Swim Jigs

[shihan02]

I haven't used swim jigs much and have a few questions.

1. What are the best depths to fish them?

2. What is the proper way to set the hook? The few times I have used them and got bit i didnt hook up. Someone told me to hold my rod high and drop it when i feel a hit. Then set the hook. Is this correct or do you hit immediately?

3. Recommended jigs and weights?

[Megastink]

1) Built for weeds at any depth with hard cover mixed in (Born on the Mississippi River).

2) use a medium action rod with a little give; like a good top water rod. Hook set is sweeping like a crankbait.

3) Brovarney and Leathal Weapon (from Wisconsin). 1/4oz, white, bluegill, black/blue.

Now, for some notes: a good swimjig is designed to glide slowly through the water. 1/4 oz is the standard. A pointed head is a must. Light or regular wire hook (3/0-4/0) with a LIGHT weed guard. Line should be 30-40lb braid. Reel should be 6.4:1 or slower (5.4:1 preferred). Trailers include single and twin tail grubs, small paddle tail swimbaits.

Fish a swim jig in pads, grass, around wood, docks. You can use it in place of a square bill, chatterbait, spinnerbait, or skinny-dipper style swim bait.

Good luck!

[soccplayer07]

I usually fish them in less than 7 feet. 

I set it just like a jig or any Texas rig. I usually use a MH 7' rod 

I like to use light wire swim jigs. I think they get better action. Can't beat a Northstar Custom Baits swim jig and they're a sponsor here! 

[mnbassman23]

I usually fish them in less than 7 feet. 

I set it just like a jig or any Texas rig. I usually use a MH 7' rod 

I like to use light wire swim jigs. I think they get better action. Can't beat a Northstar Custom Baits swim jig and they're a sponsor here! 

X2 I use the same rod, same hook set, and the same jig.

 

I will slow roll a swim jig out in deep weeds as well, but most often i'm in 5ft or less. Just remember if your using a light wire hook, which is preferred, to set your drag correctly so your not bending or straightening the hook. 

[roadwarrior]

I fish a swim jig as an alternative to a spinnerbait. One advantage is getting through thick cover.

 

Most of my swim jigs are 3/8oz, but I use 1/2 oz with the Keitech Swing Impact Fat.

 

I fish both Seibert Outdoors and NorthStar.

 

Trailers include the Rage Tail Single Tail Grub, the back half of a GYCB Swimming

Senko, LFT Live Magic Shad and my new favorite, Rage Tail Menace .

 

The gear is G.Loomis MBR842C/ Core 50MG/ Yo-Zuri Hybrid #12

 

Hookset is a "snap set". Unlike a regular jig where the strike can be subtle,

swim jig strikes are violent, just like a spinnerbait bite.

[River Rat316]

I am a little different, I use a 7'mh that is a cut down trolling rod, its a little faster action than your average crankbait rod but not by much, my reasoning for this is the strikes are violent, its one of the few techniques I use braid with and I want something to give on the strike. For line I use 30-50lb Power Pro braid, the only reason I use braid is so I can snap the jig through weeds cleanly, this draws strikes and insures my jig stays weed free even through the heaviest cover.

 

As far as where I fish them I am generally fishing them shallow through the sparse to heavy weed cover, I generally look for isolated stands of coontail or pads and swim and pop my jig directly through them, occasionally letting it fall after I rip it out of the weeds. Swim jigs can also be an excellent choice for deep weedline work, slow rolling them along the edges of deep weedlines in the summer can be deadly. For shallow work I go with a 1/4-5/16 oz original for the deeper stuff it is a flip and swim in 1/2 and above. As far as hooksets go (for the light wire) I generally reel down on the fish, feel its weight and just sweep the rod back, the fish generally hook themselves and you don't need a huge hookset, it is a light wire hook and you risk the chance on blowing it out during the hookset. For the flip and swims, swing away it is a heavy hook, it can take the abuse...lol

 

As far as jigs, I obviously am biased but we took along time developing our swim jigs getting the look and feel right before bringing them out, the original swim jig swims true is hand built, tough as nails and is everything I wanted in a swim jig. The Flip and Swim is a heavy hook model that can pull double duty as a flipping jig and is still a great option for swimming around real heavy cover and out deep since it is available to 1oz. That being said there is alot of very good swim jig makers out there, Brovarney and lethal weapon are the original cheesehead style jig makers, Seibert and others build good heavy hook models. i generally shy away from mass produced brands on just about everything and don't have a comment on any of the "big" companies stuff.

 

As far as trailers go, I generally use a Paca Chunk in the summer, in the spring I use a single tail grub, mainly action plastics 4 or 5 inch mag grub, they have the perfect tail for not wrapping around the hook and fouling, and I also use swim bait type trailers like a cut down Berkely grass pig, 4" LFT live magic shad (thanks RW) or other hollow body offerings.

 

 

[rockchalk06]

Hellova reply man!!!! Thanks for that

[SirSnookalot]

For the last few weeks I've been using a jig and trailer.  I'm not one to be overly brand loyal or technique specific gear. I've been using some of of Big O's baits, not because they catch more but because he's a nice guy.  I've used some other brands with equal success.  I've been doing this in the most simplistic way I can think of, a strike king 1/4 oz generic jig and fish them either jigging, dragging on the bottom and the most effective way for me has been swimming then with my rod held a little high using my grandson's $30 Shakespere agilty on a 6'6 spinning rod with 15# braid. I don't weight fish but some have them right around 25".

[mikeeasttn]

I fish swimjigs quite a bit.  My favorite is Northstar and Dirty Jigs.  Also use the V & M and have tried the Strike King.

The trailers I use are paddle tail swimbaits, double tail grubs and have even use plastic worms.  It all depends on what the fish will hit that day.