Get Jiggy for Heavyweight Bass Lurking in the Shallows

Taken separately, the components that make up a bass jig seem most unlikely to entice a fish to open its mouth and eat. Strands of silicone affixed to a chunk of lead encasing a 4/0 hook don’t seem all that “sexy,” but when properly fashioned together and adorned with a matching trailer, few lures can rival the muscular profile of a jig and its uncanny ability to entice large bass.

Ever since my dad taught me the value of dunking a black, 3/8-ounce, deer-hair jig with a pork trailer into the brushy shallows of various Texas reservoirs, the jig has played an integral role in my shallow-water approach to bass fishing.

With silicone replacing deer hair and soft plastics taking the place of pork skin over the years, the jig-and-trailer has only surpassed the old jig-and-pig’s knack for attracting quality bass, making it an even more formidable weapon.

Uses for the bulky profile of a jig have evolved, as well. No longer reserved exclusively for fishing vertically into shallow cover, the skirted jig has morphed into two “power fishing” derivatives—the swim jig and the bladed jig—that can effectively cover water and attract big fish simultaneously.

With the flipping jig remaining a standard in every bass anglers’ arsenal, we now have three jig variants to pry sizeable bucketmouths from their shallow-water lairs. Understanding the strengths of each will help you own the shallows, no matter the time of year.

FLIPPING JIG

There’s no better feeling in fishing than when a bass thumps a jig flipped into shallow cover. When the fish are holding tight to brush, stumps or dock pilings, a well-placed flipping jig noses into their hideaway and drags them out by the jaw. Making short, underhanded pitches with a jig-and-trailer enables the precise placement of the lure into the smallest windows of dense cover, as well as the soft landing required for a stealthy incursion into a big, bad bass’ domain. This tactic isn’t limited by season or water clarity, as the jig produces in water cold or warm, muddy or clear.

Largemouth bass residing in water less than 5 feet deep will seek whatever cover offers the most shade. So, that’s precisely what we should key on when dissecting shallow cover with a flipping jig. Whether it’s a brush top lying horizontally in the water or the heavier trunk of a willow tree, a well-placed flipping jig increases your odds of connecting with a lunker.

Equipped with a stiff fiber weed guard, a recessed or streamlined line-tie and a strong hook, a quality flipping jig is built to punch through the gnarliest tangles, descend swiftly through the water column and win tugs of war with heavyweight bass. Use these traits to your advantage by placing your first pitch with the jig directly into the heart of a shallow tangle where bass are most likely to hold.

There’s more to the technique of properly flipping a jig than initially meets the eye. The jig-and-trailer combo should fall vertically through the cover, which requires a certain amount of slack in the line. Should the jig descend on a taut line, it will pendulate back toward your rod tip, often clearing the cover before hitting bottom. As you swing the lure toward the target, lift the rod tip slightly upon the jig’s entry into the water, allowing line to continue to come off the reel. This will foster the natural fall of the lure while allowing you to follow it down with the rod tip to detect a bite.

Since most takes occur as the jig drops, its fall rate can play an important role in generating the desired response from bass. In cold water or when fishing behind a cold front, a slower fall is often the ticket to more bites, so jigs in the 1/4- to 3/8-ounce range are preferred. Faster fall rates, however, frequently prompt reaction strikes from bass in warmer water, as the fish instinctively respond to the jig plummeting past them. In this case, go with a 1/2- to 5/8-ounce jig to speed up the lure’s descent through the cover.

The dizzying amount of jig skirt color options nowadays can lead to overthinking what should be a simple selection process. Darker color combos like black-and-blue or black-and-amber never fail in murky water. If the water is clear, I prefer to go more natural and will opt for shades of brown or green pumpkin.

When seeking a matching plastic trailer, a small assortment will suffice. One of my favorites is the basic “chunk” style that substitutes the old-school pork trailers once considered a must-have. Zoom’s Big Salty Chunk exemplifies this kind of trailer, which adds bulk to the jig without really altering its action. A wide range of colors allows the angler to match or contrast the jig skirt.

SWIM JIG

Several years ago, anglers recognized that bass would often hammer a flipping jig reeled back to the boat. This led to the development of the swim jig. While we can elicit strikes from bass when swimming any style of jig, one specifically designed for that purpose will have a streamlined head shape and a forward line-tie for coming through wood and vegetation with greater ease. Some swim-jig manufacturers offer “heavy cover” models boasting a thicker weed guard and a stronger flipping hook than those made for fishing in open water.

While spinnerbaits should have a place in any shallow-water game plan for bass, in bright sun and calm winds, the flash of the blades can turn some fish away. The quiet and natural movement of a swim jig and trailer pulsing through the water offers no negative cues and excels even under bluebird skies and still conditions.

