Primus

To any on the fence regarding the Whopper Plopper, they are not very expensive. Try it and see for your self.

I have caught some very nice Bass in ponds along with lakes as well using what most here consider big baits. Bluegill baits in particular slay 'em in ponds .

I live in SW Michigan and have known of legit 8 plus Bass being caught and yes weighed on an accurate scale, not a common occurrence but they are there in our part of the country and I would imagine in Illinois as well . In my opinion in this part of the country when fishing for largemouth on our inland lakes in most of our lakes you've caught one of the biggest oldest Bass in the system when you run into a 6 lb plus fish . I don't claim to be God's gift to fishing but because of time on the water & opportunity I've been fortunate to have caught more than my fair share of the 5 plus Bass the past 20 years or so with a decent number of those 6 lb plus fish as well. So I will share my observations on what has worked for me which I think would be pretty applicable to the OP fishing in Illinois since it's in the same part of the country. As others have pointed out location & presentation are by far the most important ingredients to catching bigger fish whether a big fish in your part of country is 6 lbs or you live in an area where 10 lbers are big fish. This will always apply no matter where you fish or even what you fish for. There is no doubt that average size baits or on occasion tiny baits will catch trophy class fish . That said If 2 fisherman of similar ability were fishing a season at the same lakes with a Crappie jig verses a medium to large size swimbait I'm confident the swimbait fisherman will likely catch a lot more of the bigger fish that are available in their area. Though I'm a believer in swimbaits I have also have had success with conventional tackle which is what I 've cut my teeth with and still use as an integral part of my fishing. Though I don't believe this applies as much with small mouth I tend to do better using larger versions of these baits in most situations though they don't have to be huge to be effective. As an example , when using a walking stick bait I tend do better with a 5" bait verses a 3 " walking bait. My favorite size of the Whopper Plopper is the 130 , not a huge bait but it catches almost as many as the smaller versions but my average size fish tend to be a lot bigger and more likely to catch a 5 plus Bass in my opinion. When slow rolling a Kietech or a hollow belly on a jighead in deep water I tend to do much better with say 4.8 or larger size verses the 2.8 as another example . In the category of conventional tackle Jigs have been my most consistent producer of bigger fish but really just about all the major category of lures will produce at the right time. Deep diving cranks in the summer are probably a close second. So I definitely still use conventional tackle. However , there is a place for big baits even in Northern states and at times they can be special and a blast to fish. Keep in mind if you are price conscious and have a limited amount of discretionary income they may not be right for you. Also, you will need to be bullheaded and be willing to go through a learning curve with these baits and if you can only fish once a week for about 3 hours it probably won't be worth it . That said if you are already a successful fisherman with conventional tackle then it can be an exciting addition to your arsenal. If someone is still a novice fisherman then start of with conventional tackle and learn the fundamentals before you even think about fishing larger swimbaits . The cool thing about adding this category of lures to your arsenal is that it is a great way to show the fish on heavily fished lakes something different and even when they are not getting bit they will show big fish. They also tend to catch nice bonus fish , especially on lakes where Muskies are available. Even when Muskies are not part of the system they tend to attract bigger Pike over those pesky hammer handles. Big Walleye also like these baits. On a lot of our inland small lakes especially the smaller ones under 500 acres Bluegills and Perch often times are the dominant forage so don't believe those who say you should only throw Bluegill swimbaits in the spring. There have been some real nice Bass that I 've caught in the summer & fall that will argue otherwise. In addition to Bluegill & Perch I also like Golden Shiner, Baby Bass, Carp patterns and even Trout colors on non Trout lakes. So here some of the baits that I'm confident will produce... Topwater Wake style baits - The 7 " & 9" MS Slammer & Spro Rat 50 size are readily available and work well especially at night or low light conditions. That said I love the 3:16 Wake Jr. , the problem is they are expensive and hard to get. The best way is through the buy/sell pages of the swimbait forums. They are a special bait when used in the right situation. Bluegill style topwater bait. - The Matt lures Hardgill is an awesome bait , it will flat out catch numbers and big ones as well. I absolutely love this bait and it will work in shallow water when the others get ignored. Besides a slow steady retrieve try mixing in shorts rips. Think prop bait without a prop. The Got' em Coach Gill can be had for a reasonable price and had produced a 7lber for me a few years back. I tend to use the Matt LURES when I want to finnesse the fish more and go the GEC when I want to fish a little more aggressively. Glide baits - The River to Sea S Waver 168 & 200 size. Don't waste your time with the smaller sizes. The Gancraft 178 Jointed Claw in the Perch color is one of my favorites and are readily available like the RTS baits though they are pricier. That said shad/ golden shiner profiles have been very good to me especially in the spring. One bait that doesn't get talked about but has been very good to me is the Evergreen ES Flat, you can usually find them on Ebay and they aren't terribly expensive. Last year was my first with the High Power Herring 8" glide bait. I'm very impressed with this bait though I did much better fishing fairly fast with quick stop and go turns of the real handle and jerking the slack. That said if you want one they are fairly hard to get and expensive. You will also hear a lot of recommendations for a Deps 250 , for whatever reason I have not caught any on this bait but it's success throughout the country speaks to it's abilities I just need more time with it. Crank down bait - the Pat's Perch is a great bait. I was lucky enough to get a few before they became hard to get and very expensive . I caught some on the Bull Shad 4 x 4 last year though I need more time with the bait. It is more readily available and affordable than the Pat's bait. A lure that I 've experimented with last year is the Musky Armour Krisco Jr which caught me enough fish last year to make want to give it more time on the water next spring. It is mass produced and under 20 $ so it might be worth a shot . Though these are crankbaits the Rapala Super Shad Rap and especially the Strike King Mag 8.0 squarebill will catch big fish. I love that SK 8.0 squarebill . Multi Joint sinking baits. - some of the ones that have excelled for me include are the sinking versions of the Matt's Hard Gills, Bull Shads & Bull Gills also produce. The Jackall Ganteral would be a great bait to start with as it's readily available with an affordable by swimbait standards price tag. Fish these baits, sometimes slow or even twitch them. If I had to sell them all and can only keep one it would be the 7" 22nd Century Trout in the Baby Bass color. It was already one of my better swimbaits before I knew what I was doing with it as it will produce with a steady retrieve. That said when I started fishing it with a stop & go fast retrieve along with some twitches then it became my favorite hard bait style swimbait. That said don't over do the twitches as the line can wrap around the hook as it is a lipless bait. Think of this as combo swim & jerk bait and it will absolutely produce. These tend to be a medium priced for swimbaits but the good news is they are not hard to get. Soft swimbaits are also a staple of swimbait fishing , especially when dealing with grass or cooler water. Slow rolling heavier style Hudd baits , kietech/ bass trix style baits attached to jigheads are also a great way to have fun swimbait fishing. I've had bass as small as 2-1/2 to 3 lbs choke on an 8" Hudd so don't be afraid to try these baits. If you made it this far and due to the length of my post I will stop right here . This is a terrific website and at times has good info for swimbait fishing, that said I think the majority of the info and fisherman on this site tend to rely more conventional tackle which should be the foundation of any Bass fisherman . I would also suggest you that if the OP was interested in swimbait specific info that he may also want to check out some speciality swimbait sites in addition to the great info on Bass Resource.

