Let’s talk about a lure that I have a special place for… Swim jigs. With the wide selection of swim jigs on the market how do you
choose the one the best fits you without breaking the bank?? I got lucky in
choosing the swim jigs I love because I only tried 3-4 kinds before settling on
what I use. A lot of factors go into selecting a swim jig (or any lure for that
matter). You have to look at the hardware: hook, head shape, line tie angle,
weight material, weed guard, bait keeper. Then you have the pizzazz factors:
the skirt material, skirt length, skirt colors, head paint color(s), head paint
durability, rattles. All of those things need to be considered when selecting
the proper swim jig for you and there will never be one swim jig that fits the
bill for all of those criteria so you have to choose what factors are most
important to you.
What makes a good swim jig to me?
When I approached the question of finding a swim jig, I
began by doing my homework online and when I research something new, I jump
into the deep end with both feet. I printed out article after article (my wife
makes fun of me for killing forests with all my research and notes), watched
videos, talked to tournament anglers at seminars, and took notes on everything.
Then came the fun part, spending some money on jigs to test them all. The key
was to not get caught up on buying every color and weight at the beginning. I
chose white because it is more visible in a variety of water conditions and I selected a single weight to get all of the
swim jigs in to limit variance because weight differences. During my trial phases, I tested, what I consider to be, the big 4:
Terminator, Booyah, AT Tackle, and Strike King (and I still continue to test others a few at a time).
I bought one of each jig and began my testing there.
Over the years, I have found a few lakes I consider to be my
proving ground lakes. One lake is full of aggressive bass and I can go there
with anything and as long as I present it correctly I can get bit proving that
A) the lure works and B) my presentation technique works. Both factors in
building that confidence needed to be successful. The second lake is a quarry
lake where zebra mussels got introduced a few years back and cleared up the
entire lake (AKA my phase 1 lure testing grounds). I can see lures 25 ft down
perfectly clear allowing me to analyze the action, sink rate, lure color in water.
**SIDE NOTE: If you ever fish a
lake with zebra mussels, make sure you dry out your baits before taking them to
a new lake to prevent cross contamination**
With my baits and a hand full of different style trailers
(trailer selection is vital to swim jigs!!) I headed down to the lake and
began testing the baits. For testing purposes and ability to switch baits
quickly, I tied on a snap swivel but normally I tie the line directly to the
lure.
Phase 1 initial tests include basics of appearance in and
out of the water. Then I made a short cast of the swim jig to see its action by
itself. Then I added the gamut of trailers to it to see what each trailer does
to its action. If it didn’t meet the criteria of the action I wanted, the lure
was scrapped and did not make it to phase 2. I ended up with 2 baits making it
to phase 2
At the beginning of the phase 2, I did more homework online
looking at the available colors and weights of the lures and both offered good
colors and weights. If I had more lures in my testing group that made it to this
part the available weights and colors might weed some of those out. Phase 2
involved taking the 2 remaining lures out to a lake with numerous aggressive
bass and testing the lure’s ability to work in the various conditions –
weather, cover, various casts and retrieves. After testing both baits with a few different trailers, I
was able to settle on 1 swim jig that worked well and caught fish at this lake.
Then next step is to practice, practice, practice and
experiment with that one lure to understand how to make all the trailer options
work with that bait. I took my new project and fished it everywhere and anywhere. I picked up a few more colors and tested those out as well. Learn all you can about a bait and try to minimize your colors. I have 4 color swim jigs that I carry and I know that 1 of those 4 colors will get me bit anywhere I go. After finding those colors, I then branched out and bought the 3 various weights I prefer to use -- 1/4, 3/8, & 1/2. With those weights I can go any depth and be effective. General rule of thumb is lighter weights for shallow, heavier weights for deeper. I found that there are times where fish want something moving super fast in the shallows so I would use a 1/2 oz and burn it as fast as possible.
The overall consensus was that I didn’t like the features of
some of the jigs from phase 1 and phase 2 weeded out the remaining jig that
didn’t meet my demands. In the end, I found one lure that works for me and my
box is loaded up with them, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still test others. My
first choice is now the golden standard that all others must measure up to.
This process can be used for other lures even soft plastics as well, I have
used this same process for almost every lure I have in my tackle boxes.
The key is to find what works best for you and your style of
fishing and to then stick with that bait. Don't feel bad about continuing to test other lures against your first choice. You never know when that one lure would beat out your first choice.
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