The scene was quirky and comical. Like boys at a birthday party playing with new toys, 10 of the world’s top bass pros swapped rods and cast swimbaits between bites of sandwiches off a pier at Lake Amistad, way down on the Mexican border.

“Look how this one turns on the pause,” noted Mike Iaconelli as he tossed a prototype.

“No, I like the ones you can really burn and work erratically around cover,” said Kevin VanDam as he showed off Strike King’s new King Shad.

“Now guys, here’s how you’re supposed to retrieve a swimbait,” added Byron Velvick, who used these baits in competition for a decade before any of the eastern-based pros ventured to toss them and set a tournament weight record in the process.

At the conclusion of the Lake Amistad Bassmaster Elite Tournament, it was clear that this lure category was no longer a California secret or a way to lure trout-eaters, but a bread-and-butter technique for lakes everywhere. Though the event was won by Derek Remitz, who fished football jigs on deep ledges, most top finishers made major use of swimbaits to attain the 5-pound average needed to cash a check here.

This shouldn’t have been a revelation. Back in 1995, In-Fisherman published an article on the feats and features of supersized lures for bass. In 2000, Velvick set the all-time weight record for a 3-day tournament at Clear Lake by tossing swimbaits. “But that was California,” the experts said. Bill Siemantel has been preaching big baits and also winning tournaments for ages, too. “But that’s in California,” echoed the crowd.

Western pros Brent Ehrler and Ish Monroe used medium-sized swimbaits to catch key bass at earlier competitions in Florida and Texas. And in 2006, Davy Hite of South Carolina combined his knowledge of blueback herring behavior and Storm’s WildEye Swim Shad to take the top prize on Clarks Hill Reservoir.

When Steve Kennedy, a swimbait neophyte from Alabama, used newly purchased Ospreys, Huddlestons, and BassTrix baits to take the crown last April at Clear Lake, (setting a new record of 20 bass weighing 112 pounds in the process), the crowd went wild and swimbait makers shifted into high gear—and not just in California.

Mike Berry, owner of California SwimBabes, notes a recent shift in sales. “When I purchased Eagle Lures a couple of years ago, it was a struggle to increase sales outside the West Coast market,” he reports. “I moved the company to Ohio and worked to get my lures into the hands of top pros.

“Apparently it’s working, because since early 2007 I can’t keep up with orders for my Baby “E” and Tiny “E.” Indeed, it was Kevin VanDam who introduced me to the Baby “E” at Amistad, after he’d used it with success there. Along the way, Mike Berry’s brother Art, a bass pro from Hemet, California, has served as a conduit to other pros around the country, as well as an advisor on lure design.

Interest in swimbaits was equally high at the fishing industry’s annual ICAST Show last summer. Fine-looking swimbaits of soft plastic, hard plastic, and wood adorned many booths, while hybrid baits of both hard and soft materials also were displayed. Bill Siemantel promoted his new swimbait DVD, featuring big fish action with SPRO’s BBZ-1 swimbait of his design. Alan Cole, father of the big-bait phenomenon, was eager to show his latest model, the AC Plug Casitas.

Why They Work

This furor has made swimbaits the “in” lure of the year. Demand stems from more than their eye-candy appeal and the macho image projected by big lures and beefy tackle. It’s their unquestioned potential for catching big bass. Swimbaits offer a mix of natural cues that persuade bass of the lure’s authenticity, whether the color scheme is that of trout, bluegill, perch, or shad. Their size tends to attract the biggest bass, especially when fished skilfully near deep structure.

According to scientific calculations, largemouths may eat soft-rayed preyfish up to 50 percent of their length. A 10-inch swimbait should be just right for a 6-pounder, but in fact, bass often strike even larger lures. Big baits often take 2- and 3-pound fish, just as 7-inch bass sometimes strike 5-inch stickbaits or topwaters.

Hand-pouring soft swimbaits allows luremakers to form enticing blends and layers of color that match nature, or to create a contrasting look that may arouse curiosity in fish. And the paint jobs on plastic and wood baits are sensationally realistic. Most have a natural swimming motion built into the lure, with either a swimming lip or due to body design, while some focus mostly on tail action. Adding joints to hardbaits has allowed them to move in new ways, too.

