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Written by
Larry Stark, Founder / Main Editor
Professional fisherman, who loves to review new fishing gadgets.
Don’t believe bass anglers who claim that a quality swimbait should cost a small fortune. While swimbait culture has made expensiveness and scarcity a virtue, swimbaits are available at various price points that won’t break the bank.
Check out our top picks for bass fishing and stock your tackle box with them!
Top 3 Swimbaits for Bass
Most Attractive Swimbait For Bass
Goture Lead
- High-quality PVC material
- Amazing swimming action
- Lifelike appearance
Most Realistic Swimbait For Bass
Catch Co Mike Bucca Bull Shad
- Ideal for regular use in various weather conditions
- Colors with incredible drawing power
- Allows for big catches
Most Versatile Swimbait For Bass
Super Fluke JR
- Soft plastic swimbaits, yet durable
- Salt-impregnated
- Realistic baitfish profile
8 Best Swimbaits for Bass Fishing
Goture Lead Swimbait
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Goture Leads are soft swimbaits that run smaller and come in multiples. The only difference between the individual models is the hook style a bass angler uses with them. Its lifelike appearance and 3D eyes further tempt fish to bite!
- Length: 3.25 inches
- Weight: 9 grams
- Color: 5 color options including Grey, Luminous, and Gold
Pros
- High-quality PVC material
- Amazing swimming action
- Lifelike appearance
Cons
- You may need to sharpen the hooks
- The soft material can get bitten
- The eyes can drop
OVERVIEW: If you’re looking for soft swimbaits that can fish in thick weed cover, the Goture Leads are a great choice. The T-tail design, combined with the weighted body, results in an incredible swimming action, and they can always be rigged weedless.
We love that they offer a higher hookup ratio for bass, red drum, and other species when equipped with top hooks and sharp treble hooks. And it’s really helpful that you can use these soft swimbaits in both freshwater and saltwater.
FEATURES: The soft bodies made from high-quality PVC material, 3D life-like eyes, and T-tail are the top defining features of the Goture Lead swimbaits.
Catch Co Mike Bucca Bull Shad Swimbait
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Catch Co Mike Bucca Bull Shad swimbait is our top pick due to its ease of use, versatility, and availability at various price points! Plus, this fishing lure has a remarkably realistic swimming action with little effort on your part.
- Length: 3.75 inches
- Weight: 0.03 pounds”
- Material: ABS-injected plastic
- Color: 7 color options, including Bluegill, Bumblebee, Gizzard Shad, and Golden Shiner
Pros
- Ideal for regular use in various weather conditions
- Colors with incredible drawing power
- Allows for big catches
Cons
- The lure is a bit light
- It’s not a fast-sinking model
- A little bit pricey
OVERVIEW: The Mike Bucca Baby Bull Shad is a slow-sinking fishing lure. But when compared to most tail swimbaits, it offers unmatched drawing power despite its miniature size.
We tested it and are happy to say we managed to catch the big bass with this swimbait. Of course, if you’re targeting specific bass, you’d probably find more success with lures for striped bass. But this is entirely up to your fishing needs.
FEATURES: Ideal size for anyone, from hobbyists to professionals, since it is small enough to attract small to medium-sized fish but large enough to attract bigger fish as well. Essentially, the action is amazing and natural, and the colors mimic nature.
Super Fluke JR Swimbait
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Zoom Fluke JR is an excellent swimbait with a hard-pounding paddle tail that produces a hard thumping sound. It works well by itself or on the back of a vibrating or swim jig, where its acoustic footprint attracts bass from a distance.
- Length: 4 inches
- Weight: 0.1 pounds
- Color: 11 color options including White Ice, California 420, Disco Violet, and Houdini
Pros
- Soft plastic swimbaits, yet durable
- Salt-impregnated
- Versatile
- Realistic baitfish profile
Cons
- The bait can spin easily
- It is quite small
- Tail can arrive warped
OVERVIEW: The Zoom Fluke JR’s split-tail design and realistic baitfish profile entice fish easily; it casts farther and sinks slightly faster. There is simply no wrong way to fish with this one!
