6 Swinging Hammer Tricks
Knowing what you’re throwing is the key to keeping you slaying. The more ways you know to fish the 4.8” Swinging Hammer, the more ways you’ll consistently put pigs in the boat. Whether you’re fishing in a foot of grassy water or a 30 foot hole, the massive side to side swagger of the Swinging Hammer has proven to grab the attention of big fish…and who doesn’t love catching big fish right? So let’s go over some of the ways to draw in the big girls with this powerhouse of a swimbait.
Weightless: When the bass are responding best to a slow presentation, rigging the Swinging Hammer on either a 5/0 or 6/0 EWG hook (preferably with a screw lock) and ever so slowly reeling it just beneath the surface creates a seductive “waking” action that is perfect for drawing strikes in shallow water, especially if you’re doing it over submerged grass. Or, slow reeling near the bottom can be equally effective when fishing it weightless in less than 4 ft. of water for drawing massive strikes from big fish. Remember, true pigs (we’re talking big girls folks) don’t want to burn excess energy chasing down a meal, so when you’re Swinging Hammer comes to a crashing halt, set the hook hard because it’s not a tree!
Weighted swimbait hooks: Weighted swimbait hooks come in all shapes, weights and sizes. When choosing a weighted swimbait hook for the Swinging Hammer, make sure the hook is at least a 5/0 and no bigger than a 7/0 and preferably with a screw lock (starting to see a pattern here?). As far as weight choices go, that all depends on depth, wind, water clarity, and mood of the bass. Having swimbait hooks with multiple weight options in your terminal tackle box will keep you covered for any situation. We personally keep a variety of 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 oz weighted swimbait hooks in our boxes so we’re ready for anything. Also, any time we’re threading the nose of the Swinging Hammer onto the screw lock, we always put a drop of Pro’s Soft Bait Glue on the threads before twisting the nose all the way up. Bass hit this bait with a vengeance so this will definitely increase the amount of fish you catch per bait before the bass totally destroy it.
Chatterbait trailer: The amount of action and vibration the Chatterbait/Swinging Hammer combo puts off is just ignorant and it drives the fish nuts! If you’re fishing in stained or muddy water and you want to make sure they hear your bait coming, this combo will send tasty chills down their lateral lines and they’ll be able to find your bait blindfolded. Again, put a drop of that glue on the hook shaft of the Chatterbait before you slide the Swinging Hammer up it because the bass are going to try to rip the rod out of your hands.
Spinnerbait Trailer : When you see this combo in the water you can pretty much rule out any small fish. If you’re fishing a double willow blade Spinnerbait with a Swinging Hammer on the back, it looks like 3 bait fish swimming together waiting to get engulfed. We recommend either a 3/8 or 1/2 oz Spinnerbait with a big hook and of course do the drop of glue trick on the hook shaft before sliding the swinging Hammer up it. Rigging a Swinging Hammer on a spinnerbait brings the average spinnerbait presentation to a completely different level…the kind of level that pigs love. Can anyone smell bacon?
Swim Jig: Don’t even get me started on this topic! Bite about 3/4 of an inch off the head of the Swinging Hammer and rig it on a swim Jig. Wham! Pair either a Kitchen Sink or a Green Pumpkin Light Blue Swirl Swinging Hammer with a green pumpkin or gill colored swim jig and you have the perfect bluegill imitator (don’t forget about biting off 3/4” to create the stockier profile of a bluegill). We all know how big bass feel about having bluegill near their spawning areas, so throwing this combo is like throwing a chunk of meat at a wild Pit Bull! Definitely make sure you have a stout hook on your swim jig!
Alabama Rig: If you haven’t seen 5 Swinging Hammers on an A-rig then you haven’t lived yet. You’ll call bass in from 5 states away with this bad boy! If you have the shoulders to hoist this rig all day, then you have the shoulders to carry the winning bag to the scales. It’s all about the turbulence peeps, it’s all about the turbulence.
