Throwing big swimbaits is taking the world by storm right now. What started out as a sort of quiet movement is gaining more momentum every day. Unlike a crankbait, it’s not as simple as picking up a rod, casting out, and getting a bite. There are many things you need to know about big bait fishing. If you’re not doing it properly, you could miss out on the biggest bass of your life.

swimbait

Confidence in Your Swimbait

So why is now the best time to learn swimbaits? Simple, the fish are shallow and are aggressive. The biggest hurdle you’re going to overcome with throwing a big bait is gaining confidence in it. You have to understand that it’s no different than hunting a big buck or going after any other trophy for that matter. You need to prepare yourself for long days that often result in no fish at all. You’re going to throw thousands of casts for one, magical fish. If you’re not disciplined, you may very easily give up after just a few hours.

 

Prespawn fish help make this easier. By being aggressive and shallow, your odds increase dramatically. The more fish you catch by doing something different, the more you learn the subtle nuances that trigger those big fish to bite. Time of day, moon phase, cloud cover, even a train passing by can have an influence on the amount of bites you have. Learning these subtleties and recognizing their importance reveals just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using swimbaits properly. 

Time of Year

The fact is many people haven’t fished much over the winter. That means your mind and your body is fresh. You haven’t gotten into any routines yet and you’re not focused on any particular presentation or bait. The best time to learn swimbaits is while your mind is clear.

You also can’t give yourself an out. When you go to the lake, you take only your big baits. If you bring a backup, you’re already preparing your mind for failure. You go into the day telling yourself that you’re going to make a limited effort to learn swimbaits, then you can switch over to what you know will produce numbers for you. Here’s some advice on that: If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get exactly what you’ve always gotten. Period. 

You’re targeting a fish that is easily over 10 years old. They’ve seen every lure, heard boats, and eaten senkos. They didn’t get that big by being dumb and eating every squarebill they saw. You want to trick these fish, you need to commit to doing it. It’s an earned right. If catching 10 pound bass were easy it wouldn’t be such an accomplishment. 

freshwater bass

Bass Don’t Discriminate

If you learn swimbaits, you’ll quickly find that they’re just as effective with spotted bass and smallmouth bass as they are with largemouth. All four of those giant smallies were swimbait fish. Don’t think that smallmouth won’t attack a big bait. They absolutely will. The Megabass Magslowl is a great example of a large bait that smallmouth will destroy if presented properly.

Conclusion

You’ll still have days, even weeks where you blank. You have to be able to commit and stay the course. There are great bait selections at Susquehanna Fishing Tackle and the guys there can point you to the right fishing tackle and swimbaits to get you started. You will probably start with a smaller swimbait, but look forward to practicing and graduating to the bigger baits shortly. Once you get over the mental block that you have with throwing a big swimbait, you can easily catch multiple fish a day. Starting out with a seven or eight inch bait and moving up after you’ve caught some fish is also a smart move. Jumping in head first with a $400 bait that you lose on the third cast is never a good time. Start small, this is worth the investment of time and money if you do it properly. You won’t be disappointed with the results.