Fish a Swim Jig Like Jared Lintner

Swim Jig Tips with Jared Lintner

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SWIM JIGS

KEY to Lintner’s nationwide arsenal

By David A. Brown

A

dmittedly, Jared Lintner wasn’t always down

with swim jig; but not for any doubt or disdain -

the two had simply never met. Of course, once the introduction was made, Lintner quickly realized the

benefits…

“Up until I fished my first two seasons on the

Bassmaster Elites, which was 2006-2007, I had never even

thrown a swim jig,” he said. “I kept hearing guys saying they

caught them on a swim jig, and I was like ‘What are they

talking about?’

“Traditionally, in my circle of friends and in the area

where I grew up, a swim jig just wasn’t something anybody

knew. For whatever reason, it just didn’t come out west.

Since then, I’ve learned a lot and the swim jig has become

one of my go-to baits on the West Coast.”

Worth an upfront mention, Lintner typically uses the

Freedom Tackle jig heads, which feature a rigid coil system

that allows anglers to add the hook of their choice and

change as needed to fit the situation

at hand. This flexibility expands his

swim jig versatility by allowing him to quickly change his hook size or style to fit the trailer of his choice.

“Anytime from the pre spawn into the fall, a swim jig is a good choice, especially if you have a grass scenario,” Lintner said. “Basically, eight months out of the year, I have one tied on. Depending on what structure and habitat I have, that’s how I’ll select the size of the jig, the size of the trailer and the colors. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Key areas for swim jig selection include:

HEAD GAMES

As Lintner notes, anglers hear “swim jig” and typically envision hydrilla, reeds, tules and the like; but while these shallow vegetation elements certainly cover a lot of the common swim jig habitat, Lintner holds a more open- minded view.

On a lot of west coast lakes, all we have is brush, laydowns ad chunk rock,” Lintner said. “When selecting a

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