Scott Petersen |
What would you say if I told you that I have found a backup
bait to compliment my spinnerbait? We have all had days that
when we hit the water we grab a spinnerbait to cover water
to try to get an idea as to what the bass are doing. As the
day goes on we start to put a few things together and by the
time we come off of the water we can look back and see that
today shaped up to be pretty good and you think now I have
a pretty good idea of what is going on and tomorrows day on
the water will even be better.
The next
day you head back to the area that you took fish in yesterday,
you retie your spinnerbait before your first cast and spend
the next hour just doing that, casting. From time to time
you can feel bass come up and push your spinnerbait but
you cannot get any of the bass to commit to the spinnerbait
like they did yesterday. When I get days like this the first
bait that I reach for is a swim jig. Looking at the
spinnerbait and the swim jig they are a great 1, 2 combination
and should be used as such. I will make this bold statement,
anywhere you can fish a spinnerbait, you can fish a swim jig
and maybe in some cases you can even fish a swim jig better.
Let’s
take a close look at the swim jig and some tactics in how
to get the most out of this offering.
How many times has this happened to you, you make a cast
to a target that you want to hit but your cast falls short,
in frustration you reel your jig back in to make another cast
but you see a bass follow your jig. Seeing the boat the bass
stops and turns away from the jig. This is the early stages
of how the swim jig craze started. It was a few clever fishermen
that started to take advantage of this new tactic and the
rest is now a viable pattern that is used in tournaments all
over the country.
Hearing of this new pattern I went to work the last few years
to see what this swim jig tactic was all about. Working close
with Outkast Tackle I have come up with the following points
in how I took my swim jigs presentation to the next level.
Make Up Of The Outkast Swim Jig
The Outkast swim jig is made around a 30 degree Mustad Ultra
Sharp hook, and comes in 4 different sizes 1/8oz, 1/4oz,
3/8oz and 1/2oz. sizes. When it comes to the swim jig skirt
Outkast uses a 30 strand skirt to give the jig allot of
action in the water when the bait is swimming. They have
found through many hours of testing that by using a 30 strand
skirt the jig has more action than a bigger, bulkier skirt
and this added action will attract and catch more fish.
Plastics play a big part of the swim jig make up and the
Outkast Swim Jig has a double barb plastic keeper to hold
your plastic offering secure and in place. The Outkast Swim
Jig comes in 12 top fish catching colors allowing you to match
the hatch on your favorite body of water.
Equipment
When it comes to fishing a swim jig you have a few options
and how you end up fishing the swim jig will come down to
your personal preference. I generally use two different
setups the first is a 7ft medium action baitcaster setup
with a matching baitcaster reel in 6.1 speed. Spooled on
this reel is 15lb to 20lb Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon line.
I generally use this setup when I am fishing in clear water
conditions. This will cover water depths from shallow to
deep.
If I am
faced with fishing in heavy cover or I am using a swim and
flip retrieve combination for my swim jig presentation,
for these conditions I will use a 7’3” to 7’6” flippin
stick, teamed with a matching reel spooled with 30lb to 65lb
braided line. This combination gives me the extra power
that I need to be able to get the bass up and out of the cover
and still be able to catch bass in open water conditions.
Jig Sizes
To start where do you fish the swim jig at? I consider using
a swim jig anywhere I fish a spinnerbait and even more.
What I mean with this statement is in places that you have
fished spinnerbaits before you can fish a swim jig and even
in places that you cannot fish a spinnerbait in you can
many times fish a swim jig. This hands down makes the swim
jig a viable option to fish in many different conditions.
Let’s
start small when I am fishing an inside weedline I will
rig up a 1/8oz to 1/4oz swim jig. The inside weedline is
generally located in 1 1/2ft to 3ft of water. As I move
out onto the flats I will still use a 1/4oz and may move
up to a 3/8oz swim jig to reach some of the deeper weed
flat areas. To fish the deeper weed edge or rocks I will
use either a 3/8oz or 1/2oz jig. 3/8oz and 1/2oz jig sizes
are also fall back sizes to use in windy conditions when
needed.
The main thing when fishing a swim jig is to cast the lure
out and let the jig sink down a few feet then start to reel
your offering back to the boat. You want to get your jig to
make contact with the cover that you are fishing. If it is
weeds you want the swim jig to tick the weeds as it is coming
back to the boat. If I am fishing in heavy cover I use the
same plan here but if the cover is thick or if I have a down
tree in the water I will work this cover in two different
ways. For the first couple casts I will swim the jig past
the cover trying to make contact as the jig goes by. As I
get closer to this cover I will work the jig up to the cover
and stop it, allowing the jig to fall into the cover to trigger
strikes from bass that will not come out of cover to chase
my offering. Once I get close enough to the cover to flip,
I will make a few pitches into the tree to see if I cannot
trigger a strike or two.
Trailers
When it comes to swim jigs you have to pay attention to the
trailers that you use. Different trailers will give your
swim jig a different action and fall speed so spend some
time getting to know what different trailers will do to
the action of your swim jig.
The standard
trailer for a swim jig is a 4” or 5” grub
tail, but I have found other trailers that will give my swim
jig more action and will give me a different look than other
guys using a swim jig. My hope is a different trailer will
give my swim jig a look that the bass are not used to or have
seen before.
So the next time you are looking to change things up a little
tie on a swim jig and go to work. You will soon find that
a swim jig is an offering that will put bass over the side
of your boat.
Create
some memories please remember to practice CPR (Catch, Photo
and Release). The future of fishing is in your hands. For
more timely bass tips and tactics and to
read more from Scott Petersen, visit his web site Fishing
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