Swim Jigs... skirted/non-skirted

[OkobojiEagle]

If you feel skirted swim jigs catch more bass (largemouth or smallmouth) than non-skirted jig heads/soft plastic baits I seriously want your opinion why?  In my clear water lakes without woody cover(except docks) to necessitate weed guards, I haven't caught a single bass swimming a skirted jig.  This lack of success spans several years of occasional comparisons fishing my waters when I am catching bass with jig heads/plastic.  I catch all kinds of fish swimming various plastics on jig heads.  Why do you add a skirt that changes the silhouette of the trailer and deal with a stiff weed-guard?  I'm expecting to hear dark water color to play a part in this discussion, but other than that I'm baffled why you have more success with a skirted swim jig than a skirtless jig head.

 

oe

 

edit for clarity:  This is not a discussion about dragging skirted jigs ON the bottom or through brush.

[Quarry Man]

The skirt has action that makes it enticing. I throw an assortment of bait when they are feeding on baitfish, switching in order as the bite slows down.

 

whopper popper -> spinnerbait/chatterbait -> Swim Jig -> Keitech

 

thats what works for me

[NHBull]

I have gone to the swim jig a lot more lately, but cut the shirt shorter to allow it to flair on a pause.......my bites have increased dramatically since doing so

[webertime]

I'm of the no skirt persuasion myself.  I could see perhaps if you were in a lake with no slender baitfish, that the skirt would make a swimbait a bit more panfishy (water displacement and profile), but that's it.  I do think it's 99% confidence when it all comes down to whether someone uses one or not. 

[Eric J]

Thanks for posting this.... I just started messing with jigs and have been using a trailer with no luck. I'm likely going to go trailer-less while I figure it out...