Fall 2023
®
W
hen you say the word swimbait around
a bass fisherman, thoughts can quickly
swing towards large expensive baits built for targeting bigger bass. Or some may veer the opposite
water from the buzzbait blade mimics baitfish fleeing across the surface of the water.
ADD WEIGHT TO A SPINNERBAIT
direction and envision soft plastic swimbaits, rigged on
Much like the buzzbait, the spinnerbait can be spiced
a small jighead, or Texas-rigged and thrown to shallow
up by rigging a soft plastic swimbait as a trailer. This adds
water cover.
weight to the spinnerbait for longer casts and is beneficial
I lean towards the latter and employ several
when you need to cover water. Also, when bass are
variations of the soft plastic swimbait for fall as it has
deeper in the water column, the added weight will help
evolved into a versatile option to present bass with a
keep the spinnerbait down in the strike zone without the
natural presentation in numerous
need to upside the weight of the
situations, that go well beyond just
spinnerbait. I like a Zoom Z-Swim
using it as a standalone bait.
3.8 for this application.
Removing the skirt from a stock
The action from the swimbait
buzzbait and replacing it with a soft
will also entice a bass into biting,
plastic trailer has become increasingly
and the feeling of the soft plastic
popular over the last five years, with
over the wire from the spinnerbait
many anglers using soft plastics
can help keep that bass from
toads as their trailer of choice. And
hitting the bait quickly and turning
yes, I fall into this group.
away.
I will go this route when I
Tip: A contrasting color
downsize from my go-to 1/2-ounce
swimmer can attract a bass to
size bait to the smaller 3/8-ounce
key in on striking the back of the
War Eagle Buzzbait, as the swimbait
spinnerbait, compared to swiping
doesn’t overweigh the back end of the
at the blades. For example, if
buzzbait like a toad does. I like the
I’m using a BOOYAH Covert
swimbait trailer when the bass are clearly feeding on shad, and its paddle tail action, coupled with the spitting
BOOYAH Covert Spinnerbait with a Zoom Z-Swim 3.8 swimbait
spinnerbait with a white skirt, I may use a chartreuse colored swimbait.
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