Make swimbaits come to life
California angler Dan Thorburn fishes swimbaits a lot. In doing so, he has had the opportunity to watch how bass react to these lures, and has developed modifications that he feels not only help him get more bites, but also help keep fish hooked once they eat these big baits. If you fish where the bass grow big and like big meals, grab a swimbait and give these modifications a try.
Give 'em gills
When Thorburn deadsticks floating swimbaits, he wants his baits to look as realistic as possible. "When a trout is nearly dead on the surface, it flares its gills trying to breath, and I think when a bass sees this it triggers a feeding response," the California angler says.
So, adding realistic gills was a no brainer. To do so, Thorburn slices the gill plate
(1) of his swimbait and inserts a red chenille pipe cleaner,
(2) cut to length, and glue it in place.
(3) "The cool thing about this pipe cleaner trick is that the fibers hold scent really well, and the material pulses in the water, which adds another dimension of realism to the bait."
Add a tail hook
"A lot of times you see bass come up and grab the tail of a swimbait. I'm not sure if they are trying to figure out if it's real, or what, but it happens pretty often," Thorburn says. Since most swimbaits have a single hook located near the head, or a single treble dangling beneath the belly, the tail biters swim off without concern. To fix this problem, add a big stinger treble to the tail using these steps:
1. Tie 80-pound braid to a treble that just spans the width of the tail of your swimbait. Using a big needle, thread the braid through the body of the bait to the belly harness.
2. Embed the shank of the treble in the tail, positioning it so the barbs cradle the plastic.
3. Tie the braid to the harness, leaving an extra inch of braid (embed this line in the body of the swimbait) so the treble will separate from the tail once a fish is hooked.