After reading a few comments on Soje�s post I wanted to clarify a few things in regards to the big baits.
1st, Im no expert in this field, very few are. They are the innovators of this sport and most come out of California whose lakes produce the high teen, low twenty pound bass. The Cali lakes are high pressured, clear, and have a population of heavy protein carrying trout. The Cali anglers found that the bass loved to eat trout 8�, 10� 12� and perhaps even bigger. Hence the swimbait as we are speaking of was born.
Ok I know we don�t maintain a population of trout here in Texas. We do have Crappie, sunfish, shad, and most important in regards to big swimbaits �little bass. Face it, big bass devour smaller bass, gobble them up. I say this so you can get a picture of why those Cali trout shaped baits work in a state that has no trout. They look a lot like baby bass in size and shape.
Those bigger fish feed a bit differently than the 18� schoolies. Not saying you cant catch big fish on small baits!(2 of my DD�s came off a jig, only 1 came off a swimbait) Just saying that big old fat gal would much rather ambush a 5� blue gill than get in open water and chase down a 2� shad. I know of no one who is throwing big baits (8� plus) to catch numbers of fish, although it does happen on some days.
We throw the big baits to increase our chances of enticing that fish of a lifetime to bite. It gives us that extra edge to get a big fish to determine whether or not its worth the effort to swim up and feed on that prey. Think, 1 big easy meal swimming by is just to much for her to ignore. As with all predators it�s the sick, slow, injured that get noticed. This is exactly what many of these big baits portray. Big easy meals.
I cant speak for all, but I come out of the 5 fish tournament field, my whole fishing existence was centered on finding 5 fish around the 18� to 20� size. After 2 decades of this I realized what I was missing. The thoughts of big bass started the gears turning and thankfully I discovered kayak bass fishing. This slowed me down, no more running and gunning all over the lake. The results were immediate, started gaining a new pb daily sometimes twice in a day. Some competitors and friends on the Kayak big bass fishing series showed me swimbaits. I laughed at them! Never would I throw 1 much less spend the amount of money on a single bait. I will admit they were extremely formidable competitors and it was tough to compete against them. But I was set in my ways and thought the conventional tackle was enough. I really didn�t wish to revamp my whole tackle from rods to reels etc�By chance I found a 6� 3:16 rising son hanging in a tree 1 morning. I didn�t even know what it was, or much less how to use it. But I did use it and ended the day with 3 fish for over 27 pounds. The next week I went DD with it 10-7. Bear in mind I was using a 7� heavy flipping stick so no new gear was needed.
The swimbaits are really designed for those who have the time and mind set of going without catching a fish for a few days. The reward is you have a better chance of finding a super large fish. The cost of a 3:16 rising son is around $15, a Huddleston soft bait $20. These baits last a very long time. The hard baits can get very expensive ie Roman Made Mother�s $ 450. But they will and do catch very very large fish consistently. I am very lucky to live 10 minutes away from 2 lakes that can and produce DD size fish on a regular basis. Therefore the higher cost of these baits are worth it. I would be a bit more hesitant to invest this cost on Lake Worth or Lavon.
However, if you have reached the point where catching a bunch of smaller sized fish has lost its spark then I suggest you getting into the swimbait community. It does not mean you must spend $100�s to do so. I certainly haven�t and most likely never will. I buy 1 bait a year for around $80 compare that to a handful of conventional tackle and you see there is little difference in cost.

Very interesting! What are your thoughts on the lakes and ponds that are stocked with trout, do you think annual trout stocking could produce any monster bass??

"do you think annual trout stocking could produce any monster bass??"

- using those lil' trout as bait sure can !

PS Nice post, Team H

Great read on swimbait, they are completely new to me. The only part that would concern me would be losing them, or getting snagged, and that seems to be a common issue for me. I see your reasoning though on the cost, and if it something you can make last for a couple years, they definitely equal out to buying numerous other baits.

Thanks for the read, and I can only imagine how excited you are to get your new one yearly.

Do you throw more soft or hard?

Are you casting them, or just paddling around the lake trollin it behind the boat?

There are cheaper swim baits (well..... not cheap multijointed swimmers)

Stop by Wmart and pick up some Storm swim baits--they are cheap and produce. Several videos on youtube on successful ways to work them. If you've never tried the Bass Magic hollow body swimmers, they are cheap, and also available at Wmart--probably caught more bass on Bass Magic last year than any other lure.

Good stuff Kent. I've been dabbling in swimbaits for a month. Not the hardbody baits though.
Joseph, if you want great quality soft body baits for good prices visit http://www.fringetackle.net/ Hes local in Austin and makes awesome baits. The tails kick wildly even slow rolling them and they are super soft.
The Storm, Bass Magic are good for tournaments where fish are feeding and you need to hang some quick fish but you will still get lots of small fish off them. If you are wanting to get into with big baits give fringe a try. Hardbody baits, Jesse (Neptune) makes some killer baits as well!

When I'm having a tough day on the water, as in not catching anything, I'll put on the SB so I can tell myself that I'm looking for the big girls. Kind of silly logic, but it makes me feel a little better about not catching 'em.

water temps over 64 degrees I prefer a hard wake bait. Colder water I use a 3:16 Rising son 6" to 8"(soft). Right now I like a hard bait in a multi-jointed shad pattern(hard). Although we are lucky enough to have moderate water temps even in december this enables use of either style. I know several folks that fish a 10" floater year round down here and have great success in doing it...
I fish my swimbaits the way you fish any bait. Il throw them up on laydowns, rocks, over submerged hydrilla, etc. My prefered time is deep night and have no problems slinging that bait around heavy cover. Fish it where the fish are, if its a point great, if its a boat dock do it, if its along a willow laydown run that bait the way it needs to be ran to catch a fish.
It is true that Storm makes some cheap shad style baits. I even have purchased some. But the action is just not what you get when using a Hudd or 3:16...you do get what you pay for. The material used in the soft baits is completely different from Storm's. Spend the $15 on a 3:16 and a small bottle of repair gel will make that bait last a very long time. I have several soft baits that have well over 2 dozen fish caught a small dab of repair gel and its as good as new...almost.
Line size: In may we begin to get grass ie milifoil/hydrilla so I will switch over to #80 braid. Now that the salad is thinning out I use #30 p-line on surface baits and #25 on all sub surface. This is either big-game mono cause I change line every 2 weeks or P-line Co-Poly.
Cabela's has a store brand rod rated for 4oz's. I use 1 and have no problems throwing a bait under 3ozs. Cost $80 bucks...St Croix mojo has a similar rod. Yes a $250 Dobyn's is the rod of choice but dont let it keep you from swimbaiting.
Hope this helps

I saw some photos on the 316's website of saltwater action. Does anyone use hard swim baits for say fishing top water for trout? Thanks for the tip from Austin EBK. And thanks again for the info hooligan.

This is a good thread. Thanks for all the info. I've dabbled some with big optimum baits and caught a couple of 5- 6 lbers from fork. One cold, windy November afternoon I lost the biggest fish I've ever seen on the end of my line that bit a 8" bait. Only bite I got that day.

Yes. Important to use heavy braid or steel and change your hooks. I had Jesse at Neptune build my floater gill with ST-66 Owners specifically so I could throw it in fresh and salt.