Swim Jig help

[RFeyoMN]

Doubt your rod and reel are the issue. I fish them with 14lb and an MH rod.

My advice is to slow down on your hookset. They don't immediately reject swimjigs, so I suggest waiting til the fish turns before setting the hook. Let them load up on it. Seems to me if you set the hook when they're still facing you, you have a better chance at pulling it out of their mouth.

[willwork4fish]

I fish a swim jig in pads a lot on the Mississippi, probably more than a frog. ALX Toadface (I actually use a rod I built on the blank Alex uses for the Toadface), your favorite high speed reel, 50lb Power Pro and a 1/4 oz Lethal Weapon IV swim jig with a 5" Kalin grub is what I use 90% of the time in pads.

Fishing a swim jig in pads is a lot like frog fishing, you will miss a lot of fish, they don't always get it.

[DMart1]

I think a lot of guys will tell you to switch to braid for good hookups.

Agreed. If you're around heavy vegetation, I would use braid. Your setup is right otherwise.

[Milehibird]

I don't fish them a lot, but I learned to last year. FWIW, I fish everything a bit heavier than I should. 16-18lb fluoro, but I fish them around trees and rocks, not much grass up here or I'd use braid. 3/8-1/2oz jigs and rage menace trailer, MH jig rod works fine for me. Just about every bait I throw, I reel until I feel the weight and then set the hook.

[BassinJax]

Went with a heavy powered rod and a high speed bantam with braid

[krindgen]

I've got both sizes and like Casslaw typed, the only non-positive is the rubber band tie. I don't know if You can see the head design in the pics. I haven't had to throw out a Mesu™ but I do hit them w/a touch of SuperGlue™

Mesu™ also sells a naked set-up, the same head and hook but sans a skirt.

••• Important •••

When I do use the 1/2 in the pads, I use a side-arm cast as I was noticing the heavier weighted jig breaks right through the frond if an overhand cast is used, then the cast is 'fouled' (boo ) I use a 3" Ripper for the 1/4 or 5" if real windy and a 5" on the 1/2.

Shadow- I am such a believer in these jigs that IF You do purchase some and don't use them, I'll buy/trade You for Your remaining arsenal.

* I receive NO compensation from Mesu™

I like a couple wraps of wire or if I'm on the water mono or braid tied around the collar. If I'm prepared I have these already made up for the trip. This year I'll try to do this for all my jigs. Nothing worse than wasting precious time on the water. Terry Scroggins has a video on this under "jig tying." He's got some good on the water tricks I've noticed.

This year, especially around grass, I'm thinking about rattles, to rattle or not.

[Dawnpatrol]

Not to hijack his post, but why use a swim jig in grass/pads instead of using a grass jig or flipping jig? I'm new to this technique so that's why I'm asking. I'll be going to Toho at the end of February and I want to toss some jigs....Thanks

[LewStulePH.D.]

I like a couple wraps of wire or if I'm on the water mono or braid tied around the collar. .

I have found something that works GREAT!!! If I typed You do You promise NOT to type anyone else??

Promise?

Remember arts & crafts and You made little 'stickme.... Stick people' out of pipe cleaners? They work great. They also hold color and scent so You don't have to sully the jig or trailer. ..

[LewStulePH.D.]

Not to hijack his post, but why use a swim jig in grass/pads instead of using a grass jig or flipping jig? I'm new to this technique so that's why I'm asking. I'll be going to Toho at the end of February and I want to toss some jigs....Thanks

Remember the question was using a swimjig in pads. For Me, there is absolutely no better jig in the Lilypads then the Mesu™. Firstly, there is no weedguard to fiddle with. Secondly, the head has a particular design and w/a floating/free hook the jig can be maneuvered through the pads w/out having to dip the tip and pull hard.

A grass/flipping jig has more chance to get stuck/fouled/caught in the "V" of the frond of the Lily.

[LewStulePH.D.]

In these pics You will see where the cut/'V" is.. Pull Your jig and get Your casts cut in half for any length of time, You'll see what I mean.

images-1.jpeg

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When You use the Mesu™ You can gently maneuver it through and over. With a jig that gets stuck, You have to dip Your tip and pull it to get it loose<--- This robs You of casting distance.


°Again- I receive Zero/none/nada compensation from the makers of Mesu™ jigs, shit I don't even have a sticker from them, but I've gleaned helpful information from both BBC™ sites, this one here and the BBC™ section @Pornhub™ and to level the scales I must 'give back'...


Enjoy Your holiday!

