Primus

In my opinion it's good idea to have both silent & rattling cranks. I've done well with the liquid filled silent Sebile Flatt Shads in clear water lakes, at times they'll hit this bait and ignore my rattling lipless baits. They also make painted Flat Shads which have a knocker sound. In addition to the Shad Raps that have already been mentioned I've done very well the last few years on Lucky Craft's RC series of baits. This year I fished the Strike King Series 6XD Silent version in the Sexy Ghost Minnow and this bait put a lot of nice fish in the boat for me.

Sometimes a single tail grub is a great alternative to stick on the back of your jig especially when the fish are hitting a swimming or slow rolling retrieve.

Crankbait Junkie ? Hand raised. I'm sure a few of these will find a way in my tackle box. Though I have to admit swimbaits are stealing more of my attention and $$ these days. I did get a couple of the Strike Kings, only fished it once but it did well.

I don't have anything new to add except the HKML K-0 Minnow 115 which has been a good bait. I can see a lot of guys are mentioning the Ima Flit, I've done very well with their Ghost & Chartreuse Shad colors.

If it was a $15 bait I probably wouldn't buy the Chrome finish, but @ $5 try to think of them like a bag of soft baits if you catch enough fish on them it's probably worth replacing one here and there.

Thanks for the tip, you are probably right I tend to fish fast/ aggressive. Did hook a very big fish, not sure it was a bass or pike which unfortuneately got away on my Matt's Baby Bass recently. The Huds I just got. I'll definetely keep throwing the Matt's, it's only a matter of time. I didn't suggest it originally but another fisherman has turned me on to the RealPrey swimbaits Alewife($23.99, but I've been told much more durable than most) and the fish I've caught so far have inhaled it which shocks my fishing partners who do not fish swimbaits when they see it half way down their throat. I've been impressed enough to order a couple more. Even though the colors selection on the website is limited you can request other colors, my first one was a white bait with a green back.

Here are some at or near your size range that you may want to try... River to Sea 150 Live Eye Bottom Walker- This bait flat out catches fish and big ones at that. They make a both a regular version and one that comes with a weedguard and also rattles. This bait sinks to the bottom quickly which works well for slow rolling in deep water. 5" Tru Tungsten- I like this in the Bluegill color, has good action but I've noticed the finish doesn't stay on very well. TW has them on sale and if you don't mind touching up the bait it will catch some nice bass for you. It's out of your specified price range but if you want to splurge the Matt's Lures Hard Bluegill is an awesome swimbait, it's definetely worth the money. Strike King Shad- works good jerking it or burning it, I've done well with the Mojarra color Matt's lure soft Baby Bass- I'll be truthful for whatever reason I haven't had a lot of success with this bait but many other fisherman have and they are very reasonably priced. I probably haven't thrown it at the right time & right place. 6" Spro BBZ- I haven't had this bait long but so far I've been very impressed. I have the slow sink Perch color, just picked up the floating Lavender Shad. 6" Huddleston- I just got a couple, but many knowledgeable swimbaiters endorse this bait so I had to see what the fuss is about. Very subtle tail movement. River To Sea V Joint Wake Minnow 95- I like this in the Chartreuse Shad color. The name is a little deceptive as it's a shallow running bait as opposed to being a true wakebait. It's easy to fish and sells for about $8. Nice bait for the money. Top Shelf & Pro Swimbaits- they both offer well made line thru options

Roadwarrior I suggest to any guys out there who haven't tried this rig to add it to their arsenal. Thanks for sharing this tip a while back it's put a lot of solid fish in the boat for me.

Just got one of the Strike Kings, I've already stuck a few on the Bluegill color. Looks good in the water.

I'm also looking at getting a couple of Ragos over the winter, excited about trying them out next year.

Please repost with your observations on the 6" Spro BBZ or any other swimbaits that work out well for you. If I remember correctly Skeet Reese did well on a 6" Rago in the light Hitch color on a B.A.S.S tournament earlier this year. It looks like the Blue Herring in the Spro line would be the closest, however the Lavender Shad looks like it would be a good one on overcast days for clear water lakes. If it's not breaking the bank I would get one of each plus 1 or 2 of the Ragos. Good Luck.

J Francho I absolutely agree with you on the importance of color especially in clear water. One of the lakes by my house I do very well in summer on deep diving cranks. I have precise casting angles that I line up and a Bandit 700 series has been putting very nice fish in the boat with the Chrome Bluegill color. When I make the same cast with the same bait but a different color the bites go way down if they even hit it at all. I've tried different colors on this lake more than once and the Bluegill pattern consistently gets bit when there is a crankbait bite. How do the color doesn't matter guys explain that? Also, just started fishing the 6" Spro BBZ. I started fishing my first one a few weeks ago in the Perch color slow sink and have been very impressed. Just added the Floater Lavender Shad. Good swimbaits for a reasonable price.

