Swimbait standouts that put more fish on the hook

Every year, you think that swimbait can’t get any better. Just as you do, someone comes out with a tail that swims and looks better than any you’ve every had. My fishing career dates back to the introduction the original Mister Twister Sassy Shad. It’s still a great fish-catching bait, but relatively primitive by today’s standards. Today’s swimbaits look like they could jump out of your tackle box and swim away.

That said, over the years, swimbait heads have not developed the same degree of realism as the bodies. Heck, the first Sassy Shads were sold with a plain round head. I’ve always wanted jigheads that looked like a head of a fish for my swimbait. This season, Do-it Molds has introduced two new heads specifically for swimbait fishermen. These are perfect for targeting everything from crappies to big northern pike or even muskies: The Swimbait Head and the Diner Shiner.

Diner Shiners stand out in the water

Let’s start with the Diner Shiner. It’s a perfect profile and the detailed minnow head includes lifelike scales, gills, a mouth, and eye sockets. The detail on this head looks like a jeweler designed it. The Diner Shiner mold (DSJ-6-A) sports six cavities starting at 1/16 and ending with the 3/8 ounce. This includes a 3/16 and a 5/16 ounce; two of those in-between sizes that aren’t always offered in molds. I was really excited to see these in-between weights. Sometimes you need just a little more or just a little less weight. The 3/16-ounce head is a real workhorse. It works for me in many smallmouth bass lakes and for Lake Michigan brown trout in clear water situations.

The 1/16-ounce head is designed for a No. 4 hook, graduating up to a 3/0 hook in the 3/8-ounce heads. As always, the savvy tackle crafter can cheat a hook size up or down to get that perfect hook placement in the swimbait body.

Let’s face it. Swimbaits are amazing. In fact, Swimbaits Will Help You Catch Fish All Year Long.

Choosing the right weight and hook

The weight and size range are perfect for small, 2-inch (or less) plastics for crappies and perch, to 4-inch baits on the 3/8th ounce head for bigger gamefish. I’ve had this mold for just six months or so. It’s also a really great head for Great Lakes trout and salmon. There, we use 3/8-ounce heads almost exclusively. Depth-wise, these weights cover you from a couple feet of water down to about 30 feet.

As for hooks, this mold takes just about any normal wire 90-degree such as the Eagle Claw 570. But, don’t worry, if you are after bigger fish, or just like to build your arsenal with a premium hook, most 90-degree hooks will fit. A hook shape coming on strong are the sickle-shaped hooks by Matzuo and Mustad. These started out popular with crappie fishermen. Bass fishermen caught on quickly to their sharpness and hook-up ratio. I really like them for finesse bass jigs when using light line like 6-pound test fluorocarbon. Even with light line, these hooks bite and pierce without much pressure.

Do-it Swimbait

Let’s move on to the other new swimbait head, appropriately named “Swimbait.” This one was built for bigger freshwater gamefish and will find a home in the salty water as well.

The Do-it Swimbait Head mold created these highly realistic heads in sizes from 1/4 ounce all the way up to 3/4 ounce. This weight variety covers swimbait bodies from 3 inches up to 6 inches. Bass, pike, walleyes, Great Lakes trout and salmon and muskies will fall victim to this head.

This one too, takes most 90-degree hooks but in the heavier wire sizes needed for big fish. And, remember, when you make your own jigs with Do-it Molds, you aren’t locked into just the sizes or weight hooks that are recommended. A slight modification with a needle file or Dremel burr allows you to get nearly anything to custom-fit your style of fishing. The beauty of making your own lures with Do-it is making exactly what you want! So much of my success in fishing has been the ability to make exactly what I need for a specific situation and not just compromising and taking what the tackle store has on the rack.

Delight is in the details

Back to the head design, its highly realistic eyes mouth and gills look like they were designed by a taxidermist. But, the most unique feature is the wrap-around belly portion of the head. The belly of the jighead wraps around under the front of the swimbait body. When I started fishing this head, I saw quite quickly that the belly had many purposes. For one, it makes the jig sit flat on the bottom. Secondly, it moves some of the lead weight to the middle of the bait. This causes a more gliding action versus a typical nose-down fall. The flat surface on the bottom also gives the swimbait a little wobble as it falls and helps it stay down in current. Lastly, it protects the plastic bodies from debris and snags that could cause the tail to get pulled back from the head. Simply put, it’s a brilliant design!

Both of these new swimbait heads feature barbed collars that hold the plastics like a vice without splitting them.

I don’t know who doesn’t use swimbaits these days. Having two new head designs by Do-it specifically made for them is exciting. Not only is the head now an extension of realism for some really great bodies, the thought and engineering in these just make them fish better. And nothing’s better than catching a fish on a lure you made yourself.