My slammer doesnt want to stay on the top very well compared to all my buddy's slammers is there any way I can make it more bouyant so it stays on the top better like shaveing a little of the lip or something? I have to reel the bait so slowly for it top stay on top that it almost doesnt even move. I think that I should replace my 2x gammies with normal gammies Im thinking the heavier hooks maybe wieghing it down? thanks for any info

You could try shaving the bill, but I'd be afraid of messing up the action entirely. Each plug is different, especially in regards to buoyancy. Your best bet is keeping that one as a subsurface plug, and picking up another one that will hopefully stay on top better. I went through a couple slammers before I found one that really stayed on top at an almost fast retrieve, and it was worth it, those ones are often the best.
-Brian

Definitely put some regular Gammies on there. That'll probably help quite a bit. If it still wants to dive, then you got yourself a sub- surface Slammer. I can get one of my Slammers to dive down to around 4ft and it's my favorite plug. I have well over 50 fish on it, including a 10 and several 7-8lbers. All of the bigger fish were caught on the sub-surface retrieve. I don't know why, but they just like it like that around here.

Of course there's always times when the fish like it on top too. In that case, i'd keep the one you have and get another one and chances are that it'll be more bouyant. With those two baits, you'd have a deadly combination!

edit-Oops brian beat me to the punch, but yeah... what he said:)

Thanks for the info guys.

I have the 9" Slammer and I just got it out and threw it the other day and it dives about 2' on a super slow retrieve. To say the least I was very dissapointed in it for not staying on top. I'm gonna try and get another one cause I know the Slammer is deadly on top. I would consider keeping it if I had the same success as the others with it subsurface. I have a 7" Slammer and it stays on top great but I've had no luck with it so I moved up to the 9" and was hoping for the same swimming results....I can't afford to keep buying Slammers so I'm gonna try and get a return on this one.....BassMan

I have the same problem with the 12 incher. Both of my nine inchers are very bouyant. I would think that the 12 would be more bouyant because it is more wood to float. Anyone know if some of the 12 inchers have the same great action as the 9 or is it a toss up, some float high, some barely float. I might just buy some new 12 inchers.

Story time ....

So back in the early 90's when the Slammer first came out, the guys using them for stripers had this same discussion. Some guys swore by them on top. Some guys swore by them subsurface. Mike Shaw would get guys coming back to the shop complaining that their baits wouldn't go down under the surface and asking for new ones. Other guys were coming in asking specifically for floaters.

Some guys hated that the lure made a clacking noise and went so far as to put little pads on the bait to dampen the noise. Other guys loved the clacking noise and went out of their way to find baits with a heavy clack to them.

When I first threw the Slammer, I only fished it subsurface. Never ever did I fish it on top. I caught all of my fish on 7" subsurface Slammer for quite some time. Then I went fishing with Mike and on that particular day, he caught several fish on top with 9". I'd never even considered doing it. Since then, I've probably caught about 70% on top and 30% sub surface. What you find out after a while is that sometimes the fish want it on top, and sometimes they want it subsurface, and on some days the difference in the number of bites you get on either action can be suprsing.

Nico and I have talked about this several times, so here is another good example. He got a bait this year that was a diving bait. He had been hoping for a floater to replace one of his other floaters, but for whatever reason, this one was a diver. First trip out he stuck a 7lber and some other fish on it. A few trips later, another 7lber. A few trips later he hooks a 9 to 10lber that got off. In other words, this bait kicked a lot of ass.

The bottom line is that there are slight differences in wood and lure size/shape that cause some baits to float and some to dive. I understand the frustration if you are hoping for a certain action and you don't get it in your bait. But I think if you talk to guys who own a fair number of Slammers and have caught a lot of fish on them, they will tell you it's good to have both because both are effective at the right time.

The even finer point to consider is something we have all talked about before as well. What makes one bait get bit so good over another bait? The intangibles of why a certain Slammer gets railed on and another one does not are very hard if not impossible to put your finger on, but if you just understand that some baits are going to be better than others, it can really help your fishing and confidence. When you find the bait that the fish just want to attack and swallow whole, hold on to that one and don't lend it to your buddy :) We've all read in Bassmaster how certain pro's have their pet crankbaits, the ones that always get bit. Well Slammers are no different. I know they cost a lot of money, but that's just the way it is. These are hand made on a lathe and each one is a little different than the next. A beautiful thing when you think about it :)

I will order a few "more buoyant" Slammers for you guys, and you can give me your less buoyant ones. My custom painted ones float like bobbers.... which is perfectly OK, but I wouldn't mind having a few that were a little more "sinkable" also........

Oops... wait a minute.... I would need money to do this, huh ? I keep forgetting I'm a poor man :-)
But at the very least though, I sure wouldn't worry about an MS Slammer that wasn't quite as buoyant.... I would just work it even slower, and maybe catch even more big bass on it !

Just my .02 cents,
Peace,
Fish

That would be cool/funny. An online Slammer swap where guys could trade baits (sinkers/floaters) for ones that they wanted :) I like it.

There's a store near me that carries the light trout colored slammer's in stock. Does it matter whether I get the light or dark color or are they the same. Thanks.

There is definetly a difference in the two colors.I think the light trout or original(think their the same?) is a good all around color.

Heres a link to the slammer sites color section,click on the bait for a bigger more detailed pic.

http://www.msslammer.com/colors.html

Rob, I e-mailed someone with the option to swap slammers with me.Their not so bouyant one for my super bouyant one.I told them that the one he has is the rare one and he really should just hang on to it,no response yet,think he's going to keep it.

Trev-

Thanks for the input!

PHishnuts by anychanse did you email me? i havent checked my email in a few weeks. But my slammer is allready pretty messed up after 2 trips ive only got 3 fish on it (not complaining) and it looked like the wood was cracking but then when I got home I looked at it closer and it was just the paint cracking thank god. im just gunna buy another on and hope for a floater........was planning on buying a bass colored one anyways.

No,Sorry Jimmy I was refering to Bassman,he took me up on my offer to trade. I am happy with the slammers I have now,just wanted one of the non-bouyant ones for something different.

Sorry for the confusion...Trever