A. Five things about gear and swimbaits:

1) The rods

I prefer a 7-9ft rod, moderate to extra fast action rod, graphite is best, composites are ok, But don’t let lack of proper gear keep you from trying!

2) The reels

A revolving spool bait casting type reel is best, Shimano, Abu, Daiwa, etc. Line wise go with 12-15lb and use some thing with low stretch, P-line, Izorline, Berkley big game, Stren high impact.

3) The swimbaits

Go with 4-5 inch baits shad style bodies, I use swimbaits made by Big Hammer Lures, colors wise, browns, greens, reds, sparkles, darks. Fish the darker stuff early and late. Fish the greens and browns in off colored water and deeper waters as well, but throw in the reds deep too. Fish the flashy stuff in clear water and around the kelp, also been playing with "freshwater" soft plastics such as the Big Hammer Ringer Worm, work pretty good when there’s no current.

4) The Jig Heads

I fish anywhere from 1/2oz-11/2oz depending on time of year, depth of water, current, and size of the swimbait but ¾-1oz is what I use mostly. I like eyeballs, and fish non-painted heads on baitfish patterns and redheads on brown bait and reef forage patterns (octopus, shrimp, small rockfish, etc). If you want to color match your heads to you baits go for it! As far as the hooks are concerned whether they are cheaper galvanized hooks or a premium hook, make sure they are Sharp! Big Hammer makes an array of different sizes of heads in lots of different colors with the premium hooks.

5) Scents

I use scents made by Pro-Cure, my favorites are Calico Cocktail, Saltwater Formula, Predator, Shrimp, and believe it or not Crawdad.

You have nothing to loose by using some type of scent, at the very least it covers up non-fishy odors such as sun block, gasoline, etc. Scent also seems to really help during the cold water months and in the dirtier water.

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