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:
alnk.to/faBa3wX
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:
alnk.to/74uiW0B
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:
alnk.to/dLh6d0V
Stouter hook for rip-jigging with a beefier setup as summer progresses.
‣ Sufix 832 Advanced Superline (main line):
alnk.to/3J5Uiw3
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).
www.rapala.com/us_en/advance-...
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):
alnk.to/hsv0O9F
Slow-rolling. Usually up shallower with lighter jigheads.
‣ Elliott Rods 7’1” M-XF (Performance Handle):
alnk.to/hsv0O9F
More powerful rod for snapping and rip-jigging swimbaits.
‣ Elliott Rods 7’1” M-XF (Hidden Hood Handle):
alnk.to/hsv0O9F
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:
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 70 pounds 😳 by running those 2 lithiums vs 3 lead batteries, and of course get some amazing run times:
ampedoutdoors.com/products/36...
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:
ampedoutdoors.com/products/co...
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:
targetwalleye.com/

[@milehigh3054]

You're one of my favorite YT channels for walleye! Thx man. Good stuff.

[@bobosterday3350]

I love trolling Swimbaits. 3/4 ounce head with 4” Swimbaits at .8 to 1.2 miles per hour! Hold on baby cause the crush it!

[@garyelderman1229]

On boards too?

[@bobosterday3350]

@@garyelderman1229 I haven’t tried it on boards. I usually cast it off the back of the boat 50-75 ft. Speed control is the key because I want to feel it bounce off the bottom. I’ll go as fast as I can and pump the rod as long as I feel the bottom. If I see suspended fish I’ll speed up to get the swimbait up off the bottom. They just hammer it!

[@bobosterday3350]

@@garyelderman1229 I will go up to a 1 ounce head if I have to!

[@garyelderman1229]

@@bobosterday3350 OK so the point is to bottom bang. I'm on the Canadian side of Erie and would love to get them in other ways. Thanks for the reply.

[@dougmurphy9554]

Informative, and what a likeable guy.

[@TargetWalleye]

Thank you so much!

[@brett_outdoors]

Great video with lots of awesome info….Thanks

[@francisbombardier6490]

Really informative video thanks . Thumb. Keep em coming

[@jasonanakkala3699]

Great info! Thank you!

[@Jnf458]

Thank you . Was looking for tips for upcoming Canada trip.

[@jefffirm6577]

I like Big Joshy swim baits they shine in cold water awesome for smallies to

[@308Fishing]

Awesome video. Great tips! Keep it up!

[@TargetWalleye]

Thx dude!

[@StuHenuset]

Great tips Brett. A more flexible tail will also help create more vibration when fishing dirty or stained water like we have up here in MB, help the Eyes locate the bait. You should come up and fish one of the Walleye Mafia Fish Donkey tournaments on Lake of the Prairies some summer. Come for the Aug or Sept long weekend tourneys and wear out your arm snap jigging for some prairie gold tanks! They bite all day long too!

[@TargetWalleye]

Thanks man! No doubt. I would love to get back up there in the boat! And it would be super fun to jump in a derby somewhere too for the heck of it. That's a magical area. I always dream about how nice it would be to make walleye content in places where you catch a bunch even on tough days of fishing hahah. 👊

[@scottrouwhorst881]

Nice

[@jessealberts1004]

Dude love your videos. What app are you using to scan the lakes

[@TargetWalleye]

Thank you! That's the "One-Boat Network" app to be able to get the newest LakeMaster maps right on my phone 👊

[@johnlantz7278]

When a friend says you’ve spend to much on your truck an boat I got a cheaper truck!the detail of those baits ,we’re spoiled from days of old .

[@jpmorso3798]

What app are u looking at showing all that info of the lake??? On your phone or is it hooked up to your graphs somehow????

[@TargetWalleye]

The "One-Boat Network" app to be able to get the newest LakeMaster maps right on my phone 👊

[@sanderlander]

Any chance you've tried the amped outdoors battery monitor? 👍👎 just been curious about it.

[@TargetWalleye]

I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but have heard good things. I was thinking about ordering one just because I'm curious about how much juice I'm using (or not using haha) on trips out. But for now I plug those bad boys in when I get home and the charging lights are green before I even get my stuff put away. Wild. If I order one I'll try to share some feedback. Thanks for watching!

[@dougdalinghaus6623]

What app are you using for the under water topo of the lake?

[@TargetWalleye]

The "One-Boat Network" app to be able to get the newest LakeMaster maps right on my phone 👊

[@huntingicon]

Do you crimp the barb on your hooks?

[@TargetWalleye]

We don't have to in Minnesota. But funny enough I have accidentally used baits in my box that had pinched barbs from when fishing up in Manitoba...and never lost any fish because of it. Couldn't believe it lol.

[@tomweaver4908]

Do you ever tie a small swivel from braid to fluorocarbon leader or what kind of knot?

[@alexanderwilliam1689]

wondering the same thing. I keep getting line twists when casting swimbaits

[@donaldamys6391]

Alberto Knot

[@seanyB223]

​@@alexanderwilliam1689 double uni if your just learning connection knots for braid to fluorocarbon/monofilament

[@seanyB223]

​@@alexanderwilliam1689 there is honestly like 15 you could try an tire. But IMO, nothing beats the ease of tying an strength of the double uni

[@stevesnag9814]

i use swivel and leader on all fishing for 40 years,simplest and easy.main line to swivel,24" to 36" leader,regular mono from 12# to 30#,no defrent in bite,at the end quick snap for easy changing jigs or lures.

[@DirtyJobsGuy1]

K is “snarly” a word?

[@TargetWalleye]

Probably not, but it made sense in my head for picturing it hahaha

[@sargentt6003]

Super glue STILL holds and doesn't trash a bait like screw lock heads. No time to play braid games. Mono is decades old effective. They need you to BUY,BUY,BUY.

[@iMad1y]

Those are shads, not swimbaits. good video tho

[@jaredacosta2834]

So much damn talking not enough fishing.