# Big Joshy Swimbaits



## MR_KLN

Last year i was introduced to Big Joshy Swimbaits and there awesome!! I have the Swaggin' Minnow in the following colors:

sunrise,sun and moon,silktreuse, and sugar.

What colors do you recommend and for what kind of fish?


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## FL-boy

If you look at the website it sure looks like "Slush" does well! I got a pack of the perch but haven't gotten to try them yet but they sure look good!


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## sady dog

Ya those perch are gonna be hot at the lake this year for those reef walleyes...I out fished every guy in my boat 3 to 1 during the jig bite last year with the moonglow and a 3/4 football head....gonna try maumee run i think with them???


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## Skippy

Slush works well but I have had better luck with the smoke shad. Little clearer water I don't think you can beat the salt & pepper. We catch darn near everything on his swims. Crappies, bass, perch, saugeyes, walleyes and some real nice gills. I down size the jig head for the blue gills and use the 2.3 inch ones. The smoke shad and the salt & pepper have put one heck of a lot of fish both in the boat and on shore. 
This fall and winter the Lime red and the solar flare were worth there weight in gold. They caught saugeyes when nothing else was working. This early in the spring and thoes two colors are still working. His swims come with a jig head which will work but I like using a contrasting color jig head. With the salt & pepper and smoke shad I use a silver jig head.
The two he makes with the chartreuse color also work well in most any color water and are worth getting also.
Lots of different swims out there but his are realistically priced and just plane put fish in the boat.


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## Deazl666

Just ordered a bunch of these, mostly natural colors. It'll be my first time using them...


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## CrappieTacos

All colors catch all fish. And Im not joking.


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## SoCal_Buckeye

I have some of his 2.75 swims and the 3.25. I'm thinking of ordering an assortment of the smaller ones in a few colors and using that in addition to some powerbait grubs for white bass. It's my first year using them. I have been out a couple times already this year with no success on any bait. So for me it will be good to use them when the bite heats up. 
Tell you what tho... If this weather doesn't change soon I'm gonna head south for a weekend of fishing at the in-laws in southern Illinois. 


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## jray

sady dog do you snap jig them just like a hair jig?


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## Bigfisherman

I just got Joshys new purple color and I ordered the 3.25 minnow,WOW what a saugeye bait.It has the long slender profile saugeyes love.


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## fishslim

The new purple special edition was sent to me before they went on line and it took all of 5 minutes to land a 6 pound eye on it. Had a bigger one to shore but popped out from way down her throat before i could get a hand on her. As Skippy mentioned the solar flare and lime are a must for your arsenal they flat out caught more fish for me last fall at indian then any other one i tried. Just got 2 20" ones last night on solar flare in pure mud water at moundwood but it works just as good at times in clear water to. Ended up with 2 also on a stickbait. They will catch anything that swims. And can be used so many ways not just straight swimmed. Be willing to try different ways such as sady mentioned snapping them off bottom and free falling will get fish. Just slow dragged or letting them set on bottom in light current and just giggle your rod tip to make tail quiver and wham those eyes suck it right of the bottom. Man i am so ready for weather to warm water up a few degrees then look out.


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## Northern1

Slim, just curious- do you only walk banks or do you also own a boat that you go out in?


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## fishslim

I have a boat also,am ready to get out in the new one i bought. Will be putting my 17 foot sylvan up for sale shortly. Man that has been a good boat cannot start to count the fish that were put in that boat since 1996. Love to walk the banks as well especially early in spring and late fall thru winter. 

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## chad24

Never used them but see all kinds of great remarks.Soooooo....I just bought the 2.75 limited edition purple shad,Sparkle Chartreuse, Lime red, Solar Flare, Slush and Smoke Shad. I hope I got some good ones that will help me pull some nice Crappie,Bass and Eyes in my boat this year.


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## britton1989

Never used the joshys before... Putting the site to the test here... What be a good jump on purchasing some for myself considering i do alot of saugeye,smallmouth,pond largemouth,? Anybody ever used them on the reefs up north?

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## MR_KLN

Thank you to everybody that gave info on the colors that have worked for you. To everybody that's trying Big Joshy Swimbaits for the 1st time good luck this season and you can't go wrong with his Swimbaits. There truly the best I have purchased.


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## Deazl666

A bunch of natural colors arrived this morning. Ordered a bunch more last night.

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## streamstalker

I've only tried the natural colors, but I fish for smallmouth, not saugeye. Not sure if that makes a difference. From what I've tried, I'd say slush for stained water, smokeshad for clear water and clear skies, salt and pepper for clear water and overcast skies. There were a couple of days early last year where those slush colored ones were the only thing I could catch them on.

I haven't used them a lot because I misplaced them after my first time using them, but I caught a smallie on the craws on my first cast...watermelon, I think. I just finished organizing my tackle, so I'll be able to give them another try.


