SWIM JIG GEAR
I have come to appreciate the extra length of a 7’6” rod when using swim jigs. However, I do understand that there are times, when someone fishes from the back of the boat, or an angler is target casting in close quarters, that a shorter rod is necessary.
My personal rod of choice is a 7’6” medium- heavy Duckett Fishing White Ice Kelly Jordon signature rod. It has plenty of backbone for setting the hook, but enough tip to make roll casts and to give when a bass strikes the moving lure. I pair that with a Lew’s Tournament Pro 7.1:1 retrieve reel because a lot of time the fish strike the lure by pushing it towards you and you need to pick up line quickly to set the hook. I spool the reel with 30-pound-test Seaguar Kanzen in heavy vegetation or 40-pound Smackdown in sparse vegetation or wood cover.
I like braided line in all but the clearest water, and then I will use 15 to -20-pound Seaguar AbrazX Fluorocarbon, but I prefer the braided line.
RETRIEVE
In shallow or dirty water, I keep the lure up in the water column so that I can see the lure swimming through the water.
Most of the strikes on a swim jig will be something you see before you feel, so being able to keep an eye on the lure helps.
I make a cast to the edges of the cover, or all the way to the bank and immediately start retrieving the lure so that it stays at just the level of the water so that it is just barely visible in the water clarity. I just want to barely see the basic color of the bait, so depending on the water clarity; that is the depth I want to swim the lure at.
I hold my rod tip in the upward position, and I shake the rod tip to impart a little extra action into the lure as it moves along the water.
I only want to swim the lure fast enough to keep it moving forward.
Unless the fish are extremely aggressive, then I may swim it quickly and wake it just under the surface of the water.
SUMMER 2015
33
http://www.armybassanglers.com/