What is everyone's favourite swim jig?

I fish my own creation quite a bit but also do like the Freedom Tackle Stealth Live Action Hybrid Jig ~

http://www.freedomlures.com/stealth.html

A-Jay

I assemble my own using the Boss swim jig heads, and make my own skirts.

 

I make my swim jig skirts a little different than I would a "regular" jig skirt. Think of it as a "reverse finesse jig skirt. I use the Boss ultra flare bands, but instead of cutting the strands that would hang "outside" the band like you see on finesse jigs I cut the ones off on the inside that would cover the hook, as close to flush with the band as I can get. To keep the contraption together, I brush a thin layer of gorilla glue around the skirt keeper collar of the jig head, push the full skirt up on the head, then trim off the "inside" strands. I don't like big "full" swim jig skirts either. I only use 1 and a half tabs of my main color, then just a few strands of my accent colors, like chart., orange, blue, etc....

 

The closest "factory" jig to my own creation would be the Dirty Jigs "northern swim jig". Also a pretty close match to my swim jig skirts would be the Z-man "EZ skirts". I have use those a lot in the past, but I like my hand made ones better.

I make my own from scratch. I start with a Boss Outdoors pre-painted fish head jighead (it comes in several high quality colors). It comes with a medium gauge, medium length shank, Mustad NeedlePoint hook that is very sharp out of the package and maintains its sharpness as good as any hook out there (braid and a MH power rod will not open the hook- I've caught many fish up to 6lbs on these hooks with no damage). The weedguard is a medium stiffness, perfect for heavier cover but not too stiff as to impede the fish getting a good bite on the bait (weedguard's color is matched to the jighead color). The keeper is a double-barb that holds plastics really well without tearing them like wire keepers. I buy my own skirt material through Boss Outdoors and make custom skirts for any situation (Boss Outdoors sells top-quality silicone and rubber skirt material at a great price). I also purchase my skirts bands, rattles, and other lure customizing material through their website. I can make my swimjig for about a 1$ and they are of a  better quality than anything you can buy, guaranteed. Oh, and it's fun to build them yourself. I also build all my own grass, wood, rock, finesse jigs, bladed jigs, and buzzbaits using their materials. 

 

There are many great swimjigs on the market today. You can pretty much swim any jig but a true swimjig is designed with 2 KEY features to keep it upright and streamline so it comes through cover efficiently, and hooks a high percentage of fish, with a few other features that are an added bonus but not a must. First, the best swimjigs have a near flat or flat head on the bottom which acts as a "keel' to keep the jig upright and swimming with an almost hunting action. Second, the line tie in vertical and recessed to keep from hanging in cover, it'll also protect your knot from contacting the cover first. An added feature, but not necessary one, is a softer weedguard, as it'll increase your hooking to bite ratio versus a heavier weedguard. Another added feature is having a sharp, medium gauge hook that won't open-up when fishing with braid (hook to landing ratio will increase when using braid versus fluro or mono), as some swimjigs have too heavy or light a hook. Lastly, having a double-barbed trailer keeper will help keep your baits from falling off during your casts and when fish just bite the trailer (stay away from wire bait keepers, as they just tear your plastics and eat-up your fishing time as you tinker with it to get it just right. 

https://natescustombaits.com/products/hybrid-skirt-swim-jig?variant=49823775829

 

My one and only swim jig I use, pretty much the only swim jig I will tie on.

Santone Lures Chris McCall Rayburn Swim Jig

 

Comes in

Finesse: 5/0 Light-wire Mustad Ultra-Point Hook 

Standard: 2X Strong Mustad Ultra Point Hook 

Siwash: MONSTER 5/0 Gamakatsu hook! 

Military Tribute: Air force, Army, Navy, Marine, & Coast Guard

 

Super tough, powder-coated, weedless head design

Oversized 3D prism eyes

High-quality silicone skirt 

Double barbed trailer keeper 

Multi-colored weedguard 

 

Available in 3/16, 5/16, & 7/16 oz & 41 different colors

Northstar baits flipNswim wire tied very durable jigs

Siebert's bloody shad swim jig.

Strike king swim jig.

I want to second the Santone Rayburn swim jig choice. 

 

The part about jig design I like the most is the flat bottom which gives you the possibility of also fishing the jig on bottom as well as swimming it. Being relatively new to jig fishing, I find that this jig covers most of the situations that I fish them. They came through millfoil very well. 

I'm a fan of the Dirty Jigs California swim jig if I'm throwing a larger profile trailer or their finesse swim jig if I'm throwing a smaller trailer. Catt hooked me up with a couple Santone's during last year's gift exchange and they also won me over. 

Brovarney's makes the best

I like Northstar, Dirty Jigs, Lockjaw and 6th Sense. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C+C makes a hell of a nice swim jiig!

If I had my choice I would have two: The Dirty Jigs No-jack Swim Jig for fishing around wood and the Lethal Weapon IV Swim Jig for fishing vegetation. 

 

 

....unfortunately I can't fish either of these any more since I'm trying to stay as legal as I can when it comes to the Massachusetts lead law so I've been using the Eco Pro Tungsten Sick Boy Swim Jigs. I actually really like these. They aren't perfect for much but they're pretty versatile and I've been happy. The weedgaurd is stout enough I can fish it around and through wood without getting snagged. The hook is stout enough I don't worry about bending it, and it stays fairly clear of weeds. The wire trailer keeper is also nice to have. And their bluegill and crappie colors are spot on, which is really all I use. 

My Strike King Tour Grade has taken a beating but is still alive and ticking. I also have another one with a rattle, I think a Booyah that I've caught a few fish on.

Siebert outdoors "swim jig" in both black and blue or bluegill flash have been absolutely killer for me this year. I put a keitech fat impact on them as a trailer and dip the front 1/3 of the trailer in pink JJs magic then thread it on. The pink shows just enough threw the skirt I think it imitates gills or red breast on some of the sunfish up here or maybe it's just in My head but I find I get better strikes with the front of the trailer dipped. 

Santone

 

Keel shaped head gives it a nice little wobble among many other features at a great price.

I like the dirty jigs swim jig for all around use, lethal weapon II for open water / smallmouth, and lethal weapon IV in vegetation. Dirty jigs has a lot of colors, but a lot of the best colors always seem to be sold out online. Lethal weapon has a smaller color selection but I catch a ton of fish using three basic colors: black/blue or purple, green pumpkin orange, and pearl. The lethal weapon jigs are hand tied and have an amazing wire bait keeper. The paint is extremely durable and I've put the hooks through hell and they keep on going. 

Roll my own.

 

Allen

On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 3:35 PM, kickerfish1 said:

I like Northstar, Dirty Jigs, Lockjaw and 6th Sense. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*What are the ribbed swimbait trailers you are using ?

Those ribbed paddle tail trailers are the Keitech Fat Impact. Sizes are 3.3, 3.8, and sometimes larger depending upon the desired intentions or size of jig.

Make my own. Still trying to figure out when to use them, but starting to make a little sense of them. 

Another vote for the dirty jigs swim jig

I honestly dont use them.  I use to a lot but have found that chatterbaits and swimbaits are just as good.  There are situations i can see using swimjig but they dont arise often for me