Swimbaits

[Shimano4Life]

Swimbaits, particularly the Hollow Bellies from Berkley work well. You do have to be careful rigging them. If the hook isn't rigged straight, the bait is useless. I have caught some good fish on them, but only certain times of the year do they work. You also have to vary your retrieve to find out if the fish want them swimming fast, or creeping along.

[HiDefFisherman]

I'm not a big wal mart fan, but they are in the process of stocking their new baits. Today, I got two or three packages of pre-rigged swim baits. They are about the size and color of the shad I usually see down on KY and Barkley lakes. Despite getting ready to start hitting the lake, I am actually giving very serious consideration to holding on to these baits until later in the summer.

Last summer I was fishing chatterbaits and spinnerbaits under the schools of shad. I was chasing the school as it moved through the bay, and was hooking up with some really big LM's under the schools as I let the baits flutter to the bottom. I am thinking that maybe using these swim baits under the schools of bait fish in the summer could be very good. Also the water is much clearer this time of year.

Heck, it's only money and we can't take it with us, might as well spend it to try new stuff on the water.

Good luck