Swim jigs

[Mr. Aquarium]

32 minutes ago, Fat Ika said:

If you're talking specifically for the beast coast workingman's swim jig, it's a compact swim jig with a shorter than avg swim jig hook. If using a paddletail, I like bass assassin boss shiner 3.5" for this specific swim jig. If rigging parallel to hook creature/craw, I like cutting 1 or 2 segments off a zoom speed craw. Sometimes, I use the midsize rage bug. It's almost a perfect size creature for this jig. 

Thank you. I’ll probably buy some beefy swim jigs soon. There’s a fishing show coming up, Beast coast will be there. Planting on stockin up. 
 

What scenarios do you fish a lighter swim jig compared to a beefy swim jig  

[roadwarrior]

https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/swim-jig

[Bird]

I fish Gin clear water and prefer a very slow cadence, 3/8 is my go to.

Only time I use 1oz jigs is flipping.

[LrgmouthShad]

5 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/swimjig

The Grass N Swim is excellent as well. I believe it is called Supreme Grass Jig on the site. That one comes through grass and pads cleaner. 

[WIGuide]

I've got about 4 trailers I use on a swim jig on a regular basis that I'm going to swap out on activity level. My list is how I categorize my trailers starting with the finesse to most agressive.

 

Yum Swimmin' Dinger

Kalin's Single Tail Grub

3.8" Eco Pro Tungsten Swing Shad

Missile Baits Mini D Chunk

 

The majority of the time I'll start with the swimbait and adjust from there. 

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Thank you. I’ll probably buy some beefy swim jigs soon. There’s a fishing show coming up, Beast coast will be there. Planting on stockin up. 
 

What scenarios do you fish a lighter swim jig compared to a beefy swim jig  

 

If you're stocking up on swim jigs, the link is above.  I think Mike just put a 10% sale on another thread too.  The shot caller and the swim jig are a regular swim jig (the beefier type).  The mini is a slightly lighter wire hook and (i think) a couple fewer strands of skirt.  if you want big and heavy, the megladon is also a good grass jig.

 

I choose heavy vs lighter wire depending on the cover and the water conditions.  We get a lot of really clear water here (4-10' is normal in summer) and a lot of people fishing so I tend to go smaller/thinner/lighter from June or so on (I also mute the colors downsome).  In April and May I fish the bigger profile jigs as they come from Mike with a full sized trailer (like a 4" rage menace or 3.8/4.3 keitech).  When the smaller bluegills get moving around and the fish have seen a few things I'll go to a thinner profile with a 3.3/3.8 keitech or 3" rage menace.  The 3" menace on the back of a shot caller is a perfect bluegill shape.  In a 1/4 or 3/8 you can get into the skinny stuff on the back of weedlines where there are bluegill beds and just swim it long the edge.  Bass can't resist that one.

 

 

 

[softwateronly]

For me, I usually use a paddle tail so I’m not doing the Alabama shake, the trailer does it for me, so 5/16-3/8oz is best for 1-5’ with a medium/medium fast chopped retrieve. 1/2oz does 5-8’ and 3/4oz 10-18’

 

I use standard to no jack hook on profiles 4” or bigger. I sometimes use a finesse/thin wire hook on 3-4” profiles. Dropping in and out of the weeds with a staccato retrieve can get hammered. Burning across the tops can also trigger that chase/competition bite. And heavy swim jigs plowed through the thickest jungle on the bottom can get smoked when they’re really tucked in out of the sun. 

 

scott

1 hour ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Thank you. I’ll probably buy some beefy swim jigs soon. There’s a fishing show coming up, Beast coast will be there. Planting on stockin up. 
 

What scenarios do you fish a lighter swim jig compared to a beefy swim jig  

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

Awesome info! This is why I love this forum! 
 

So like I said before, I have a variety of places, deep weeds on bottom, shallow weeds, matted, submerged just under the surface, clear water, stained water, Lilly pad flats! You name it!  
 

Im liking the idea of being able to fish the weeds without a problem, like ripping jigs off the bottom in the deep weeds, or casting into the shallow mats! 

[LrgmouthShad]

15 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I’ve got a few of those. Love the rage series 

You should get some more. Maybe from that Siebert guy’s sale. I went through all of these in the spring between pike and just generally catching a boatload

[FrnkNsteen]

I like my swim jigs! I fish them like I would a spinnerbait, but want less thump/ vibration, like in clearer water. 

 

I typically go spinnerbait in the darker, muddier water and swim jigs when the water is clearer or I want a more subtle action. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

3 minutes ago, FrnkNsteen said:

I like my swim jigs! I fish them like I would a spinnerbait, but want less thump/ vibration, like in clearer water. 

 

I typically go spinnerbait in the darker, muddier water and swim jigs when the water is clearer or I want a more subtle action. 

I fish a ton of clear water!  Lot of weedy clear clean water.  Lot of bait fish to! 

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

You should get some more. Maybe from that Siebert guy’s sale. I went through all of these in the spring between pike and just generally catching a boatload

Now you have a crate full of “ned rigs”

[Bankbeater]

For swim jig trailers I use Zoom Fat Albert, Big Salty Chunk, Small Salty Chunk, Super Chunk, and the Super Chunk Jr.  I'll change the trailer out before I change the jig.

