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Clouds billow against the horizon as the wind begins to build from a westerly direction, cooling the anglers from the 100-degree temperatures.  Water temperatures in the 80’s have shut the bite down; that is until one angler picks up his swimbait rod, more so out of boredom than anticipation, and makes a cast parallel with the weedline.  Halfway back to the boat, the angler feels a thump and instinctively cranks the handle of the reel to take in the slack line pulling hard on the rod once he feels tension.  The 8-foot rod bows under the pressure as weeds part, line singing in the wind.

Most anglers consider the giant sized baits for use only in the lakes of California or other places where behemoth bass live.  Being one of these anglers, the past few years have convinced me this is truly not the case.  This past winter, I was utterly surprised with the number of 1.5 to 3 lb bass I was catching.  And, these fish were not just slapping at the bait.  They were engulfing it!  One 2 lb bass, for example, devoured a 9-inch swimbait so deep that all you could see was the tail sticking out of its mouth when we finally got it on board.

This experience prompted me to try something completely out of the norm this summer in my now home state of Idaho.  That was, fish big swimbaits in waters north of the 45^th parallel.  Since then, I have turned a few of my friends who live in northern tier states on to the effectiveness of swimbaits..  I have yet to be contacted by any of them saying they did not work

North vs South

Although there are vast differences between the lakes of California and the northern states, the techniques of fishing swimbaits differ very little.  Lakes in California are mainly man made reservoirs with clear water, little weed growth, and steep shorelines.  In contrast, northern lakes, and natural lakes of the south for that matter, are generally very shallow weed and timber infested waters, with varying clarity.

Another difference in the waters of these two areas is the fact that the big bass of California are fed an ample amount of stocked rainbow trout, whereas the fish in the northern lakes rarely see this form of forage.  What a lot of anglers don’t realize though is there are other big forage fish in these waters, like bluegill and crappie that the bass utilize as a food source.  This is where the swimbait can play its part in adding to the weight of your livewell contents.

Swimbait techniques differ little from location to location.  For example, in California, anglers concentrate on fishing main lake points where big bass congregate in the winter and early spring to ambush stocked trout.  These points are generally barren of any cover except for rock and possibly a few sparse stick-ups.  The anglers fan cast their offerings covering the point from all directions and depths.  In contrast, most natural lakes do not have many distinct points.  Instead, they have underwater contours that create weed points which the bass use to their advantage.

The difference in fishing shallow natural lakes has to do with the variety of baits one needs available for their use.  Because western reservoir anglers have to think about covering the water column from the surface down to 50 feet, they need a variety of baits that will effectively fish those depths.  In shallow lakes though, anglers only need to concentrate on baits that can effectively fish the surface down to the 5-foot depth range.  This implies a selection of lures that are either unweighted or have little weight.

Techniques

Techniques are the same in that the angler needs to concentrate on basic ambush points.  As stated earlier, these can be weed points, peat bogs, docks, or any other cover/structure situation one would encounter in a natural lake.  Casting past the target and retrieving the bait back through the target area from many angles can elicit arm straightening strikes.

Retrieve type can make or break whether the angler has a successful day on the water or not.  Although Mike Long resides in southern California and has never fished in northern waters, his comments about retrieves ring true.  “It really depends on what the fish want”, says Mike Long.  “It’s just like any other type of bass fishing.  You have to listen to what the fish are telling you.”  Retrieves associated with swimbaits are as varied as with spinnerbaits and lipless type lures.  Lighter baits are better for slow rolling or stop-and-go retrieves from the surface down to five feet.  Mid-range weighted baits can be slow rolled or retrieved at a faster rate while heavily weighted lures are good for a fast retrieve and will not roll if twitched hard.

Another technique not associated with large swimbaits is the skipping technique.  Although not as easy as skipping a light jig or tube, skipping a swimbait can be done and if mastered, will open a door that not many anglers take advantage of.  The main concept coming to mind when skipping is the ability to place baits under docks and overhanging trees or other obstructions.  Another consideration though is to use the skip casting technique to cause a surface commotion in open water to mimic a fleeing baitfish.  Due to their size, swimbaits create a lot of disturbance on the surface when skipped.  Surprisingly enough, this commotion doesn’t spook fish as most anglers would think, even in clear water.  More so, it alerts the fish nearby that a baitfish is being chased and the competitive feeding nature takes over.

