How to Modify a Swim Jig

Saying that the big swim jig and switchblade jig have “caught on” would be a gross understatement. Almost overnight everyone seems to be throwing them. Of course, this brings up a whole new assortment of bait and technique related questions. One that has been coming up lately is how to modify the jigs to improve or change their action.
This video discusses what you can do to both the swim jig and the switchblade jig to get different actions.
The baits fish very well “as is” if you use the trailers I recommend but if you start using other trailers, brands, weights, etc… you will need to make these changes to keep your baits swimming properly.

I hope you find this video helpful and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Simple Jig Modifications

We custom paint crankbaits, change blades on spinnerbaits, pour our own worms, why on earth don’t more people customize their jigs? Sure they work out of the package but so do most of the other baits we modify. Does that make any sense at all? Jigs, like most other baits, seem to work their best once they’ve been chewed on a few times. Since I’m not willing to spend the day pre-chewing my own jigs the next best bet is to make it look like I did.
There is definitely something special about a jig that has the “it” factor. One of these days I’ll get around to fully explaining this factor but for now its the magical “something” that makes one bait work better than all of it’s identical counterparts. Here is a shining example of a jig with “it”. This is a 3/4 oz Dirty Jigs No-Jack jig in the color “molting craw”.
Its been responsible for 4 fish over 9 lbs and a handful of others over the 7 lb mark. (Yes, all of those scratches are from bass teeth) Why does this one work so well? I don’t know! The important part to understand is simply that it does. I know the day will come when I lose this jig. Instead of waiting for another one to get beat up enough to start developing “it” I’m going to skip a major part of the curve. If you follow these simple steps to modify your jigs and give them more of a mottled look they will be much more appealing to big bass.
If your goal is to catch any little fish that will bite its not all that hard to do and any old jig will do. In fact, don’t bother modifying your baits at all. On the other hand, if your goal is to catch a GIANT, whatever that may be to you, then do everything you can to put the odds in your favor. Don’t go down the bank throwing the same jig as everyone else. Make your bait look more real than any other jig that big bass has ever seen and then cross your fingers that today is her day.

Do you modify your jigs? Do you have a different approach? Leave a comment and share it with the rest of us.

Rigging the Switchblade Jig

The switchblade jig was received with great enthusiasm this past week. Thank you all for the feedback and stories of fishing similar rigs. However, across the board people had questions about how to attach the blade. Rather than try to explain it, we filmed it. Here is a quick tutorial on rigging your switchblade jig for action.

Another Swim Jig Option: The Switchblade

First off, thank you all for the great feedback on swimming heavy jigs for bass. I’ve already had readers send in photos of bass over 10 lbs from as far away as Florida! I’m so excited to see the technique working nation wide. I’ve had multiple people ask to see the jigs moving in the water so I finally took the time to video the jigs in action. You’ll be able to see what makes the roboworm EZ shad work so well on the back of that jig… its all in the action.

In this video we also decided to share the Switchblade with you. While this is something I’ve tossed around from time to time it was recently brought back to mind by my good friend Adam Hinkle. Adam is a stud from Southern California and puts a real dent in those San Diego bass.

The Switchblade jig is a modification to the swim jig that involves attaching a blade (my preference is a willow leaf) to the hook of the Dirty Jigs Swim Jig via a swivel. We get many of the same perks of the swim jig (realism, lifelike-movement, unique look and feel) but you also get extra vibration and flash which can make all the difference in murky water. Give the video a watch and let me know what you think.

I know I’m  not the only person to ever fish a switchblade but no one else seems to be willing to talk about it. I know one or two of you have been secretly hammering the fish with this technique. Let’s hear the stories!