[LrgmouthShad]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Now you have a crate full of “ned rigs”

It ain’t just the claws man. Because otherwise, of course, I would have kept using them. What can’t see is that the bodies are so torn up that they would not hold on the jig well

2 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

It ain’t just the claws man. Because otherwise, of course, I would have kept using them. What can’t see is that the bodies are so torn up that they would not hold on the jig well

Was averaging around 8-10 per menace. You do the math.

 

Gosh I miss those ponds sometimes

[Mr. Aquarium]

9 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

For swim jig trailers I use Zoom Fat Albert, Big Salty Chunk, Small Salty Chunk, Super Chunk, and the Super Chunk Jr.  I'll change the trailer out before I change the jig.

I see a trend here! You like it chunky 

[Bankbeater]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I see a trend here! You like it chunky 

Not always.  Sometimes the trailer gets nose hooked, and sometimes the trailer gets threaded on the hook.  The trailers get trimmed when the bass want a really small profile.

[Mr. Aquarium]

5 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

Not always.  Sometimes the trailer gets nose hooked, and sometimes the trailer gets threaded on the hook.  The trailers get trimmed when the bass want a really small profile.

I meant as in you, like chunk baits!

[GetFishorDieTryin]

I wasnt a swim jig guy for a long time, but now I have one tied on from April to October.  The trailer makes all the difference IMO.  A bait that gives the jig roll without me having to shake the rod is what I want.  D walkers. Swammers and Swimming super flukes have more roll then keitechs and in the case of the D walker last far longer.  

Greenfish makes what is by far my favorite swim jigs.  They only have a 1 layer skirt, like the dirty jigs finesse, but it has a stronger hook and a recessed line tie that stays cleaner.  I like a 1/4, that way I can can really slow it down and I can get it in the water without making much noise at all.  Compact or finesse swim jigs are getting popular now.  A compact swimjig will get those bigger bites on clear days when a bigger bait isnt working as well.  Greenfishs' chibi swimjig is my favorite.  Its really small with a light wire O Shaughnessy that is so sharp it sticks most of the fish witohut a hookset.  I trim the skirt down a bit and put a 4" Zoom swiming super fluke Jr and it gets bit like a finesse swimbait.  Just keep in mind the hook and brush guard are light, so it does better in light cover or open water.

Colors are simple, I use GP or GP smoke/Spot On with a GP or houdini trailer when Im in lakes where bluegill are the primary forage, which is the majority of the time and in low light or dark water I will use black.  Lakes with shad I'll throw in a gunthersville shad or white into the GP or black color line up.

 

[papajoe222]

Keep in mind that no matter what trailer you decide on, the jig skirt should be short enough to expose the action part of the trailer. (see AJay's pics)  That allows the water to flow over that section.  A longer skirt will block the flow of water.

[CM-fisher]

Already been mentioned by many other guys, but my vote is for the rage menace. You can rig it horizontally to act like a craw or vertically to imitate fat baitfish like shad or bluegill

[casts_by_fly]

I was in my tackle bag and thought of this thread so I grabbed a quick pic.  

 

this is a decent representation of my usuals. On the right are shot callers from sieberts.  I’m mostly fishing the top two but have chartreuse and white for the once or twice a year I need it. These are all standard wire and 3/8-1/2 oz. Keitechs are 3.3s and the menace is the smaller one. I’ll throw a thin version of the jigs in clear water but with the same trailers. The two bigger jigs are strike king swinging hook swim jigs.  I started fishing them last season as a bigger option. They have limitations but if you want a big profile these are a good bit longer than a normal jig and need a big trailer. These are magnum menace and keitech 4.3.  I’d happily put the 5” keitech on one. 
 

[LrgmouthShad]

A little tip that Id like to share for clearer water and I think @casts_by_fly just touched on it but not sure what he means by a "thin" version of the jigs.

 

For swim jigs in clearer water, I will cut all of the bottom strands of the jig off, leaving only the top strands. This makes it more sparse, thinner, and allows more room for the strands to pulsate. The top strands, of course, are farther from the jig body and have more room from the body of the bait. 

[casts_by_fly]

16 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

A little tip that Id like to share for clearer water and I think @casts_by_fly just touched on it but not sure what he means by a "thin" version of the jigs.

 

For swim jigs in clearer water, I will cut all of the bottom strands of the jig off, leaving only the top strands. This makes it more sparse, thinner, and allows more room for the strands to pulsate. The top strands, of course, are farther from the jig body and have more room from the body of the bait. 

 

My 'thinner' just have fewer and thinner strands compared to a normal jig, but you could just take a normal jig and do like you say.  I just got 2 jigs from dirty jigs to try and that's what they've done.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

53 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

A little tip that Id like to share for clearer water and I think @casts_by_fly just touched on it but not sure what he means by a "thin" version of the jigs.

 

For swim jigs in clearer water, I will cut all of the bottom strands of the jig off, leaving only the top strands. This makes it more sparse, thinner, and allows more room for the strands to pulsate. The top strands, of course, are farther from the jig body and have more room from the body of the bait. 

Thats what I do with most of my 1/4 jigs (if they dont come like that already) which make up the majority.  Most of the bigger fish caught on swim jigs are fry guarders and it seems like the best way to catch them is to bring the jig in slow and high in the last hour of light.      

[Jweller]

I love throwing a swim jig, one of my confidence baits.  Usually a 3/8oz (although I'm going to try 1/4oz this season) with a good old fashioned grub on the back. 

 

Light wire hook for me, I can't stand the ones with the gigantic gaffs in them.