 Every spring there are hundreds of anglers out on the water throwing Spinner Baits but if your looking for a jig bite, swimming it can really be an effective presentation. In fact when the bass have seen all those spinner baits a jig is something different and can attract that big bite when you don't expect it. The key to swimming a jig is to understand the presentation and how to attract a bite as you work the bait.
I love a shallow flat with just a slight amount of grass in 1 to 2 feet of water. This is just an ideal set up to catch a big bass while swimming a jig erratically through the grass. Another great part about this is most of these bites are visible in shallow water and the anticipation of a bass as you watch it attack your jig in shallow water is moving. It's nearly as exciting as a top water bite.
There are also some keys that I believe define color and action if you pay attention to the bite. If the bass inhales the jig then you can bet that the color and action is just fine. However if they just appear to nip at the end of the jig then I believe the trailer may not be producing the correct action. If they follow the jig and don't strike it at all then I change the color. When I do this I make a drastic change if I have a dark color then I add flash and a bright trailer. This change is the key to making this swimming presentation catch fish.
A major part of successfully swimming a jig is holding your rod tip at about 10 o'clock high; that plus changing speeds and dropping and ripping it through cover causes the bite. The next is the hook set, when you feel the bite rip it back and up to 12 o'clock without dropping the rod, this must be one motion so the bass does not feel you before you set the hook.
Captain Mike Gerry
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
Web: www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
(256) 759-2270 |
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Editor's Note: One thing we might add to Gerry's article is to use a Quick-clip blade attachment to quickly convert a standard jig to a swim jig. Close the clasp on a #3 willow, #1.5 or #2 Colorado
- whatever size, shape, and finish seems right for the conditions - and insert it into a short section of silicone tubing. Impale that on the jig hook to form a trailer. The twirling, fluttering blade right behind the hook adds fish-attracting flash and some lift to the jig.
In open water add a treble hook behind that with a split ring. For fishing through milfoil or grass, go weedless by using a weedless, single hook instead. Or make a standard, single hook weedless by T-rigging a soft plastic trailer on it. The combination of jig-spinnerblade-grub with two sets of hooks is something few fish have ever felt or seen, and consequently attracts more attention and triggers more strikes.
Joe, SWL
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