One of the hottest new herring baits to hit the market is the SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer. For years, the herring swimbait market has been dominated by a few specific hard body swimbaits. The SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer has made waves across the bass fishing world and has quickly become a new staple for herring-loving, spotted bass fisherman across the country. SPRO implemented a few unique features that sets this bait apart from other hard body herring swimbaits on the market.
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SASHIMMY SWIMMER BUILD
The SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer is a slow-sinking, multi-jointed swimbait that was designed in collaboration with Elite Series pro Bryan New. This bait comes in two different sizes and features 10 differs color patterns. The Sashimmy Swimmer is intended for schooling fish in clear water fisheries. This bait closely resembles the action of a blueback herring and will be a major player on spotted bass fisheries across the country. The multi-jointed sections of this bait create a s-shaped swimming action that closely resembles a fleeing baitfish.
The Sashimmy Swimmer is made up of three joints and four body section, one more than the typical hard-bodied herring swimbait. This bait comes stock with Gamakatsu No. 4 round-bend treble hooks and high quality split rings. This lures unique action and premium components enhance the versatile bait that can be used in a variety of different applications.
SASHIMMY APPLICATIONS
While this bait is primarily meant to be fished on blueback herring lakes, there is a wide range of scenarios where this bait shines. This lure can be fished right beneath the surface by utilizing a quick retrieve, or sunk to deeper depths using a slow steady retrieve. Some of my favorite places to throw this bait is around brush piles, offshore schooling fish and shallow cover.
Throwing the Sashimmy Swimmer around offshore brush piles can be a great way to trigger big spotted bass into biting. This is especially true in clear water fisheries. Using live sonar to locate brush piles with suspended fish is the most efficient way to quickly run this pattern. Throwing this bait over a pile and quickly burning it back to the boat is a great way to generate a reaction strike from bass using this brush as an ambush point.
Throwing the Sashimmy Swimmer at groups of schooling fish is another productive way to fish this bait. Finding groups of fish roaming right beneath the surface using your live sonar is typically a high percentage location to get a bite when throwing this swimbait. Burning the Sashimmy Swimmer over their heads triggers fish to fight over the bait often leading to some violent bites. This technique typically works best when fish are high in the water column and don’t have to chase the bait from long distances.
Last but certainly not least, this bait is great for covering water up shallow. Oftentimes on herring fisheries, wolf packs of bass will cruise the bank looking for balls of bait to ambush. These fish are often large in size and difficult to pattern due to their nomadic nature. The best way to target these groups of fish is by covering as much water as possible throwing a moving bait. The SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer is a great option for covering water up shallow when targeting these roaming herring eaters.
SASHIMMY SWIMMER SETUP
One thing spotted bass are known for is putting up a strong fight. This can make landing these fish on a treble hook fairly challenging. Due to these fish’s aggressive nature, having the correct rod, reel and line setup is imperative for landing these acrobatic bass. When throwing the SPRO Sashimmy Swimer, I like a 7-foot 3-inch rod, a high gear ratio reel and 12 to 15-pound fluorocarbon.
A longer rod allows for increased casting distance which is important when targeting fish in clear water. I also like a medium-heavy action with a parabolic bend. This softer bend keeps you from ripping the hooks out of the fishes mouth while the stronger backbone gives you leverage over larger sized fish. My go to rod for the Sashimmy Swimmer is the Dobyns Champion XP 7-foot 3-inch MH Casting Rod.
For a reel, I like one with a decent sized spool and a high gear ratio. This larger spool allows for more line capacity and farther casts. The faster gear ratio lets you quickly burn the bait back to the boat, which is important for generating reaction strikes and casting at schooling fish. My go to reel when using the SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer is the Shimano Chronarch 150 in the 8:1 gear ratio.
The SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer has quickly become an extremely sought after bait by herring lake fisherman all over the country. This bait’s unique action and lifelike color schemes make this a fantastic option for triggering reaction strikes in clear water fisheries. If your looking for a hard body swimbait to cover water with this fall and winter, the SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer is worth a look.