We tested it and can say that its small size was refreshing for bass fishing. Try it – it is great when you want to downsize a bit. However, if you’re more adventurous and not into pier fishing, the best surf fishing lures will do you more justice.
FEATURES: Undoubtedly, the Super Fluke is one of the most popular soft plastic swimbaits, especially given its versatility. It also casts longer and sinks faster, unlike many others of its caliber, and it is salt-impregnated to hold the bite.
Storm Wildeye Shad Swimbait
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Storm Wildeye Shad has a color combo that piques the interest of hiding bass, tricking them into swimming out to the surface. Some of the color options imitate bass prey, such as the shad one, which eliminates the need for live bait!
- Length: 4 inches
- Weight: 0.06 pounds
- Color: Baby Bass, Bunker, Multi, Pearl Shad, Shiner Chartreuse Silver
Pros
- Durable lure
- Hyperrealistic bodies
- A durable, high-quality hook
- Runs straight and is wind-resistant
Cons
- Quite small
- The action can sometimes be uncertain
- The eyes can fall off
FEATURES: The realistic soft hand-poured bodies and the strong and sharp swimbait hook make this swimbait stand out among bass lures, especially for those that want wind-resistant swimbaits.
Storm Arashi Glide Swimbait
WHY WE LIKE IT: Looking for a bright-colored glide bait to hook those ferocious bass fish? This Storm Arashi swimbait features a color mix that’ll immediately draw the attention of bass while hooking them on the sturdy swimbait hooks.
- Length: 7.5 inches
- Weight: 0.16 pounds
- Color: Oikawa Mesu
Pros
- High-end features
- Extra tail included
- Extremely stable action
- Triple-pin hinge construction
Cons
- May require heavier-than-normal tackle
- Not good for muddy waters
- Contains chemicals
FEATURES: Storm Arashi Glide offers excellent and stable swimming action and is great for catching big bass. Since it sinks slowly, it gives great control of swimming depth.
Deps Slide Swimmer 250 Swimbait
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Deps Slide Swimmer 250 is a slow-sinking swimbait perfect for capturing large bass. You can use this single-jointed hard swimbait to cover more area, corner bass, and return home with a basket full of fish!
- Length: 11 inches
- Weight: 0.62 pounds
- Color: Available in White or Blue
Pros
- Effective for deep swimbait fishing
- Wide lumbering motion
- Can catch big bass
- Works in clear and stained waters
Cons
- No rotating hook hangers
- Quite big
- Not widely available
FEATURES: The Slide Swimmer has lifelike skin overlaid on a hard shell body. The wide lumbering motion and the effective deep fishing are the top features of this large swimbait.
Megabass Magdraft Swimbait
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Megabass Magdraft is the best-rigged soft plastic swimbait because you can use it to catch different types of fish – not just bass. This is one of the best soft swimbait lures on the swimbait market, and no detail has been overlooked!
- Length: 8 inches
- Weight: 0.19 pounds
- Color: Biwako Shad Pink
Pros
- The hardware is of the highest caliber
- Streamlined body
- Multi-colored pours that look realistic
- Has a paddle tail
Cons
- Not the most durable
- Available in only one color
- Pricey for its limited lifespan
FEATURES: Megabass Magdraft has beautiful natural patterns with attention to detail. The internal magnet and high-quality swivel make this the best-rigged soft plastic swimbait for a variety of bass fishing techniques.
Strike King Rage Swimmer
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Rage Swimmer has a reputation for being tough and capable of catching different fish. You can even rig the bait in a variety of ways, like on a drop shot rig. This swimbait is designed to elicit an immediate reaction. Its ribbed body and sleek nose cone resemble natural contours, and its thin tail produces frantic vibrations!
