While the headline is slightly misleading, what we actually mean is that swimbaits are not this mythical bait sent from the ‘cod gods’ that solves every cod conundrum.
This is contrary to the majority of social media posts clogging up Instagram and Facebook feeds of burly cod with swimbaits hanging gloriously from their gobs.
This hype creates an artificial illusion that they are the perfect bait for ‘every’ scenario. Yes, they are currently our favourite bait, suitable for countless situations, but we won’t let this fact blind us into thinking they are the ‘only’ bait worth a toss.
The below three scenarios are just a few examples when a swimbait is better off on the bench.
Getting Sticky With It
The most obvious scenario to opt for an alternate bait is a seriously sticky waterway.
This instance is compounded if you are fishing from the bank and don’t particularly like to get your ass wet when you snag up – unless you have more money than sense.
Due to the physical make-up of the bait, with their free-swinging trebles and omission of a deflective bib, they are extremely hard to navigate through thick sticks.
You end up being cautious with your casts and not putting your bait in places you really want, as nine times out of ten you won’t even get a full retrieve before reaching for the Tackle Back.
A better substitute would be a diving hardbody like a Legohead, Stump Jumper or a Mudeye ‘Cousin It’ to bounce through the sticks or a surface bait like a Mudeye Snake or Jackall Mega Pompadour.
Going Deep
Steep drop-offs and deep channels are the next
Now, we’re not saying you can’t chin weight swimbaits and fish them deeper than 30ft, but it’s a level of patience we’re still developing.
The majority of our swimbait work is in the cooler months, targeting cod as the flood the shallow margins of rivers and dams looking for a bigger meal.
This shallow approach allows us to use a swimbait’s neutral buoyancy and hang it in the fishes face, allowing the bait to be presented as realistic as possible.
To fish the deeper channels with more success look at baits like a 1oz Bassman Mumbler or the new Jackall TN80. Once they achieve depth it’s a slow roll with plenty of pauses to let the bait descend back to the bottom.
Same Same But Different
We also use other baits if we’re in a boat full of swimbait diehards and everybody is tossing the same style of bait. Additionally, if we are starting off a trip we will never tie on the same bait as each other.
Granted, the majority of times we’ll fight to see who starts with a swimbait, but we won’t let the romance of the swimbait lure us into only changing colours and not bait types.
This bait diversity also gives us a competitive advantage to better key into what the fish may be tuned into that session. If it’s a swimbait, great, but if it’s something else and we’re all flinging swimbaits we are seriously limiting our cod catching potential.
This is especially true in hard fished swimbait waters where tying on something new, or even old, can arrest the slide of a slow days fishing in only a handful of casts.
This thudded into reality on a trip to Copeton where we cast our arms off throwing swimbaits only to nail the best cod of the trip on the third cast of a spinnerbait.
For us, spinnerbaits, like the Bassman DT or 4×4
As they omit a huge sound and visual silhouette through the water, with their flashing and pulsing blades, they are the perfect foil for a swimbait, which is best described as a silent assassin in the drink.
Swimbaiting Against The Tide
Now, while we don’t think anyone instantly emptied their box of swimbaits over the side of the boat after reading the headline, what we hope it has done is shine a light on how being blinded by a bait craze can ultimately impact your overall catch rates.
