The Nomad Design Swimtrex Lipless Crankbait has a sleek profile that truly mimics the body of a shad. This bass fishing bait also has an overall finesse feel to it, with a slightly smaller profile than other lipless crankbaits in each weight category and a less aggressive vibration compared to many others, offering anglers a great option for pressured fish.
I’ve had opportunity to fish with it a good bit and I’ve really been impressed by several of its design characteristics. It’s a solid option throughout much of the year and even if you haven’t heard of it until now, it’s going to become a big player in bass-fishing world. This company creates some outstanding, high-quality bass lures and I’ve had a great time fishing with this on.
Hang with me for a few minutes and let’s take a closer look at the Swimtrex.
Profile
As previously mentioned, the profile of the Swimtrex is perfect for mimicing the body of a shad. This lipless crankbait has a thin profile side to side, as well as top to bottom, giving it a realistic look where many other lipless baits are larger and thicker.
This allows for better castability than many other options out there. It’s quite aerodynamic throughout the cast which allows you to cover a lot of water in short order. So if you’re looking for bass feeding on pods of baitfish or simply trying to work your way down a bank to establish a solid pattern, this particular lure has proven to be a really good option.
Vibration
It appears as though Nomad Design intentionally set out to make this more of a finesse lipless crankbait compared to other baits on the market. This is apparent in that each bait is a touch smaller than most of the competitors in its weight class, but also evident in the bait’s vibration. Where many lipless crankbaits rattle your rod tip, the Swimtrex has a more subtle vibration, great for heavily pressured fish.
This is going to be a big deal when you’re targeting fish in colder water, in my opinion. When they become more lethargic in the fall and winter months, a loud and obnoxious rattle can spook them. The Swimtrex, however, gives you a more finesse approach that will trick those lazy bass into biting.
Paint schemes
Available in a wide variety of paint schemes, Nomad Design has a lipless for any season and water color. The Red Craw has you covered in the spring. Sexy Shad, Natural Shad and Chartreuse Blue Back Shad for the fall. And Brown Craw, Blue Back Chrome and a few others to round out the rest of the year.
Each pattern looks really nice in the water and the paint schemes seem to hold up well to hook rash and repeated collisions with hard cover.
Sizes
The Swimtrex comes in three sizes: 1/2-, 3/4- and 1-ounce, offering a lipless crankbait for nearly any application an angler could think of. Fans of the 1/4-ounce lipless might be disappointed at first to see that the Swimtrex isn’t available in that size, but sampling the smaller profiled 1/2- ounce Swimtrex would probably help their concerns subside.
Finer details
The finer details that went into the design process of the Swimtrex are impressive. The bait is outfitted with super-sharp BKK treble hooks, sports a super durable finish thanks to Nomad’s Triple Shield Protection process and is made using High Density ABS plastic, which is stronger-than-typical plastic used to make many other baits, according to Nomad. They also incorporated an autotune line tie to ensure this lipless tracks true and never rolls, regardless of how fast or slow you fish it.
The bottom line
Priced at $12.99 for the 1/2- and 3/4-ounce versions and $13.99 for the 1-ounce, this lipless lands around the middle of the pack when it comes to price point. But the quality is nothing short of top tier.
Made from a heavy-duty plastic with an ultra durable finish, this lure will last for years. And featuring an autotune line tie, it’ll track true as many times as you can cast it. If you’re in the market for a quality finesse lipless crankbait, the Nomad Design Swimtrex Lipless Crankbait is definitely worth a look.
