Big swimbaits mean big bass in the fall

Big swimbaits are great fall baits for lunker bass across Mississippi. Here’s how, when and where to fish them.

Big swimbaits  won’t produce many bites, but any single strike could result in the bass of a lifetime.

Swimbaits come in many sizes and configurations, from the popular plastic-tipped jighead to lures that look so real someone might almost want to fillet and fry them. Some come with hollow bodies where anglers can insert a jighead and stick the hook into a special slot to make it weedless.

“Through the years, I’ve caught many big fish on swimbaits,” said Paul Elias, a bass pro and past Bassmaster Classic champion from Laurel. “I like 7- to 9-inch, soft-plastic baits in a gizzard shad color. That’s a great color to throw in October when bass feed heavily upon shad. Any of the clearer Mississippi lakes with vegetation would be good places to throw those baits.”

Large swimbaits work best in lakes with robust populations of large baitfish and plentiful monster bass. Some large, jointed hard swimbaits closely resemble full-sized bluegills, tilapia, gizzard shad and other fish. Some float, and others sink slowly.

“When someone throws big swimbaits, they aren’t fishing for a lot of bites, but looking for that one big bite,” Elias said. “For big fish, I like the jointed baits that look like a bluegill or gizzard shad. Those baits work in any lakes across Mississippi with big bass.”

Big, fake shad

Most Mississippi lakes contain abundant populations of threadfin or gizzard shad. A gizzard shad may grow to 12 inches or longer. A large bass can easily gulp down a big, fishy meal with its cavernous mouth. Even small bass regularly attack lures almost as big as themselves.

“A big swimbait is a great bait for catching large bass,” said Roger Stegall, a pro bass angler and guide from Iuka. “It also catches big smallmouth and spotted bass. One day, I caught a 4-pound bass that spit up a 13-inch largemouth. If a 4-pounder can eat a 13-inch bass, it can easily take in a 6- or 8-inch swimbait. Imagine what a 10-pounder could swallow.”

Swimbaits produce vibrations with their wagging tails, but they primarily attract fish by sight because they look like something a bass would naturally eat. In the fall, bass gorge themselves on baitfish before winter hits, and they regularly follow shad as they move up the creeks. 

“In October, most Mississippi bass will be in shallow water or headed that way,” Elias said. “Look for them around any logs, stumps or rocks; those are places where I would throw a big swimbait. That’s where the shad are going to go, too. When the vegetation in lakes starts to break up in the fall, rig an 8-inch bait with a wide-gap hook on a 3/8-ounce weight and keep it 1 or 2 feet under the surface. Watch the bait as it works through the water.”

Rigging options

For fishing grass or shallow, wooden cover, try large, unweighted soft plastics. If necessary for casting heft, push a small finishing nail into its nose or attach a split-shot to the line. Insert the hook into the plastic to make it weedless. Skitter it across the top, pausing at openings so the bait sinks a little.

Over submerged grass beds, work a large, realistic hard bait very slowly. Occasionally jerk it so it slashes the water. Let sinking baits descend to the level of the grass tips so they hover in the strike zone just above the grass. A giant largemouth may not feed every day, but when it does, it usually wants one big meal without expending too much energy to grab it.

In the fall, also watch for schooling bass. Largemouth herd shad to the surface to cut off their escape. When chasing shad, bass might erupt anywhere without warning and suddenly vanish, only to reappear elsewhere moments later. Anglers can fling large baits long distances. Throw past the school and work the bait over it.

“If I can find a school of big fish, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Stegall said. “That’s really the time for that swimbait. People can’t plan on that, but if they stumble on something like that, they can put a bunch of fish in the boat quickly.”

Probe different cover

Some swimbaits come pre-rigged with shaped internal weights that create enticing wobbles. These baits sink fast, making them fantastic lures for probing depths, but they can tempt fish at any depth. Such baits work particularly well around bridge and dock pilings, flooded timber, bulkheads or other vertical cover where baitfish normally gather. Work baits as close to the objects as possible. Next to cover, pause the retrieve so the bait sinks a few feet.