I still have the 2 CarrotStix™ rods I picked up at the first PAA™ Tx won by Brian Snowden along w/the map and spots, baits used...

[78Staff]

TW OOS on 1/4 Black/Blue Mesu's now lol... power of the BBC.

[Casslaw]

Not to hijack his post, but why use a swim jig in grass/pads instead of using a grass jig or flipping jig? I'm new to this technique so that's why I'm asking. I'll be going to Toho at the end of February and I want to toss some jigs....Thanks

The simple answer is that with a swim jig I can make a full cast and work it all the way to the boat. I’m not talking about pads SO thick you can only flip them, but more sparse pad fields. Also, there’s often a space between the bank and the pads where most other lures would get hung up. In these situations the swim jig works very well...casts very well too.

[DrewFlu33]

You can also cover a TON of water with a swim jig in the pads, second only to maybe a buzzbait (due to its "calling power") if the pads are sparse enough (and of course you need the "right" conditions for the buzzbait to work most times), and way faster than a frog.

Especially in the spring, it's probably my favorite way to try to locate fish right up there with fishing that swim jig around reeds. Position the boat on the outside edge of the pads, make a cast down the edge to keep them honest, then work along casting into the pads. Use the rod tip to steer it into every pad or other piece of cover you possibly can, pausing for a split second after each collision. Pay attention to irregularities like sticks, mixed vegetation, cuts and points, etc. When you get close to where your intial cast along the edge landed, cast down the edge again and repeat the process.

I've not tried the Mesu, mostly because I've had a ton of luck fishing my old standby Brovarney, any size as long as it's 1/4 oz. Very, very few issues with catching them in the pads and ruining casts, maybe because the pads here are different than they are in other places. They almost have to be different than those in Florida - I know ours aren't all that "snaggy," even when the pad fields are dense.

[Casslaw]

Florida pads are animals! The V in the pads leads most people to hook the stem and you scare 50’ of fish. I agree with that method though. I cast the pad edge then work it like a clock down every lane I can find.

In the Spring there’s nothing more fun than a buzzbait or a frog but they will eat up a swim jig then! By the time Spring is here I will have a Megabass Perfect Pitch rod for doing this!

[slipknobber bot]

Not to hijack his post, but why use a swim jig in grass/pads instead of using a grass jig or flipping jig? I'm new to this technique so that's why I'm asking. I'll be going to Toho at the end of February and I want to toss some jigs....Thanks

Usually swim jigs have a little longer shank on the hook than a normal flipping jig which is nice, they generally have a vertical eye as to come through the weeds better, and a low degree angle to the line tie. The low angle helps the jig roll more with a boot tail trailer, and also helps it be more weedless. So technically, any jig with a vertical eye, and low degree line tie will work just fine. Some swim jigs also have a softer weed guard than a flipping jig.

[Jeff Hahn]

As Casslaw and DrewFlu33 said, a swim jig covers far more water than a flipping jig into the pads. I use a bullet nose jig that I make myself using either a 4/0 or 5/0 30 degree hook with a matching Super Chunk Jr. or Z Craw Jr. I also use a twin wire weedguard that's a little stiffer than a fiber weedguard, but easily collapses on the hookset.

[Dawnpatrol]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll have to give those Mesu jigs a try.

[Casslaw]

Lew told me the info on the Mesu jigs when I asked in this forum probably 3-4 months ago and he was just as dead set on them then...now I am as well. I sure a heck don’t get paid to throw anything but these swim jigs are simply the best! I tried one of their spinnerbaits and it caught fish too! Go figure. The large, free swinging hook is a great thing. The new Strike King Pro Model swim jig has this now but the head is still really blunt, doesn’t work nearly as well.

This jig also throws very well for only being a 1/4oz jig. That’s the size I prefer as it keeps me going a little slower and it falls slower in this cold water. In spring I’m sure the 3/8ths will be just as good when the water warms.

[krindgen]

The simple answer is that with a swim jig I can make a full cast and work it all the way to the boat. I’m not talking about pads SO thick you can only flip them, but more sparse pad fields. Also, there’s often a space between the bank and the pads where most other lures would get hung up. In these situations the swim jig works very well...casts very well too.

Then when you git to the dock next to the pad field you kin skip it allllll the way under the dock.

[krindgen]

Sumbuddy should throw out a "swim jig starter kit" or we could start a new thread. Just the jigs not the gear. Weights, colors, and trailers for both clear and dirty water applications. I have and flip/pitch a ton of jigs, but a complete novice with the swim jig. It amazes me that they work as well as they do.

I see Brovarney makes a couple really nice kits.