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
- SWIM JIG – Untamed Swimmin’ Jig
- TRAILER – Missile Baits Shockwave
- ROD – 13 Fishing Envy Black III Casting Rod, 7’3″ Med Hvy
- REEL – 13 Fishing Inception Casting Reel, 8.1:1
- LINE – Sunline Xplasma Asegai Braid, 50-pound
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
