Swim Jigs ??

[Bird]

I'm not quite understanding the concept behind swim Jigs but certainly open minded.

 

Was at the tackle shop today and noticed that sleeker profile Jigs are gaining shelf space in the jig isle.

Have always had good success in the past with common football head Jigs and simply worked them....... like a jig, like a creature bait, dragging and hopping them through cover.

 

How would you compare your success rate with a sleeker profile swim jig and actually swimming them vs the ole football head Jigs.

 

Seems to me like a chatterbait without the blade.

Educate me on these swim Jigs.

[roadwarrior]

Keep them off the bottom, ticking grass or structure with a steady retrieve.

My best trailer has been a Rage Tail Structure Bug. 

[WRB]

You can “swim” a football jig, just reel in off the bottom and use a paddle tail style trailer.

Tom

[FishinBuck07]

Swim them back to you on a steady retrieve, and shaking the rod tip the whole time.  It makes the skirt flair, it may be a lot like a chatterbait, but you can throw a swim jig in a whole lot heavier cover!

[MN Fisher]

Run it over submerged weed tops, dropping into the weeds occasionally to flush out the bass.

 

18 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

My best trailer has been a Rage Tail Structure Bug. 

I'm still rocking them with the Berkley Pit Boss.

[LrgmouthShad]

I stood next to someone on the bank recently and they were outfishing me just rolling a swim jig slowly maybe mid water column while I was tossing a spinnerbait. They work I guess.

 

Swim jigs are a really weird concept for me. If I was to swim a jig, I'd want it to have a bucktail/other hair skirt. 

 

[Bird]

Well ended up grabbing 2 to try, we shall see.

Thanks for the insight.

[DitchPanda]

Im a chatterbait fan and a huge spinner bait fan...now that that's out of the way ill say the past 3 years a swim jig has out fished them combined by alot. They are designed to come thru grass and they are great at that. There's something about the subtlety of a swim jig that just gets bites...don't know how to explain it..they just get bit. My favorite trailer is a rage menace rigged vertical.

[813basstard]

Spinnerbait without the optional rally fun pack..

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

Spinnerbait without the optional rally fun pack..

Or chatterbait without the thumper.

[EWREX]

42 minutes ago, Bird said:

Well ended up grabbing 2 to try, we shall see.

Thanks for the insight.

those will get some bites!

[Bird]

12 minutes ago, EWREX said:

those will get some bites!

Like the way you think ?

[padon]

your on the right track. they are like a spinnerbait or chatterbait. you want to give them some erratic action , keep them moving, run them into wood grass etc. you basically fish them the same as you would the other baits but sometimes the more subtle natural appearance gets more bites.

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Well ended up grabbing 2 to try, we shall see.

Thanks for the insight.

Get yourself some paddle tails and curly grubs as well. Those look exactly like some I use to pitch to a culvert after a heavy rain. Outkast?

[Bird]

5 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

Get yourself some paddle tails and curly grubs as well. Those look exactly like some I use to pitch to a culvert after a heavy rain. Outkast?

Good eye..... OutKast.

[Deleted account]

4 minutes ago, Bird said:

Good eye..... OutKast.

I like them, but I'm not sure I can grow out a mullet...

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, Bird said:

Good eye..... OutKast.

Good choice - support those Minnesota companies.

Just now, Deleted account said:

I like them, but I'm not sure I can grow out a mullet...

Given my follically challenged head, I know I can't.

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, Bird said:

I'm not quite understanding the concept behind swim Jigs but certainly open minded.

 

Was at the tackle shop today and noticed that sleeker profile Jigs are gaining shelf space in the jig isle.

Have always had good success in the past with common football head Jigs and simply worked them....... like a jig, like a creature bait, dragging and hopping them through cover.

 

How would you compare your success rate with a sleeker profile swim jig and actually swimming them vs the ole football head Jigs.

 

Seems to me like a chatterbait without the blade.

Educate me on these swim Jigs.

 

ALL my swim jig fishing sort of feels like a finesse type deal.

Regardless of the water temp.

Like a spinnerbait or vibrating jig with any blade involvement.

I use the bait's weight, line type & size as well as the trailer selection,

to assist / enable me to fish the bait at the necessary pace.

Whether that be high up, in the middle or at the bottom of the water column,

it's still almost always 'around' some type of cover.

And I do best by keeping it moving. 

IMO, a grub is the 'subtlest' trailer and my choice for the coolest/coldest conditions.

(that's a relative term)

A small paddle tail comes in next followed by higher action trailers like craws. 

Which are often reserved for when the bass seem more willing to chase;

usually somewhat warmer water, but not always.  

Matching hook size/gauge to the condition and my tackle can help 

and I'll even use spinning gear when I need to.

Routinely for long casts with a 1/4 bait when I'm not target casting, 

but instead looking to cover water.

While there's a fairly wide array of bait's and presentations that will get bites early season,

a swim jig is one of those and an often over looked one at that.

The bite's usually pretty fun too.

Good Luck

A-Jay

 

 

[813basstard]

43 minutes ago, Bird said:

Good eye..... OutKast.

Never tried their jigs but every album they’ve come out with is legendary…

[Munkin]

The simplest way to explain them is they are bladeless spinnerbaits. 

 

Allen

[BrianMDTX]

2 minutes ago, Munkin said:

The simplest way to explain them is they are bladeless spinnerbaits. 

 

Allen

That’s a really good description of a swim jig!

[Munkin]

36 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

Never tried their jigs but every album they’ve come out with is legendary…

 

If you think it's all about pimpin' hoes and slamming Cadillac doors.

 

Allen

[GReb]

It’s not much different than swimming a swimbait, worm or craw. The skirt just adds bulk and color. It also pulsates underwater like gills. It’s a great bluegill or crawfish imitator depending on trailer and retrieve. Typically it’s most effective around vegetation.  
 

One tip I’ve learned is trimming and thinning the weed guard as much as possible to help hook sets. I will cut off the top half of the wires and trim the bottom half to barely cover the hook point. 

[Catt]

Just another tool in the bag!

 

Chatterbaits = grass

Spinnerbaits = wood

Swimjigs = both

 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Something that I was thinking of trying this year is taking a streamlined, beefy spinnerbait with braided line and your typical flipping/frogging heavy power rod and throwing it into the thickest lily pad cover I can find and just wind it through. 

 

You could do the same thing with a swim jig and it might even be a better tool for the job. The other thing I was thinking of doing this with is a johnson silver minnow. Just food for thought.