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## jeepguyjames

Website for these?


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## jeepguyjames

Ha.....nevermind....top of page had an add


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## Big Joshy

Thanks for all the kind words.

I get asked what he hot colors are quite a bit. For me when im fishing my confidence color is Slush. Saugeye, Crappie ,and Bass, its been good for all. If I had to choose just one color for Saugeye though I would choose Sparkle Chartreuse, works for me in dingy and clean water. 

But there are several on here who fish way way more with my baits than I get to. Hope to change that some this year!


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## gone-fishing

on my first package of slush 2.3, I caught saugeye, walleye, crappie, smallies, LMB, channels and even a flathead. all from 5 baits and a little glue!! cant think of a more diverse catch with anything else artificial, especially softbaits.

definately the best all around color for me...not always the best though of course!!

cant beat silktruese for crappie though


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## gitarzan

Just ordered me a bunch. Videos look very realistic. If I was a fish I'd eat it.


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## sady dog

sun and moon glow...i fish with a 6 foot meduim spinning rod when i am on the reefs...so snapping it is a little much...more like a strong pull and flutter..then pop it a couple times..i just put it on a 3/4 oz football head..

out fished 15 guys in 20 days... -


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## Deazl666

Big Joshy said:


> Thanks for all the kind words.
> 
> I get asked what he hot colors are quite a bit. For me when im fishing my confidence color is Slush. Saugeye, Crappie ,and Bass, its been good for all. If I had to choose just one color for Saugeye though I would choose Sparkle Chartreuse, works for me in dingy and clean water.
> 
> But there are several on here who fish way way more with my baits than I get to. Hope to change that some this year!


Sorry for the multiple orders last night; I had a few drinks in me!!! 

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## gobucks1130

Just got mine in the mail the other day. Excited to try em out.Anyone have some experience with these for smallmouth on the scioto?


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## fishslim

Have had good sucess with them in many river areas. Have also done really well in later spring with his Swaggin Craws got nice smallies but also some really nice eyes as well.


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## Govbarney

I saw that the BJS is soaked in shad oil, is this true? If so is their a recommended way to store the baits?

Does anyone else add any additional scents to their BJS's? I generally spray all my baits with Gulp, before use.


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## acklac7

I see alot of guys fishing Joshys on light jigheads, 1/8th or 1/4 usually. I often throw my hand pours on heavy jigs (3/8oz 1/2oz) using a stout 6'6 MH rod, do the same with Joshy's Swims. This technique can be extremely effective below spillways when the water is moving at a good clip. That heavy weight allows you to crawl a Swimbait right through the hole/strike zone, whereas lighter jigs *A.* won't even make it down (to the strike zone) and *B.* won't stay there for long because the current sweeps them right past the fish. Don't try jigging or anything fancy with this technique, you run the risk of getting hung up, fast. Just let them sink for a spit second then begin a slow, steady, retrieve !%. Again this works the best with a stout 6'6 MH rod.


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## JimmyMac

You guys should lay off these baits a bit so they can keep them in stock. I would like to try some but a lot of the colors I want are out of stock.


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## elkhtr

You guys got me! Placed an order yesterday!


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## acklac7

JimmyMac said:


> You guys should lay off these baits a bit so they can keep them in stock. I would like to try some but a lot of the colors I want are out of stock.


I don't think Joshy will mind when I say hand-pouring is time consuming, dedicated work. Especially if Joshy is doing this alone, or even with the help of 1-2 people, it takes time. Those injection guys just press a button and a machine spits out a bazillion baits. Hand pouring you have to heat the plastic, pour each bait by hand, wait for the mold(s) to cool, remove the finished bait(s), inspect it, sort it, package it, ship it. Hats off to Josh for keeping up with the demand thus far, this business aint easy. Just ask the past owners of Vibee's, who recently sold the company because the massive demand downright overwhelmed them.

Keep up the good work


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## Big Joshy

yes.... AJ you hit the nail on the head. Sorry im out of alot of things. Doing my best. I hand pour, inpect, carefully lay out baits so they cure straight, hand paint eyes, pack, inventory and ship. My wife helps with most of the office/website things and filling orders. But yes this is much different than a product injected in a factory and put in a bag.

To answer the question about shad oil. Before I put the baits in the clamshells I toss them in a mixture of oil that has no scent to which I add a strong shad gel scent that is made from real ground up gizzard shad. I let the baits soak up the scented oil and then pack them up. Plastic is much more porous than you might think and they really soak up quite a bit. To the point that once they are placed in the clamshell they eventually soak up most of the scented oil and feel somewhat dry. So there is no need for special storage.

As far as adding scent, yeah its a great Idea to add extra scent to any plastic bait because they really do soak up whatever you put them in. I carry scents in my bag and my two favorites are gulp shad and yum. Although they put a purple dye in the yum that darkens bright plastic baits so I don't like that at all.


