Well, I'm still new to swimbaits too but I was told to do exactly the opposite of what you described. I've been somewhat sucessful using Matt's Baby Bass and to a lesser extent, his Blugills. What I was told was to keep the rod pointed directly at the bait on the retrieve. As soon as you feel(and most times they've been very light hits) the bite, start reeling as fast as you can and then do a side sweep with the rod. It's known as a "reelset" not a hookset. This advice came from the new book "Big Bass Zone" that can be bought here:

http://www.stoegerpublishing.com/books/detail.tpl?CAT=5&SKU=BK0523

The reelset is a completely different way to hook one and I have to keep reminding myself to do it; no dropping the rod, throwing slack in the line, no feeling for 'weight', just reel and sweep.

Dan

"Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"

Deo Vindice