- Length: 2.75 inches
- Weight: 0.13 pounds
- Color: 8 color options including Green Pumpkin, KVD Magic, Blue Bug, and Sexy Shad
Pros
- Extremely versatile and flexible
- Durable with high-grade plastics
- Excellent action
- Affordable
Cons
- Tail can fold back
- Can get bitten off
- Tails can fall off easily
FEATURES: Fishing with various retrieval rates is possible thanks to the Rage Swimmer! Not to mention it works great with a drop shot rig. It is also a popular trailer for jigs or spinnerbaits, available in a wide range of sizes and colors.
What Are Swimbaits?
Swimbaits are mostly used for catching bass or larger fish. Swimbaits are a type of fishing lure that are created to mimic the underwater swimming motions of fish.
The lure’s realistic swimming pattern and mimicry can attract even big bass that would typically not be fooled by other types of bait. The lures often have paddle tails that look like fish when they move. When moving, swimbaits appear quite realistic.
To put simply, swimbaits are multi-purpose topwater fishing lures.
How to Use Swimbaits for Bass Fishing?
You should reel in your swimbait slowly to mimic the swimming pattern of bass. The bigger the bass, the slower it swims.
And, of course, to fish successfully, you’ll need the right swimbait. If you cast larger, hard-body swimbaits, you should know that they make a lot of splash. A big splash will attract some bass while frightening others. Because hard swimbaits are typically rigged with treble hooks, we don’t recommend using them in weedy areas.
When it comes to fishing with soft swimbaits, you should know that you can buy them fully rigged or rig jigheads or weighted hooks on yourself. You should cast and slowly lure in these swimbaits. On the retrieve, you can let them sink below the surface.
On the other hand, glide baits and multi-jointed swimbaits create a wide trail through the water with their various segments. Swim action is the focus of these lures. Swimbaits with glide joints are wider than swimbaits with single joints. The increased width leads to a wider swim path and an S-shaped motion.
Types of Swimbaits
Swimbaits are classified into two types: hard baits and soft plastics. Both are excellent for catching bass, but they are different in style, presentation, and some other aspects. When bass fishing, learn how to use different types of swimbaits to your benefit:
Hard Baits
Hard swimbaits have hard bodies that are typically made of resin, wood, and plastic. They can be single-jointed glide baits or multi-jointed swimmers.
Generally, the hard baits are bigger in order to attract bigger bass, and the best ones have realistic details to fool bass into biting. There are treble hooks attached to these lures, and they work best in clear waters or areas with little cover. They usually aren’t weedless.
Soft Plastics
Rubber is used in the manufacturing process of many soft-body swimbaits. Full-body soft swimbaits are big, heavy rubber swimbaits and have a realistic swimming action due to their softness.
Full-body soft lures are frequently sold without hooks, but some have treble hooks, and others have weedless top hooks. Besides full-body soft swimbaits, you can find paddle tail soft baits, which are smaller in weight and size and look like soft plastic worms.
F.A.Q.
Most trophy anglers like 8 to 10-inch swimbaits, whereas casual hobbyists prefer 4 to 6-inch swimbaits. If you’d like to attract larger bass, you should use larger baits.
When looking for largemouth bass in clear water, you should choose natural-looking bass prey like baitfish-like swimbaits. Shad, green, or brown are the best colors for clear waters. On the other hand, in gloomier waters, bolder colors, such as black or blue, or even brighter shades, such as chartreuse or bubblegum, are ideal.
Swimbait fishing is considered a winter technique, but it has evolved into a three-season technique over the years. However, the truth is that people can target bass with swimbaits all year round. Clouds and a little bit of wind would be ideal for targeting bass, no matter the season. And remember that off-colored water is beneficial to swimbaits.
You can fish up to 35 feet deep. Smaller swimbaits work well from 4 to 15 feet deep. The bigger ones work best in depths ranging from 10 to 30-35 feet. Matching the appropriate size head to the appropriate depth will allow you to fish more efficiently.
Almost all swimbaits work at night if you can get the tail to kick at an extremely slow speed. Any swimbait that creates a surface disturbance can be effective. Buzz cannot see well at night, so buzzbaits that are loud are the best choice for night fishing.