Folks new to fishing may not be familiar with the swimbait, but I promise you, you want to be!
Designed to look and move like a fish, swimbaits are easy to cast and fish, and they’ve proven incredibly productive in every season.
Let’s take a close look at the swimbait and get you in the know.
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What is a Swimbait?
Swimbaits come in two forms: hard bodied, segmented lures with graphics that closely mimic prey species and soft-plastic designs that can be used weighted or unweighted.
Both work like magic when fished properly.
This hard-bodied swimbait looks amazingly like a fish.
Swimbaits come in many sizes, but they tend to cluster on the larger end. For instance, Truscend’s hard-bodied swimbaits are 5 ½ inches long, while their pre-rigged soft plastics measure a full 3 ½ inches.
Pre-rigged soft plastic swimbaits are really easy to rig.
Simple soft plastic bodies are also available, allowing you to attach a variety of jig heads, even creating weedless options that are nothing short of murder in thick grass and weeds.
This soft plastic swimbait has been combined with a weedless jig head.
How to Rig a Swimbait
Hard bodied swimbaits are armed with at least two big treble hooks, so go-to knots like the Palomar aren’t going to be easy to execute.
Instead, I recommend either the Uni knot or the San Diego Jam. Both are easy to learn, fast to tie, and very secure.
We’ve written extensively about these knots before, and if you want to learn to tie them – and you really do! – check out these articles:
One Knot to Rule Them All – How to Tie the Uni Knot
How to Tie the San Diego Jam Knot
Pre-rigged soft plastics can be attached to your line with the same knots – no hassle and no trouble.
Alternatively, soft plastic swimbait can be rigged weightlessly with the addition of a simple hook, or weighted with a jig head.
Let’s discuss both rigging techniques to get you up to speed.
How to Fish a Swimbait
Swimbaits rely on sight more than action or vibration and are best used when the water is clear to just slightly colored. In murky, heavily stained, or muddy water, they just won’t attract the attention you need.
But they’re effective across the seasons since you can adjust the speed of your retrieve and technique to match the bass’s energy levels.
Check out our recommendations for the best swimbait rods!
Hard-bodied swimbait technique
With a hard-bodied swimbait, you need to keep those big treble hooks in mind.
They’re great for covering a lot of water quickly to find fish that are biting, but you don’t want to throw them into a weedbed or blowdown without care.
Here’s what I like to do with them.
I’ll cast my swimbait over cover that I think is holding bass and slowly start my retrieve. Three or four turns of my handle and I pause for just an instant, beginning again. That start-stop cadence signals bass that a wounded fish is struggling, and they’ll come running for an easy meal.
This technique is very effective for finding actively feeding bass.
Weighted swimbait technique
I like to use a 1/4 -ounce weedless jig head with my soft plastic swimbaits, and I know I’m fishing clearish water where weed growth will be prolific.
Weighted like this, a swimbait’s going to sink at more or less 3 feet a second, and it’s simple to count down, allowing your bait to reach the desired depth in deeper water.
When it reaches that point, you can simply retrieve it slowly, keeping your rod tip low to be ready for a hookset.