Catching Big Bass on the S-Waver 200

Several years ago the glide bait market exploded. Almost over night it became common place to see single-jointed, hard swimbaits on the decks of virtually every boat on the West Coast. It developed in to a craze with a cult-like following of anglers that believe glide baits will help them catch the biggest bass of their life. Frankly, they may be right. 

Before the craze though, there were only a few glide baits widely available to anglers. The most common of which was the S-Waver 168 by River2Sea. When they reached out to us last year about an upcoming project for a larger 200 mm version of their already popular glide bait we were all ears. 

It was an honor to get our hands on the baits before they hit the market. As impressive as the baits themselves were, we were equally impressed when we found out the pricing. In a world of 100-500 dollar glides the S-Waver came in at $34.99! The rest as they say, is history.

This video is about CATCHING fish and showing the power of glide baits, it really isn't about HOW we go about doing those things. Expect a follow up video explaining the details of equipment, a variety of baits worth looking in to, and the retrieves that will help you put glide baits to work for you as you pursue that giant bass.

Pre-Spawn Swimbait Fishing

I recently got back from a trip to Clearlake where I got to fish with my good friend Tim Little. We were able to find a great pattern throwing River2Sea S-wavers for pre-spawn fish that were moving up to feed on bait fish.

Early spring can be a difficult time to consistently pattern large fish. As the smaller males begin to move in to the shallows it can feel like the larger fish have disappeared all together. Throwing larger baits can be a great way to identify where the larger fish are located. Often times they will be holding in schools very close to the smaller fish. Using a bait like an S-Waver or other Swimbait allows you to intentionally target larger bites throughout the day. I've found that even when they are not willing to bite, large females will follow large swimbaits (6-10" long) to the boat, giving away their location. Once I've located these larger fish I visit them again during different weather conditions to try and fool them in to biting.

In the past I've insisted on throwing softbaits exclusively when the water is in the high 40's and low 50's but I've experienced days in the last 12 months that have caused me to challenge those beliefs. Even in cold water there is a place for slow, methodical hardbaits that draw up big bass. There will be more to come on this later.

Welcome to 2013

I got a little time to break away on the 1st to do some swimbait fishing on Clearlake. Welcome to 2013!

Socal Slugfest

Good music, hard hook sets, and monster bass, does it get any better??? By now nearly all of the members of the Tactical Bassin community recognize Adam Hinkle when he submits a video. For those of you who don't, Adam is a regular contributor and his work is much appreciated. Some of his recent pieces include Beating the Bank for Giants, Fall Jig Madness, and Mapping Your Approach. Adam Brings a unique perspective and a whole different style to the Tactical community.

True to form, Adam is smashing fish in Southern California. Lucky for us, we get a front row seat to the show. These fish were caught on the 8" Huddleston Swimbait in both ROF 5 and 12. The rod you see is a Dobyns 795 MLSB. Adam's approach to swimbaits is quite a bit different from my own. He uses 20 lb mainline and smaller hooks to draw the heavily-pressured Southern California bass into the open. It just goes to show there isn't always a right and a wrong way to catch these big bass. Its important to experiment and develop confidence but always stay open to progression.

Also, for those of you who are confined to smaller boats and are drooling over the net they keep sliding out of the rod locker, that is a Hiber-Net by Frabill. Its quite a bit different than what I carry but after watching how nicely it stores I may have to check it out myself.