I’m interested in recommendations for large size swimbaits as the water cools this Fall.  My hope is to target the biggest fish of the year.

 

Some of the large swimbaits are the pre-rigged, jointed, one piece variety - and others are large plastic rigged on heavy jig heads. 

 

What brands, sizes, weights are best?

I've stocked up on some Hudd 68's and a few Savage Gear 8" baits. I love the action on all of them. Can't go wrong for the price. They're painfully slow to fish, but if there's a giant in the lake, it will want em. Only a matter of time.

56 minutes ago, Brew City Bass said:

I've stocked up on some Hudd 68's and a few Savage Gear 8" baits. I love the action on all of them. Can't go wrong for the price. They're painfully slow to fish, but if there's a giant in the lake, it will want em. Only a matter of time.

How deep/ fast do you usually use those two lures?

hudd 68 and S Waver for mass produced baits. My confidence swimbait in the fall is a Fish30Acre dirty shad, but they arent something easily attainable. 

Do you have any specialized swimbait specific rods? This is important information and would drastically change my answer. I have some "big" swimbaits that weigh up to 10oz and a foot long. probably snap an extra heavy flippin stick if you tried casting. 

1 hour ago, FryDog62 said:

How deep/ fast do you usually use those two lures?

I usually am in the 1-10ft range with these lures, but it's gonna be different on every lake. 

For speed, there is slow and then slower. lol Like barely crawling it on the bottom. 

45 minutes ago, clh121787 said:

Do you have any specialized swimbait specific rods? This is important information and would drastically change my answer. I have some "big" swimbaits that weigh up to 10oz and a foot long. probably snap an extra heavy flippin stick if you tried casting. 

I wonder if the bigger question is trying to mimic the baitfish in our area (Minnesota).  We probably don’t have anything we’d need on the high end of the lure weight range.  I have a 7-6 flipping stick rated to 2-1/4 oz and some Muskie rods to throw BullDawgs.  

 

We have very few 6-8 lb largemouth in my part of the world, but I really want to do whatever I can to increase my odds of catching one.  

7 or 9 inch Slammer or 185 Shine Glide are my picks for big baits this time of year. The Hudds and big soft baits will come in play more when temps drop into the mid 50s.

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

7 or 9 inch Slammer or 185 Shine Glide are my picks for big baits this time of year. The Hudds and big soft baits will come in play more when temps drop into the mid 50s.

Yes, the 50-58 degree water temps are what I’m targeting 

4 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

Yes, the 50-58 degree water temps are what I’m targeting 

Those baits will work in those temps, especially for targeting big fish. My 2 biggest swimbait fish were on those 2 baits in water below 60.

12 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Those baits will work in those temps, especially for targeting big fish. My 2 biggest swimbait fish were on those 2 baits in water below 60.

How well do you think the Hudd 68 would work trolling in 15-25 fow at slow speeds at that water temp?  I’m fine casting but if I take a friend that would struggle casting a large lure, can it be trolled effectively?  

I've never done it but I don't see why it won't work if you can troll that slowly.