To classify a swimbait is not as simple as you might suppose, especially since there are few hard-set rules for lures (or for fishing in general).
Depending on one’s definition, swimbaits might represent jointed hard-body lures that swim just below the surface, imitating full-size baitfish. The single- or multijointed plugs often pack powerful swimming action that replicates the fluid swimming motion of prey. This style of swimbait also tends to be popular with freshwater fishermen targeting trophy largemouth bass in California, Mexico and Florida.
Other anglers prefer soft swimbaits. Soft plastic lures, which most often feature a paddle tail and enticing wobble, might be the most common lure associated with the term “swimbait.” Here, I compared 20-plus of the best saltwater swimbaits from 12 manufacturers.
In particular, I’ve covered saltwater swimbaits that come out of the package pre-rigged with hook, weight and soft plastic. Most often, the weight is internal, molded inside the soft-plastic baitfish, and the soft-plastic bait itself features a shad-style tail. Still, there are exceptions to those rules, and I cover them as well.
One type of lure noticeably absent is the stand-alone soft-plastic tail that affixes to a lead jig head. Many companies, such as Z-Man or Berkley (Gulp!), produce killer soft tails, but they’re not sold as pre-rigged swimbaits. In fact, so many lure makers produce individual soft-plastic bodies that to try to cover all the different options would be an endless task. For the purposes of this piece, I’ve left them out.
How to Fish Swimbaits
As I drifted in about 15 to 20 feet of water outside an east central Florida inlet, a froth of water roiled by baitfish, diving birds, and game fish bent on carnage had my full attention. The mix of Spanish mackerel, bonito (false albacore), ladyfish and cobia offered perfect targets for swimbaits. This hectic scene is common anywhere there’s salt water. It might mean striped bass are feeding heavy on bunker schools. It could be tarpon rocketing through migrating mullet pods, or tuna packing sardines tightly into a black globe. How to use swimbaits is surprisingly easy. No matter the location, cast a swimbait into the melee and hold on.
“When fish are up at the surface and actively feeding, it’s a great time to throw swimbaits,” says Dave Brown, promotional and events manager at Savage Gear. “Pull up to a baitball where you see the birds working, then cast as close as possible to the school and let it sink. A steady or jerked retrieve entices the bite.”
In scenarios where your targets are keyed in on baitfish, an all-purpose swimbait is a safe and effective option. A hard plug’s action is limited to a specific depth, but a swimbait can be fished throughout the column. “You can work a swimbait in the entire water column by choosing how heavy a bait to throw,” points out Greg Watts, a Berkley pro staff angler. “They can be worked fast or slow, shallow or deep, even along the bottom.”
Swimbaits are highly effective from the beach, over shallow or deep flats, and along jetty rocks for this reason: They can be fished effectively in varying depths of water. “Single-hook swimbaits snag far less on the bottom than other baits do,” says Greg Shaughnessy, vice president of marketing at SpoolTek Lures. “But they also tend to be one of the only lures that fishes effectively when floating grass is around.”
What are Swimbaits Made of?
The key feature of a swimbait might be its lifelike appearance. Besides physically resembling baitfish in shape and action, swimbaits also have realistic finishes. Some of today’s baits look so genuine that identifying the exact baitfish species the lure imitates is a breeze.
To get those lifelike finishes and feels, the two main build materials used in soft baits are synthetic plastic-polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), a rubber-and-plastic mix. TPE is a tough material that’s also recyclable. “[TPE] colors will not run when stored together, but do not store it with traditional PVC used in plastics,” says Ken Chaumont, of Egret Baits. The unfortunate result will be a multicolored puddle of goop. More and more, companies like Z-Man, Savage Gear and Egret Baits are moving away from traditional PVC material to tougher, longer-lasting options. In particular, Z-Man’s proprietary ElaZtech is a tough, stretchy soft-bait material that contains no PVC, plastisol or phthalates.
“Material and species of fish definitely affect swimbait life span,” says Savage’s Brown. “PVC baits tend to be softer than the more durable TPE baits. Still, if you are fishing for wahoo or other toothy creatures, plastic baits entice the bite and usually die a hero.”
Soft-plastic swimbaits can last indefinitely if left in your tackle box. “I suppose if you left them in salt water for a long time, they would break down, but fish strikes are the chief cause of damage, death, doom and destruction,” says Chris Clow, operations manager at D.O.A. Lures.
Purposeful rigging by lure manufacturers can extend a swimbait’s life. “We think we’ve engineered ways to help anglers get multiple fish landings per lure by virtue of the factory rigging, which molds the hook and weight into a harness that provides enough structure to help preserve the lure’s fishability,” says Gary Abernathy, of LiveTarget Lures.
West Coast Swimbait Fishing
MC Swimmer Viejo and VMC Boxer Jig Head
Many Southern California anglers prefer to pair massive soft-body tails from regional lure makers with heavy jig heads for calico bass and yellowtail near kelp and rocks. Farther north along the coast, rockfish and lingcod attack the same baits. In many West Coast fisheries, custom swimbait creations are preferred to the pre-rigged baits presented in this feature.
“Most mass-produced swimbaits are injection-molded,” says Erik Landesfeind, an outdoors writer and angler from Southern California. “Hand-poured baits like those from Corey Sanden’s MC Swimbaits allow for much greater depth of color and iridescence.”
A couple of years ago, Landesfeind was fishing a calico bass tournament off the coast of Malibu. He and fishing partner Matt Kotch had to downsize from 9- to 5-inch swimbaits to lure better-quality fish while working the edges of kelp beds. Landesfeind was easily able to change the size, weight and color of his presentation, giving him more options than traditional swimbaits offer. Often, an increase in the length of a traditional swimbait means the weight increases too; Landesfeind changed his jig heads and soft bodies easily to find the optimal lure weight and length.
“For the next couple of hours, it was almost a fish per cast on the small baits in the same waters [where] we’d caught absolutely nothing on the larger offerings,” he says. “When time was up, those small baits gave us a 21-pound bag for our five biggest fish and a third-place finish in the tournament.”
Below is a huge selection of different swimbaits, with specifications and details listed about each lure. Which bait is your favorite? Lures listed in alphabetical order.
Almost Alive Glass Minnow
Almost Alive Mud Minnow
Almost Alive Mullet
Almost Alive Rainfish
Berkley Powerbait Swim Shad
Calcutta Flashfoil Shad
D.O.A. Bait Buster
Egret Mambo Mullet
Egret Vudu Mullet
LiveTarget Mullet
LiveTarget Pinfish
LiveTarget Sardine
Savage Gear Cutbait Herring
Sebile Magic Swimmer Soft
SpoolTek Fatty Extra Heavy
Storm WildEye Live Mackerel
Storm WildEye Live Sand Eel
Storm WildEye Swim Shad
Tsunami Heavy Swim Shad Deep
Tsunami Holographic Swim Shad
Williamson Live Ballyhoo Pro-Rigged
