Where and who started swimbait fishing?

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bobbie smyth
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Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by bobbie smyth »

I was talking to a bass fishing friend today about where swimbait fishing
started, and who started it. He thought it was the guys in San Diego led core
trolling #18 Rapalas with plastic tails. I thought it was the AC plug on
Lake Pyramid. Can't remember there names. I hope someone can help us
with who really started swimbait fishing. Thanks
Caudawg
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by Caudawg »

My team partner Jay Reichert and I were "early adopters" of fishing giant jerkbaits like the #18 Rapalas. We won quite a few tournaments before others began to catch on. It's tough to keep a secret!!!

But these #18 Rapalas weren't really what we considered "swim baits". They did, however, launch some new thinking by those who wanted to improve on this big bait concept. To the best of my memory, it was Dave Rush who dug into his saltwater lure supply and started throwing 6-7 inch sassy shad type swimbaits at Clear Lake. He was hammering fish on them for nearly a year before swimbaits as we know them today caught on big time.
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by Hipster »

If I recall wasnt it something to do with the AC plug around 89-90? I recall fishing the AC plug at Pedro in about 1993.

I also recall that Velvick was secretly tossing them way back in the early 90's before folks caught on.

I am sure we will never really know because there is always somebody doing something and it never gets out to the masses.

Would be a great ? to ask at the Bass a thon

Mark checking in from the desert!!! :)
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by Dave Wilson »

Big worm kings were being used regularly at Lake Casitas in the 80's already, and were catching huge fish.
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by swimbait »

What's a swimbait?
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by Oldschool »

Bill Murphy was trolling with Monel line back in the late 70's at San V with a modified CD18 Rapala that included a hand poured trout back half...definitely a swimbait. Worm king dynasauer 12" trout swimbait was also popular long before Cole came out with his AC plug. The first boot tails were Kelp Critters that date back into the 70's. I was modifying Scrounger jigs with trout swimmers back in the early 80's. the Heddon Wiggle fish that dates back to early 30's would be a swimbait today....
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by dwise »

I remember back in the 80's there was a plastics company who came out with a soft plastic swimbait line colored similar to trout. They had small to 10" to 12" large sizes and you would fish them on a big swimbait jighead.

People were throwing them at Lake Casitas and catching giant bass on them. I still have some of these swimbaits.
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by HiroshimaCustoms »

This has always been an interesting and subjective topic being an aspiring bait maker. With regards to bigger trout soft plastic and lead swim baits in Southern Ca, I remember talking with Danny Gillespie during the course of our interview and he remembered Marv Bendalin showing him some 6" Worm Kings at his shop and said that there was a guy catching 10lbers on them at Casitas in the early 90's.

Prior to that his friend John Viasanko was pouring a 3.5" boot tailed swim bait that he designed in '83 which were made to mimic an anchovy for calico bass. This bait to my understanding was the inspiration for the Worm King.

There's more here in Danny's interview.
http://www.tackletour.com/interviewdannygillespie.html
bobbie smyth
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by bobbie smyth »

Thanks everyone for the great replies. Does anyone have any thoughts on who is the
best or most successful fishing for large bass with swimbaits. I think Butch Brown
would have to be at the top of my list.
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by bassdaddy »

Agreed...Butch Brown.
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by Oldschool »

http://www.antiquetackleobserver.com/20 ... ady-lures/
Interesting swimmers that date back to 1925. Gorge Perry's bass was reported to be caught on CCB Wiggle Fish.
As stated earlier the jointed or multiple jointed hard swimbaits of today are very similar to lures that date back into the 1930's. I will give Zank credit for starting the neon blood lines, Smitty's kelp critter sold at Bunkers tackle in Burbank was my first soft plastic tail swimmer in the early 80's, by the late 80's soft palastic swimbaits were common at lake Castaic. I don't believe Alan Coles AC plug got started before Huddleston wooden trout lure in the early 90's.
Judging from the reaction to Butch Brown's side swimmer at BAT, Butch is the king of swimbaits today.
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by mike at robo »

Remember quite clearly when I got introduced to swimbait fishing . Cut school and went to lake Casitas to fish from the bank like I did one or twice before , the year was 1977 and I had just got my drivers license so school was a second option at best which is why I make worms for a living ..... Anyhoo when I got to the lake I saw my friend and MAJOR mentor Jim Mason , he invited me to fish with him and we took off to go "swimbait" fishing , we were throwing a 7" Renowski swimbait that you could get from K-Mart . My heaviest rod at the time was a fenwick 6' heavy with an ambassador reel and 12 pound Ande line , not the weapon of choice I was soon to find out . Got schooled big time all day long by Jim and by the end of the day I had no fish and I belive he had 6 or 7 fish up to ten pounds . Last spot of the day was the usual stop outside the marina on the old ramp , Jim gets bit first cast and when the fish gets to the side of the boat there was a pack with it , Jim yells " damn it kid drop your bait on um ! " I free spooled the reel down about 10 feet engaged the reel and instantly was on !!!!! Fish came straight up stuck its head out of the water and spat that damn thing right back at me . I can remember it so vividly like it happened today . The fish was no world record but was definitely the biggest one I had hooked up till then . I was hooked from there on out , big rods big reels lots of big disappoints ... Till I figured out what to do with it . Renowski then big worm king swimbaits and whatever Muskie lures looked the least ridiculous . That's my story and I'm sticking to it .....
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by elfish16 »

Mike, I think you took the words away from me. good Ole Mason was the man back then. His house is like a freaking museum of toads on the old swimmers and jigs. Him and Jay Carter back in the 70s and 80s were unstoppable!!!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by Cmarkfish »

Yup Jim Manson was the man. Then the baits started to come out and were made from plastics to broom handles. The names were even better, Worm Kings, AC Plug, Hawg Buster, TNT Lures, Dominator, Terminator, Bite ME lures, Original Optimum's, Wooden Castaic, Z-Plug, Gee Plug lol the list goes on and on and on.............Love them swimbaits.
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by kb »

Pretty good descriptions of how it happened from guys that were there. I remember doing shows down there in the mid 80's and learning about the Worm King and Renosky stuff. Some of the stuff was being used for Calico's.

When I first learned of the AC plug a select group of guys (brown baggers) were using them to catch monster brown trout from high sierra lakes long before we used them for bass.

Mike at Robo I missed seeing you at BAT pal!!!!

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bobbie smyth
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Re: Where and who started swimbait fishing?

Post by bobbie smyth »

Yes we are excited to talk Trophy Bass Expert Butch Brown into spending a couple days with us at the Sacramento ISE show January 9-12. Butch will be joining us on the Ultimate Bass/Westernbass.com Aquarium Tank and we will get to see first hand the Deps Slide Swimmer 250 SaikoTrout and more.

You guys wanted a trophy bass guy........we got ya the best! See you at the show

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Re: Butch Brown on the tank at the Sacramento ISE Show

Postby STONEFREE » Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:47 pm
GOOD JOB KENT, This is the real deal dude!!!!!!!

A1
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