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Best Bass'n: |
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Swimming-Swim-Baits |
www.TheBassBureau.com
Column: Best Bass’n
“Swimming-Swim-Baits”
It seems no matter what bass fishing
publication you read or bass fishing
related web site you log unto the
hottest and latest Bass-Bait-Boost
is the ‘Swimbait’! Like most soft
plastic baits these minnow imitating
replicas come in just about every
shape and size. Then, of course
there is the color spectrum, with
every manufacture offering at least
a dozen colors claiming theirs is an
exact match-the-hatch profile.
While curiosity may have killed the
cat, I too was enticed by these
forage swimming imitators that seem
to have become the staple lure of
most Professional Bass Anglers. With
that said, my Swim-Bait
interrogations began. Remembering
the words of Uncle Homer Circle,
“Simpler is Best”, I eliminated an
array of extremely expense
swim-baits that would have adorned
any trophy room and concentrated
upon those resembling simple less
expense saltwater versions. After
all the saltwater versions have a
long history and a proven track
record.
Having already heard what those West
Coast Swim-Bait Fanatics have to say
about swim-baits, but I’ll save that
for another article! I decided to
concentrate my efforts in the
northeast. Placing a call to Ohio’s
Frank Scalish, a Bassmaster Elite
Angler with a reputation as one of
Lake Erie’s top bass pro’s,
arrangements were secured for Frank
and I to spend two-days on
Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle section
of Lake Erie. Our rendezvous point
was the Riviera Motel (www.RivieraMotel.net)
in Erie, PA. Talk about a motel
dedicated to bass fisherman! The
Riviera has a separate parking
section exclusively designed so tow
vehicles and bass boats may stay
connected, while ample outlets are
available for charging batteries,
all under the watchful eyes of a
security camera.
Few anglers can pattern every
transitional movement of
smallmouth
bass as well as Mercury Outboards
Frank Scalish (www.MercuryMarine.com),
and when it comes to utilizing
minnow imitating baits, especially
hard plastics such as Xcalibur’s
Stickbaits and Twitch baits…Scalish
is the BEST! (www.LureNet.com)
One thing about Frank Scalish I have
always appreciated is his unwavering
candid honesty. “You bet, I have an
assortment of swim-baits with me at
every tournament,” says Scalish.
“However, it’s imperative to realize
the swim-bait is just another tool,
and not the be-all-end-all to bass
fishing!”
Scalish’s choice for swim-baits is
YUM’s $Money Minnow. Available in
three sizes 3.5”, 5” and 6.5” with
thirteen different natural baitfish
patterns. (www.YUM3x.com)“One
of the reasons you hear so much
about swim-baits and their
fish-catching ability, in my opinion
is the bass haven’t seen this new
bait profile and their hungry
curiosity leads to more hook-ups!
No, doubt, swim-baits are fish
catching baits………..especially for
trophy size bass!”
Idling along in Scalish’s Alpha
Series Legend Bass Boat (www.ridewithalegend.com)
Frank revealed to me several
occasions while on Lake Okeechobee
in Florida where YUM’s larger 6.5”
swim-bait rigged with a weightless
hook, paid extra tournament
dividends by enticing the Florida
Lunkers to inhale his offerings.
“Schooling bass are feeding bass, so
whenever I’m on waters where
schooling bass can be a prevalent
pattern I always have a swim-bait
rigged,” says Scalish.
Proper rigging is critical to this
technique and Scalish cautions
anglers when choosing hooks. “My
observations have taught me bass
T-Bone these baits when they eat it
therefore wide gap hooks are
essential.” The bigger the hook gap
the better advises Scalish. However,
Scalish steers away from longer
shank hooks due to the way bass take
swim-baits and the fact they distort
the baits natural roll and pitch
movement. His choice of hooks range
from Xcaliburs weighted 3/0-4/0-5/0
for the 3.5 and 5” models to YUM’s
$Money Minnow 7/0 un-weighted hook
for the 6.5” version.
