Lipless Swimbait Question

[bassmaster1]

Ive made a lipless swimbait and was wondering what makes them swim the "s" shape? Also, where would the best place to put the weight, its a 2 section with a tail that will not be weighted, very small..thanks for any replies.

Aaron

[Snax]

Hi Aaron,

Try the search function and type in swimbait. You'll find many threads that answer your questions and then some.

The lipless swimbaits have been a hot topic for some time now.

"The year of the swimbait" indeed eh Jed? I predicted that last year after seeing a few of the talented guys here starting to market theirs.

Edited January 23, 2009 by Snax

[mark poulson]

AAron,

In my experience the S shaped swimming pattern is a function of the number of joints.

I have to have at least three joints (4 piece) to achieve it. My two joint lures (3 piece) swim well, but they tend to have a wildly flapping tail section on a faster retrieve.

I've only made a couple of two piece lures, and they have a much more subtle swimming action, and only at specific retrieve speeds.

I had to add a bill to them to get them to swim all the time.

[benton B]

I'm with Mark, I needed a lip to get the action out of a two piece bait. I have some that are 3.5 inches long that I use when wading for smallies and they do kick up a fuss.

[mark poulson]

Two piece lures without lips haven't been successful for me, period.

I bought a Jackall Giron, a lipless two piece jointed lure, in the ghost bluegill color a year ago, because I loved the paint scheme, and thought it would be the perfect lure for spawn and post spawn.

It turned out to be more of a twitch-type lure for me. It swims really lame on a straight retrieve. Maybe it would be good on a super long cast over a bedding area, where it could swim slowly along and call up bass, but, so far, it hasn't worked that way for me.

When I was fishing it parallel to a steep bank on a main lake point, I did have one big follower who swam out from under a debris mat to look at it, but she turned right around and went back.

I caught fish with it by twitching it over bedding areas, but not on a swimming retrieve.

I do have a few old Bass Pro jointed minnows that swim really well, but they all have lips. I even cut down the lip on one, and now it's a great wake bait!

[lockjaw]

In all like-li-hood you'll probably have to add a lip. I think getting two sectioned swimbaits to swim correctly is harder than three/four sectioned ones. I also bought a Jackall lipless two-sectioned bait years ago and the swim is horrible.

[mark poulson]

lockjaw,

Thanks for posting this. I was beginning to think I just didn't know how to retrieve it, since no one else mentioned how badly they swam.

In all like-li-hood you'll probably have to add a lip. I think getting two sectioned swimbaits to swim correctly is harder than three/four sectioned ones. I also bought a Jackall lipless two-sectioned bait years ago and the swim is horrible.

[Vodkaman]

I'm sure it is possible to get a good 'S' swim pattern. I have a working prototype of a lipped one piece that achieves the 'S'. I cannot reveal it yet, but I will be developing it further, later in the year. When I get back to Indonesia, I will put together a video of it, to wet your appetite.

Dave