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## JignPig Guide

Last season I was guiding on Wolf Run Lake and things were not going well at all. As a matter-of-fact, it was getting very frustrating trying to get my clients on some largemouth bass.
Then I done some digging through my gear. And tied on a Big Joshy Swaggin' Minnow onto the line of the least experienced angler. (I think it was Slushy color.) He started catching suspended bass in 30-FOW that would come up and slam this swimbait! We never really lit 'em up that day. But it was nice getting these guys on some bass. Otherwise, it would have been a bust.


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## Northern1

The big joshy site says that it is recommended that you use 10lb test braided line. Is he talking about 10lb test diameter (with a 30 or so pound breaking strength) or is he talking about like a 3 lb test diameter with 10 lb strength? I went last night with some fluorcarbon line and one of my solar flares snapped off


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## Big Joshy

yeah I like to throw them on 10lb breaking strength braid with a 12-14lb fluorocarbon leader. sometimes even 15lb if you really dont want to loose them.
fluorocarbon knot strength is less than the pound weight of the line. SO... 10 lb fluoro will break around 8-9 or so. That is why I like a heavier leader than the braid. Or if you are fishing in dirty water, No leader at all.

Also using a specific weight line will help you get more lures back but you will still loose some based on how they snag. If you wedge your jig in between the rocks you will loose it alot of the time no matter how thick the line. I suggest this setup because it is strong enough to straighten the hooks out of alot of snags by pointing the rod at the bait holding the bail and slowly pulling. Of course this is what you do after you have tried other methods of getting unhung


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## Northern1

Joshy, thanks for the response. I was reading your post about the fireline crystal in another threat. I agree- it is horrible. I do like fireline in general, though. For my saugeye trolling on Indian I use a very heavy powerpro braid with a steel leader. I havent lost a lure with that setup in a year. (Don't know if it deters bites though)

I don't want to sacrifice casting distance with braid though- your thoughts on the best all around braid for strength and casting ability? For casting on Indian, should I be using a fluoro leader? The water is often dirty, so I normally dont have one when i cast..


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## Big Joshy

I fish at Indian quite a bit and I like to use a heavy fluoro leader but I know its not needed. When I fish with Fishslim he very rarely uses a leader and if we are fishing side by side our catch rates are usually pretty close to the same. He is a suffix guy. I have not tried it. Im very happy with 10 lb spiderwire stealth. I carry two rods when im bank fishing eyes and I have a heavier setup with 15lb braid, and a 17lb leader, that rod is good for throwing heavier jigs, bigger jerkbaits and 1/4oz vibes and lipless crankbaits. 15lb will work for thowing 1/8 oz jigs but you loose casting distance and it is more effected by current and wind so you loose a little feel. when the water is more than 3ft vis is when i think you must have a leader for braid or you will sacrifice some bites


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## MassillonBuckeye

Big Joshy said:


> yeah I like to throw them on 10lb breaking strength braid with a 12-14lb fluorocarbon leader. sometimes even 15lb if you really dont want to loose them.
> fluorocarbon knot strength is less than the pound weight of the line. SO... 10 lb fluoro will break around 8-9 or so. That is why I like a heavier leader than the braid. Or if you are fishing in dirty water, No leader at all.
> 
> Also using a specific weight line will help you get more lures back but you will still loose some based on how they snag. If you wedge your jig in between the rocks you will loose it alot of the time no matter how thick the line. I suggest this setup because it is strong enough to straighten the hooks out of alot of snags by pointing the rod at the bait holding the bail and slowly pulling. Of course this is what you do after you have tried other methods of getting unhung



Wouldn't it depend on the knot you use? Might be time to switch to the San Diego Jam Knot!


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## Bad Bub

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Wouldn't it depend on the knot you use? Might be time to switch to the San Diego Jam Knot!


Some knots are stronger than others, but none will make the connection stronger than the lines original breaking strength.

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## MassillonBuckeye

Bad Bub said:


> Some knots are stronger than others, but none will make the connection stronger than the lines original breaking strength.
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Well I can tell you I don't think I've ever had a line break at the knot with this knot so its darn near 100% as far as I'm concerned. I've been taking pictures when I snap off on a snag or something. The braid always breaks within the loop around the eyelet and not above the knot. Here's a couple pics.
















We can also play "spot the Joshys" while we're at it! Name the color(s) that can be seen in one of the pics!


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## Big Joshy

im guessing that braid is breaking from the friction and wear on the jig or lure eye. I use a snap 90 percent of the time so the knot does not slide around as much or catch on the sharp edge where the eye of the jig closes.