With a chuckle in voice Scalish
reached into his rod locker, “You’re
about to witness what I mean when I
say there is a time and place for
every bait, and that the swim-bait
is just another tool to enticing
additional bites when properly
rigged for each technique and
presentation.” Handing me a
pre-rigged 5” Shad color $Money
Minnow I quickly responded, ”Ok,
I’ll bite explain to me this set-up
and why you have it rigged on a
leadhead?”
“Well first of all, that is not just
a leadhead. It is what I call a
horse-head or what may be better
known as a Swarming Hornet Spinner.
I find that the 3/8 oz size is
usually best for most applications
especially schooling bass and I
match the hook size to the bait,
either 3/0 or 4/0. The rod is a 7’3”
Powell #734 4-power (www.Powellrods.com),
paired with a 5.3:1 gear ratio
baitcaster, and spooled with 12 lb
Silver Thread Fluorocarbon line.
Continuing my lesson on swim-bait
rigging, Scalish explained the
importance of threading hooks
straight so that the baits running
performance provides a natural
baitfish side-to-side wag. “90% of
the time I have two 5” YUM $Money
Minnows rigged; one on the Swarming
Hornet, and the other on a wide gap
Xcalibur weighted hook.” Scalish’s
weighted hook size depends on the
depth bass are relating to, while
his Silver Thread Fluorocarbon line
size will increase to 14 or 17 lb
test based on the thickness of heavy
cover. (www.Silverthread.com)
“One of the unique attributes of the
$Money Minnow is it’s hidden hook
slot, allowing for greater hooking
percentage. While it’s soft body
makes Tex-posing hook points a
breeze, and the extra wide tail
enables me to retrieve it at ultra
slow speeds mimicking natural
baitfish forage and enticing more
bites,” claims Scalish.
“The area we are about to fish is
one I would generally start off by
throwing a Carolina rig and dragging
it across the shallower rock piles
on the hump. Once I feel I have
thoroughly covered the area or
caught most of the bass, I’ll then
turn to my “Clean-Up Lure”…the 5”
$Money Minnow,” smiled the Buckeye
states top angler. Frank went on to
explain the weighted Swarming Hornet
$Money Minnow is best suited for
open water areas with little to no
cover. “I’m not so sure I should
tell you this but I will,” said
Scalish. “This particular rig is
awesome on smallmouth bass, allowing
me to cover an enormous amount of
water quickly, as well as just about
any depth the smallmouths are
relating to on Lake Erie.
Scalish went on to explain the
weighted spinner head allows him to
feel the bottom cover better than a
weighted hook, while his ultra slow
presentation sending vibrations out
from the tail action can be quickly
increased or decrease allowing him
to vary his retrieve speed
telegraphing to smallmouth bass a
frighten baitfish reaction.
Moving to a shallow backwater lagoon
in search of largemouth bass, Frank
and I upgraded our Silver Thread
Fluorocarbon line to 17 and 20 lb
test, and Tex-posed rigged weedless
5” $Money Minnows on 1/8 and ¼ oz
weighted 5/0 Wide Gap Xcalibur
hooks. “Generally speaking
swim-baits may be utilized anywhere
you would consider throwing a
spinnerbait or crankbait and the
basic retrieve is a constant slow
swimming retrieve,” suggest Scalish.
Areas we fished were boat docks,
down timber, scatter matted grass,
lily pads, and floating moored
sailboats.
According to OSI Pro Series
sponsored Professional Angler Frank
Scalish, most anglers make the
mistake of retrieving a swim-bait
much to fast, and secondly they have
tunnel vision when it comes varying
their applications! “The key to
swimming the YUM $Money Minnow is a
Super-Slow-Steady methodical
retrieve” If your swimming the
$Money Minnow and your not catching
bass, Frank Scalish says, “Then
slow-down your retrieve even more!”
For additional information on
tournament techniques from Frank
Scalish log unto
www.OSIProSeries/FrankScalish.com
God Bless and Best Bass’n
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