3.5 Swim Shad

[anyfish]

So I picked up a couple 3.5 swim shad molds as they looked cool.  However,  I don't have much of a plan for them yet.  I haven't ever fished a bait like it.  For those of you with the mold, do you mostly use it as a cast and retrieve (like other swim baits) or do you have other go to tactics.  I'm hoping it doubles as a good bass and walleye bait. 

Hopefully I'll have time in the next few weeks to play around with it.

[ctom]

I vertically jig them on 1/4-ounce jig for walleye. Chartreuse tail on a junebug body is super in our stained waters.

[anyfish]

Thanks Tom.  What jig head do you find works best?  I fish the teardrop head on the rippers. 

[ctom]

The teardrop is a great head but a ballhead will work too.

[anyfish]

Thanks.  I have both, so I'll do some experimenting. 

[Lamar]

  Try using them as trailers for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. It bulks up the bait a little bit and gives it a whole new look.

[ctom]

Lamar is right about a trailer. A buddy dolls up some jigs and spinners with them.

[anyfish]

I like the trailer idea.  I'll give that a shot too. 

[Lamar]

  Another idea is a drop shot. Make some in smallmouth colors and drop shot them. It's been a few years since I made these but take a tooth pick and paint a straight out of the bottle line of red 2X colorant in the middle of the mold before you inject a clear plastic in the mold. What it will do is make a clear bait with a blood line. The red will flow through the whole body. So you can expand from this. Try blues and purples and shot clears or other transparent colors. It's endless what you can do.

[anyfish]

Thats fantastic Lamar.  I will try this for sure.  I haven't came across this idea before.  It seems simple but very cool. 

[brennan.chapman]

I've only used it for Walleye but it gets bigger than average bites, in my experience. Of my top 5 biggest jig and plastic Walleye, the Swim Shad makes up 3 of those fish. 

There's days where they definitely don't prefer it, but when they do, they hit it harder than any other plastic and it catches big ones. You'll never have a doubt that you got bit when they bite the Swim Shad.

I pitch them on a Freestyle head and Teardrop, slow jigs off bottom.

The tail has a ton of drag and it'll slow the fall rate on your bait exponentially compared to most other plastics. Just know that if you're in current, may have to upsize your jig to maintain bottom contact that you want with the slower ROF.

Good luck!

[anyfish]

Thanks Brennan.  I'll have to remember heavier in current.  The walleye river here is the Columbia, but it shouldn't be any different.