Swim Jig Basics?

[cjam93]

So I am thinking about trying out a swim jig for the first time this saturday. I was hoping for some basic tips.

 

1. In stained water (1-3feet visibility) what colors would you recommend? I have a siebert outdoors swim jig in bluegill I was thinking about throwing.

 

2. Generally are they better with a little speed or slow rolled?

 

3. When a fish hits it how do you set the hook? Do you reel down on them and just put pressure or do you cross their eyes?

[MrSwimJig]

I have used white, sexy shad, black and blue etc... In those conditions with great success. As far as retrieve speed that will vary. But I use a 7.3:1 reel and usually keep a nice steady retrieve. For hook set no need to cross their eyes. Subtle turn of the hips and that usually does the trick for me. They will hook their selves most of the time.

[roadwarrior]

Good success with the Siebert Outdoors and NorthStar swim jigs in bluegill pattern.

I'm using either a Rage Tail Menace or Shellcracker as a trailer. The strike is generally

very aggressive and the fish hooks itself. I suggest sweeping your rod while reeling down,

then firmly lifting your rod tip. The key is to maintain constant pressure. 

[SirSnookalot]

I make my own jigs using Rabbit fur, black has been catching bass and peacocks.

[Fishing_Cory]

I fish mine different every time, burn it, slow, yo-yo, pausing, whatever the fish tell me that day.  My hooksets are pretty much a sweeping hookset, maybe a little upward motion in there but as stated earlier they normally hook themselves.

[iabass8]

1/4oz swim jig

Subwoofet, paca craw, or rage craw trailer

Color: blue gill, black/purple/blue, white/gold

Retrieve at a slow to moderate pace and pump the rod slightly to keep it in the strike zone but stop it at the same time. Almost like dangling it. If theres cover anywhete, even in 6 inches of water, smack that swim jig in it. Throw it in pads, grass and rip it through. As the water gets warmer, speed up the retrieve if you want

They more times than not hook themselves so just lean into it.

[cjam93]

Thank you everyone for all of the advice! I appreciate it!

1/4oz swim jig
Subwoofet, paca craw, or rage craw trailer
Color: blue gill, black/purple/blue, white/gold
Retrieve at a slow to moderate pace and pump the rod slightly to keep it in the strike zone but stop it at the same time. Almost like dangling it. If theres cover anywhete, even in 6 inches of water, smack that swim jig in it. Throw it in pads, grass and rip it through. As the water gets warmer, speed up the retrieve if you want

They more times than not hook themselves so just lean into it.

Thanks for the input! If you dont mind me asking another question what do you mean by pumping the rod? I have seen that terminology quite a bit over the past few days on here, but I havent heard it before. What does that actually mean? Thanks again!

[iabass8]

Thank you everyone for all of the advice! I appreciate it!

Thanks for the input! If you dont mind me asking another question what do you mean by pumping the rod? I have seen that terminology quite a bit over the past few days on here, but I havent heard it before. What does that actually mean? Thanks again!

Cast the swim jig out.

While retrieving, hold the rod around 11' oclock and shake the jig while reeling at the same time. What you are doing is keeping the jig in spot in the water column and its barely moving forward while the skirt flares and the trailer works. Think of holding the bait in front of a fishes face and just bouncing it up and down almost cat and mouse like. Same concept except you are reeling it in at the same time

[cjam93]

Cast the swim jig out.

While retrieving, hold the rod around 11' oclock and shake the jig while reeling at the same time. What you are doing is keeping the jig in spot in the water column and its barely moving forward while the skirt flares and the trailer works. Think of holding the bait in front of a fishes face and just bouncing it up and down almost cat and mouse like. Same concept except you are reeling it in at the same time

Ok awesome thank you I will for sure try that Saturday! And when you said bluegill did you mean in general or for the water conditions I was talking about? It is not actually muddy but for sure not stained. I throw a lot of green pumpkin senkos on this particular lake, so I thought the blue gill looked good, but I wasnt sure if it were different for a moving bait compared to a plastic.

[iabass8]

I would throw bluegill regardless of water clarity. Especially if its the primary forage

[cjam93]

Ok sounds good thanks! The main forage is shad, but there are bluegill in there of course as well. I only have the one swim jig though so I will try it this weekend and get something else later if I like it.

[MarkH024]

I would throw bluegill regardless of water clarity. Especially if its the primary forage

x2

[einscodek]

I dislike green swimjigs in stained water unless its like high noon .. I dunno but I wouldnt waste time just my experience.

If you wanna use green in stained, I'd put a blade in front of that puppy.. bladed swimjig in green .. now that will rock the fish in stained.

[ww2farmer]

So I am thinking about trying out a swim jig for the first time this saturday. I was hoping for some basic tips.

 

1. In stained water (1-3feet visibility) what colors would you recommend? I have a siebert outdoors swim jig in bluegill I was thinking about throwing.

 

2. Generally are they better with a little speed or slow rolled?

 

3. When a fish hits it how do you set the hook? Do you reel down on them and just put pressure or do you cross their eyes?

 1. I fish a bluegill pattern 98% of the time, and when I am not using bluegill I have used white....you said in your other post the primary forage is shad, you'll catch plenty on the bluegill color, but get some white ones too, and see what one they like better in that body of water. If the water is really stained, (which 3' of vis. IS NOT IMHO) I use a spinner bait and I am starting to use chatter baits in this situation and like the results so far, when it gets to less than 2' of visibility I generally switch.

