Ok, I give up. I am sure all of us live near a lake where we can go for a few hours before we have to mow, fix the spouting, etc. I have a place like this in Western Maryland. A friend of mine is a Fisheries Biologist and he gave me the heads up that they had shocked some #11-#13 fish out of this gin clear, deep lake. I have caught quite a few #5's to #6's from this place. Also, a #7-2, #8-8 but, I cannot for the life of me catch at least a #10. My tactics have been, of course, Jigs, 1-1 1/2 spinnerbaits off of points and 12-15" worms but, I cannot get to that #10 or so. I have done a lot of night fishing there, as well, thinking that this would be the time for these big fish but, nada. Even during the spawn I have yet to break past #8-8. I thought about those big swim baits but, yada,yada. This place is regularly stocked with rainbow and brown trout so my bet is, this is the ticket. Any ideas would be appreciated as I have very little  knowlege of these types of baits. I was going to purchase maybe a Castaic Trout or something similar but, I figured that I would research this avenue first. Thanks, Jim.

Fishing with swimbaits by no means guarantees you 'll catch big fish, bass have bigger mouths than brains, so, as long as it looks edible regardless of the size and if the fish is in the mood it will attack the bait. Also, you may cast a swimbait for hours and not get even a follow up. Here 's an example:

I caught that one with a Dead or Alive 5" swimbait and certainly is not a trophy fish.

There are 3 types of swimbaits:

Hard: made from wood or hard plastic

Soft Plastic: made from poliurethane

Hybrid: hard body with soft plastic tail

You can make a subdivision between the bouyancy also:

Floating

Sinking: slow sinking & fast sinking.

So as with other types of lures there 's plenty from where to choose, your pocket is the limit. As for finish, it really doesn 't matter, down here bass have never seen a trout and will never see a trout and trout finish baits work, presentation and location are more important than finish.

I hear you, and thanks for the reply. I did not consider sinking, floating, etc. I was just thinking more along the lines of a 10-12" swim bait might give me an edge. I fully understand that I might have to throw this lure a gazillion times. I also agree with you in that whatever the size of the bait you have you still have to be at the right place. I was just putting another idea in the hat. I am always open to suggestions and opinions. Thank you.

Here is a moderately priced Rainbow Trout swimbait. That bait has caught hundreds of 10+ lb Bass. Read "The Big Bait Theory" and watch the Butch Brown videos to get your blood pumping !

Dan

Thanks Lightninrod. I appreciate your reply. I will purchase some of these swim baits. Not a bad price concidering how much some others are. I love experimenting and am looking forward to attempting this technique. It should be fun. I am pretty fired up about it. Thanks again.

The Huddleston is a pretty heavy bait that requires specialized gear, and bites are few and far between. I would HIGHLY recommend the mattlures trout bait. It can be thrown on a flippin stick.

www.mattlures.com

Before you have the gear to throw these suggestions or they will just sit there. You want a heavy or XH rod , 7-8', with a wide spool, round body reel.

Also check out the matt lures bluegills and baby bass.

You can (and I do) throw the matt trout on a regular setup. I think they only weigh like 1 3/4 ounces. I would use no less than 17lb though.

Ya' know, as much as I love the Hud, size has so much less to do with it, as honestly, I think it's quite a bit too small, at only 8". I'd way prefer a 10" to 12" Hud. However, I'd rather use a Hud which is smaller than I prefer, than a 10" to 12" of any other brand. In other words, while I feel the size is important, I think it's of secondary importance, compared to the design of the lure in the first place.

Just my .02 cents,

Peace,

Fish