Fishing has been a part of many of our lives since we were little. Going out on the water with a family member or close friend and having an enjoyable experience lured us in. Most of our early adventures involved using bait instead of soft plastics to increase our chances of getting a bite started. Remembering our first few fishing trips brings back plenty of vivid memories. Continuing to reflect and think about our first experience with soft plastics often brings smiles as well. What soft plastic did you fall in love with? What was the go-to lure that you had to have? What was the confidence builder you just knew the fish would want to eat? For many it was power fishing it was and still is a swimbait.

Swimbaits, Swimbaits, and Swimbaits Oh My

     Swimbaits come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are skinny, fat, wide, narrow, large profile tails, and some small profile tails. Many swimbaits attract fishermen, and they just have to fish with them to see if the performance matches what they are looking for. The most important characteristic of a swimbait is how it functions in the water during its retrieval. Tail kicks can be wide or tight and does the head have any rock or wobble? Does the bait swim smoothly or does it create a thump? What will the tail action be if the bait is retrieved fast, slow, or killed? Picking the right swimbait can be nerve-racking to some. After reviewing the Angling Ai Swimbait Molds hopefully, you will have a better understanding of what you are looking for and how you would like to make your soft plastic swimbaits.

Angling Ai’s Swimbait Line Up

Angling Ai offers four different designs of swimbaits that range in sizes from 2.75” all the way to 7.25”. Each design offers a different body profile and tail design. Hook-slot and solid-body designs are available, and some can even be made solid-body or with the hook-slot feature. All of the swimbait molds have been proven to be great multi-species baits.

 Available Angling Ai Swimbait Molds              Lengths Available

• Open Pour Series                                                                          4”, 5”,6”, & 7.25”
• DR / Bloodline                                                                                4”, 5”, & 6”
• Hammer                                                                                         2.75”, 3.75”, & 4.75”
• RipRap                                                                                           2.8”, 3.8”, 4.2”, & 4.8”

Open Pour Series Swimbaits

     Open Pour Series Molds allow bait makers the most versatility. Swimbaits made from the open-pour molds can be simplistic single-colored baits or intricate pieces of art that represent bait fish patterns extremely well.

Defining Characteristics of the Open Pour Swimbaits

• The Thickest Body Profile Offered
• Thicker Wide Stepped Tail
• 4” Offered in a Solid Body and a Hook-Slot Design
• 5” & 6” Hook-Slot Design
• 7.25” Reversible Hook-Slot to create Solid Body or Hook-Slot Baits
• Eyes can be added easily

Swimming Characteristics

• Used in softer durometers the tail action creates a great hunting head shake.
• Retrieves well at a variety of speeds
• A thicker body profile gives you the ability to cover large amounts of water per cast

DR / Bloodline Swimbait Series

    Both of these molds are of the same design. The key difference between the two is the insert for the Bloodline molds. The insert will stick out of the side of the bait 1/16th of an inch and does not affect the swimming performance of the lure.

Defining Characteristics of the DR / Bloodline Swimbaits

• The thinnest body profile offered
• Thin tail design
• Soft Plastic Eyes can be added before injecting
• All sizes feature a hook-slot design
• All sizes offer extra half-moon slots to purchase for Solid Body Lures
• DR Molds offers single-color mold designs and single-port top injection molds to create laminates

Swimming Characteristics

• Great tail kick and body roll
• Deep hook slot, for swimbait hook rigging
• Awesome slow retrieve swimbait application

Hammer Swimbait Mold Series

     Different mold designs here. The 2.75” Hammer is offered in an 8-cavity mold that will do one-color body lures or a 4-cavity mold to create laminates. The 3.75” Hammer mold is the same design as the 2.75” Hammer and features a unique runner design. The 4.75” Hammer features a single-port top injection design to create laminates as well, and tail molds are also available for all three sizes.

Defining Characteristics of the Hammer Swimbaits

• Wide stair-stepped tail
• Slim elongated body profile

Swimming Characteristics

• Wide Tail Kick
• Creates a great thump
• Has some head wobble to appear as it is searching
• Indicative of its name, Hammer

RipRap Swimbait Mold Series

     The newest lineup of swimbait molds is offered by Angling Ai. The RipRaps in the 2.8” and 3.8” sizes will create solid body baits. Hook-slot design is the basis for the 4.2” and 4.8” designs. Using the 4” DR/Bloodline Half-moon hook-slots will allow the baits to be made solid body, and can be found on the accessories page on the website. Tail molds are available for each size and the molds are all single-cavity top port injection to allow for laminates to be made.

Defining Characteristics of the RipRap Swimbaits

• Thinnest profile tail design
• Shorter Body profile the the Hammer
• Beefier body profile than the Hammer  

Swimming Characteristics

• Tightest Tail Kick of the four
• Slight Body Shimmy
• Bait gives a nice action when slow-rolled or ripped
• Jigging is made easy with the tail action of the RipRap
• Useful as a jig or chatter bait trailer

Swimbaits for Every Need

     When it comes to swimbaits you can never have enough. Water clarity, fish activity, matching the bait profile in the water, and what you need to get that reaction strike all need to be considered. Cleaner water with bait scurrying around the RipRap could be the perfect choice. Stained water and bait being calm in the area maybe the choice is the Hammer and the thump it creates. On a ledge trying to get the bigger fish to play, the open pours come first to mind, or maybe the beautiful tail kick of the DR / Bloodline series and the body roll. Throw the swimbait you need when you need it and have confidence. One is never enough but having the right one for the conditions you are in will help you be more productive on the water.