Lucky Craft RC 1.5.

I don't agree there all the same, however there are many good brands to choose from. So far I haven't seen a Lizard that matches the action of a Zoom Lizard though with all the dozens of brands out there it's impossible and too cost prohibitive to try them all. Though some may disagree there is the Yamamoto Senko and then there is everyone else though I think the Yum Dinger offers a similiar action with a slower drop speed and I'll use that one on occasion. I use a mix of soft plastics from app 7-8 brands and then on occasion will purchase a hand pour. Speaking of hand pours I recently picked up an order from Dichoso baits, very good quality and excellent service. One bait recently has overtaken a staple in my Tackle box is the Strike King Rodent, I now prefer this one over the R.I. Sweet Beaver.

I've been catching fish on the 6" slow sink in the Perch color, just recently added a 6" floater in the Lavender Shad color. The 4" bait looks terrific in the water but I haven't caught anything on it yet. I prefer the 5" Tru Tungsten over the 4" Spro. The Tru Tungsten in the Bluegill color has done well for me with both tungsten weights inserted so I can fish it medium to fast retrieves.

Also a good bait to use on a Carolina Rig.

Bluegill patterns have done well, Brown & Green craws and I also use Ghost colors a lot.

Thanks for all your help.

Speedbead I'm sold, just ordered one of the High Power swimbaits today in the Lanier Herring color slow sink. If you happen to see my post please give me tips on the retrieve. Thanks

Share your success and failures....I'm still figuring this out as well. Two seasons does not an expert make. I missed this comment from earlier but I saw your reply to Rubba Bubba about sweeping the Matt's hardgill, I will definetely have to try it. Recently met another guy from my area and he had very high praise for the Matt's Gill along with the Realprey Alewife which is a soft bait like a Hudd but more durable though not quite as realistic looking. He also throws some of the 8-10" baits and has had some success on these especially when night fishing. Tommorrow taking the afternoon off and it's supposed to be overcast/ windy which hopefully will turn into a good day to throw swimbaits, if not then it's back to my crankbaits and jigs. Anyway just bit the bullet and got in a Floating 3:16 Freestyle Herring which along with the previously mentioned Matt's Gill & Real Pey swimbait will be putting these through the motions this fall. I will definetely on occasion update with my successes & failures with various swimbaits and look forward to hearing reports from yourself and other forum members on their impressions as well. This category of tackle is starting to really fascinate me with it's potential and right now I'm absorbing all the info I can get on these type of baits.

Thanks, I have the 6" slow sink Perch Spro and caught a nice 5lber a couple of weeks back on it and you're right it catches fish. My Matt's hard Bluegill is a slow sink, next one will be a floater. I appreciate your reccomendations.

JFrancho I'm still learning swimbaits, started out throwing SK King Shads & similiar baits, as mentioned in my post I have moved up to mid size baits and want to expand my swimbait game next season. May I ask what baits have been working for you? I see you are from NY the fishing there would probably be similiar to what I see in Michigan. Thanks

It based on what's new for you, for example if you started fishing grubs mention that even if they've been around for about 40 years. I'll lead, started fishing the 6" River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker and have been pleased with the size of fish that hit this bait. I also added a Matt's Hardgill about a week back and had a nice 3lber just smoked it on a tough day, memorable strike. Next year I plan on throwing more and bigger swimbaits than ever, getting addicted to these type of baits. So what's got you guys excited?

I'm not a fan of the 4", but the 6" BBZ-1 has done well for me AND I plan on throwing the 8" next year. I suggest the 5" Tru Tungsten for those who didn't care for the SPRO.

I've had enough success this season that my winter project is to purchase rod/reel combo's that can throw large baits like 8" Huds etc. I've been catching fish on the 6" Spro BBZ-1, 7" MS Slammers, a recently purchased Matt Lures Hardgill, 6" River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker, 5" Tru Tungsten and a few others and I'm confident as to the effectiveness of this category of baits and even these mid size swimmers are catching a better grade of fish than the other categories of lures that I've been using though Deep Diving cranks are up there as well. Though it doesn't seem to produce the numbers of soft plastics for example I've been pleasantly surprised at the numbers of fish I've caught especially with the RTS Live Eye Bottom Walker. I'm sold on the effectiveness on these lures and will be utilizing them to a larger degree this fall and especially during 2011 once I acquire the gear to throw some of the 8" baits.