JARED LINTNER: California Bass Love a BIG Swimbait

Right now, I’m making the 1,500-mile trek from my home in California to Texas, where I left my truck and my boat after Stage Three. I left it there because I, like most everyone, was prepared to fish Stage Four in Raleigh, North Carolina.

So, I left my truck and boat there in Texas instead of driving them all the way back out to California. I was planning on leaving them there for a bit, but I started to get the itch to fish again on my own boat.

California Dreamin’!

A local kid out here in my area just caught a 10 1/2-pound largemouth on a local lake. As soon as I heard that, I knew it was time to get my butt back out on the water.

This is a great time of year to fish in California, just like everywhere else. The fish are either prespawn or spawning, and this is the time of year that I love throwing the biggest freakin’ swimbait I can get my hands on.

Here in California, bass love to eat trout and a big baitfish called a hitch. Hitches can grow up to be a pound or a pound-and-a-half, so they’re pretty large. Before they spawn, the bass like to feed on the biggest and baddest thing in the lake to fatten up. That’s why I love to use a 6- to 8-inch swimbait to not only find those fish, but catch a bunch of big ones with them.

Big Swimbait 101

To me, it really doesn’t matter what brand of swimbait you throw. As long as it is something that swims naturally and is at least 6 inches long. I promise that you’ll find fish and see fish that you had no idea even lived in your local lakes if you do that.

I like to fish the leading edges or points into the spawning bays or pockets with a big swimbait. I’m not trying to fish super shallow or super deep. I know that’s not very specific, but the majority of the time I’ll use it in 4 to 12 feet of water.

Obviously, this is all going to depend on what lake you’re fishing, how the fish are staging, where they’re at in their spawning cycle, etc. For example, I have huge success with a swimbait out here in California, but I can’t get them to bite it on Lake Guntersville. It’s a weird thing that I haven’t quite figured out yet, and this style hasn’t yet been widely accepted by most of the country.

If you go out to Clear Lake in California when it’s open again, every single boat will have at least one 8-inch swimbait tied on. You would think to yourself, “Are these bass biting a trout or what?”

I live near three different lakes, and all three have different species. One lake has spotted and largemouth bass, one has northern strain largemouth, and the other has Florida strain largemouth. All react differently to different baits, but I know one thing for sure. No matter what lake I go to out here, they all seem to want to eat a big swimbait.

During this time of social distancing, be sure to stay safe, stay healthy, and try to go fishing if your state or local lake allows.