I'm going to be the contrarian here and choose the Gan Craft 178 in the Perch color. That said all 3 are good baits . I did shave the joint a little for a wider glide for my Gan Craft and now it's money.

The wakebaits that I throw are in the swim bait category though I also have a few wake style crankbaits as well that I throw on occasion. Some of my favorites are the 3: 16 Wake Jr. , MS Slammer , Black Dog Shell Cracker and the floating versions of the Got'Em Coach Bluegill & Matt LURES Hard Gill. In terms of Crankbait style I like the discontinued Excalibur wake the best out of all the ones I have tried.

I do like their Crankin Stick rods. They offer a shallow running crankbait called the Egg that is an excellent crank, just change the hooks when you get one.

Love that bait, fun to throw and attracts bigger fish.

I live in Michigan and I have caught a fair amount of largemouth on the 8" Spro BBZ , most are 2-4 lbs with the occasional outlier fish that are larger or even sometimes smaller than that. The wicked Perch color works well up here . Had a very good day a couple of years back on a mid summer day catching about 10 nice Bass in 1 outing on an inland lake with the wind blowing about 30 mph using the slow sink version targeting suspended fish in about 8' -10 ' of water on the outside edges as this lake has a combination of lily pads & milfoil along it's entire shore line . I think the rattle and the profile drew them out that day. I would love to post pictures on this site from time to time, that said I can't seem to do it because maybe there are to many pixels. That said my computer skills are novice at best.? I like to use a Dobyn's 867 with a Tranx 301 and 25 lb Sunline Floro. The 867 rod throws this bait with ease and would be a great option to throw baits in the 4 to 6-1/2 oz range if your budget allows. Now , I'm going to throw you a curve. The 6" BBZ has caught me fish as big or bigger on average than the 8" and if you don't have the rod/ reel combo to throw an 8" bait I would start with that one first as it will give you more confidence if your new to swimbaits and they weigh around 2 ounces depending on sink rate which can be thrown on a wide variety of set-ups. The BBZ swimbaits are proven affordable option for those getting started in the hard swimbait game.

