"Entry Level" Swimbaits

[Captain Chaos]

Looking for something good but not an arm+a leg either. I got a storm lure that is ok but nada on the fish catching. Anyone have any experience with a decent yet cheap lure that can be recommended??

I'm east coast. Wonder why swim baits aren't as prevelant on this side of the US vs the west coast?? No trout where I live but lots of shad+bream+blue gill .....

I do want to get a mattlure one of these days....

Thanks

[Want]

I'm east coast. Wonder why swim baits aren't as prevelant on this side of the US vs the west coast?? No trout where I live but lots of shad+bream+blue gill .....

2 reasons (at least for the waters I fish): Pike and Muskie

A while back ago I contacted Mattlures about shipping to Canada: no problem. I mean his lures are spectacular and I was tempted. But Muskie and Pike are common where I fish. They do a number on wooden baits and mutilate plastic baits (forget the superglue stuff on a 3-6oz bait)

Swimbait: $25 US
4 Pike - $100 US

I'm addicted but I also gotta eat.

[BillyBass]

I recently got the urge to try swimbaits too, so I got some Panther Martin and Yum Sweetcheeks at BPS, but, being Older, I can only throw them for an hour or so at a time, LOL, they look good enough to catch fish, that's why I figure it's me and the learning curve, practice and patience can't hurt either, good luck.

[KoYak]

Chaos,

Check out the reaction Reaction Strike at Tackle Warehouse. Not cheap but the 4 and 5 in bass harassers are sold in multi packs. I have a three pack of the 4 in, just have not had a chance to fish them yet.

Mike

[mps19913]

u can still get megabait charlie's.....they are cheap and work effectively....

[greatbarracuda]

2 reasons (at least for the waters I fish): Pike and Muskie

Amen to that! Have had a good number of senkos and fat ikas cut off by pike and 'skis but can't bring myself to use leaders. Fortunately haven't lost anything like a Luckycraft or Megabass, it's expensive enough having to replace all those Owner J hooks.

As for the original topic at hand, in addition to reading the TT reviews of Megabait L.A Slider and a few swimbaits, you should check out http://www.calfishing.com/. They have a pretty good set of swimbait reviews/talk.

[Ghost]

Mattlures Baby Bass or Bluegill. The Baby Bass are not too expensive & works great.

tacklewarehouse.com carries them or google Mattlures. You can order directly from him & he has a 3 pack price. He also has swimbaits that's for the Eastern part of the states too.

[USA-RET]

Hey Bud,

Surprised you haven't had any luck with the little Storms. I've used the 3 inch in shad color for my regular rods (you can throw them a mile), and the 2 inchers with my Pixy outfit Vary the retrieve...if the slow steady doesn't work...try stop and go or a pumping retrieve. Sometimes that's the only bait I can get any hits on.

Fishing has been SLOOOOOOOOOOOW down here....too

[Captain Chaos]

All they had was pearl white at BPS so I had to color it with a sharpie. Looks pretty good actually. They smell kinda chemically though....

Has anyone ever wondered why swim baits are so expensive? I wish I woulda thought of manufacturing them like 5 years ago.....these guys are making a killing.

Gonna get me some off the internet I suppose....

[T Mike]

I agree with the Reaction Strike baits as well. They fit the bill for entry level prices for ya. I also second Matt lures as well. Cheap for GOOD swimbaits is around the $20.00 mark.

The reason why swimbaits aren't that prevalent around the East coast is because everyone thinks the baits are too big. I'm on a huge swimbait kick and I'm on the east coast. ~ Trust me they work well over here and I catch them on trout colored baits as well and I have no trout present in my lakes!

Mike

[teamdaiwa5]

I really like the California Swimbabes. They actually have some in stock on TW. You can also go directly to the website...www.californiaswimbabes.com and order them. They're awesome, real easy to use and rig.

[Lubina]

Looking for something good but not an arm+a leg either.

MegaBait LA Slider in 5 or 6 " are excellent.
MattLure baby bass and trout.
Castaic Platinum.


I got tired of using the Storm's...never got a fish on them.....

[Sully]

The only Storm SB that's produced for me has been the wild eye live shiner (gold). I take off the treble and slow crank it along the bottom. I just ordered 6 more packs because the bass destroy them.

[Shinerking]

The only Storm SB that's produced for me has been the wild eye live shiner (gold). I take off the treble and slow crank it along the bottom. I just ordered 6 more packs because the bass destroy them.

I second that Sully! The Storm 4 inch shiner has been the best soft bait for me overall. The MattLurre Ultimate Gill is a close second. Caught personal best 7.9 on the storm shiner. Like Sully said take the stock treble off if you are going to work it slow or in vegy areas because it will only collect. The Bass will suck it in!