Never fished them, but bought a few swimbait jigs to give them a try this year.  What are some good brands?  Haven't searched the forum article archive yet, but I need to find out when it is a good time to fish them.

Yum Money Minnow

MegaStrike Fat Shad

Shadalicious

Berkley Hollow Belly

Keitech Swing Impact Fat

Poorboys Kickin' Darter

Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper

RI Skinny Dipper 

Berkley Havoc Grass Pig---Also wanting to try the Havoc Beat Shad and Sick Fish

I like using the SK Shadalicious on a 1/2 oz. swimbait hook such as this:

 

 

They work very well on early season smallies; no reason to think they'd be any less effective on LM bass either. Fish them slow along the bottom. Just make sure your retrieve is not so slow as to kill the action. You'll get use to them in a hurry.

LOL.  Looks like research time!  Plenty of options.  Thanks guys. 

Paddle tails are my big fish bait in the early spring, rigged just like Crestliner2008 described. Snakeheads absolutely annihilate the 4" BPS Squirmin' Shads here on the Potomac. Caught a 15lb'er on the 'bluegill' pattern last year in March. I fish them much like you would a spinnerbait, slow steady retrieve just fast enough to keep them off the bottom and let 'em bump as much timber/rocks as you can. I also usually rig them with a worm rattle, but in the tail section so it rattles as the tail thumps. 

 

For bass the larger offerings will slow your fishing down some, but the results are usually worth the wait. I don't usually go larger than 4", however.

Try some gambler flapp n shad. Just watched a video on them a few days ago.I was so impressed I had to get some.

Try some gambler flapp n shad. Just watched a video on them a few days ago.I was so impressed I had to get some.

 

Gambler's Big EZ aint too bad either, they also make a nice paddle tail worm.

 

Bitters Naked Swimmer is a nice one too.

Hey, I have a few Gambler Big EZ.  Had forgotten about them.

Glad I read responses before posting.  I always refered to worms with a flattened tail resembling an oar as a paddle tail and the tail of swimbaits as boot tails. 

I prefer the solid bodied baits to the hollow ones when rigging on a jighead and the hollow bodies when rigging on a weighted swimbait hook. Both body styles produce different actions and I like the tighter wiggle of the solid baits in cold water. Then again, I'm fishing them deeper in the water column or on bottom where as I fish hollow bodies high in the water column.

I like the netbait bk swimmer

RI skinny dippers, Original Mattlures Bluegiils.