Jiggin’ is not a term that you are used to hearing in reference to swimbaits, however in other areas of fishing – take saltwater rock fish for example – the term is used often when fishing baits on the bottom with a lead head.
Why not in bass fishing? Personally I consider any thing that has a lead head either in front of or cast into the head of the bait a type of jig.
In general this is a deep water technique for me. Fishing jigs for bass has been one of my favorite and most productive techniques for years now. So when I started fishing swimbaits I naturally gravitated towards fishing them on the bottom. After years of doing this I have refined quite a bit and have some tips for baits as well as gear to share with you.
The technique:
In general, when I am Jiggin’ swimbaits on the bottom I am fishing a bait fish imitator (a lot of baits fit this category). Some can be used right off the shelf and others require a bit of surgery. For the most part I fish this type of swimbait from the fall through winter. I focus mainly on steep rocky areas that hold shad and smaller bait fish. Most of the time I do one of two things: sitting out in 20 to 50 feet of water I cast to shore and bounce my lure down the bank, keeping bottom contact as much as possible. Most bites are going to come while the bait is falling between structures, so be sure to pay close attention to each and every thing you bump into. And most bites are going to be pretty light – more of a loss of contact with your bait.
Second, once I have caught a few fish I can usually establish a depth at which the fish seem to be hanging out in. At this point I will usually parallel the shore, dragging my swimbait at a consistent depth.
I have found this technique to be especially deadly on bodies of water that have spotted bass.
When to throw it:
I have found that from fall through winter there are times when bass relate more to bait fish than crawdads. Really there is no magic answer to knowing whether or not to throw the small swimbait verses a jig. I will start by looking at shad activity on my graph. If there are a lot of shad near the bottom usually in colder weather I have found this bite to be good. If the bass are really active and chasing shad up and down steep banks this is a great time to just stick with the bouncing the swimbait from shallow to deep.
The baits:
I have a handful of baits I like to throw, including the MattLures 6”soft swimbait, Megabait’s LA Slider with removable jig head baits 6”, River2Sea bottom bouncer 6”, MattLures Bluegill Ultimate, Maverick Lures 5.5” Minnow Swimbaits, and various tube body swimbaits with a lead head inserted. When using baits with a Jig head in front of the swimbait I prefer using a heavy heavy head ¾ oz or larger
The heads:
When I first started fishing this way there were not too many heads on their market for small swimbaits. The market is flooded with them now, however I still prefer my old favorites. The Revenge Swimbaits Hedz, Kalins 1 oz triangle saltwater Ultimate Swimbait Jig, Blade-Runner tackle flat bottom Stand-Up Jig Head, and finally just your standard football style jighead. I prefer to have my jig heads powder-coated in brown or black just to blend in with the bottom rather than trying to make it part of my bait, the exception being the Revenge head.
The rig:
I prefer a rod that is very similar to a Jig rod; you want something with a bit of a back bone and a fast action tip. I also prefer a good quality blank since you will be dealing with a lot of subtle bites. I found that something in the 7’6” to 7’9” length fits my needs best. My favorite is my custom Rogue 796 Junior Swimbait Stick with a small graphite handle. I always fish 15 or 20 pound fluorocarbon line for the best contact with my swimbaits.
