ZachSnod Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 I haven't fished with jigs much, but I don't fish in deep water maybe only 1 to 10 feet depending on where I fish? What size swim jig should I buy, what colors work best, and what trailer should I use with it? Quote
ogbfishing Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 3/8 ounce is what I use for that depth, color depends on water clarity, and trailer would be a Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw. There is a topic pinned somewhere about this. Google it and it should be the first thing to pop up. 1 Quote
georgeyew Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 I agree with the post above. A 3/8 oz swim jig with a trailer will be around 5/8 or 3/4 oz. That will be plenty heavy to cover the depths that you are fishing. I tend to like a black or blue jig with the same color trailer (or green pumpkin). Quote
Super User buzzed bait Posted October 16, 2015 Super User Posted October 16, 2015 3/8 is a good all around jig size for me and a keitech swing impact is a nice swim jig trailer Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted October 16, 2015 Super User Posted October 16, 2015 3/8 oz  Trailers: Rage Tail Structure Bug & Menace Quote
monkeyman3dee Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 Just received my new siebert swim Jig in bloody shad colour, gonna try pairing it with a 4 inch GYCB swim senko. Really subtle swim action.  Had a nice bite on a dirty jigs cali swim jig in white coulour as well, using a zoom super swimmin fluke. Both jigs are 3/8 oz.  Just cast and reel at first, then try experimenting with retrieves. Sometimes I get bit within the first second of reeling, other times after I get sick of swimming it slow, I start to reel fast, and thats when I get bit.    -Joshua Quote
Super User Montanaro Posted October 16, 2015 Super User Posted October 16, 2015 I bought a 1/4 revenge swimjig. Not much smaller than 3/8. Matches size of shad better and with a trailer it adds weight to toss it further. Quote
Super User MickD Posted October 16, 2015 Super User Posted October 16, 2015 Depends on the fish, what fall rate they like that particular day. Â Sometimes they like a fast fall (1/2) and sometimes a slow fall (1/4). Â But many are favoring a 3/8, so maybe that will do it all. Â I like the Berkeley chigger craw, sometimes I cut off an inch of head to make it shorter. Â Whatever color the fish like, but mostly some shade of green with blue and chartreuse in it, or blue/black. Quote
Super User bowhunter63 Posted October 16, 2015 Super User Posted October 16, 2015 3/8 I use a Rage Menace or a smaller swim bait like a caffine shad Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted October 17, 2015 Super User Posted October 17, 2015 Anywhere in the 1\4 to 3\8 oz range. I am partial to the northern style or bullet heads for more of a finnesse approach and the California style heads for deeper water or more of beefed up approach with a thicker trailer. 1 Quote
Super User ww2farmer Posted October 17, 2015 Super User Posted October 17, 2015 3/8's is the best "all around" size, and if you only have one, that's the size I would pick. I use three sizes....1/4oz for super shallow work,from the bank out to 3'-5' FOW, 3/8's oz. for mid-depth (4'-8' FOW), and 1/2 oz for deeper weed line stuff in 8'-12' FOW. Â I K.I.S.S. for colors....bluegill for clear water, black/blue for dirty water, and white for when white is what they want. I also K.I.S.S. for trailers. I have tried many, but I always come back to one, and this one type is by far the most productive in every condition I use it in............the old, plain jane, nothing exciting to see here......... 4" single tail grub. Green pumpkin (sometimes with the tail dyed charteruse) on the bluegill, black on the black and blue, and white on the white. Rig the grub with the tail "curled" down if you want a little "lift" on the jig, or with the tail curled "up" if you want to keep it running low. I don't do anything fancy on the retrieve. Cast it out, let it hit the bottom, and start cranking at a moderate pace. Sometimes I will kill it and let it sink next to juicy spot if I have already ran it through there without a bite to see if that triggers a fish that may be lurking, but not chasing. 1 Quote
Super User Montanaro Posted October 17, 2015 Super User Posted October 17, 2015 I'd second the KISS in regards to colors. There are a lot of skirt options out there to get you spun out. Bluegill colors are fine and I have some, but green pumpkin is also a very accurate representation sometimes more so than the skirts with large strands of orange and blue. I also use white which can be used in dirty water. I also have versions of both with chartreuse strands to make them stand out (and smallmouth love chartreuse). I use boottails almost exclusively for trailers. 1 Quote
GoCougs14 Posted October 17, 2015 Posted October 17, 2015 Anybody tried Siebert Outdoors swim jig? I know it's a very popular site for high quality jigs but I haven't heard much about his swim jigs Quote
