Swimbaits That Have Produced for Me in Mexico

The number one question I get about fishing at Lake El Salto and Lake Picachos is, “What’s the best time of year to catch a 10-pounder?” My answer is usually that the big fish show up rather evenly throughout the year, and the best time to go is whenever you can.

After that, however, the most common question is what swimbaits to bring. It’s one that I can’t answer particularly well because I’m not a hard core swimbait guy. I want to be, but I haven’t yet had the guidance or success I’ve needed to gain confidence in the category as a whole. In recent years I’ve invested much more time and money in making it happen, but so far it’s been a slow process.

Accordingly, take the list below with a grain of salt. You can either say that I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about and disregard it. Alternatively, you can reason that if even that guy can catch a few on that bait, it must be pretty damn effective.

I’m sure that some of you will quibble with my inclusion of some of the items on my list. The hard core traditionalists will say that if it’s not a Rago or a 3:16 or an M.S. Slammer, then it’s not a real swimbait. I’m going to define the category broadly and you can make of that what you will. Without further introduction or apologies, here is my list (every one of which has put gen-u-wine Mexican bass slime on my fingers):

Hard Swimbaits

Triton Mike Bucca Bull Shad Floating Swimbait – I force-fed this slow-wiggling lure to the Picachos bass a few years back and was rewarded with some tuna-like strikes. Need to fish it more.

Triton Mike Bucca Bull Shad Sinking Swimbait – I got really excited about this lure on some of my home waters last year when I saw that it could be fished in the same places as a spinnerbait, often with bigger fish as the result. I’ve caught some on it at Mexico, but need to throw it more in places where fish are actively feeding on larger shad.

SPRO Rat Wakebait – As I’ve documented before, the mouse/rat bite has been one of the highlights of my most recent trips to Mexico. I’ve used both the 40 and 50 sizes in brown and gray. They’re affordable when you can find them, but they’re becoming increasingly hard to find in stock so if you see them purchase all that you might need.

Hollow Paddletail Swimbaits

Basstrix Paddletail Swimbait – On our first May trip in 2013, the fish were eating the paint off these types of lures, and it didn’t seem to matter which one you used. I like the fact that Basstrix has a wide color selection and offers lots of options in 6- and 7-inch versions.

Yum Money Minnow – On that same 2013 trip, a pair of anglers ran out of Money Minnows and they literally went from table to table at mealtime begging for some. You could’ve made a mint with a box of them.

Zoom Swimmer – In recent years this is the hollow swimbait I’ve used the most on a jig head and an underspin. It’s very durable and while the clamshell packaging is a pain in the ass to pack for international travel, it keeps them straight.

Solid Paddletail Swimbaits

Keitech Fat Swing Impact – While there are plenty of copies, the original is tough to beat, usually in a 4.8-inch size, but also in 3.8 and 5.8. I’ve successfully fished them shallow on an Owner Beast or Flashy Swimmer, as well as deep on a jig head or underspin.

Keitech Easy Shiner – I’ve had a little less success with this lure than on the FSI (above), but I love the way it looks in the water, and an 8-pounder that choked one down convinced me that it needs to stay in the arsenal.

Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper – This is a lure that I use a lot at home, sometimes alone, but more often on the back of a swim jig or Chatterbait. At El Salto and Picachos I use it for those same purposes, but it’s also remarkably and surprisingly effective on a Carolina Rig. Oddly enough, I’ve never done particularly well on the Little Dipper or the Big Dipper.

Strike King Rage Swimmer – Very similar to the Fat Swing Impact. One of the guides I fish with regularly swears by the KVD Magic color above all others. At ICAST 2021 they introduced several new colors.

Yamamoto Heart Tail Shad – I’m not sure why this wide-bodied ribbed lure hasn’t gained more of a following, or why I haven’t fished it more, especially in areas where I know others have already shown the bass a more traditional Keitech-style soft plastic. I’ve done best with the Heart Tail on a weighted Owner Beast hook in the shallows, and it has produced some explosive strikes.

Anatomically Correct Swimbaits

Little Creeper All-American Trash Fish – This is the lure that the Berkley Sick Fish was based on (with appropriate royalties, as I understand it). It’s remarkably lifelike in the water and each fin and ridge serves a purpose.

Little Creeper Fatty Trash Fish – Other than being slightly bulkier than the original, I haven’t figured out that functional difference between this one and the original. I don’t have a huge stash of either, so to date I’ve used them pretty much interchangeably.

Prerigged Swimbaits

Megabass Dark Sleeper – This diminutive lure (usually the ¾ ounce size) may look like a swimbait, but I tend to fish it more like a jig, bouncing it down 45 degree banks and across rocky points. Despite having a top hook, it’s remarkably snag-resistant, yet the hook almost always ends up in the roof of the fish’s mouth.

Megabass Magdraft – The Magdraft, made famous and popular thanks to the substantial efforts of Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain, is the swimbait I’ve used with the best results at home (other than the Skinny Dipper, which I more often use as a trailer). It skips well, swims well and seems to attract not just followers but also some brutal strikes. To date I’ve exclusively fished the 6-inch versions, in Mexico and domestically, although I bought some 5-inch JDM models at Scottsboro Tackle in Alabama. I should probably buy at least one 8-incher.

Optimum Boom Boom Rigged Swimbait – Every El Salto bass I’ve caught on this Fred Roumbanis design has been over 4-pounds, so while there haven’t been a ton of them I know that it produces and feel that I should integrate more into my fishing. The 6-inch body is big, but not too big.

Storm Wildeye Swim Shad – This may be the least sexy, and least “enthusiast-grade” swimbait on the list, but if you’re going to El Salto or Picachos, you NEED to bring some. They simply produce, and because they’re only a buck or two apiece, you won’t be afraid to throw them into the thick stuff. I’ve had success on 4-, 5- and 6-inch models, in colors including Black Crappie, Blue Steel Shad, Bluegill, Mullet, Natural Shad, Pearl, Shad, and – of course – chartreuse silver. Don’t leave home without ‘em.

I know that I’m missing a few gimmes, and that there are some logical gateways into the world of the true enthusiasts, so I’ll keep reporting back and adding to the list. The research is the fun part.