I was in Tackle Warehouse last week checking stuff out and was browing the Slammer selection and saw these super small skinny Slammers. I didn't know Mike had made them like this. They're 7" and about the thickness of an F-18 rapala. They'll probably work great for bass but what I really thought when I saw them was, here is a lure for brown trout. Something to check out if you fish browns or lake trout. If you want to get one, it would probably be best to call and ask for a skinny/small one specifically. I think all the ones they have right now are skinny but the baits move through all the time. 1-800-300-4916 is the # and shipping is free. How's that for a plug :) Pun pun.

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So I guess we can assume you bought one since you've taken pics! I wonder if Bass World West is going to carry them? CJ?

Rob-are all of these M.S. slammers hard baits? Is this the same lure you caught that huge fish on last spring when you posted the great photos of the live release of the fish?
Terry

Terry Kratzer

The Slammers are all wood baits. I think the fish you are referring to was on a Big Hammer Swimbait. I haven't caught any over 10 this year on the Slammer (so far :) )

I need some serious help. I bought 2 baby slammers and just got them in. I went out and tested them today and they don't swim whatsoever. I couldn't get it to kick at all. I might as well have thrown a stick in the water and reeled it in. What is wrong with the bait? Is this how it usually swims? Or what is wrong with it for it to be doing this? I am really dissapointed. I heard really good things about slammers and was expecting them to swim very well. I am holding out hope that there is something wrong with this particular bait or something...thanks for taking the time to help me out...

http://msslammer.com/caretuning.html

See if that can help you a bit.

Shane

Thanks, but do you think something as simple as tuning it would make it actually swim? I know it would swim straight, but where im at now, I haven't even seen the bait swim yet. I would love to see it swim crooked, because then all I would have to do is tune it. Right now, it just glides through the water. Any suggestions? Maybe it has to be tuned perfect to run at all...

thanks for taking the time....

hmm, my slammer I got but it was a 9inch big one, not the one you have, it swam great right out of the box

Shane

well.....sounds like I need to send these baby's back...

Did you try different retrieve speeds? I could be totally wrong, but it's possible that those skinny Slammers might be better suited for a faster retrive under the surface. I'll have to talk to Mike about that. If you want, I can talk to him and let you know or you could get his number from his site and talk to him personally. Let me know.

Mine work fine, super slow on the surface, to fast and getting them down 2 feet, they swim well. I threw mine on 15lb Big Game. cv

Thanks Phil, that would be awesome. But I did try every speed known to man. I reeled it as slow as possible and as fast as possible and everything inbetween and it never improved. The only thing I could possibly think of is that maybe my line was too heavy. I put it on 20 lb test...Thanks for the help....

Sorry to hear the baits did not swim well for you. Out of the dozen or so Slammers I have, I do have one that for some reason doesn't swim with much side to side action. The peculiarities of a hand made bait are hard to quantify sometimes. Each bait swims a little different and the reasons for that are many.

Here's a few mods you can try to make baits swim more or less.

1. Length of the tail. The tail acts as a deadening force on the bait. If you take the tail off of a Slammer it will kick back and forth as hard as it can kick. If you fish a tail at full length, it will deaden the action. I typically cut about 3/8" off of the stock Slammer tail to give it more action. That's a personal preference totally. Some guys like a more subtle action.

2. Weight of the hooks. You might not notice this, but the weight of the hooks has an important impact on the motion of the bait. I like a light hook like the gammie hooks to give the baits more action. If you use a heavier hook or a larger hook than the bait is meant to fish with, it will deaden the action.

3. Shape and size of the bill. The wider the bill in relation to the bait, the more side to side action you get. The narrower the bill, the less side to side action. If you compare for example the action of a castaic hardbait with a narrow bill vs. the castaic softbait with it's very rounded bill, they have totally opposite action. My castaic hardbait barely moves side to side at all. The castaic rubber trout though rolls back and forth quite a bit.

If you don't like the baits, I understand completely. I have no shortage of swimbaits in my closet that didn't do what I thought they would do when I bought them :) Hope you find some that work for you.

thanks for the tips. I tested it today stocked. The full length tail was there, the stock hooks were on it, the stocked swivel etc. I know that I will like these baits, I just don't understand why its not swimming. Maybe I will try the other one to see if its a defect in that one particular bait. Thanks again and hopefully I can figure out what is wrong...