLou]

Whew.... close call CJ!!

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