VIDEO BELOW Swim jigs are an excellent choice for a wide variety of fishing conditions, but this
technique truly excels in spring. When fish are active and they seem hesitant
to strike jerkbaits, or fail to commit to a flashy spinnerbait, the swim jig is
a good option to cover shallow to mid water depths on the fly. A
BIG BITE Jigs
are big fish baits from west to east. So,
why are jigs constantly accounting for some of the largest fish catches? Their
profile and available options accurately represent a wide array of forage and
can be fished in, around and through a variety of cover and structure.
Location
and retrieval speed play an important role when targeting largemouth bass near
spawning flats. Instead of running and gunning to multiple areas, an angler can
figure out the bite relatively quickly if he or she identifies the spawning
flats and uses electronics to locate one to two foot drops nearby. In
lakes such as this small body of water in the video, instead of a massive drop
of three to four feet, this largemouth was caught off of a green weed line just
yards from the top of a spawning flat with a relatively shallow drop on the
edge. The reward came from a slow, steady retrieve with one of my favorite all time
swim jigs – The Dirty Jigs Swim Jig. Depending
on the skirt colors and weights, I extensively look to Dirty Jigs and Warrior
Baits for their attention to detail and quality. This particular Dirty Jigs
Swim Jig is the 3/8 ounce model in black and blue, paired with a Strike King
Rage Craw trailer. It’s hard to beat the bluegill and perch patterns so I highly
recommend these two colors. When stepping up to ½ ounce models, I tie on the
Warrior Baits Tomahawk Swimming Jig in Shad or Hats Shad. I rely on both brands
depending on the situation which is ultimately driven by the weather and light
conditions. No funny business here; I am a pro-staff member of one company and
a retail customer of the other.
With a swim jig you can take all of the
available colors and skirt materials known from football and pitching jigs and add
the ability to experiment with trailers and retrieval speed for the ultimate
largemouth technique.
LURE SELECTION
I avoid using medium to medium-heavy gear for the technique and focus on a
stick that can button and hold the fish with a tremendous amount of pressure
from the help of a stiff backbone. In combination, if properly choosing the
location and having suitable equipment for the job, I am confident that the
swim jig technique will help you avoid a sore ego with the benefits of a sore thumb
no matter your experience level.
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