Swing Head Jig In Fall / Winter ?

[ChrisD46]

For those who use the swing head jig like a :  "bottom bouncing crankbait" - how many of you have success using the Biffle Hard Head & Biffle Bug (or similar) on a swing head jig during the Fall & Winter time frames OR is it really just a late Spring and Summer deal ? ... Thanks in advance for replies !

[WRB]

A swing head has more trailer action when moving! Moving along the bottom, swimming through the water column or falling down through the water column. If bass are reacting to moving trailer action the swing head may be an advantage during any seasonal period.

I am not a fan of swing heads do to the way I prefer to present bottom contact jigs. It's my belief that most of my strikes occur after the jig hit bottom and the skirt/trailer combination flares out with the trailer rising upward giving a life like crawdad movement. Swing heads can't stand up and the heavy hook weighs the trailer down onto the bottom at rest. The colder the water is the slower the basses reaction becomes, so a stand up jig head allows for a slower presentation with life like action. 

The only way to know what bass prefer is try both types of jigs.

Tom

 

[Catt]

Year round!

 

Big trailers in warm water & smaller trailers in cold water.

 

 

[ChrisD46]

3 hours ago, WRB said:

A swing head has more trailer action when moving! Moving along the bottom, swimming through the water column or falling down through the water column. If bass are reacting to moving trailer action the swing head may be an advantage during any seasonal period.

I am not a fan of swing heads do to the way I prefer to present bottom contact jigs. It's my belief that most of my strikes occur after the jig hit bottom and the skirt/trailer combination flares out with the trailer rising upward giving a life like crawdad movement. Swing heads can't stand up and the heavy hook weighs the trailer down onto the bottom at rest. The colder the water is the slower the basses reaction becomes, so a stand up jig head allows for a slower presentation with life like action. 

The only way to know what bass prefer is try both types of jigs.

Tom

 

*Great perspective Tom - I'm absolutely with you on the moving aspect of the swing head jig platform which is probably why it is more popular in the warmer months but could still be popular in colder water (at slower speed) with a less "flaying appendage"  trailer like a beaver ... You also made me think about trailers a little different for the late Fall / Winter jig bite ... I need to look for trailers which float up a bit OR are at least neutral  buoyancy .

2 hours ago, Catt said:

Year round!

 

Big trailers in warm water & smaller trailers in cold water.

 

 

*Thanks Catt  ... A skirted option for the wobble / swivel head jig !

[Catt]

13 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*Thanks Catt  ... A skirted option for the wobble / swivel head jig !

 

Ya ever watch a crawfish crawl around?

 

Their pinchers are not sticking up in the air unless they are frightened!

 

So having your jig lie flat on the bottom looks natural to the bass. Once you move your jig the pinchers go up signalling defensive mode. When you hop it, it's escape mode.

 

All drawing the Bass's attention!

 

Strike King Swinging Swim Jig ?

[ww2farmer]

In my application, style, and system of wobble head fishing. I use them almost exclusively for smallmouth, and almost exclusively during cooler water periods. 

 

 

[ChrisD46]

Mostly Spots where I live ...

[WRB]

A swing head has more trailer action when moving! Moving along the bottom, swimming through the water column or falling down through the water column. If bass are reacting to moving trailer action the swing head may be an advantage during any seasonal period.

I am not a fan of swing heads do to the way I prefer to present bottom contact jigs. It's my belief that most of my strikes occur after the jig hit bottom and the skirt/trailer combination flares out with the trailer rising upward giving a life like crawdad movement. Swing heads can't stand up and the heavy hook weights the trailer down onto the bottom ar rest. The colder the water is the slower the basses creation becomes, so stand up heads allow a slower presentation with life like action.

Tom

 

[WRB]

16 minutes ago, WRB said:

A swing head has more trailer action when moving! Moving along the bottom, swimming through the water column or falling down through the water column. If bass are reacting to moving trailer action the swing head may be an advantage during any seasonal period.

I am not a fan of swing heads do to the way I prefer to present bottom contact jigs. It's my belief that most of my strikes occur after the jig hit bottom and the skirt/trailer combination flares out with the trailer rising upward giving a life like crawdad movement. Swing heads can't stand up and the heavy hook weights the trailer down onto the bottom ar rest. The colder the water is the slower the basses creation becomes, so stand up heads allow a slower presentation with life like action.

Tom

 

Catt certainly knows crawdads better then I do. My experience goes back to my teen years catching, raising, eating and using crawdads as live bait. Crayfish or crawdads don't normally walk backwards they walk forward and use their claws for protection and holding food. Crawdads swim backwards to escape predators. A jig with a craw trailer represents a escaping panic crawdad. When the craw stops swimming backwards it is in a defensive position claws up and looking for a place to hide or take off agian to escape.

LMB don't fool around with a crawdad, they simply engulf it and kill it. Smallmouth and Spotted bass tend to be more cautious and either engulf the craw or grab it by it's claws then engulf it. 

Bottom line is undisturbed crawdad walk around the bottom slowly moving forward, they swim very fast backwards kicking the tails to get out of harms way.

Tom

 

[Catt]

14 minutes ago, WRB said:

Crayfish or crawdads don't normally walk backwards they walk forward

 

If we truly wanted to imitate a real crawfish we would rig it backwards.

 

Jig-n-Craw vs a Swing Head Jig is simply a defensive posture vs a non-defensive posture.

 

Some anglers prefer only one option ?

[Bluebasser86]

I use them more than a T-rig in the winter, but I'm dragging them more than cranking them. 

[WRB]

On October 27, 2018 at 10:06 AM, Catt said:

 

If we truly wanted to imitate a real crawfish we would rig it backwards.

 

Jig-n-Craw vs a Swing Head Jig is simply a defensive posture vs a non-defensive posture.

 

Some anglers prefer only one option ?

When I first started to fish live crawdads as a kid we tail hooked them, that was how it was done. When joined the Pisces Bass club in '69 to learn how to catch Florida strain LMB in San Diego I learned how to nose or beak hook a crawdad. Hooking the craw just in front of it's eyes the bug could swim backwards quickly down to the bottom after casting it, then with "stitched" the line back slowly pulling the walking craw along to prevent it getting into brush or under rocks. When you felt the craw trying to kick backwards you knew a strike was coming! Just a little history for you.

Tom

[Catt]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

Just a little history for you.

Tom

 

A history lesson just for me!  ?

 

I've fished em tail hooked, beak hooked, Super Glued, & the most popular rubber bands.

[WRB]

For me rubber bands seemed to keep the bug fooling with them instead of moving around and didn't work well.

The history part was for anyone curious where the stitching retrieve started for worm fishing, it was a crawdad retreive borrowed from fly fishing, adapted to the split shot rig.

Eastman 910 was a dental glue that Bill Murphy showed me in the late 60's to glue treble hooks onto the crawdads back long before it became Super glue. Beak hooked with a thin wire squid hook worked best for me.

So far off topic now, better close it and discus swing jigs.

Tom

[lo n slo]

i’ve read about this “stitching” years ago, interesting.