Setup For Hard Body Swimbaits

[Smallie_Stalker]

This past Christmas my son Josh gave me a Fury 795 SB swimbait rod and a bunch more baits to throw on it.

I've had various hard body swimbaits sitting in my gear stash for a long time. Some, like the original Castaic Sunfish in the green box go back to the mid to late 90's.    I tried fishing them off and on for about 2 years but I didn't have the proper rod back then.

Now that I have the proper rod I need to round out the setup. For a reel I'm thinking of putting either my Daiwa Tatula 200 or an old Abu Garcia 5501 on it.

I also need opinions on what line and knot to use. I'm primarily a braid guy but I'm open to other options here since I'm really unfamiliar with fishing these baits.

Last, do you use any kind of snap or connector when throwing these bad boys?

Thanks all.

[Diggy_]

Throw the Tatula 200 on it. Gives you versatility if you want to throw glides too and work them. 

Line, grab some 20lb

P-line cxx, Big Game, Izorline XXX, sunline defier armilo (mono/co poly)

Shooter, Sniper, Abrazx (Fluoro) 

Copoly/Mono is cheaper


If you do braid to leader Use 65-80lb braid. I prefer straight co poly or fluoro, less worries.

You can direct tie, use a Decoy Egg Snap or Tactical Angler Clips, which I prefer over the Decoy now.

I use a trilene knot, many use a San Diego Jam or Double SD Jam.

[Smallie_Stalker]

Throw the Tatula 200 on it. Gives you versatility if you want to throw glides too and work them. 

Line, grab some 20lb

P-line cxx, Big Game, Izorline XXX, sunline defier armilo (mono/co poly)

Shooter, Sniper, Abrazx (Fluoro) 

Copoly/Mono is cheaper


If you do braid to leader Use 65-80lb braid. I prefer straight co poly or fluoro, less worries.

You can direct tie, use a Decoy Egg Snap or Tactical Angler Clips, which I prefer over the Decoy now.

I use a trilene knot, many use a San Diego Jam or Double SD Jam.

Thanks Diggy!  This is exactly the info. I was looking for.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro  using Tapatalk

[fishballer06]

You'll want a larger sized reel that can handle the weight and line capacity with larger diameter line. A Tranx comes to mind for me, or something else that's around a 300 size spool. I run a Calcutta on mine, but I would honestly prefer a low profile reel as opposed to a round reel.

One things for certain, throwing a big heavy setup with heavy lures will be a workout for you.

[coldfront]

You'll want a larger sized reel that can handle the weight and line capacity with larger diameter line. A Tranx comes to mind for me, or something else that's around a 300 size spool. I run a Calcutta on mine, but I would honestly prefer a low profile reel as opposed to a round reel.

One things for certain, throwing a big heavy setup with heavy lures will be a workout for you.

went with the tranx 300 (paired with a Dobyns Champion 806 HSB) myself for just that reason.  much as I'd LOVE to have a calcutta, my round-reel days are behind me.  just hurts the hands when I try to string together 4, 5 or 6 days of continuous fishing.

part of getting old.

cast with two hands.  underhand slings are good.  help save a bit of stress on shoulder...

watch out on the line choice:  too light and you can be tossing $50+ dollar baits away with the 'snap'...  braid also can snap if you wind up to toss a really heavy bait and get a backlash.
heavy mono is much more forgiving.