Any experience with Big Swim Baits on Table Rock

[Royal Blue]

2 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

I have not missed many on the 25 and 40 series Rat no matter what rod I am fishing them on.  I think the strike on a topwater bait is somewhat different than a big swimbait, but point well taken.

Several years ago when the water was in the Buck Brush on Bull, I threw the Rat one day and it was one of the most exciting days I have had.  You could see them coming and they just swallowed it whole.  Head or tail first it did not matter.  I think when attacking those big gizzard shad they have to eat them head first and the pro's say that is the reason for misses.

I could see that.  They seem to try to head shot my Gantarel too.  I haven't ever caught anything on the smaller rats.  Just the 50.  Are you throwing them like a regular wake bait?

[dtrs5kprs]

2 hours ago, bferg said:

 thanks everyone... good information.  Check back here later today for the link to my Swimbait Box Kickstarter campaign.  

No doubt. Thoughts and prayers for your debit card.

[Bill Babler]

It depends, but most times yes.  Also something about the Rat, it is in fact a wake bait but is fished at a much slower pace than a fin, or a W. pooper  The day i was hammering them on it the best if you would stop it the fish would stop or peel off.  If you kept it coming, Bang.  Or after it was stopped and restarted moving again they would hit it.  Why?  I have no idea.  Kind of like right now with a jerk bait.  If you are moving it they want nothing to do with it.  When it is just sitting there they are totally slamming it.

Good buddy and his son fishing out of Shell Knob had over 50 on a Spro Blue Bandit yesterday and not a single fish came on a moving bait.  They would reel it down and jerk it 3 to 5 times and let it sit.  Usually the first to 3rd series they got clobbered.

Once you get it figured out moving or stopped let me know, as I'm not smart enough to even come close to figuring that out.

[dtrs5kprs]

1 hour ago, Bill Babler said:

Bill moved to Florida full time, I haven't seen him in several years.  Last time we talked, Bill B. and I had breakfast with him at Ma's.  He was living in Florida and full time crappie fishing.

Bill R. should get a lot of credit for bringing the float n fly to Table Rock and also the Big Swimbait.  He went from the tiny to super big and they both worked.

Several years ago Robbie Dotson was catching huge walleye on Bull Shoals on the 9" storm.  I went down there and threw it and caught a 8 lb. walleye and several bass over 5 lbs.  I also caught quite a few that were an inch or two larger than the bait.  That was in the Fall and we were targeting the same places we fish post spawn, channel swings and bluffends.

Beck and I fished them to suspended LM on bluffends when we caught that huge bag.

There is a trick to fishing them and the number of bites you get will amaze you. They will just slam the bait trying to kill it.  At times however its not in their mouth and you need to feel the pressure of the fish. The number of hookups will also make you frown.  Any size K will slam them and they will also catch some really big Jaws.  

On the bite, never set the hook, just wait till the rod loads and pull back.  If you go to snap setting the hook on the bite, you will put them down in a hurry as most times you will catch nothing.

A few years ago I caught a huge Jaw in front of Ab's on one while he and his brother were practicing for the Big Bass Bash.  I tried to get him to throw it but you know how those Mizzou guys are, you got to show them.

 

Yep, I keep in contact with Billy a little. He had some pretty significant health issues going.

He absolutely brought the floater back from Dale Hollow. Taught me about the spoon flipping deal...one of the best at that. Didn't care a bit how much he tore up his boat doing it, lol. I may or may not have ruined him with the little guy.

I meant the member here who used to post all the swimbait pics in the winter. Used to kayak fish around the docks. Richy was his handle here. Caught a lot of big fish on them.

[abkeenan]

Just started getting into swimbaits the last 2-3 years or so.  I have both soft and hard varieties. For soft I have some of the pre-rigged Storm and Berkley. They are decent and cheap. So when you lose one in a treetop you don't sweat it. I also have some of the bigger hollow belly paddle tails like the 6.5" Lucky Strike Magic Shad. They have a nice tail thump/wag and body roll at any retrieve speed. Like was mentioned, the Savage Gear Shine Glide is a good bait especially at it's cost. Bait is nicely done and has a nice glide. I prefer it over the S-Waver's although you can't go wrong with the S-Waver either. When I say cheap and people see the $20-40 price tag they think that is EXPENSIVE. Well in the swimbait world that is now CHEAP. Lots of insane price tags on some baits. Talking anywhere from $100 to $500. 

The Dobyns Fury 795 is hard to beat for a budget friendly swimbait rig. I have one paired with a Tatula 200. I use 20lb Suffix Advanced mono but Big Game is also a great option. It can throw any midsize swimbait in the 1-3oz range which is about right for TR. I even chuck the 130 size Plopper on it sometimes.

And yeah, Bill, don't think I haven't forgotten about that time when you taught us a lesson with that big ol' 5lb bronzeback.

 

[Royal Blue]

I've only been bitten on it by moving it, but just slow and steady on the big one.  The smaller ones seem to dive a little more on me.

[dtrs5kprs]

39 minutes ago, Royal Blue said:

The entire reason that I bought the Dobyn's 795, was for the big treble hook baits.  I was missing them too much with the Guide Select and this 795 loads up a lot better.  I will say that with tossing the rats that I've never had to worry about hookups or the rod loading up really.  They just destroy it if they commit to it.  I miss a lot less on the big line through and glide baits with the more limber Dobyn's.  Like a giant crankbait rod I guess.

Dobyns Fury 795 is the one I bought last year. I can barely find my way out of a paper bag with these baits, but that rod helps immediately. It's a serious tool, and a bargain. Would be a fantastic rod for the chandelier too, if you're into that sort of thing.

Mark Easterling recommended it. He's a guitarist in Tennessee by trade, fishes kayak stuff and has a relationship with the Bull Shad folks in his free time. Worth a follow if you have Twitter. I'll find his tag there. 

Just like with the super finesse stuff, this big junk requires some real changes in mindset.

[Bill Babler]

Man that is from the archives.  Thanks for posting it.

Dave, I remember that guy.  I think several years ago he fished the OA members derby.  Have not heard about him lately.

[dtrs5kprs]

9 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

Man that is from the archives.  Thanks for posting it.

Dave, I remember that guy.  I think several years ago he fished the OA members derby.  Have not heard about him lately.

Well, the same could be said of me, lol.

I genuinely miss Bill Richey when I'm at the lake. He was a good fisherman, and a good friend.

[evilcatfish]

On 4/17/2019 at 3:30 PM, bferg said:

Watching some videos lately... always dangerous...  I am thinking about getting a few big swimbaits (dangerous for the pocketbook I know).  I was wondering if anyone had any experience with throwing large swimmers at the rock and any advice on where I should look if I wanted to add a few to the arsenal...

Any thoughts on styles (soft body, line through, hard body)?  What about rod/line set up recommendations?

I found some older threads on here that talked about the R2S S-Waver 200.  But I have not seen any recent discussions.  

 

You should check out the Swimbait Underground forums, lots of good info