 

2. Depends.........some days they want it up high and going fast, other days it a slow roll, and sometimes something in between. Generally the colder the water the slower I reel, and it's one technique where I don't impart much added action....just run it into stuff, rip it out of grass, or kill it  once in a while and that seems to get them going.

 

3. Don't jerk when you feel the thump, you will pull it right away from them, kind of think of it as under water frog fishing, wait to feel them , then crack them.

 

Experiment with trailers, I found a single curly tail grub to be the best and most versatile, but sometimes a swim bait, or a trailer with almost no action works better.

[cjam93]

 1. I fish a bluegill pattern 98% of the time, and when I am not using bluegill I have used white....you said in your other post the primary forage is shad, you'll catch plenty on the bluegill color, but get some white ones too, and see what one they like better in that body of water. If the water is really stained, (which 3' of vis. IS NOT IMHO) I use a spinner bait and I am starting to use chatter baits in this situation and like the results so far, when it gets to less than 2' of visibility I generally switch.

 

2. Depends.........some days they want it up high and going fast, other days it a slow roll, and sometimes something in between. Generally the colder the water the slower I reel, and it's one technique where I don't impart much added action....just run it into stuff, rip it out of grass, or kill it  once in a while and that seems to get them going.

 

3. Don't jerk when you feel the thump, you will pull it right away from them, kind of think of it as under water frog fishing, wait to feel them , then crack them.

 

Experiment with trailers, I found a single curly tail grub to be the best and most versatile, but sometimes a swim bait, or a trailer with almost no action works better.

Sounds good thank you for the advice! I agree 3ft is really not that stained. I should have worded it better. Basically the water is usually stained  and less than 3ft of visibility. We only get 3ft on a really good day.

[iabass8]

I dislike green swimjigs in stained water unless its like high noon .. I dunno but I wouldnt waste time just my experience.

If you wanna use green in stained, I'd put a blade in front of that puppy.. bladed swimjig in green .. now that will rock the fish in stained.

Green pumpkin /w blue, orange, maybe purple and a few strands of chartreuse (bluegill...) excels so well in stained water. any water for that matter..as long as it isn't mud.

[Munkin]

This is what I have found in experimenting with swim jigs:

 

Swim jig to me is just a more subtle version of a spinnerbait. I use them in the same colors as a spinnerbait which I generally base on available forage. Shadish and bluegillish seem to work the best but I have caught many on a GP one as well. For trailers I have found that a single tail grub works best in open water and a paddle tail like a RI dipper works best around weeds, etc.

 

Allen

[Choporoz]

What's the difference between a swim jig and other jigs?  I, too, am among those committed to upping my jig-confidence, which is extremely low at the moment.  I've acquired a number of jigs over the years, but looking at them now, I can't tell what each might have been called when designed -- football, casting, swim, grassy, finesse, flip, matta, dredge....honestly, when I open my tackle box, I see green jigs and brown jigs and some hair jigs...I'm more than a little confused

[Choporoz]

Sorry for jacking this swim jig thread...if anyone has a link to a more basic jig primer, please pass it on....

[jiggz125]

Sorry for jacking this swim jig thread...if anyone has a link to a more basic jig primer, please pass it on....

Watch this video it is very informative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdMiu1M0fp0

[Choporoz]

Watch this video it is very informative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdMiu1M0fp0

Awesome!  Thank you.  That was instructive.  Its much more about presentation than about different lures, apparently.  I'd been fishing swim jigs exclusively --   Until I learned from reading on this site that I've been doing it all wrong...LOL. 

 

 

     I'm a converted walleye fisherman and swimming jigs (usually trolling) was 90% of the successful fishing -- it's all I knew.   I was beginning to think it was much more about different kinds of special swim jigs, but looking at them in the shops I couldn't tell the difference.  I've been bouncing jigs through the water column for years never knowing until recently that I was supposed to have them on the bottom....nice to know that what I knew that was wrong isn't

[jiggz125]

Awesome!  Thank you.  That was instructive.  Its much more about presentation than about different lures, apparently.  I'd been fishing swim jigs exclusively --   Until I learned from reading on this site that I've been doing it all wrong...LOL. 

 

 

     I'm a converted walleye fisherman and swimming jigs (usually trolling) was 90% of the successful fishing -- it's all I knew.   I was beginning to think it was much more about different kinds of special swim jigs, but looking at them in the shops I couldn't tell the difference.  I've been bouncing jigs through the water column for years never knowing until recently that I was supposed to have them on the bottom....nice to know that what I knew that was wrong isn't

I havent officially been able to do it yet, opener is next weekend. But though information on here and youtube I feel I am ready to bust into Swim Jig fishing. Doesnt seem overally diffcult and I like the different ways you can switch up the trailers and colors. I have stuck to what I have learned over the winter.

 

I have black/blue Strike King Swim Jig paired with Black/Blue Baby Paca. All-terrain white shad swim jig paired with Berkley Havoc Pearl White Silver Fleck(cut about 1.5" off) and a Outkast Pro Swim Jig Bold Gill paired with Berkley Pit Boss Okachobee. All of them are 1/4oz in weight. I have picked up a few other 3/8oz in black/yellow for the perch imatation look.

 

Cannot wait until next weekend to put it all to the test!

[cjam93]

That link is very helpful! Actually watching it right now, thanks! Im going to be trying this out tomorrow!