All,
I watched this thread go from a question on gear, and
technique, to “this ain’t no magic bullet”, and back to
technique. Great discussion about the near legendary
“Swimmin’ Jig”. Well near legendary around the Upper
Mississippi.
I started swimming jigs, maybe 15 years ago, before I even
realized I needed a name for cranking a jig over veggies.
I liked throwing them because I could throw them a mile
back into junk, pull them over junk, or drop them into junk.
I varied the retrieve, I dropped it into every hole I could
see, I used them to follow up slop frog misses, and I
let them fall down weed edges. Somewhere in there I
was swimmin’ a jig, and didn’t even know it. Sure I still
pitched it into brush, and under docks, but even in my
blissful ignorance, I knew that wasn’t swimmin’ a jig.
My point is working any offering, to induce strikes,
means listening to the fish, not to dock talk, disscussion
board talk, or any other kind of talk, beyond getting some
starting points. Once you get a clear picture of the
basics, then the rest is up to you. When you master it,
you can use an old name, or make up a new one, and watch
all of the interest grow, to learn the “new” technique,
which really isn’t new at all.
To answer the question about jigs, to swim, there have
been a bunch of commercial jigs, and “secret” jigs mentioned
already, but for the jig home maker, there is one that
has not been mentioned, and should be. That is the
“Standup” jig, by the Do-It Mold company. Their 1/8th
oz Standup head can be pulled obscenely slow, and still
ride high. The 1/4 oz, works great over wingdams, for
two reasons. It hangs up less than any other jig I have
fished over them, and it to wants to climb, when pulled
on a steady retrieve. Now the lighter wire hooks may
put some people off, but I have yet to have a good fish
get off, due to a bent hook. But for the very paranoid,
a little work with a Dremmel tool, to open up the mold
to except a heavy hook, is an easy task. The Mustad
Wide Gap Milfoil hook is another 28 degree bend hook
that will work with a bit of Dremel work. But if you
are one that wants to fish, rather than tinker with making
fishing tackle, just get a few different light jigs(1/16-
1/8 oz), and pull them along at an even speed, and see which
one rides upright, and wants to plane up, when you increase
the speed, and you probably have a good “swimmin’ jig”.
Now that is all you need is plenty of practice. I understand
that eel grass, bent over, near current is a great place
to practice. As is your favorite wingdam. Oh, never use
a pearl white swimming jig(grin).
Big Bass Bane
