BE A MIDDLEMANA<
step in the right direction is mastering the notion of focusing on the middle portion of the water column, rather than the surface and bottom as most anglers do. Trophy bass are accustomed to seeing swimbaits gliding on the surface and being twitched along the bottom. Yet anglers often ignore the mid-section, as well as places where many people would never think of tossing them, like in trees, tules and rocks.

“The average guy is going to throw swimbaits in the top 20 feet of water,” adds La Russa. “Use your skills to put it in an area that many guys won’t because they don’t have the confidence to, and because they are afraid to lose the bait. That’s where you are going to be successful.”

DEAD FISH METHOD
Some anglers -- like veteran bass guide John Gray, who focuses on smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass in the West -- apply even more unorthodox techniques.

Gray fishes swimbaits the same way he fishes a Texas-rigged worm.

“I just drag it along the bottom,” he said.

Ever seen a wounded or dying fish that flops along the bottom for three or four feet, and then stops? That’s exactly how he works his big bait.

“They’re irresistible that way. It’s because it’s such easy prey for a big bass,” he said.

Gray said he doesn’t know why more guys don’t fish them this way. They need to try it.

“I want the bass thinking it’s looking at a kokanee or trout that’s been attacked by a bass or a brown or whatever, and is just trying to escape. He’s hurt, wounded, and I’m trying imitate that with my swimbait.”

CHUCK THE TROUT
Another fad that’s quickly gaining popularity is using swimbaits other than trout-imitation-style baits. They aren’t the only swimbaits that are effective. Most waters in the West contain shad, shiners, minnows, pike minnows, kokanee, smaller trout and other forage. Anglers are quickly learning that casting imitations along these lines is a sure way to hook bass as well. “A lot of the articles written are talking about swimbaits as a trout imitation,” said Paino. “But that’s not just the case anymore. Guys in areas that don’t have trout in lakes are adapting to lakes that have shad and shiners. A swimbait doesn’t have to be a trout to catch bass.”

CONFIDENCE
IS CRUCIAL
Many anglers are intimidated by swimbaits, which tend to be larger than any bass bait they’ve thrown in the past.