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swim jig, you have to consider the kind of habitat or cover you’re faced with.”
For starters, he said a 1/4-ounce to 3/16-ounce traditional swim jig head is a really effective choice for fishing shallow structure like grass, weed edges and holes in grass; along with skipping under laydowns, docks or bushes. The lightweight package glides well, without sinking too fast.
Now, there are times when Lintner wants his swim jig to descend deep and fast. The scenario may surprise some — often, the fish.
“Around the chunk rock back home in California, I’ve gotten into throwing a swim jig in the same areas that guys are cranking,” he said. “I’ll go from a 3/8- all the way up to a 5/8-ounce swim jig.
As Lintner explains, varying his deeper presentations has allowed him to fish behind crankers and pluck quality fish that have become too conditioned to traditional reaction baits, as well as common dragging looks.
For this deal, he likes the Freedom Tackle Stealth head, whose broader conical design lets it navigate perilous neighborhoods with ease.
“This head comes through the rocks really well, but if you’re throwing that little pointy head that a lot of the grass jigs have, it’s going to get snagged and lodged in the little crevices,” Lintner said. “The wider style head is going to deflect off those rocks and not get hung up so much. It’s all about what you’re trying to fish.”
Summarizing his size choices, Lintner said he goes with 3/16- to a 1/4-ounce for less than 5-feet; a 1/4- to 1/2-ounce for 5- to 10-feet and deeper than that, he’s going 3/8- to 3/4-ounce.
“You don’t really hear about a swim jig being thrown deeper than 1- feet much,” Lintner said. “During an Elite Series event on Table Rock, it was wide-open with medium diving crankbaits on channel swings and I pummeled them on a swim jig out deeper. I think it was because they see those crankbaits day in and day out and all of a sudden, they see that crawfish/bluegill imitation moving at a pretty rapid pace and they can’t stand it.”
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