What are some opinions on Big California Swimbait fishing (MS
Slammer, Castiac, AC Plug, Mission, Etc.) in other parts of
the country outside of California like the North, East,
Southeast, South and Midwest. Would this be worth trying?
Would I need smaller than 9" baits. Would this type of
fishing be for natural clear lakes only or ?????.... 

:-) 

I'm no expert by any measure on swimbaits. But I've gotta
believe that a swimbait in a wild shiner pattern would do
wonders in Florida.

The problem in Fla and most natural lakes in the South is the
cover is thick and bass love the thickest part. So you just
can't get the bait in front of them. I have had good success
throwing big Sluggos and Senkos arround hydrilla rafts and
lilly pads.  However; on open reservoirs they should work just
fine. I've caught plenty of 3 to 5lb bass on 9"
Swimbaits. The thing to realize is that you have to adjust
your expectations. No matter where you fish a big swimbait
(including Ca.) the bites will be few but big.

have you tried any of the bluegill baits like the 3;16 ,fish
arrow or a.b.t gladiator? If not check them out, those may be
a good bet in your waters along with the same lures in baby
bass pattern.
good luck,tight lines,
brian

Also for the weedy areas I would try the sr plastics weedless
model,comes in a good range of colors,and a fair
price.Swimbait did a review of them on this site,also try a
mission fish weedless also.
heres a link to sr plastics,
http://www.srplastics.com/
thanks,
 brian

  I think big swimbaits/ plugs will work just about anywhere
big fish(predatory fish) live. It's just a big meal, weither
it's a trout,shiner,hitch,carp, etc...  

  You just have to be willing to put in quite a bit of time
figuring out the puzzle to that particular body of water. Is
there possibly a decent population of big fish in this lake,
is it worth my time?? Where are the key spots to concentrate
on??? What are these fish feeding on ?? Does phishnuts even
know what he's talking about?? That's the big question :P 

  I say yes,there are quite a few people that post on here
from all over the country that fish swimbaits with success,but
you'll never know till you try. 

  Good luck.. Trever

IMHO There are 3 things to consider before deciding if
Swimbaits/Big-Plugs are appropriate to throw wherever and
whenever you're fishing. 1) Is there a population of large
fish? There are lots of places that look great but for a
variety of reasons don't have large enough fish to make the
bigger baits a viable option. 2) Is there a population of
large baitfish that can be imitated? Generally if you truly
have #1 covered, there has to be a forage base for them to
grow big on.
3) Is there a time and place that I can effectively present
the right bait to get bit. These baits won't get bit under
certain conditions.
Tight lines,
Wade

At first it's hard to have much confidence in these baits and
especially in waters where the big bait hasn't been
proven....yet. It may take you awhile to get the big bait
figured out on your local water but I have no doubt that if
there are big fish there they will eat it regardless if
resembles their natural forage or if it doesn't look anything
they ever saw before. I've seen big baits work in lakes where
the bass had never seen a trout.

Bass are often curious by nature but above all else they are a
fierce predator by instinc. If your lucky you will get the
first one right one away and it will be confidence booster but
if you don't my advice is don't give up on the big bait. Use a
very slow retrieve targeting areas areas where you are
confident that big bass are present. A big bass may be smart
but it's just a matter of time before predator instinct and
currousity will all fall in to an active pattern causing that
fish to strike with ferocious velocity that will probably
startle you on impact. When it does you will be a believer. 

JerryG

Last Christmas I went home (Middle Georgia). I took to a
friend of mine  an Osprey Slow Roller In Bluegill color to
him. He laughed at me when I gave it to him asking me what was
he gonna do with that? I told him about how we are getting
fish of a lifetime on the swimbaits which he was familuar with
but didnt think he could catch fish with them as a swimbait. I
told him what rod to throw them on but he tried on a flipping
stick and broke his rod. Now he used it to fish bed fish and
killed them with it that way. He called me back and asked me
to send him some more. I of course turned him on to Tackle
Warehouse.
Dave

Dave:  Where in Middle Ga?  I live in Houston County and fish
near Elko and Eastman in Dodge County.

Dan