Though a swim jig can work in murky water, it does better when bass have a line of sight to the lure, making 12 to 18 inches of visibility the minimum desired water clarity. Keep in mind that the speed of the retrieve for a swim jig should be adjusted according to water clarity. Murky water calls for slower cranking so the lure lingers longer around shallow cover. In clear water, it’s best to burn it just under the surface to imitate the fleeing baitfish bass are accustomed to chasing.

Most swim jigs come in weights of 3/8- to 1/2-ounce, without a noticeable difference in performance. That’s left entirely up to the angler. When fishing a swim jig around shallow bushes or brush, seek contact with the cover to cause the jig to deflect and change directions. This coaxes bass to attack a lure they may not otherwise pursue. In open water or when fishing gaps between sparse cover, a continuous shaking of the rod tip while reeling in the jig will cause the skirt to pulsate, creating a more lifelike appearance.

When selecting a trailer for a swim jig, one can go with the hard “kick” of a craw-style soft plastic like Strike King’s Rage Craw or the more subtle movement of the Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw. Both styles work equally well and provide a slight “lift” to keep the swim jig higher in the water column during the retrieve.

If it’s a baitfish you hope to mimic, it makes sense to go with a paddle-tail style like the Yamamoto Kickin’ Zako or Strike King Swim’n Caffeine Shad, which will offer the side-to-side kick of a fleeing baitfish and the versatility to fish shallow to mid-depths.

White is the go-to color combination for the swim jig’s skirt and trailer. Not only does white best represent a shad, it’s also more visible in the water, whether clear or stained. Should you notice the bass short-striking a white swim jig and trailer in clear water, switch to a muted color of skirt and trailer, like green pumpkin.

BLADED JIG

Introduced in 2004, the Chatterbait was the first bladed jig to hit the market, and it didn’t take it long for it to make its mark. Since then, bladed jigs have been so successful that they now claim the space in many anglers’ tackle boxes that was once reserved for spinnerbaits. Though there are bladed-jig adaptations that include a fiber weed guard, most versions of the lure leave the hook exposed, limiting its ability to come through some types of cover.

The bladed jig’s top attributes are its flash and extreme vibration when reeled through the water. The natural side-to-side swimming motion of a bladed jig and trailer makes it nearly impossible for bass to resist. And there’s also an acoustic element, similar to that of a lipless crankbait, that further enhances its already tremendous drawing power.

Like its cousins in the jig family, the bladed jig works in almost any water condition and time of year. A slow retrieve will yield more bites in the colder months, but faster retrieves will dominate in warm water. While a straight retrieve will get plenty of strikes, surging and pulsing the bait with the rod tip will mimic a struggling or wounded baitfish on days when bass aren’t as aggressive.

A tapering, straight-tailed trailer, like Rapala’s Crush City Freeloader or the Yamamoto Zako, combines well with the hard-kicking action of a bladed jig and can be matched to its skirt color. As with the swim jig, simplifying the color choices to green pumpkin or some shade of white will produce in virtually any water tint. But in tannic waters, as often encountered in Florida, a black-and-blue skirt with a black trailer is a proven choice.

BEILUE'S BEST

Numerous examples of all three jig types are widely available, but here is a sampling of my personal favorites, plus preferred trailers for each.

• FLIPPING OUT: When it comes to flipping jigs, Dirty Jigs’ Matt Herren Flippin’ Jig (dirtyjigstackle.com) effectively gets through heavy cover and, just as importantly, pulls big fish out. A line-tie that emerges from the head at a 60-degree angle reduces snags in dense vegetation, and the heavy-duty 4/0 hook won’t open up on the hook set. The aforementioned Zoom Big Salty Chunk or similar soft plastics make an ideal trailer for this and other flipping jigs.

• GOING SWIMMINGLY: For swim jigs, a “heavy cover” design gets through practically any type of cover while remaining just as effective in open water. The Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig (strikeking.com) is a superb example of this style of jig. Its streamlined head, forward line-tie and beefy weed guard combine to help the lure come through the thickest cover. Depending on whether you aim to imitate a fleeing crustacean or baitfish, adding a Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw or Yamamoto Kickin’ Zako as a trailer will help complete the illusion.

• SLINGING BLADES: Z-Man’s Chatterbait (zmanfishing.com) is my top choice in bladed jigs. It’s available in many variations, some with smaller tungsten heads or oversized blades. The original design, however, remains an effective and reasonably priced classic that delivers aggressive bites. To enhance the lure’s silhouette without hindering its great action, add a Rapala Crush City Freeloader or similar minnow body as a trailer.