SMALL, SUBTLE SWIMBAITS
F
by Curtis Niedermier
THE JIGS
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MATT PACE
inesse fishing doesn’t always
mean dragging a worm on
bottom. Small swimbaits offer
a great finesse option too, and
they work from the surface to the
lake floor.
FLW pros Shane LeHew and
Jeremy Lawyer proved small swim-
baits’ worth in the summertime by
using Keitech Easy Shiners (the 3-
incher for LeHew and 4-incher for
Lawyer) at the Forrest Wood Cup to
make the top 20. However, both
anglers use the Easy Shiner quite
often in the fall and winter, and in
many tough-bite situations.
A FINESSE OPTION THAT STAYS ON THE MOVE
SMOOTH SIDES FOR LESS WATER DISTURBANCE
AND MORE SUBTLE PRESENTATION
4-INCH EASY SHINER
LAWYER’S CUSTOM 3/16-OUNCE LEAD JIGHEAD
3-INCH EASY SHINER
SHANE’S BAITS (MADE BY LEHEW) 1/16- OR
3/16-OUNCE JIGHEAD WITH 2/0 HOOK
SMALL BOOT TAIL THAT KICKS WITH
THE SLIGHTEST MOVEMENT
4-INCH EASY SHINER
LAWYER’S CUSTOM 3/16-OUNCE WEEDLESS JIGHEAD FOR FISHING AROUND TIMBER
WHEN IT WORKS BEST
-
-
-
-
wintertime in clear-water fisheries
post-frontal bluebird days with slick conditions and neutral fish
when bass are foraging on small baitfish
anywhere smallmouths live in clear water
CHANGE OF DIRECTION
When winding a small swimbait, any
kind of deflection or change of speed or
direction helps trigger bites. Otherwise,
bass are prone to follow the swimbait
without eating.
PUTTING IT TO WORK
SCENARIO 1: Bass are schooling at the surface
TECHNIQUE: At the Cup, LeHew and Lawyer threw the Easy Shiner to catch schooling bass that seemed to shy
away from topwaters and soft jerkbaits. Lawyer had some success by burning the bait about 6 inches under the sur-
face. LeHew fished his the same way, but occasionally killed his retrieve to trigger bites.
6 IN
LAWYER
LEHEW
100
kill retrieve
FLWFISHING.COM I DECEMBER 2016