Swimbaits For Smallmouth by Tyler Brinks

Swimbaits For Smallmouth
by Tyler Brinks

SW I MBAITS

Story & Photos

BY TYLER BRINKS

for smallmouth

F

or those of us on the west coast, swimbaits

have been a way of life for years. Now that

they have hit the mainstream across the

country they continue to evolve and get big- ger, smaller and more specialized. The smaller offerings

have been my favorites over the past few seasons as I

begin to use them more for smallmouth bass.

Before we get into the details of when and where,

here is a breakdown of my top-3 major swimbait

types for swimbait smallies.

TROUT AND KOKANEE IMITATORS

The jumbo trout imitators are better suited for largemouth (just for the fact of their size in relation

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to smallmouth), but that doesn’t mean the swimbait shouldn’t imitate a trout.

Some of my best swimbaits are trout and kokanee imitators, I just downsize slightly. Instead of using the 8” Huddleston, I prefer the Huddleston Deluxe 68 Special. This is still a big bait; but a smallmouth will not hesitate to eat it, if they are able to fit it in their mouth. One of my go-to swimbaits for smallmouth is the Triple Trout, again a smaller 6” size instead of the larger versions.

Another key bait in my smallmouth arsenal is the boot tail style swimbaits fished on a heavy jighead in deep water. MC swimbaits in 4” and 5” and KGM Custom Baits 4.75” swimbaits in trout and kokanee patterns, fished on ½ oz and ¾ oz Revenge

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