Thousands learn Magic Swimmer's Secret before Lake Amistad Win

Thousands of anglers who attended the Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Show last February in Greenville, S.C., might not have realized it at that time, but they were treated to a fishing lesson that many of the country's top pros are probably now wishing they had seen as well.

Over the course of the show's three days, lure designer Patrick Sebile and professional bass angler Jason Williamson demonstrated over and over again how to fish the Sebile jointed hard swimbait, the Magic Swimmer. That same Magic Swimmer played a role not just in Willamson's fifth place finish at the recent BASS Elite Series tournament on Texas' Lake Amistad, but also in Todd Faircloth's win of the event.

Faircloth made long casts with the Magic Swimmer and held his rod tip high to "wake" the bait while moving quickly across large flats during practice to get the giant Texas largemouths to show themselves. "Sometimes they'd come up and take it, other times they'd just give it a good look," Faircloth explained. "It wasn't always the bait I caught my fish on, but it sure told me where I should be spending most of my time to catch the winning weight."

Although the tournament was shortened by one day due to high winds, Faircloth's three-day winning weight was still an impressive 76 pounds 15 ounces for 15 fish.

At the start of the final day, it was Williamson who was in the lead following a previous day catch of five fish weighing a total of 29 pounds 13 ounces. He was focusing on channel-swing points that had 50-60 feet of water nearby, and relied on wind or cloud cover for his best success.

"I couldn't believe it when the final day was sunny and calm, my fish just weren't as cooperative under those conditions," he said. "It had been so phenomenal. If lots of cover, I'd throw more weedless baits. When in the more open water, I'd throw my Magic Swimmer and use a retrieve exactly like Patrick Sebile and I demonstrated so many times in Sebile's casting tank at the Classic show. It's a deadly technique that can't be done with any other kind of swimbait."

He described the technique as involving a slow-rolling retrieve much like that often used for fishing spinnerbaits in deep water. With the rod tip pointed down and reeling slowly, he would then give the bait a sharp jerk followed immediately by pushing the rod forward to put slack in the line. He explained that the jerk and slack technique causes the bait to turn 180 degrees and "look right at the fish that's eyeing it." He says it's often too much for a bass to resist.

For the technique, Williamson prefers to use 15-17 pound test fluorocarbon and sometimes will add adhesive-type "weights" to the bait's underside to help it get down a little quicker.

Willamson further explained that the Magic Swimmer's shape and three-joint design gives it the most realistic swimming action of anything he's ever seen. "It can be 'waked' on top, slow-rolled into the depths or 'burned' somewhere in between using a high-speed retrieve, but however you fish it, it always runs true. That's a big deal," he added.

Both Williamson and Faircloth used Magic Swimmer model 165 SK, weighing approximately 1.6 ounces and measuring nearly 6 inches in length. SK stands for the "slow sinking" property built into all four models of Magic Swimmers. Williamson's color of choice for Amistad was Perch, while Faircloth went with Natural Shiner and Rainbow Trout. The Magic Swimmer comes in as many as 13 colors, depending on model. The 165 SK retails for around $20.