Tackle Details

Tackle selection depends primarily on the size of swimbait fished, with a nod to personal preference. For small baits in the 3- to 5-inch range, a 7-foot medium-heavy power spinning rod outfitted with braided line and a leader is a fine combination, ensuring long casts and powerful hook-sets.

Medium-sized swimbaits also match heavy crankbait outfits—medium- to medium-heavy baitcasters spooled with fluorocarbon, heavy mono, or braid, depending on environment and angler preference. For truly big baits, special rods are needed. Not surprisingly, West Coast rodmakers were the first to add swimbait rods to their product lines.

About eight years ago, Bill Siemantel worked with Lamiglas to fashion the XC 807 Big Bait Rod, rated for 3/4- to 31⁄2-ounce lures. It remains his favorite for all swimbait applications. “Some guys tried to make do with flippin’ sticks,” Siemantel comments, “but if it works for big baits, it’s a lousy flippin’ stick.” Lunker hunter Mike Long worked with Graphite U.S.A. on the Mike Long Swimbait Series, with four models up to the 81⁄2-foot Mega Mag, rated for 20- to 40-pound test. The company offers alternate swimbait actions designed by another giant bass seeker, Mike Gash. Rogue Rods of Oregon enlisted Byron Velvick’s expertise with their line of swimbait rods.

California pro Ish Monroe recently worked with Daiwa to design a pair of swimbait rods. “For big swimbaits like the 8-inch Huddleston Deluxe or 9-inch Big Hot Momma from California Swimbabes, choose a rod like Daiwa’s TL8016FB in their Light and Tough Series,” he says. “It has the power to cast and set hooks with those 4-ounce lures. I match it with Daiwa’s Luna reel, with a 5:1 gear ratio, and 20-pound-test Maxima monofilament. A medium retrieve reel helps to keep you from overwinding a swimbait.

“The rod is so stiff, I like to have some stretch in the line, which provides a bit of hesitation after a bass eats the bait. Delaying a bit makes for a surer hook-set. I use smaller baits like the Baby “E” in water less than 8 feet deep, fishing it on Daiwa’s TL8015FB, also 8 feet long, but rated heavy instead of extra heavy. For swimbaits under an ounce, I use the Light and Tough Froggin’ rod, which is 7 feet 4 inches long, and drop to 15-pound-test mono. You’re fishing swimbaits in fairly open water, so you don’t need super-heavy line.”

Fenwick has introduced a series of specialty bass rods, the Elite Tech Series, which includes a Swimbait model 7 feet 9 inches long, rated heavy power and fast action, to handle line from 15- to 30-pound test. Shimano expanded their Crucial rod series to include three swimbait actions, each 7 feet 11 inches long. One is rated for 3- to 5-inch baits; another for 5- to 8-inchers; and the heaviest for 8- to 16-inch baits.

Kistler Rods added a Big Swim Bait Special in their Graphite Plus Freshwater Series, 8 feet long and rated for lures 1 to 5 ounces in weight. Four extra-heavy action models in their Helium LTA Series also have been popular for swimbait fishing, ranging from 7 feet to 7 feet 11 inches.

While swimbaits have gained a reputation for catching outsize largemouth bass, they’re an overlooked option for lunker smallmouths and spotted bass as well. The smaller-mouthed species often can’t resist big baits, even 8-inch models. In April 2006, Mark Meddock won an FLW Stren tournament at California’s Lake Shasta by casting 8-inch Huddleston Deluxe baits for spotted bass. He modified the lure with a stinger hook toward the tail, and tallied spots from 4 to 61⁄2 pounds.

Jay Yelas has been using 6-inch Basstrix Fat Minnows to tempt outsized smallies and spotted bass from both shallow and deep locations in southeastern reservoirs. Here in Minnesota, Editor In Chief Doug Stange has had great outings on Mille Lacs Lake, casting Berkley Saltwater 5-inch PowerBait Swim Shad baits for smallmouth bass as well as walleyes and pike. These baits also work well for largemouths. He couples the shad bodies with Owner Saltwater Bullet heads weighing 1/2 and 3/4 ounce.

In some areas, there’s still reluctance to using big swimbaits. That’s due in part to the strong surge in finesse fishing, which seems at first glance to be diametrically opposed to heaving huge baits. What happens below the surface, however, is that bass tend to respond in kind to presentation styles. Place a bitty bait in their face and they may eventually nip at it. But make them think they’re about to overtake a big meal, and you’d better get ready to set the hook and hang on.