Swimbaits from Castaic, Reaction Strike, and more

Swimbaits are all about convincing largemouth bass and other predators that your bait is the real deal. The right swimbait with the right kind of action nets you violent reaction strikes and fish in the boat.

The fishing world’s most effective baits are often swimbaits.

They combine lifelike color patterns and paint jobs with powerful swimming action across a variety of styles.

The most popular soft body swimbaits

Sometimes called a swimming bait because of their life-like action, soft body swimbaits come with or without paddle tails.

Swimbaits with a paddle tail have a thicker “boot” shape on the end of the lure that gives the bait more side-to-side action. They also produce more noise and more froth in the water.

Soft body swimbaits without a paddle tail help you imitate dying shads or other small baitfish. They slice through the water as fast as you can retrieve, or slow and fall as long as you let them.

You can rig swimbaits on umbrella rigs for up to 5x more action

Umbrella rigs let you attach a whole pack of swimbaits to one line. The whole kit resembles a school of bait fish. The result is an eye-catching array with up to 5x the baits and can double your chance of successful hooks.

Rigs go by various names, such as A-Rigs (short for “Alabama”), Carolina Rigs, Umbrella Rigs, or School Rigs. The number of wires tells you how many lures you can attach at once, usually starting at three.

Rigs come in bladed and un-bladed options. The blades add extra light, motion, and sound underwater. There are also weighted options among rigs, like the “Walker” Rig which “walks” side to side in the water on retrieve.

The color of the heads of each of these rigs is also customizable.

You can fish swimbaits on jigheads or on a weighted, weedless hook

Rig any of these great swimbaits on a series of unique hooks and with these great accessories.

For more, check out these helpful posts