“In standing timber, fish frequently suspend and orient toward the trees,” said Jay Yelas, another pro and former Bassmaster Classic champion. “Throw baits past the trees and pull them through. When a bait hits a tree, slow it down considerably and try to finesse it through the limbs.”

Swimbaits also work exceptionally well when fluttered next to riprap or along slowly tapering points, especially those with brush, rock piles or other cover just before the drop-off. Around deeper points and drops, let swimbaits sink to the bottom and slow-roll them back to the boat just off the bottom contour.

“I like to fish long, flat, slowly tapering points with swimbaits,” Yelas said. “These usually have a sharp drop-off at the end. Fish meander back and forth across the flat, either deep or shallow. Often, bass suspend just over the drop-off. Around deeper points with no cover, let the swimbait sink to the bottom and then crawl it back to the boat extremely slowly, just off the bottom.”

In extremely deep water, try jigging or “worming” swimbaits. Fishing it like a heavy jig or spinnerbait, let the lure hit bottom, then, slowly hop it off the bottom and let it sink again. Keep working it to entice any finicky or lethargic fish resting in deep holes. Anglers could also vertically jig heavy swimbaits.

“When fish go deep, I like to fish a heavy swimbait with the weight built into the body and the hook exposed,” Elias said. “I let it go to the bottom and then bounce it off. I’ll make three of four cranks on the reel handle and let the bait swim back down to the bottom again.”

Fish big-bass lakes

Since large swimbaits work best on giant bass, throw them in places that produce lunkers. Some of the best trophy bass fishing in Mississippi occurs at Pickwick Lake near Iuka. The Tennessee River impoundment holds many 4- to 8-pound largemouths and has produced at least one 141/2-pounder. Pickwick also delivered the Mississippi state-record smallmouth, a 7-pound, 15-ounce bruiser.

“Pickwick is a great place to throw swimbaits,” Stegall said. “Bay Springs is another good lake for this type of fishing. Few people think about it, but Lake Ferguson, a Mississippi River oxbow near Greenville, holds a lot of 3- to 6-pound bass.”

Pickwick connects to Bay Springs Lake in Tishomingo and Prentiss counties through the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Deep and clear, Bay Springs produces spotted bass exceeding 5 pounds and some topping 7, as well as double-digit largemouths. The only lake entirely within Mississippi with a smallmouth population, Bay Springs can yield some trophy brownies.

Another Mississippi River oxbow, Lake Washington in Washington County, dates back 700 years and still produces double-digit bass. Known more for slab crappie, the “Big Four” flood-control lakes — Arkabutla, Enid, Grenada and Sardis — also hold giant largemouth. Another favorite, Ross Barnett near Jackson, produces large numbers of fish, but can also give up some lunkers.

Many small Mississippi lakes contain the biggest bass. The Mississippi state record, an 18.15-pound largemouth, came out of 230-acre Natchez State Park Lake. Other outstanding small waters include Lakes Bogue Homa, Lamar Bruce, Jeff Davis and Neshoba County lakes.

One of the hottest bass impoundments in Mississippi, Calling Panther Lake, covers 512 acres west of Crystal Springs. Heavily stocked with Florida-strain largemouths, it holds many bass in the 10- to 13-pound range and has produced some topping 15 pounds.

Targeting giant bass with big baits requires stout tackle. Many anglers use braided line tipped with either a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. Fluorocarbon becomes almost invisible in water and sinks faster than monofilament; it stretches a little when fish hit, so anglers are less likely to yank the hook out of the fish’s mouth. Use a rod with enough backbone to work large baits and yank behemoth bass from entangling cover.

“It doesn’t matter whether fishing shallow or deep, a person needs to throw big swimbaits on a big, heavy rod,” Elias said. “I use a 7-foot-8 or a 7-foot-11, heavy action rod and a bait-casting reel with a 7.3:1 gear ratio. I use 50-pound braid. I’ll use a 10-inch leader of 20- to 25-pound monofilament. A person must be very patient to fish a big swimbait, but the rewards can be great. On any cast, a person could catch his or her personal best bass.”