Bait selection

Northern swimbait selection, as stated earlier, can be kept to a minimum.  Baits in the 5 to 7 inch range are preferred with weightless versions or lightly weighted baits being the most commonly used.  Baits like the Funa (foo-na), produced by No-Name Tackle, are 6 inches long and closely resemble a bluegill or crappie.  The bait is lightly weighted and on a medium retrieve, will cover a depth of three feet effectively.  “The bait was primarily designed to mimic a bluegill which is a major egg predator during the bass spawn”, states Scott Whitmer of No-Name Tackle.  “We make the bait in a variety of colors though that mimic many different types of bluegill, crappie, and other forage that have a deep body.”

Other swimbaits that are effective for northern latitude lakes are the Mission Fish produced by 3:16 Bait Co.  Slender in size, the baits come in sizes from 5 to 7 inches in length and weigh from ½ oz to 1.6 ozs.  Although they are heavier than normally recommended, the fact that they are weedless baits allows the angler to fish them in the thickest cover without getting snagged.

BassTrix is another company that cannot be ignored when it comes to this form of lure.  Again, heavier than normally used in shallow water, their effectiveness has been proven time and time again when the fish are wanting a bait retrieved at a fast rate.  The Storm Lure Co. is also producing a series of fine swimbaits.  Produced with an integral lead head, the baits are easily skipped and come in sizes up to 6 inches.

Color selection depends upon the water clarity more so than matching the hatch.  In clear water, anglers tend to mimic the predominant baitfish in the water.  Bluegill, crappie, carp minnows, and baby bass patterns seem to work best.  In stained water though, most experts tend to fish lighter colors in order to give the fish a visible target to hit.

Tackle and Rigging

Rod selection for swimbait fishing in the north differs from that of its southern brethren due to the decreased number of bait sizes needed.  Anglers can get away with a medium action musky rod or other rod rated for 15-25 lb line as long as the rod has a medium fast tip section.  The importance in having a rod with this type of tip action is that the fish needs an ample opportunity to engulf the bait.  A rod with too stiff a tip will actually have a tendency to pull the bait from the fish’s mouth before the hook has an opportunity to penetrate.  Another caveat this type of rods offers is the correct action for skipping.

Although smaller reels like a Chronarch or Curado can be used for throwing swimbaits, the larger spool reels offer more.  With small spool diameter reels and heavy line, one cast can remove a good portion of the line from the reel affecting the retrieve speed, casting distance, and spool control on the cast.  Therefore, it is best to use a 300 or 400 Calcutta for chunking swimbaits.  The larger spool diameter alleviates all of these problems and also decreases the chance of backlash.

Line should test between 15 and 25 lbtest, with mono the preferred type.  In heavy cover situations, braid can be used, but the angler needs to be aware of its no-stretch tendency and therefore react appropriately before setting the hook too soon.  Mono, because of its stretch, aids in allowing the bait to be fully taken by the fish.  Wire leaders can also be rigged for use with swimbaits, if you happen to live in areas where pike and musky frequent. 

Rigging swimbaits is fairly straightforward.  One thing to remember though is if the bait you have purchased has been rigged with a single treble hook on the bottom of the bait, it is imperative that the bait be rigged with one hook point imbedded into the belly of the bait, as rigged from the factory.  Rigging in this manner allows the bait to run true without rolling, and also assists in keeping the bait free from weeds.  If you do find that the bait wants to ride on its side or at an angle, the angler can true the bait by imbedding the treble a little off center in the opposite direction the bait is rolling.

Hook Sets

As mentioned earlier, strikes are often violent in nature.  Even though the strike is bone jarring, refrain from setting the hook until you feel the entire weight of the fish load the rod.  With swimbaits,  bass have a tendency to swim up to the bait, slam it hard without eating it, and then come back to engulf it.  If the angler sets the hook after this first strike, many times he will swing fruitlessly into the air missing the chance at hooking the fish.  For this reason, the best thing to do is continue reeling if you feel a strike, and wait for the rod to load before applying a short hard strike.

Conclusion

Everyone knows that swimbaits have proven themselves as big fish producers in the waters of southern California.  Fact remains that they have yet to reach their full potential in the northern tier lakes.  Don’t get caught in the paradigm that just because your home waters don’t have 10 lb lunkers swimming around in it, that the fish residing there won’t eat a jumbo offering.  If you give them a fair and honest try, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.  I know I was.