Swimjig problems

[Bonanza]

I'm late to the party on swim jigs. I really tried to learn the last month, getting lots of bites but cant stick the fish. This weekend I must have had 20 fish hit without getting a hook in them. Using 7.3 MH rod with braid and a mono leader, dirty jig swimbait slow rolling and reeling like a spinnerbait, when I feel a fish I start reeling fast with a rod sweep. Got to where I trimmed 1/2 of the weedguard fibers . Even tried a fat impact on a leadhead with no guard and lost 2. Maybe they short striking or not committing to the bait. Any help appreciated.

[Real Pudd legend]

Maybe downsize the swim jig and change out various colors and trailers until they commit . Rod and line seem good enough to land fish , trimming a little bit of the weedguard was a good idea . Keep at it and you will do fine , it happens from time to time. At least you are getting bit so your doing something right !

[RANGER487]

I can say from my past experiences that there is a time of year when that happens and its not your fault. The only think I do different is use straight braid no leader and use smaller swim jigs than most.

[willwork4fish]

I'd bet it's the setup. I'll assume your rod is a MHF. With braid you need a more moderate rod. MHM crankbait rod usually does the trick if you still want to use braid or just go to straight mono (or preferably co-polymer) with the same rod you're using now.

[dragon1]

If you are reeling until you feel the weight of the fish, and then sweep setting, and you are still missing the fish - then my guess is that the hook is not getting inside their mouths OR the trailer is getting in the way. Still, I prefer more of a mod-fast for swimjigs, and especially so with braid and leader - I also prefer a MH to Hvy power for all weights 3/8oz to 1oz.

[fluke1987]

Trimming the weed guard down helps a bunch...and the bulk of the trailer may be an issue if you don't have enough of a hook gap. I throw my swimjigs on a heavier crankbait rod. Kistler Rods made a 7' 0" MH Fast Argon crankbait rod...just a tad too much for a squarebill crankbait but enough for a swimjig!

[BigBass94]

Your rod is fine. You need to delay your hook set. Wait until you feel the weight of the fish until you set the hook. They'll inhale swim jigs but you have to let them take it. If that doesn't work then trim your weed guard and sharpen your hook. Maybe don't use braid either. I know you're using a leader but using straight fluoro or mono would be best.

[FowlZurk]

I'm late to the party on swim jigs. I really tried to learn the last month, getting lots of bites but cant stick the fish. This weekend I must have had 20 fish hit without getting a hook in them. Using 7.3 MH rod with braid and a mono leader, dirty jig swimbait slow rolling and reeling like a spinnerbait, when I feel a fish I start reeling fast with a rod sweep. Got to where I trimmed 1/2 of the weedguard fibers . Even tried a fat impact on a leadhead with no guard and lost 2. Maybe they short striking or not committing to the bait. Any help appreciated.

Bed Fish?

[cwenbass]

I have had days where the color was pretty important. For example, I usually throw a brim/sunny like color and all the sunnies in lake are suffering from sort of virus. Bad stayed away from that color.

[83ranger]

I know I had the same problem when I first started throwing swim jigs. Like the OP I had read the articles on how you should NOT set the hook, but rather reel and sweep. I tried and tried, lost lots of fish. SO, after watching Tim Hortons show where he fishes a swim jig, I noticed he was pretty much laying the wood to the fish when he got a bite, a hookset straight up, like with a pitching jig. Started waiting to feel the weight of the fish, then solid upward hookset, and landing ratio went way up. You said your using the dirty jig, is it the no-jack with the heavy wire hook? Jigs with lighter wire hooks have a much easier job penetrating when you do the reel & sweep method, so might try that as well. I don't have a problem with a MH rod and either straight braid or 15-20lb flouro. A few mentioned trimming the weedgaurd, which a little is ok, just remember the shorter it is, the stiffer it gets. Keep at it, remember some days they just seem to bite funny, good luck!

[Bonanza]

Thanks for the replies, I cut strands off the weed guard, not shortened the length. Perhaps these were small spots which never got the hook, did hook into a 3 lb largemouth which jumped and threw the hook , guess that can happen with any bait

[p2geo]

Thanks for the replies, I cut strands off the weed guard, not shortened the length. Perhaps these were small spots which never got the hook, did hook into a 3 lb largemouth which jumped and threw the hook , guess that can happen with any bait

What do you mean by cut the weed guard in half? Keep in mind if you just cut it down shorter the weed guard actually becomes stiffer.

