Let talk Swimming Jigs(Rod/Reel)

[Captain Obvious]

Ok I did a search of the forum and found some good stuff but I really want to dive into this.

Lets make this thread one to answer all questions about swimming jigs.

Alright to start out lets look and the jig itself

- What weights do you use? which do you throw most often?

- What colors? which do you throw most often

- What brand?

That will give us a good start.

These are my preferences.

Color: Black and Blue, Blue gill, and White

I throw the blue gill at least 75% of the time. Black and blue is for dirty water and overcast days. White for clear water or when bass are chasing shad

Weight: 1/2 oz, 3/8 oz, 1/4 oz

I throw a 3/8 oz most of the time. I will throw a 1/2 oz when I am focusing on bigger fish or extremely dirty water. 1/4 oz is for clear water or when I want to get a few more bites.

All my swimming jigs are omega except a few 1/2 oz ones. I'm also looking into making my own because I have some ideas about what could make a swimming jig better.

Capt.O

[NateFollmer]

- What weights do you use? which do you throw most often?

3/8 and 1/2 oz. I go lighter when it's cold so I can reel slower and use the 1/2 oz the rest of the time.

- What colors? which do you throw most often

Blues and blacks seem to always be working. I really like whites with some red or chartreuse for clear water and when the shad are the main forage.

- What brand?

StrikeWorks makes a good swim jig and I also like "The Blade" which is basically a swim jig with a metal lip. Really makes some great vibrations and flash. Strike King also makes perfect swim jigs to use with shadalicious swim baits.

[Gangley]

- What weights do you use? which do you throw most often?

- What colors? which do you throw most often

- What brand?

Weight is dependant upon the depth I want to swim it, and the above water weather such as wind and waves.  For deeper applications or on windy days, I will go with a 1/2oz.  For mid level applications, I go with a 3/8 oz.  For shallow such as when you bring it through lilly pads near the surface, go with a 1/4 oz. or lighter.

for colors, try to imitate the bait fish in teh area.  Some lakes have bass and perch as the food source for other bass so I will use skirts that imitate them.  Other lakes have large populations of shad as the local bait fish in which case I will throw white, white/grey, white/black, blue/grey.  I will almost always match the skirt pattern to that of the most abundant baitfish in the area

What brand?  Brand isnt important, type of jig is.  I prefer a double wire weed guard because I can bend them to meet the needs of the situation that I am fishing in.  I also prefer a bullet type jig head or a pointed jig head of some kind to keep the jig flowing smoothly through the structure/vegetation that I am bringing it through, which is usually grass of some kind.  A low cost good quality jig that gets the job done is a backwater jig.  The guy who makes them is on this website so look up backwater4, I think that is his username.  He can make whatever kind of jig you want and make it to your specifications.  Also chek out the Poison Tail jig from KaRu Lures, it comes through weekds very well and has a double wire weed guard. 

[backwater4]

Aaron,

Thanks for the compliments.

I've been experimenting with a 1/4 and 1/2 Arky style, which seems to ride very nice through the water. I also tried a couple of the 3/16 grass style with that double wire, like we made up. The double wire balances out the bait.

Size thrown most often: 1/4 Arky

Colors: Perch or Metallic Brown Orange

[Gangley]

Yeah, I have found them to run pretty true witht eh double wire weed gaurd.  The jigs you made for me have worked out well and have produced good numbers recently.  Though I never really used light jigs before, I have found a good purpose for some of them you sent my way and there is now a spot in my jig boxes dedicated to 1/4 and lighter jigs.

[Captain Obvious]

Ok  now lets talk about rod/reel set up.

I  currently am still trying to find my ideal set up so what do you guys use.

[River Rat316]

For open water/ light cover I use a cut down trolling rod that has a nice parabolic bend to it, I pair it with Braid because I still need to snap it through weeds now and again but I feel the slower rod lets them take the bait a little better because I tend to have a hair trigger on the strike.

For Heavy cover, pads, wood, that kind of stuff I use either a 7 mh fast with braid or a 6'10 heavy extra fast with floro

[adclem]

I use 1/4oz swim jigs, KVD Strike King swim jigs in sexy shad and blue shad.  I use white Kinami 4inch single tail grubs, 95% of the time.

I use a Daiwa Sol bait caster with a Falcon Cara T7 Reaction Swim Jig rod with 12lbs Yo Zuri Hybrid line.

Later,

[Gangley]

To be honest, most of the bass i catch with swim jigs hook them selves when they strike.  Its usually a pretty solid hit and very little force at all is required, just pulling back when you feel it does the trick 90 percent of the time.  I have used fast action stiff rods, and slow action parabolic bend rods, and neither seems to shine more than the other.  I generally use the slow action rod in sparse cover and the stiffer, fast action rod in heavy grass so that I can pop the jig out if it hangs up in the grass at all.

[GTrombly]

Powell's swim jig rod is on sale today at tackle warehouse.

[backwater4]

7' Team Diawa MH w/ 6:3.1 reel. For line, I go with Trilene Big Game 15lb green. I tried braid, but felt I was pulling the bait away from some fish to soon.

[RandySBreth]

I've used a very light (3/16-ounce) swim jig with a matching Kalin 5" grub for many years on the White River Chain (Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals) for years. Mostly a Winter/early Spring lure, swam slooooooowly. Shad colors. Brand? The Booyah Baby Boo in White, mostly.

I throw that on a 7' medium spinning combo, with either 6/14 Fireline or 4/15 Stren Superbraid, both in hi-vis colors, and with a 10- to 14-lb. Fluoro leader.

I just bought a mold (and I'm waiting for it to get here) for swim jigs, so shortly I'll be pouring my own jigs in 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4. ;D