By: Nathan Gravert
Everyone knows how versatile a jig is, whether your jigging a deep drop-off, flipping wood, flipping pads, flipping rocks it’s a very versatile bait that is known for producing larger fish in most scenarios. The one technique that I think is very under used and under rated for fishing with a jig, is swimming it.
Swimming the jig is one of those techniques that can pretty much used at any speed, any depth, or in basically any situation you might encounter. One of the most important things when swimming a jig is making sure you choose the right jig. Jigs with a slightly pointed head are the best options, because weeds can’t get wrapped around the head of the bait as easy. S.W.A.G jigs makes a few prime examples of perfect swimming jigs. One has a bullet head which is great for grass and the other has a pointed nose with a flat bottom with a slow rise to it that helps it come over wood. Choose colors that match the hatch or colors you would choose with a spinner bait.
When the swim jig really excels is in clear water. Spinnerbaits can often times have far to much flash on bright sunny days in very clear water. With the swim jig, you don’t get the flash, but you still get the profile of the spinnerbait. You can also skip jigs under docks easier and are less vulnerable to getting hung when your fishing them over a weed bed and when you come up to a nice laydown you already have a jig tied on.
Swim jigs can be fished the same places as a crank bait also and you’ll likely catch as many fish. The advantages again here are that a jig has a far better bite-fish in the boat ratio. Any one who fishes crank baits a lot knows that you lose a lot of fish. You also won’t get hung with the weed guard and 5 less hooks.
Heavy pads are another really good option. Put a large profile grub on it and reel it across the surface like a buzbait. Drop it in the holes when you come to one and continue on. I’ve even fished it in places people will only throw a plastic scum frog. The bass will come up and get it or swipe just as it gets to the edge.
Another kind of swim jig is a bladed swim jig. Its often called a chatterbait, but in reality its swim jig with a blade in front. It isn’t as weedless, but yet will produce more fish. The best I have found is the Karu lures Vibrashock. It has tremendous vibration and the blade hit’s the head of the bait with every thump that creates a lot of noise, sort of like a rattle trap, that calls in fish from a long ways away. The ticking noise also helps the fish locate the bait in muddy water and it helps with your hookups because the fish is keying in on the sound not the tail of the bait or back of the bait. Instead the front of the bait. This way you know your getting a good hook-set every time.
When fishing muddy water with a non-bladed swim jig I like to use a large plastic tail that will put out vibration and rattle. In the muddy water you have to have those things to help the fish find the bait. Vibration and sound are key in dirty water. Take these tips to the lake with you next time and your sure to catch some fish.
This is a bullet head S.W.A.G Golden Shiner jig w/ Revolution Bait Co. Golden Shiner Kick'r Craw trailer.
Swimming a jig
The most common type is a typical flipping jig. A flipping jig is made for hand to hand combat with the fish. You're kicking in their front door and raiding their fridge and they aren't happy about it. Good flipping jigs have heavy duty hooks, weed gaurds and the kind I like the best have a small flat spot or concave on the bottom to help keep the hook pointed up right. I like them with a flaired band to give a better profile and also wire tied to help keep the skirt in place. The reason you want everything heavy duty is because you will be flipping visible cover and usually thick cover, like shown in the pic on the right. You don't want to get snagged easy and you don't want the hook bending trying to get the fish out of the cover. I like to put a soft plastic craw trailer on the back of my flipping jig and what kind depends on the conditions. Sometimes they don't want much action and other times they do. Just have to expirement. In the really cold water a pork bait will have more action than a soft plastic bait. Sizes generally ranger from 1/4-1/2oz depending on how deep the cover and how aggressive the fish are. In general, I try to keep the bait as lite as possible, but if I have to I'll move up in weight.
A football head jig generally has a lighter duty hook and thinner weed gaurds. Its best used around rocks and open water situations. The head is long and oval shaped which helps it keep from falling into the crevices of rocks. It also keeps it from rolling on its side. Any kind of craw trailer is good, but double tail grubs are also a good choice. They generally range in sizes from 1/4-1 ounce and most people use them to fish rock flats, points and other underwater structure and cover offshore where they want to remain in contact with the bottom at all times to feel what is going on.
My personal favorite is a swimming jig. I like a bullet head jig with a heavy weedgaurd and hook that comes straight out the back rather than curving up. It helps keep the weeds from catching and the trailer looks more natural. I generally use the same colors that you would choose with a spinnerbait and I like to throw it around heavy grass cover. Cover that a spinnerbait just can't go. I'll throw it on top of matted vegetation and let it fall into the holes or burn it across the top of them. Its great for producing reaction strikes when it covers over small open holes. I like to use it to trigger the fish and then throw back in and catch them, because a lot of times the fish will miss the bait, but you've triggered it to eat and will most likely bite again if you throw back a 2nd time and slow it down. I also really like it around willow trees and flooded grass. I like to use a large single tail grub to give off some vibration and flash to the bait. They also really excell in ultra clear water and bright sunny days. Sometimes spinnerbait blades just have to much flash and the swim jig is a great alternative to that.
S.W.A.G Swimming jigs.