Ribbed for Everyone's Pleasure
There was a period after Steve Kennedy's record-setting Elite Series win at Clear Lake in 2007 when hollow belly swimbaits were deemed "the next big thing." I remember going to El Salto a few years later and one guest had run out of his favorite Money Minnows -- Yum's version of the Basstrix that Kennedy had used -- and would've paid just about any price to get some more. Basstrix-style baits continued to have their moments of glory, like Skeet Reese's April 2015 Elite victory at Guntersville, but some of that spotlight was claimed by a slightly different member of the same family: The Keitech Fat Swing Impact.
Unlike the hollow-bellies, the Swing Impact was ribbed rather than smooth, with a solid core as opposed to a hollow belly. Their purposes and uses overlapped (and continue to overlap) but the ribbed versions seem to have earned more widespread usage -- at least partially because they catch fish everywhere and can be used in a wide variety of depths, water colors and types of cover. We've used them to swim through ankle-deep grass on the Potomac, and across deep rocky structure on El Salto. They make excellent trailers, too, and the small-to-midsize models are great on an Alabama Rig. Of course, like any successful lure, the Fat Swing Impact was followed by copycats and imitators. Here are some of the most widely-available versions, along with their distinguishing characteristics:
The Original comes in a wide array of colors and sizes
The 2.75" size produced my personal-best smallmouth.
Cool colors include Flamethrower and Tilapia Magic.
Jointed body produces a distinctive action.
Infused with Powerbait scent.
Meaty body tapers to a thinner tail.
Good pricing
There are many more, so find one or two that suit your needs and stock up on different sizes and colors.
Terminal Tackle We Like for Ribbed Swimbaits
As noted above, there are endless ways to rig them and to fish them, so we'll leave out most of their uses as trailers, but below are a number of our favorite hooks and heads for getting bit and keeping them pinned.
Better than a Skirt on a Spinnerbait?
And finally, while we generally fish them on weighted hooks, underspins, jig heads, or on the back of various types of swimming jigs, several manufacturers have developed spinnerbaits with these types of soft plastics in mind:
