Rookie swim jig fisherman looking for tips

[Chris519]

Hi guys,

I am a shallow water power bass fisherman. I like to fish heavy cover, wood, pads, reeds, etc. For example, I like to use big brush hogs and man-handle big bass. I like frog fishing in slop. I also like power cranking in less than 10 feet. I am not really into drop-shotting in 30 feet with 4 pound line sweating out 1 bite per hour. LOL. No patience. But, I am always looking to learn something new.

There are some very knowledgeable guys on here and I respect the advice that I read on this bass board.

So...

I have to admit that I have ‘swam’ jigs before but have never actually used a swim jig. I bought 2 outkast sunfish swim jigs in 3/8 oz. to give them a try this spring. I watched KVD on the Bass Pros show fish them. Very interesting. How do you guys retrieve your swim jigs? Do you simply reel them in like a spinner bait or do you jig them up and down as you reel them in? Also, where do you use them? Do you throw them in the same places that you would use a spinner bait? Clear or dirty water? Also as they are so light I assume you use lighter line?

Thanks!

[CAMAN]

I treat them the same way I do spinnerbaits, fish them in the same locations, with the same gear, etc...

Don't be afraid to downsize to 1/4 or even 1/8 ounce jigs, they work great also.

[RK]

Hiya -

I guess I reel them like I do a spinnerbait, but I don't crank spinnerbaits straight in either, so... Vary the retrieve, pause for a second or two now and then, speed up/slow down... Let it drop a little in holes sometimes. Incredibly versatile bait so pays to experiment. When it's bright I like to fish them high and fast to get them up in the surface glare. When it's darker I may fish them down a little more. I use a 1/4 oz the vast majority of the time, but will use a 3/8 now and then.

Have fun experimenting. Swim jigs are pretty fun.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Larson15]

One recommendation that I have is do not set the hook as soon as you feel the bite. If you do you will miss 1/2 the fish. I like to let the fish walk with it for a second before I set the hook. A lot of times the fish does not have the entire jig in its mouth on the initial strike. I learned this the hard way.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Lots of great advice.. I will lightly pump the rod while reeling.. and swim it.. and other times I will straight retrieve..

[Cecil]

I use braid with my swim jig where as I do not with a spinner bait. As far as the retrieve, I usually bring it straight it, but will vary if fish tell me otherwise.

Heard something interesting this weekend watching KVD on TV. He said if you are fishing a spinner bait and the fish are just bumping it, it's not that you are reeling too fast and they can't get it, its that they are getting too good of a look at it and you need to speed it up. I would assume the same for swim jigs and it makes PERFECT sense to me...

[slopmaster]

I usually use 30-40lb braid with a 1/4oz swim jig. On those long casts in shallow cover i like the power of braid to get a good hook set and get them back to the boat. When i fish more open water or sparse weeds i'll use 15lb co-poly. I'll sometimes do a straight retrieve but 95% the time I'll either lightly pump it or vary the speed by reeling faster/slower. I throw them everywhere i'd throw a spinnerbait, but more importantly the places i cant get a spinnerbait without weeding up. I throw them in thick cover and they seem to almost always come out clean. Throwing them into thick weeds and ripping them free has produced a lot of fish for me and also throwing them back 15-20ft into pencil reeds and swimming them back through has worked great. Pretty versatile bait and the sky is the limit on where to use them.

[Irish]

Heard something interesting this weekend watching KVD on TV. He said if you are fishing a spinner bait and the fish are just bumping it, it's not that you are reeling too fast and they can't get it, its that they are getting too good of a look at it and you need to speed it up. I would assume the same for swim jigs and it makes PERFECT sense to me...

Saw this as well. I've never thought of it that way before but I agree that it makes perfect sense. Gonna have to try it this year.

[gritsnham]

I use a 3/8oz for most swim jig fishing but later in the summer I have had some decent success tossing 1-1.5oz jigs as well. You have to fish them fast and they have a bulkier profile which has fooled some mid-late summer piggys for me.

Really take larson15's advice to heart, fish usually slam a swim jig so it can be easy to go for the instant set. I always bow my rod towards the fish when they hit and then when the rod starts to load up from the fish I let em have it