Big Swimbait

Yes - vicious!

My favorite worm hook now. If you get a good hook set, they don't come off. It's obviously not a light wire hook. I hope Owner makes one for finesse applications, although the angle might weaken a light wire hook too much.

I got one of the swimbaits when they first came out. I took it down to my dock just to see the swim. I must say it looked pretty good - until a 3 lber came out from under the dock and destroyed the bait. Not durable at all for the money. I did not replace it.

I prefer Smackdown for casting for all of the reasons stated. But I have had tremendous success using straight 20# 832 Camo on my finesse spinning applications with it's 6# diameter.

D&M Custom makes a great in-line buzz bait. I have made a few using straight wire and the brass lure bodies that have the skirt collar. I also like the idea that you can use your favorite hook because it's free-swinging which means I can rig it weedless.

No leader is best. Just put on a bobber stop, thread your hook on the line point up, put another bobber stop below the hook. No knot failure, infinitely adjustable leader length, bait movement you can't get with a knot. Surprisingly the hook doesn't move very far fighting a fish. I've never had a bass pull the hook all the way to the weight but just in case I use ringed lead bell sinkers. Not my idea - came from my Japanese neighbor.

Great idea. I cheated and bought the Plano box for $15.00.

You won't regret it. It gets chewed!

You may have already tried this, but there are 2 sets of lines on the side of the bait. If I don't follow the angles perfectly with the hook, it will not swim correctly. I also added half of a 1/16 oz nail weight straight up the belly. That seemed to help it keel better.

40# braid to a leader of 15# Big Game mono.

Agree with hit 'em hard and grind them in. Rod tip in the water if necessary. If they turn their head or break the surface, they will use the leverage of the heavy bait to shake the hook. I also slightly bend the hook point upward. It has greatly improved my landing ratio. Owner needs to make that Haymaker hook in a swimbait hook.

I used to have an Okuma swimbait rod with split cork grips. The bottom was a pistol grip. I really liked that set-up for heavy baits. I'm going to be building another swimbait rod and would like to duplicate that set up. Does anybody know where to get a cork pistol grip nowadays LOL ? Disregard - a Google image search found Mudhole still has them even though they don't show up on the cork grips page!

I was lucky to get a few ordered before they sold out. I like the Dark Sleeper as well so looking forward to a little bigger profile. As far as the Gilly goes, I have caught a lot of fish on it, but very few bass. The cats and the drum are all over it!

Totally agree with this. I was already a member which is how I found out about the deal. I will say the membership deal is pretty sweet. Cash back on every purchase (which has already paid for the membership) plus free shipping on every order regardless of size, which is nice if you only need a few items.

If you are a club member, buy one Revo STX, get one free.

6th Sense has the Swank 77 and 66. I really like those as well.

Totally agree. But I already have the JJ's for dipping and like I said earlier, I do not use JJ's in the boat. I dye everything the night before on my workbench and put it in baggies.

It dries pretty quickly. Combining colors is the same.

I like to use a fine paint brush to put red JJ's on the gill plates of soft swimbaits. Then a Q-Tip to put a kill shot under the chin.

Dye your baits the night before. When they are dry, put them in a baggie. No more boat/clothing mess.

https://www.academy.com/p/h2o-xpress-ultra-light-5-piece-hard-bait-kit?sku=multi https://www.academy.com/p/rebel®-classic-critters-lure-kit

They made me some for my 8' swimbait rods so I am sure they can help. Best quality I have found. https://rodwarriorusa.com/

832 Camo

The one we have in Prosper, TX actually has a lot of good inventory. But the prices are sky high. It's an hour drive from me so I have to be in the area for another reason to stop. But after seeing these prices, I won't be stopping unless they have something specific I can't get or can't wait for.

My local Field and Stream (DSG) had Jackhammers on the sale rack for buy 5 - get 5 free. The retail was high at $18 but you still end up getting them for $9 bucks each.