Swimbait walleye breakdown (post-spawn thru early-summer)

Some days walleyes want nothing to do with swimbaits…other days swimbaits are THE DEAL and there’s no better way to cover water and catch a bunch of fish. So it doesn’t matter what lake I’m headed to, I will always have one rigged-up in my bait rotation when figuring out what the walleyes want that day…because when it’s on, it’s on!

There’s a ton of different variations and tweaks you can make to your setups whether the fish are shallow vs deeper…on sand vs weeds vs rocks…or if the fish’s moods are funky vs hot-to-trot.

In this video I breakdown my complete swimbait setups for catching post-spawn walleyes now thru their early-summer transition.

Drop a comment below and let me know what you think. Thx SO much for watching!

- Brett McComas

GEAR USED:

‣ Storm Largo Shad:
https://fishusa.rv5k.net/2rr4Z7
3.5” is my favorite all-around walleye size. Sometimes I’ll bump up to the 4” when rip jigging with heavier 3/4-oz jigheads in the weeds. Sometimes I’ll drop down to the 3” on a 1/8-oz jighead earlier in the season if the fish are fussy and up shallower.

‣ VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jig Head:
https://fishusa.rv5k.net/Ry57d2
Great all-around swimbait jighead (finesse-y). 5/16-oz if probably my favorite all-around size with the 3.5” swimbaits. More info on different sizes in the video.

‣ VMC Boxer Jigs:
https://fishusa.rv5k.net/4PdvAG
Stouter hook for rip-jigging with a beefier setup as summer progresses.

‣ Sufix 832 Advanced Superline (main line):
https://fishusa.rv5k.net/PPna6
I typically run 8- or 10-lb on most of my setups. Will sometimes bump this up to 15-lb when aggressively snapping heavier 3/4-oz jigs in the weeds.

‣ Sufix Advance Fluoro (leader).
https://fishusa.rv5k.net/0N4BN
I typically run an 8- or 10-lb flour leader. Will sometimes bump this up to 12- or 15-lb when aggressively snapping heavier 3/4-oz jigs in the weeds.

‣ Elliott Rods 7’3” ML-F (Performance Handle):
https://twobrothersinnovations.com/product/esp73ml-f/
Slow-rolling. Usually up shallower with lighter jigheads.

‣ Elliott Rods 7’1” M-XF (Performance Handle):
https://twobrothersinnovations.com/product/esp71m-xf/
More powerful rod for snapping and rip-jigging swimbaits.

‣ Elliott Rods 7’1” M-XF (Hidden Hood Handle):
https://twobrothersinnovations.com/product/es71m-xf/
If you want the handle to have a larger profile, which can be nice when reeeeally ripping the baits. Comes down to personal preference and what feels best in your hand.

‣ Amped Outdoors lithium batteries:
https://ampedoutdoors.com/
I recently upgraded my boat batteries to lithium! Will try to do a walk-thru video soon....

I went with Amped Outdoors' 36V 100Ah trolling motor lithium battery system (which is two 36V 50Ah LiFePO4 batteries in parallel). I was able to shave off roughly 140 pounds by running those 2 lithiums vs 3 lead batteries, and of course get some amazing run times:
https://ampedoutdoors.com/products/36v-100ah-trolling-motor-lithium-battery-system-2-36v-50ah-lifepo4-batteries-in-parallel

Which also freed up an extra battery slot in my boat, so I was able to plug in this 100Ah beast (only weighs 24 lbs 8 oz) to exclusively run all of my electronics – fer dayzzzz – instead of running them off of my cranking battery:
https://ampedoutdoors.com/products/copy-of-100ah-lifepo4-battery-in-waterproof-case

Note: The FishUSA links above are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase we might earn a commission...at no cost to you. Thx much for supporting the channel!

We post TONS of fishing tips, videos and gear hacks (twice each week!) at Target Walleye. Get it FREE here:
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