gobig

Should be Clearlake. With in a week or two 30lbs won't cut a check.

I really like the drycreek tubes also.

x's 3

Try shoving your used senkos in the body. I think you will like the result.

I wear merrells also. There like a water proof, aggressive, tennis shoe.

You would be amazed how tight to the bank punch fish can get. I have caught them shallow enough you would swear there backs would be out of water.

As mentioned rods and reels can get expensive really fast. It is not hard to spend over $600. For someone just starting out my suggestion would be an Okuma Guide Select 7'11" Heavy. This rod will handle most swimbaits up to 8 inches and Okuma has a great warranty program. This is probably the best budget rod out there. I would go with at least a 300 series reel. Baits that weigh several ounces take a toll on reels. I have striped pinion gears, blown out anti-reverse gears etc... I am a shimano guy so I am going to suggest no less than a cardiff 300. If you have the extra coin a curado 300 is a great swimbait reel. The calcutta's are the way to go if you prefer round reels.

This is a common west coast practice. It is particularly effective on deep clear water. Done properly a dropshot presented in this manor gives a really natural look that you don't get from a jig head. Light line is critical to get the proper action and a round dropshot weight falls straight down with out deviating.

I love how the peanut gallery offers up criticism with no real value. I am sure this guy can't wait to ask his next question. It would help to know what size swimbaits you intend on throwing and what kind of budget you have.

I sometimes feel the same way about swimbaits as crocodile dundee does about knives.

I tie the floro leader that goes to the braid about 8-10ft long. That way there is enough leader to retie throughout the day. If you are referring to the distance between the hook and weight, that varies depending on circumstances. I have read the same info as above "use a shorter leader early in the year", "use a longer leader when the fish become more active" and so on. These are good suggestions as starting points. But if you see fish suspended 3ft off the bottom on your graph try lengthening your leader. Out west here we even use dropshots on suspended fish no where near the bottom. Don't be one dimensional.

The Irods are not bad. I own a few of them. However I would go with the Okuma 7'11' Heavy Guide Select. It will handle smaller baits all the way up to 8in hudds.

Swimbait

That is pretty much it. A reef is a ridge of jagged rock, coral, or sand just above or below the surface. Like Rolo said reefs can also be man made. The term reef is general.

In fresh water a reef is generally made up of rocks.

I totally agree with basshunter. Your rod is under powered and you have no leverage. The truth is you dont need to have a $300 plus dollar rod. The Okuma 7'11'' Heavy is a great hudd rod. I-rod a and a few other manufactures make decent swimbait rods for less. You also do not want to use a rod that is over powered either or it wont load properly.

Reaction Strike is complete crap. There soft baits dont swim straight at all with out modifying them. The hard baits fall apart and maybe one in 10 swim right. There is nothing like hooking a fish and having the bait fall apart at the hinge. I gave all of mine away.

I have no knowledge of the academy baits. We dont have them out here. I do however agree with purchasing quality baits. If for some reason you decide you dont like throwing swimbaits you can get your money back out of the good ones if you wanted to get rid of them.

Pretty sure the s-waivers are made in China and so are some other prominate baits. But stick with baits that are proven.

The best advise I can give you is don't become a swimbait snob. Keep an open mind about all swimbaits, even the inexpensive or ugly ones. There are some ugly baits that are great producers. Put more focus on location and presentation. Watch or read anything you can from guys like bill siemantel, mike long,butch brown etc...All of the baits you have mentioned you own will work. Try to keep things simple. You want to be able to cover all of the water column top, middle and bottom. Think of your baits as tools that complete a system. We can use bluegill baits as an example. You need a floater, slow sink and a fast sink. Pay attention if there following a floater they may eat a slow sink. Your angle could be wrong. Your timing could be off so don't be Afraid to return to spots several times. The learning curve is slower than conventional baits so don't loose focus because the rewards are great. Try to fish different places because you will start to see different patterns. Some lakes are great for big baits. Some are good for smaller baits, some just plain suck and your better off throwing a jig. Tinker with your baits makeing them differnt than the status quo. I think defining techniques is important. For instance ripping Is a technique. It's not defined by the lure. You can use a host of different baits as a rip bait, a swimbait being one of them. You can modify a floater to suspend. In all I guess what I am trying to say is you already have the tools.

I never said I dislike them. I just think there over rated. Best trade I ever made was a freestyle for a strong bass, a two piece hard gill (both new in box) and a $100.

I am trying to do this on my phone so bear with me . for the guys who want suggestions How much experience do you have with swimbaits? We're you wanting bluegill specific baits? Why were you thinking about a freestyle?are you just wanting hard baits? The reason I ask is because when I first got into swimbaits 3:16 was all I heard guys talking about. I thought my lack of success was because I didn't have the ultra realistic real deal. I was looking for the Magic bullet. If I just had this bait or if I just had that bait things would be different. I just don't want to see youg guys break the bank when they could get two or three baits for the same money. Don't take this as me being a 3:16 hater either. If I could only choose one 3:16 bait it would be a wake jr. It's a flat out fish catcher.

I'll just come out and say it...there over rated. There are plenty of baits that you can get easily that are better in my opinion. And yes I have several of the freestyles.

I haven't lost a bait in so long I didn't even think about that speed. A good bait knocker is key. As far as a boat or shore I would take a boat for sure. You can always beach a boat and walk the shore.

The only real advantages you have in a boat are the ability to hit multiple spots in a day and you can reach water not accessible from the bank. When I fish a big bait sometimes I may move as many as 50 times a day covering key spots multiple times.