SWIM JIG Legend
Monsoor caught this Smith Lake spotted bass on one of the 3,000 swim jigs that he builds each year with his own hands .
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA
Needless to say , he ’ s a fanatic about color . Many of his top choices are modeled after crankbaits and soft-plastic hues . There ’ s sexy shad , pro blue and even fire-tiger jigs in his box . The secret to a beautiful jig , of course , lies in the skirt .
“ A while back , I got hooked up with the guys from Skirts Plus in Minneapolis ,” he says . “ It ’ s the neatest place in the world to me . I ’ m in there for hours .”
Monsoor fashions each skirt in much the same way a fly angler ties flies . Small amounts of silicone material are uniformly added and hand strung . In total , 22 strands of material are used for each skirt – a number far less than most commercial skirts available at tackle stores . Monsoor arrived at the number , again , through time on the water .
“ I used to use living rubber ; that stuff was nasty – it melted in your tackle box ,” he recalls . “ I ’ ve still got some .
“ When using the old rubber , the skirt material had to match up on all sides of the jig to get it to run right .”
In order to make it easier to balance the rubber , Monsoor would purposely use less of it . “ From that , I learned that you didn ’ t need a lot of skirt .” He insists that the tying process is still “ a marathon ,” but another modern invention helps the cause . “ I use flat , waxed-nylon thread ,” he explains . “ It ’ s the coolest stuff there is . It seals perfect and it never twists .” In all , Monsoor carries a minimum of 20 colors of his perfect swim jig , and it ’ s a palette that ’ s ever-expanding .
“ Basic colors work , but I always have to try new stuff ,”
Monsoor says . “ Sometimes the fish haven ’ t seen it .” Still , the primary shades get their share of bites . “ Okay , four colors ,” he contemplates , almost protesting . “ White . Black and blue . Green pumpkin . And …” followed by a pregnant pause . “ Green pumpkin and orange . I catch a lot of fish on that one .”
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
To complete the whole package requires the right trailer . For Monsoor , Gary Yamamoto-designed plastics have always been the go-to .
“ It started with the Yamamoto grub – that was my only trailer for over 20 years ,” he says . “ But now there ’ s a bunch of good choices .”
Monsoor ’ s latest favorite trailer is the Yamamoto Swim Senko . Sometimes , though , he uses a small swimbait , or even a craw . Prevalent forage drives the decision , just as it does when selecting color .
Monsoor won the first big bass tournament I ever fished , and I ’ m sure I ’ m not alone in saying that . He did it – as it should be – swimming a jig . There may not be a pro in our sport so synonymous with a specific lure . Monsoor ’ s life ’ s work has paid him some big dividends and gave us all far more chances to catch shallow bass .
50 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2021