I have no problem getting them to hit a Matt lures hardgill spring , summer or fall. I'm not saying it gets bit every time I throw it, but it is probably the most consistent swimbait in my line-up and yes I use the Bluegill color.

another good budget priced swimbait would be the Evergreen ES Flat in addition to many that have been mentioned already .

The Evergreen is a little noisier, I haven't caught anything big on it yet but it has stuck me a few fish in the short time I have fished it.

That's who I was thinking of. There are few others in the New England area as well, the Slammer seems to be the go to bait. My intuition tells me they are creepin it with a few pauses. Give 'em a big target !

x2 on the Duo Realis. The Rapala Rippin Rap glides on the fall as oppose to the RES wiggle but it is a very effective alternative especially in colder water.

Besides lurking on this site I also check out a few swimbait forums and every year there are guys posting up pictures of big fish caught on various wake style swimbaits at night even when the water temps are in the low to mid 40's. That said I haven't tried that yet so I can't speak from personal experience.

Such a cool idea, thanks for sharing. Totally agree with WRB, the Triple Trout can be fished so many ways. I tend to do best with quick reel cranks mixed with a few twitches. Don't overdue the jerks as their is no lip like a regular jerkbait so it will wrap around your line if you overdue it.

Love the Baby Bass color, it flat out works especially in smaller lakes. The 7" Baby Bass Triple Trout has been killer for me.

We have a solid one where I live at and I also patronize D & R sports in Kalamazoo, MI owned by KVD's brother Randy. The local store has a solid selection of Senko's, Zoom , Strike King plastics etc. so I buy those items there when I can instead of buying on line. I also buy what I can at D & R . I generally buy tackle on line for the items that our local shops don't carry, that I said I prefer to keep the money I spend supporting local business whenever possible.

The old Lucky Craft RC 1.5 is my favorite, second would be the Strike King. The strike king seems to run a little deeper so that may influence my choice depending on the depth that I am targeting.

The DT 4 has been ok for me, the 3 that I like best are the , DT Fat 1, DT6 and DT 10 which are some of my favorite cranks out there.

I rotate through a few brands, spend time with them you will learn where they excel. Here are a few that I have confidence in .... Xcalibur 1 knocker - unique sound excels at times SK Red Eye Shad - the shimmy on the fall, vibrates well on a slow retrieve Yozuri and Berkely Warpigs - doesn't excel in one area , that said have been very productive straight line baits Sebile Flatt Shad - oil filled silent version , more vibration than most of them out there Spro Aruka Shad- great one for slow rolling in deeper water Rapala Rippin Rap- love the 1/2 oz version when water temp gets to the mid to low 40 's in the fall . Great for a rippin/ jigging retrieve. Damiki- silent version, sometimes this is the way to go when fishing heavily pressured clear water lakes

Lipless crankbait, especially when the water temp is in the mid 50's or cooler. Several ways to provoke bites with these depending on the mood and activity level of the Bass and they will hit at very cold water temps. Such a versatile lure. Throw in a jig just in case the trap bite is off.

So far, I really like the 75 much better than the 90 when I need to throw a smaller Whopper Plopper. That said my first choice is 130 for most situations.

Listen to Speadbead, he knows what he is talking about and has posted pictures of countless big fish to prove it. One lure I would like to recommend that will build your confidence and will also attract large fish along with their small & medium sized relatives would be a 7" Triple Trout. I like the Baby Bass color. Works well on a slow to medium retrieve, that said I often due well with a few fast reels and then quick pauses. Also light twitches will also trigger bites, that said don't overdue it as it is prone to having the line wrap around the hook if you overdue do it as it does not have a lip like a jerkbait . That said if it looks like a cross between a jerk bait and a swimbait you are doing it right, be sure to hang on though a straight line retrieve will work better at times so try both. The triple trout flat gets bit.

This is my favorite ribbon tail, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

On the great lakes things changed with the introduction of Gobies to the Eco system as I believe about 20 years ago and prior to that craw dads would have been the primary target of smallies throughout most of the season though their are times pelagic fish would be a primary target as well. Since the introduction of Gobies which are easier for the smallies to capture they have taken up a large part the smallies attention when they are foraging throughout the season and since they tend to hover toward the bottom of the water column it is no surprise that baitfish imitators fished toward the bottom have proven to be very effective when targeting smallmouth.