As far as the rod goes doesn't seem to me like it should be an issue, I happen to disagree with others with a mod-Fast rod unless your fishing a regular style swim jig. If you're throwing the California swim Jig I like a true Fast to Xtra Fast rod, bulky jig with heavy wire hook, heavy weed guard, and trailer is going to require a stout rod to get a good hook set. I like Kistler Helium3 7'3" Heavy.

That bait continually catches me larger fish then most any other bait I throw, always 3-4 lbs and up. In my experience when bass hit that bait they hit it hard.

[dragon1]

Not all rod/blank ratings for power and taper are the same...FWIW, Kistler's blank tapers (especially with the NFC blanks) for the longest time were a little slower than other blank manufacturers like-rated tapers. Granted that I agree about having the backbone and power to punch a larger hook through.

[Bonanza]

Completely removed 1/2 the weedguard fibers ( amputated at the jighead )

[will_d]

They aren't eating your jig. If they get it in their mouth they are almost impossible to miss. Fry guarders are notorious for hitting the swim jig with their mouths closed or nipping the tails of your trailer. Wait a week and they'll choke it.

[M1RT]

I've been a swim jig fan for the last fifteen years. Unless I'm fishing really thick, heavy vegetation, I do NOT use braid. I know a lot of guys use braid with great success, but my experience was similar to yours. If you feel compelled to use braid, I'd recommend a moderate action rod, similar to a crankbait rod. The best setup I've found for 1/4 to 3/8 oz swim jigs is a 7'2" MH rod, with a SOFT tip, 15lb. Fluorocarbon line, and a 7.1:1 reel. Soft tip allows the fish to suck the bait in, and fluoro also helps with that.

You may have been getting short strikes from fry guarding fish. An easy trick with short striking fish is simply changing up your trailer. If you're getting short strikes on a chigger craw/rage craw, try a swimbait (havoc grass pig, keitech fat impact), or the classic single tail grub. You're obviously around fish and likely using a good color if you're getting bit, just a small tweak might help the fish commit more. I'm simple with my swim jig color selection - green pumpkin/sunfish, blk/blue, and white/shad.

[p2geo]

Not all rod/blank ratings for power and taper are the same...FWIW, Kistler's blank tapers (especially with the NFC blanks) for the longest time were a little slower than other blank manufacturers like-rated tapers. Granted that I agree about having the backbone and power to punch a larger hook through.

Exactly! That's why I stated a TRUE fast or Xtra Fast (which in my case with the Kistlers feels more like a reg fast to me)

[Walkabout7781]

I look at a swimjig as a spinnerbait with a lot less flash and vibration. I don't use a trailer on my spinnerbaits, so I would at least try the swimjig without a trailer.

Used to use a trailer on spinnerbaits, but didn't really do all that well with them, so didn't use them all that much. I noticed my fishing buddy did better, and didn't use a trailer, so asked why. He said it didn't make any sense to him to distract the fish from the part with the hook. It makes sense to me, and it's turned me into a spinnerbait addict. Gotta have something to throw when it's windy.

[Babe Winkleworm]

Probably a color change was needed they were just slapping it. You can also not jerk at em and kill it when that happens often they'll come pick it up.

[DrewFlu33]

I made a similar thread last year when I was having the exact same issues with a spinnerbait. Now I've thrown a spinnerbait for years so it's not quite the same, but I think the solution could be the same. I throw them on braid because of a multitude of reasons, but mainly for castability and ripping through all the weeds we have around here. I had broken my spinnerbait rod and gone to another I thought was similar. I didn't equate the rod change with my issues until some time later.

Anyhow, I switched to a rod with a more moderate action, and went back to sticking all the fish I was missing before. First cast after switching to the more moderate action, I don't know how to explain it other than just saying retrieving that spinnerbait felt "right" again. It was pretty clear to me at that point that my initial replacement rod that I thought was quite similar was actually significantly faster in action than the spinnerbait rod I had been using previously. This isn't to say that the faster action wouldn't work, just that it would've taken a lot of retraining of old instincts to make it work.

Now I'll be the first to admit it's possible it was coincidence or confidence (this one is huge, in my mind) or the fish just changing their behavior, but it seemed to work for me! That braid doesn't have the stretch of mono, so in general, I've found I need to step back in rod action for moving baits to get hooks in them. The fast action I might use for mono needs to be scaled back to mod-fast with braid. I think dropping down in power might accomplish the same thing - TacticalBassin has a video where Matt discusses doing just that when he went to braid.

Even if it is just a confidence thing, it's pretty clear yours is shaken right now. Try using a more moderate rod and see if it helps. Or you could try throwing the swim jig on mono - for me that wouldn't be an option as I'm just too fond of braid in other ways, though I suspect that would cure what ails you as well.