Swimbait rod

A specialized forum to discuss anything and everything about your favorite or not so favorite fishing rods.
Moosehead
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Swimbait rod

Post by Moosehead » Fri May 24, 2019 2:32 pm

Just wondering what ya'll are using for a swimbait rod? Not so much what brand but what length, action, glass...? Stuff like that..

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casterus
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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by casterus » Fri May 24, 2019 5:35 pm

I think depends on cover. For open water I'm using mh/fast. If cover is dense or trees h/fast. Both rods with braid.
Adam

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by spencerinstl » Fri May 24, 2019 6:03 pm

What size and type of swimbait?
Thanks for the epiphany captain obvious

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by Polkfish1 » Fri May 24, 2019 6:03 pm

It will depend on size of swimbait. But right now 7.4, regular fast, all carbon, and I’d say it’s somewhere between heavy and extra heavy in the backbone but with good flex in the tip.

I’ll also go with a 7.6, heavy, regular, carbon that’s pretty stiff all around or a 7.1, heavy, med-fast, carbon-glass composite. It all depends on the type of presentations. Don’t know how standard these choices are, just things that have worked for me during my experiments.

Although braid plays it’s role, if I’m running higher in the water column I like 16-20 mono a lot. That’s been my go to when swimbaiting shallow.

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by Moosehead » Fri May 24, 2019 7:14 pm

couple of guys I fish with prefer a heavy - MH moderate, never used it before, always used MH-H carbon.

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TommyG
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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by TommyG » Sat May 25, 2019 4:17 am

been using the Kistler H3 7-6 H XF, mostly for 4-5 storms, 360 searchbaits, single hook type baits, even tho its rated as an XF, its got enough tip to keep them pinned, and plenty of backbone to get a good hookset. Good luck with the search!

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by ShimanoFan » Sat May 25, 2019 6:10 am

I prefer a 6'6" medium to a 7' medium fast action. Then again, I fish Florida, not California.

I know you said brand was not important, but one of my favorites is the USA made Falcon Bucco series. They are light and sensitive and very responsive for what I do.
Why is there a concerted effort of hate? And why is it allowed?

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by M Perry » Sat May 25, 2019 9:46 am

spencerinstl wrote:
Fri May 24, 2019 6:03 pm
What size and type of swimbait?

Most important question in regards to being able to reccomend any rod to fit your intended use.

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by ShimanoFan » Sat May 25, 2019 10:59 am

M Perry wrote:
Sat May 25, 2019 9:46 am
spencerinstl wrote:
Fri May 24, 2019 6:03 pm
What size and type of swimbait?

Most important question in regards to being able to reccomend any rod to fit your intended use.
And that is precisely why I said I fish in Florida and NOT California. I do not use any swimbaits larger than 4 inches normally, and prefer the 3" versions. In California they use whales for swimbaits and need bigger equipment.

Here is a video of a guy trying to use a California size swimbait in Florida and he confesses on camera he spent 3 hours wasted casting it and did not catch anything on it. Go figure...

Watch at 6:50 as he confesses on camera he got NOTHING in Florida using a California sized swimbait.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvkDKGxYSIk[/youtube]

I'd been right beside this fellow using a 3" swimbait on a 7' medium rod and Shimano Curado with ceramic bearings and tearing them up like I did last night here in central Florida. I would not have ever used a Cali swimbait in Florida, and I certainly would never have wasted 3 hours trying! Hilarious!

This guy obviously never heard of match the hatch... and when I match the hatch on swimbaits, not much else can keep up with their versatility.
Why is there a concerted effort of hate? And why is it allowed?

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by M Perry » Sat May 25, 2019 11:27 am

ShimanoFan wrote:
Sat May 25, 2019 10:59 am
M Perry wrote:
Sat May 25, 2019 9:46 am
spencerinstl wrote:
Fri May 24, 2019 6:03 pm
What size and type of swimbait?

Most important question in regards to being able to reccomend any rod to fit your intended use.
And that is precisely why I said I fish in Florida and NOT California. I do not use any swimbaits larger than 4 inches normally, and prefer the 3" versions. In California they use whales for swimbaits and need bigger equipment.

Here is a video of a guy trying to use a California size swimbait in Florida and he confesses on camera he spent 3 hours wasted casting it and did not catch anything on it. Go figure...

Watch at 6:50 as he confesses on camera he got NOTHING in Florida using a California sized swimbait.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvkDKGxYSIk[/youtube]

I'd been right beside this fellow using a 3" swimbait on a 7' medium rod and Shimano Curado with ceramic bearings and tearing them up like I did last night here in central Florida. I would not have ever used a Cali swimbait in Florida, and I certainly would never have wasted 3 hours trying! Hilarious!