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## Northern1

Just ordered some more Joshy's. mine are getting worn down lol. havent tried slush, and is seems like you guys are pretty high on the color, so i'll try it out. got the limited edition purple. I wish Joshy still made those perch color--are you ever planning on bringing them back, Big Joshy? Slims bait in 3.25. I just really like the gold sparkle on the side of it. Have to get the lime red and then replace my solar flares. All that = Free shipping! Thanks Joshy, you the man!

On a side note- what size of hook do you guys use for the 2.75 and the 3.25?
Different sizes, what sizes in general?


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## MassillonBuckeye

Big Joshy said:


> im guessing that braid is breaking from the friction and wear on the jig or lure eye. I use a snap 90 percent of the time so the knot does not slide around as much or catch on the sharp edge where the eye of the jig closes.


No, the braid is breaking because I'm pulling on it lol.. Im pulling on it until the hook bends out or the line breaks. The line has to break somewhere.


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## JimmyMac

Just ordered a few packs of the 2.75, time to see what all the fuss is about.


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## Skippy

I use hook sizes ranging from, depending on the swim size, a # 1 up to a # 3/0. Messing with gills and perch I'll drop down to a # 4 or even size 6. Jig head weights range from 1/24 up to 1/4 oz. The 1/4 oz is only used in real fast water or when I want to go to deeper water. Most times it's 3/32 to 1/8 oz jig weights. I fish a lot of double rigged 1/8 oz. jig heads. 

Sort of funny how a gill will take a 2.3 swim all the way in.


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## MR_KLN

Big Joshy said:


> im guessing that braid is breaking from the friction and wear on the jig or lure eye. I use a snap 90 percent of the time so the knot does not slide around as much or catch on the sharp edge where the eye of the jig closes.


What brand of braid do you recommend?


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## streamstalker

MassillonBuckeye said:


> No, the braid is breaking because I'm pulling on it lol.. Im pulling on it until the hook bends out or the line breaks. The line has to break somewhere.


Yeah, but prior to you pulling on it, it could have had friction at the knot with every cast.


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## Big Joshy

What kind of braid? Well everyone has their favorites. I can tell you what ones I will not use again. Fireline crystal, Thin diamaters of nanofil, Im not real happy with powerpro slick8 either, all because of bad fraying. Im satisfied with Spiderwire stealth on spinning reels in the 10-15lb range. I have some 12lb nanofil that I will be testing out here this spring. I hear it has more abrasion resistance.

Streamstalker, yeah that is exactly what im talking about. When I use a small clip and I break off I never get back the knot like that. Usually get a break from the wear in the line just up from the clip.


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## Northern1

I got that suffix braid. Man it's nice. Got it in the 10 lb weight. It casts great and is strong. You cant even cut it with scissors cleanly. Thanks for the recommendation, Joshy.


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## MR_KLN

Thanks Joshy and Northern1


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## MassillonBuckeye

streamstalker said:


> Yeah, but prior to you pulling on it, it could have had friction at the knot with every cast.


I retie frequently and cut out the last few feet after a hard snag to remove the stressed line so I don't think that's always the case. Sometimes I'll snag on the first cast and have to break off. They break that way most of the time. It's won knot wars a time or two and usually rated 95%+ line strength. Field and Stream rated it strongest knot in 2009 3% stronger than Palomar and 10% stronger than anything else. Link to article. And a bit of follow up.. If I could marry that knot, I would.  That said, I'm a big advocate of do what's best for you!


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## fishslim

I am a total believer in Suffix performance braid as said 10 pound is what i use cast great wears forever and as most know i fish a little bit well i guess alot.
Breaks at knot usually also use it in 6# do not like Suffix 832 i think that was what it was called frayed real fast. I fished old suffix's other night in 26 degree temps worked great. Used it last night at indian with a lime Joshy and a Glow Perch Joshy got 2 nice eaters right at dark wished i could have stayed.
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## Northern1

going to indian tonight to try out my luck with solar flare and sparkle chartreuse. probably be at moundwood since you said its wide open, slim. see you all there?


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## fishslim

Well tried the solar flare big joshy at moundwood tonight no takers water still stained but getting better. Ended up roaming lake till i found some right at dark. Lime red and glow perch 2.75 lit them up ended up getting 11 tonight with a couple on jerk baits as well. Tuesday really lit the girls up before dark on a lime swim steady reeled they were swallowing them whole pliers were a must.


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## Skippy

They are great baits. Even his mistakes, rejects ???? catch fish. He sent me some, what he called Antifreeze Flash, really a good looking swim and they sure did work. Yesterday late afternoon fishing the rocks at Tappan, 3 throw backs and 2 keeper eyes, 12-14 crappies with 9 going home with me. After dark 2 more nice eyes on a # 10 clown HJ.

Looks like a newer web site now and he now has the lime/red in the 3.25. Just ordered mine while there's still some left.


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