PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
NOT JUST FOR GRASS
MLF pro Todd Faircloth fishes a swim jig around wood , as well as vegetation .
I generally don ’ t throw a swim jig in really dirty water ( less than a foot of visibility ) but when I do , I like to use a bulky trailer that moves a lot of water so the fish can find it more easily . Sometimes , when the water ’ s extremely dirty , you can catch fish on a bulky swim jig that just won ’ t bite a spinnerbait .
One of the best things about a swim jig is that it ’ s not habitat- or cover-specific : You can throw it anywhere and get bites . It ’ s a good open-water lure , and it comes through thick vegetation and wood very well .
I love throwing a swim jig around shoreline vegetation like pencil grass and water willows . If you have that kind of cover and the water temperature is in the upper 50s to the mid 60s , it just screams for a swim jig .
Mastering the basics of swimming a jig
Before I ever make a cast with a freshly rigged swim jig , I like to run it through the water next to the boat . I want to be sure it ’ s tracking straight and not rolling . If your swim jig is running off to one side or rolling , you can usually fix it by adjusting the weedguard or straightening out the trailer . I fan out the weedguards on my swim jigs . I think it helps the bait to swim better and I get a better hookset . A swim jig that ’ s not running properly isn ’ t going to get very many bites .
Once I know the bait is working properly , I ’ ll generally make a long cast past my target . I want to cover water with a swim jig , and a long cast helps to ensure that a lot of fish will see the bait . It also gets the bait away from the boat where the fish are less likely to be aware of me .
After the swim jig hits the water , I keep my rod at the 10 o ’ clock position during the retrieve – not any higher . It ’ s a good angle to keep the jig up in the water column , and it ’ s a good position for setting the hook . I ’ ll start the retrieve as soon as the jig hits the water . The high gear ratio reel means I can crank at a comfortable speed and still keep the bait up .
I generally shake my rod tip pretty vigorously during the retrieve – just 3 or 4 inches up and down – all the way back to the boat . It gives the bait an erratic look and makes the skirt flare , which I think helps trigger strikes . But there are days when the bass want a steady retrieve – no shaking .
Usually , I ’ ll swim the jig within sight – often just inches under the surface – but you have to experiment with depths and retrieve speeds until you find out where the fish are and what they want . Don ’ t do the same thing for hours without a bite . Mix it up until you figure things out .
A big key to having success with a swim jig is remembering that it ’ s still a jig and can do the things that other jigs can do . Just because we call it a “ swim ” jig doesn ’ t mean you never stop cranking it .
One of my favorite methods is to “ kill ” the jig when it reaches a high percentage spot , like a stump , the end of a laydown log or an outside weedline . These are places where bass hold to ambush prey , and killing your bait there will get you strikes that a lot of other anglers miss because they get in a rut , forget that their jig can do something besides just swim and they just never stop reeling .
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 43