This guy obviously never heard of match the hatch... and when I match the hatch on swimbaits, not much else can keep up with their versatility.
Huge misconceptions about big swimbaits only working in California or clear water etc. Big swimbaits work everywhere and catch fish of all sizes. Been one of the strongest sellers market wise in states outside CA for a few years now. People have quit putting limitations on them and have learned to incorporate them into their fishing in their region.

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by ShimanoFan » Sat May 25, 2019 11:39 am

\:D/
Last edited by ShimanoFan on Sat May 25, 2019 11:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
Why is there a concerted effort of hate? And why is it allowed?

floriduhfish
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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by floriduhfish » Sat May 25, 2019 11:51 am

I live in south Florida and use the big swimbaits from California. They catch big fish here year round.

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by Polkfish1 » Sat May 25, 2019 2:48 pm

floriduhfish wrote:
Sat May 25, 2019 11:51 am
I live in south Florida and use the big swimbaits from California. They catch big fish here year round.
Likewise; I clean up POLK county Fl year round with big swimbaits using the rod selections I mentioned above—ie long and heavy.

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by ShimanoFan » Sat May 25, 2019 4:55 pm

They don't work here in central Florida. I have spent a long time trying to find out.

Even the pro's will tell you big swimbaits only work in certain places under certain circumstances.

And the big bass are not jumping all over them on every cast. No way. You'd be lucky to catch one or two nice sized bass throwing huge swimbaits all the time. And I mean all the time too. South Florida may enjoy a little more activity than we see in central Florida, but judging from around here big swimbaits are a waste of time just like that young man found out fishing the phosphate mines... 3 hours of casting and casting and casting and NOTHING! And that is the way it is most of the time.

I can tell you here in central Florida just changing size of swimbait one inch can make the difference in catching fish or not catching fish. Just one inch change. I saw this in action last night when I made a change to a larger swimbait. The bass said no. So I switched back down one inch and started catching them again. I'd rather put a lot of smaller fish in the boat than to hope for one or two larger fish and get skunked wasting my time. Even the pro's will tell you reducing size will increase action. Here is a link to just such an article:

https://www.bassmaster.com/greg-hackney ... -swimbaits

"If you’re a recreational angler, you want to think before you fish a giant (swimbaits) even if things are perfect for one. Maybe something a little smaller will get you more action."

He is saying this because he is targeting the big ones for the weight and he says so... but the action is much, much, much slower to get the larger you go:

"We’ll start this off by defining big. Actually, when I say big I really mean giant. That’s something at least 10 or 12 inches long. That’s a huge lure. Almost by definition you’ll need a big bass to see something like that as prey, and then to want to eat it. There are only a few places in the country where that combination exists.

Obviously, out west is one of them. Texas and Florida fall into that category, too. And so do most of the impoundments on the Tennessee River. But, here’s the deal: Big swimbaits are only good under certain, niche conditions. You need clear water, bass you can reach, big bass and big forage. That’s not common with our schedule. In fact, it’s rare."




So to the OP, what do you want to do? Do you want to catch a lot of bass or just target only the big bass and be constantly tossing heavy baits all the time hoping for that big one every once in a while? You're call. I made my mine years ago so I got rid of the nearly 8' long rods and got rid of all swimbaits over 6 inches. Not going to beat myself up any more hoping for a big one after casting and casting and casting and casting hoping one will one day hit it. Not fun. I like to have fun fishing and so I reduce the size and expect to catch smaller bass, but I get a lot more action and that is what I enjoy. The pro agrees with this:

"You have to remember something: What we do isn’t what most anglers do. If we find several smaller bass in a school but there’s also a couple of 4-pounders in the bunch, we want to catch the 4-pounder. We aren’t looking to catch bass and have a fun day fishing. We’re looking for weight."

I'm out to have a fun day fishing... point well taken here... something I've known all along...

So you gotta decide for yourself what is it you enjoy doing? The size of swimbaits you want to use will determine the size and strength of the equipment.
Why is there a concerted effort of hate? And why is it allowed?

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Re: Swimbait rod

Post by Polkfish1 » Sat May 25, 2019 5:08 pm

ShimanoFan wrote:
Sat May 25, 2019 4:55 pm
They don't work here in central Florida. I have spent a long time trying to find out.




I should know better than getting baited by this. Pros? Buddy Gross won Toho this year and all he did was throw a 6 inch swimbait on an owner beast all day long.

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