Photo by Chris Shaffer.

Western U.S. anglers consider a few boats on one end of a lake to be too many anglers. But in Japan, wall-to-wall anglers on the shore and in boats are constant obstacles to locating great bass fishing.

Matt Paino, a tackle company rep, saw this phenomenon in person after traveling to Japan and seeing the race to catch world-class bass with swimbaits. Although the frenzy was a little unsettling, he brought back several valuable tips on how to overcome fishing pressure.

DROP-SHOTTING SWIMBAITS
Topping the list is drop-shotting larger swimbaits, such as a 6-inch suspending Optimum, Paino said. The feat is accomplished by casting the swimbait and slowly dragging it in, shaking as you would when drop-shotting a worm.

“You are slowing down your approach. The swimbait is going to be in the zone a lot longer,” said Paino, whose swimbait company has sold well over 1 million swimbaits worldwide. “You are holding your rod at 11 o’clock and shaking it. How quickly you move it changes depending on the situation.”

Guys are drop-shotting swimbaits all over the West now, said Paino. A lot of guys like to do it when the shad are balling up, but it can work any time of year.

Drop-shotting swimbaits is one of several techniques that anglers are being forced to learn to keep up with the swimbait revolution. Altering swimbaits has become the main tactic for many successful swimbait anglers.

THROWING WEIGHT
AROUND
While doing so properly is still a secret to the masses, a small group of anglers report success by adding weight to their baits.

It’s best to add a quarter to three-quarters of an ounce of weight to rubber and plastic swimbaits, said Randy McAbee, one of the top anglers in the West on the FLW Circuit.

“For me, it’s probably weight,” said McAbee, who has won five tournaments in the past two years. “That’s how I catch more fish with swimbaits. You have to add and modify the weight to get them down.