4 Swim Jig Tips to Catch More Bass

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A swim jig is one of the first lures Kyle Welcher thinks of when fishing bass around shallow water cover. For him, it’s a four-wheel-drive bait that shreds shallow water when searching for active fish, but he follows some basic rules to get the most out of it.

TACKLE USED
  1. Use a braided line. Line preference is personal, but Welcher prefers braid for its strength and immediate no-stretch response when chewing up the shallows with swim jigs.
  2. Downsize rod power. Due to its no-stretch properties, Welcher recommends downsizing your swim jig rod setup to a medium-heavy power when using a braided mainline. A heavy rod simply delivers too much force to the fish, which runs the risk of pre-mature hooksets, tearing out hooks, and getting you and the fish out of position on the hookset.
  3. Use white jigs. It’s hard to go wrong with white, especially in shad country but even up north. Many forage species share hues of white, making it a universal producer. Welcher also likes that white is highly visible to his eye, so he can see the bait snaking through cover and when bass bite.
  4. Fish them fast and high. Bladed jigs and crankbaits excel when targeting specific depth zones, but a swim jig often works better in cover-laden shallows, where Welcher fishes them high and fast to trigger reaction strikes. The only time he works them slow and low is when skipping docks.