Super User ChrisD46 Posted October 17, 2015 Super User Posted October 17, 2015 3/8's is the best "all around" size, and if you only have one, that's the size I would pick. I use three sizes....1/4oz for super shallow work,from the bank out to 3'-5' FOW, 3/8's oz. for mid-depth (4'-8' FOW), and 1/2 oz for deeper weed line stuff in 8'-12' FOW.  I K.I.S.S. for colors....bluegill for clear water, black/blue for dirty water, and white for when white is what they want. I also K.I.S.S. for trailers. I have tried many, but I always come back to one, and this one type is by far the most productive in every condition I use it in............the old, plain jane, nothing exciting to see here......... 4" single tail grub. Green pumpkin (sometimes with the tail dyed charteruse) on the bluegill, black on the black and blue, and white on the white. Rig the grub with the tail "curled" down if you want a little "lift" on the jig, or with the tail curled "up" if you want to keep it running low. I don't do anything fancy on the retrieve. Cast it out, let it hit the bottom, and start cranking at a moderate pace. Sometimes I will kill it and let it sink next to juicy spot if I have already ran it through there without a bite to see if that triggers a fish that may be lurking, but not chasing. ^^This^^ ... In my clearer Southern Reservours with less vegitation I'm fine with a lighter hook  "Northern Style"  swim jig in 1/4th ~ 3/8th oz. sizes ... In the Fall , besides white - a shad color and small swim baits such as a Big Bite 4" Cane Thumper or a Swimming Super Fluke 4" Jr. can work well as a swim jig trailer . 1 Quote
ColdSVT Posted October 17, 2015 Posted October 17, 2015 I love a kietech swing impact or RI skinny dipper as a trailer...or a rage menace I like 3/8 or 1/2 oz sizes. White or a shad pattern usually works best for my but i like a bluegill pattern as well. And ofcourse the tried and true black and blue Quote
Fin Stalker Posted October 18, 2015 Posted October 18, 2015 As with all tackle get what you can build confidence in. Personally I like 3/8 or 1/2oz. in simple colors bluegill, black and white. I use several different brands of trailers but they are all some sort of boot tail design and I match the color of the trailer to the color of the jig. I fish them like a spinnerbait or I grind them across the bottom like you would a bigger swimbait. Swim jigs can produce some good fish and have become a go to bait for me. 1 Quote
Super User WRB Posted October 18, 2015 Super User Posted October 18, 2015 Define a swim jig. Scrounger head jig is a swim jig. Chatter bait jig is a swim jig Dart head jig is a swim jig Grass head jig is a swim jig Fish head jig is a swim jig Bullet head jig is a swim jig Sled head jig is a swim jig Ball head is a swim jig. In fact you can swim any jig design. The jig head weight and shape should be selected by with size, shape design of the trailer and the cover or structure you plan to use the jig in. The OP plans on casting and retreiving a jig called a swim jig. Using Siebert's swim jig listed, poison tail fish head with eyes, weed guard and skirt. You can use this jig design as a general use casting jig with a wide variety of soft plastic trailers of your choice. The weight doesn't depend on water depth if you are casting and retreiving horizontal through the water column. Weight affects how far you can cast the jig and how fast, light weight casts less distance and retrieved slower. Using trailers 3" to 4" a jig 3/16-3/8, trailers 4" to 6" a 3/8-1/2 oz would be appropriate with Siebert's swim jig. Tom 1 Quote
Molay1292 Posted October 18, 2015 Posted October 18, 2015 Define a swim jig. Scrounger head jig is a swim jig. Chatter bait jig is a swim jig Dart head jig is a swim jig Grass head jig is a swim jig Fish head jig is a swim jig Bullet head jig is a swim jig Sled head jig is a swim jig Ball head is a swim jig. In fact you can swim any jig design. IMO, Tom Monsoor and Dan Brovarney have clearly defined what a swim jig is.  You are correct you can swim any jig out there but it does not make them a swim jig.  Swimming a jig is a technique, a true swim jig is it's own entity just like  a football jig, or an arkie jig, or a ball head jig.    2 Quote
Super User WRB Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 A hollow or solid body soft plastic on a fish head jig is where the term swim jig came from, with no skirt. The skirted swim jig was made popular by Matt Allen and Califotnia jigs with a swimbait trailer, called a swim jig.These swim jigs have 5/0 hooks , 1/2-1 oz to be compatible with the swimbait trailer. Today the term has been used for any jig that is retrieved through the middle water column. If you apply today's definition then I have been fishing swim jigs for over 50 years by swimming the jig within 6" to 12" off the bottom. Tom Quote
Siebert Outdoors Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 3/8 is by far the best seller for me. Then I would say 1/4 and 1/2. Quote
zeth Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 A million answers here but I vote for 1/4 to 3/8oz Keitech Model III or whatever brand looks good to you and a keitech Fat Swing Impact, or Zoom Super Fluke. Many trailer options so use whatever fits the situation best. Best colors: White, Green Pumpkin, Watermelon, Black Quote
Super User CWB Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 I like the Std. KVD model from Strike King in 5/16 oz. Nice tweener size. Couple a bluegill color with a Big Bite Tilapia double tail grub or blue craw Menace and hang on. Quote
Super User iabass8 Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 The skirted swim jig was made popular by Matt Allen and Califotnia jigs with a swimbait trailer, called a swim jig.  The "Skirted Swim Jig" was popularized and heavily used by Mississippi River fisherman before Matt Allen was likely walking. 2 Quote
Super User WRB Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 The "Skirted Swim Jig" was popularized and heavily used by Mississippi River fisherman before Matt Allen was likely walking.As I said in the beginning of this thread....define swim jig! Tom Quote
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