Swim Jigs

[greatone1210]

I am trying to get into Swim Jigs for a few reasons;

1. I fish in some heavy, thick, nasty vegetation at times and swim jigs are supposed to be good in this cover

2. They are supposedly extremely versatile due to the number of available sizes, colors, and most trailers

3. I keep trying spinnerbaits and have not caught any fish or had a bite once. I am frustrated and rather than get so bent out of shape about it, I will focus on learning another technique and come back to spinnerbaits later (if ever).

So before I place an order with Northstar, can anyone provide what sizes and colors I should order? I am planning on order approximately 10-12 of these jigs. Also can I use flukes, swimbaits as trailers?

Thanks!

[Jake P]

I just ordered some in bull gill and Tennessee Shad since those are common prey in my neck of the Woods. I use rage tail grubs and rage tail menace for trailers but the options are endless. I night 1/4 and 3/8 oz to start with and will buy more accordingly after I get some positive results. Good luck!

[deep]

I'd use a paddletail or a single/ double-tail grub as a trailer.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

Try out big hammer's as a trailer, relatively cheap and come in quite a few sizes.

NGaHB

[ClackerBuzz]

be careful trying to learn a new technique in the wrong season. how big are the bodies of water ur fishing? you're not going to hear great spinnerbait stories in the middle of august. u can all but kiss them good bye in a small pond that had 85-90deg water temps. thats when soft plastics excel. ur swim jig is also a fast/reaction bait. both bites will slowly start to pick up from this point forward. you should kill with both of them in the fall. good luck

[roadwarrior]

3/8 oz Sexy Shad, Kentucky Blue Grass, Bull Gill and Natural Shad.

I'm using the Rage Tail Menace for trailers with the tail verticle which

immitates a minnow.

[Vinny Chase]

1/4 & 3/8 oz in swim jigs and 1/2 & 3/4 oz in Flip & Swim. The flip & swims are great around heavier cover because they have a heavy wire hook and a head design that is perfect for coming through cover cleanly. You can also swim these jigs without having them roll, which creates a VERY versatile bait.

As far as colors go, kentucky blue grass, black/blue, new gill, bull gill, and green pumpkin blue are my favorites. The great thing about these jigs is that the possibilites are endless when it comes to trailers!

[greatone1210]

be careful trying to learn a new technique in the wrong season. how big are the bodies of water ur fishing? you're not going to hear great spinnerbait stories in the middle of august. u can all but kiss them good bye in a small pond that had 85-90deg water temps. thats when soft plastics excel. ur swim jig is also a fast/reaction bait. both bites will slowly start to pick up from this point forward. you should kill with both of them in the fall. good luck

So in other words, swim jigs and spinnerbaits in the warm summer months of July/August are probably not the best choice. I am not one hundred percent sure why this is other than the bass take to deeper, cooler waters and are less active. More likely to wait for an easy meal as opposed to spending all their energy chasing baitfish or craw around. I suppose using my spinning outfit for soft plastics/finesse is a better way to get some bites. What about deeper crankbaits, jerkbaits, slashbaits?

3/8 oz Sexy Shad, Kentucky Blue Grass, Bull Gill and Natural Shad.

I'm using the Rage Tail Menace for trailers with the tail verticle which

immitates a minnow.

Thank you for the advice. Any other trailers you would recommend?

1/4 & 3/8 oz in swim jigs and 1/2 & 3/4 oz in Flip & Swim. The flip & swims are great around heavier cover because they have a heavy wire hook and a head design that is perfect for coming through cover cleanly. You can also swim these jigs without having them roll, which creates a VERY versatile bait.

As far as colors go, kentucky blue grass, black/blue, new gill, bull gill, and green pumpkin blue are my favorites. The great thing about these jigs is that the possibilites are endless when it comes to trailers!

Thanks. Do you know anything about the baby brush hogs or zoom flukes (or similar) on swimming jigs?

I guess a question that is on my mind is are swim jigs that good? I always see the spinnerbaits and cranks tied on to the lines of others but rarely a jig. This strikes me as odd considering people on here love them dearly. Does fishing a swim jig, or any other jig for that matter, make sense to do from shore or in more open water? Also, do you recommend a Jig and Worm rod for these applications since they normally come in MH with F or XF action?

You guys are awesome btw. Thanks for being patient with all my questions.

[Vinny Chase]

So in other words, swim jigs and spinnerbaits in the warm summer months of July/August are probably not the best choice. I am not one hundred percent sure why this is other than the bass take to deeper, cooler waters and are less active. More likely to wait for an easy meal as opposed to spending all their energy chasing baitfish or craw around. I suppose using my spinning outfit for soft plastics/finesse is a better way to get some bites. What about deeper crankbaits, jerkbaits, slashbaits?

Thank you for the advice. Any other trailers you would recommend?

Thanks. Do you know anything about the baby brush hogs or zoom flukes (or similar) on swimming jigs?

I guess a question that is on my mind is are swim jigs that good? I always see the spinnerbaits and cranks tied on to the lines of others but rarely a jig. This strikes me as odd considering people on here love them dearly. Does fishing a swim jig, or any other jig for that matter, make sense to do from shore or in more open water? Also, do you recommend a Jig and Worm rod for these applications since they normally come in MH with F or XF action?

You guys are awesome btw. Thanks for being patient with all my questions.

1) Brush hog might be a good trailer, but I would stay away from zoom flukes because you want some type of action from your trailer or else it is pointless. I generally am throwing either a) craw b ) swimbait c) grub.

2) I catch 75% of my fish througout the year on swim jigs. They are the most versatile bait you can throw IMHO. When the water starts heating up you can find them early in the morning up shallow with a swim jig and move out to deeper water and throw a Flip & Swim around weedlines, rock piles, and eveb better, both!

3) Jigs can be thrown anywhere! When the bite slows down, throw a NorthStar Premier or Black series jig and hop it off the bottom...rememeber to choose your head design according to what cover you're fishing....rock = football, arky = wood, alien = grass.

4) I throw my swim jigs on 7' MH F Dobyns Saavy rod and love it!

[roadwarrior]

My most productive trailer has been the Rage Tail Single Tail Grub. The Menace was just recently introduced.

[deaknh03]

I use the rage baby craw, regular craw, lobster and chunk, depending on what the fish tell me they want.

[bassr95]

I love swim jigs. to me, they have the advantage over spinnerbaits in either very clear or very weedy water. in clear water they look alot more natural, and in weedy water they do not get tangled in weeds like a spinnerbait's blades do. i mostly use either 1/4 oz bluegill color for shallow/weedy water and 1/2 oz blue/black color in deeper, clearer water. i use berkeley riple shads as trailers. (swimbait)