Anybody ever use 5" or bigger swimbaits for Walleyes and bass? I have been seeing them on fishing shows more and more. Look very easy to fish and seem to target bigger fish. I was thinking of getting some 5" Yum Money minnows or Berkly hollow belly shad and put them in my Gulp pale to add scent when I go up to Quetico. They seem expensive to me but if others think they work I'll give them a try.

Any thoughts?

Is it any coincidence that the show's sponsors sell these products????
The people want to know:)

i like them for pike.

TGO is correct. Watch any show and the hot, go-to lure, must-have lure is always the one made by the company that wrote the largest check. Same connection can be made using govt. programs and campaign contributions.

Fish in other public waters see a variety of lures on a daily basis. For instance, the Okla. Wildlife Dept. says "every bass over 12 in. has been caught at least once". Presenting a "natural" looking bait is essential. However, in the BWCA, fish do not see lures on a daily basis. Anything flashy or squiggly will draw a strike. Swimbaits? Sure you will catch fish...save your money and take 4 and 5 inch curly tail grubs. Pike will strike anything. My "money" lure for BWCA, Pike: spinnerbait, Walleye: 3 inch curly tail grub, jig weight to depth, SMB: jig, Lakers(my love)jig, Wally:jig. BEST DAY ON Pike: grubs: Walleye,grubs, SMB: grubs, Lakers: Flyrod(!)ok ok, grubs!!!!Get the picture? Fish in the BWCA are easy, just concentrate on sharp hooks and bend down the barbs and you will catch them.....

I have not tried swimbaits that large but my go to bait for walleye and bass is a Mimic Minnow. I cast and jig them and they work very well. My favorite is the 1/4 oz gold color.

Boy what a Jaded bunch :) I understand most lures are marketed to catch fisherman not fish :)

Another reason I ask about the swimbait because I read a recent report on walleye feeding that said the preferred size baitfish for a 17-18" walleye is 5 inches. Most jigs for walleyes are smaller than that. I catch plenty of nice walleyes on big cranks, seems the bigger I go the bigger the fish, I know it isn't uncommon for Musky anglers to pull in 30 inch or larger walleyes on their 10-12 inch cranks but usually I need to troll a crank to keep it in the walleye strike zone so it gets old just trolling around. I thought the swimbait would provide a larger profile like a crank bait, but allow me to cast and work a likely spot slowly but still stay close to the bottom.

I see a local store has some already rigged for $1.99, maybe I'll pick some up at that price and have my wife use while I'm up there this summer. She doesn't really care if she catches anything, she just likes being out there and wants something that is easy to use---then if she starts getting hits I'll give them a try and report back.

They work great, and catch pretty much everything that swims. Pick up some mister twister sassy shads and storm wildeye swim shads. Probably will limit the amount of walleyes you catch, but they will most likely be bigger than 18 inches.

I am a Musky Fisherman and yes, we do use huge lures and catch walleye. But there is always a bunch of Walleye fisherman that use a small jig and minnow and catch 50" musky every year too. Damn those guys!

last year i had great luck with a 4" swim bait in perch with a colorado blade. definitely bringing more of those bad boys up this year.

I've had mixed results with swim baits in the BW.

They did catch fish but did not seem to outperform other lures.

I did like the fact that they can be rigged weedless...

I've done good on the big power baits 5" shads. Never much in the BWCA though. They are money on LOW.

I caught quite a few smallies and one walleye on a 3" Storm Wildeye swim perch last year in the BW.

One of the best baits I have used for northerns are the storm wildeye swim baits BUT in 3 and 4 inch blue gray colors. In fact i went through 8-10 in 1 day due to northern tearing up the rubber swim tails

I used a 5" Berkley hollow belly swim bait last week. It worked great for pike and smallies. I caught one pike on it. I lost two other swimbaits to pike. I wasn't using a leader.

I will take more swimbaits up next time.

I like the color and action of the trout colored Berkley

I have never used swimbaits. What is the correct method for them? I see them everywhere so at least I am caught, but need a better understanding on retrieval do you real them straight in or do a little something different? Do you weight them? Any tips appreciated.

Any new comments on swimbaits???

For those who really use them a lot, what brand/style do you like best?

Think snap jigging.I fished with the 5" Hollow Belly and some other "bigger" plastic baits for Walleyes last year on Leech Lake and had some real success on bigger fish. It seemed like if it is just sitting in front of them or just swimming along they would ignore it, but if you used a heavier jig and snapped it along aggressively they would tear it up. This doesn't always work of course but at times it can out perform live bait presentations.

I brought mine along for my Kabetogama Lake trip and Quetico trip, but had success with other techniques so never really tried them out.

T

Arlo,
I've never heard of anyone snap-jigging them. What time of year was your trip and how deep were you fishing? I'm wanting to try them out this year.