Reaction Strike: Swimbaits Are Important

Terry Jackson of Lawrenceville, Ga. wrote: Re: the BBZ – This series started out as a good educational format for catching large bass. It has turned into a swimbait forum. It reads like a swimbait infomercial. I would like to see this series return to catching and locating large bass, not a single-technique process.

If you choose not to throw swimbaits, no problem – nevertheless, it's a bad choice.

Terry brings up a good point: Catching bigger bass is not a single-technique process. It is an all-encompassing shift in mindset, strategy and tactics.

When we began BBZ, some anglers expressed their impatience with articles discussing the mentality of catching larger fish. Sorry guys, this is not only the first great hurdle to improving your catches, but perhaps the most important one. There will be more exploration of that topic, as well as others about finding fish, understanding seasonal influences, structure, cover, weather and more. 

Our recent articles about understanding swimbaits were simply a reaction to what is happening right now. BassFan is all about the cutting edge and so is the BBZ. We know that anglers are interested in swimbaits because they are important big bass tools. And we know people are spending a lot of money to get them.

The problem is that so much of the information out there is pure bull roar generated by those with limited swimbait experience, no understanding of the concepts involved and a vested interest in selling the lures they're paid to promote. We don't care which lure you buy as long as you do so from a position of strength – especially since the price tag of ignorance is so high.

If you choose not to throw swimbaits, no problem – nevertheless, it's a bad choice. Why limit yourself? Catching bigger bass is all about keeping an open mind. It's not about "thinking out of the box," it's about removing the box altogether.

Rest assured, we've got plenty to talk about, and each column is a brick in the foundation. It's a baseline to which you can add your own experience. If you've never built a skyscraper, it's hard to understand what those early construction crews are doing. Then, as the building takes shape, the pieces all fall into place. You begin to understand and recognize that it all started at the ground floor.