Some lures are named after their looks. Others lures are named after their inventors while others are named according to how they react or move in the water. Then other lures after the technique used to fish it with. The Swim-It was appropriately named after the technique referred to as swimming a jig. Swimming a jig has become increasingly popular among professional anglers including Bassmaster Elite Series Professional angler Kevin Short as a way to catch big bass during a tournament. Short’s favorite swim jig is the Swim-It by Jewel Bait Company.

Although swimming a jig is not a new technique some of the materials used and innovating design has increased how efficient anglers can fish with them. In the past, anglers would just use any cone shaped lead head jig rigged with a single tail grub. Today anglers have a number of jigs and trailers to choose from. “A swim jig like the Swim-It Jig by Jewel Bait Company (www.jewelbait.com) can be used any time of year as long as the fish are using cover. It’s both a cover bait and open water bait, but primarily in or around vertical grass or brush,” said Bassmaster Elite Professional Angler Kevin Short. The key to fishing with a swim jig noted Short was to select the right size. If you want to keep your swim jig high in the water column an angler should fish with a ¼-ounce. “Usually, I like to use a 1/4-ounce Swim-It swim jig rigged with a Zoom Fat Albert as a trailer. The Fat Albert trailer on the back end of the swim jig makes it so I can wake it right up on the surface. Unlike with the lighter ¼-ounce Swim-It, the 3/8-ounce Swim-It swim jig is heavy and when rigged with a Zoom Swimmin Super Fluke it can be fished really fast,” explained Short. Two reservoirs that Short has had success fishing the Swim-It swim jig is Pickwick Lake in Alabama. “I caught bass when the water was up there in the same places you would fish a spinnerbait. I focused on the edge of spawning flats around the bushes on the end. The other reservoir was Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas; the water was really muddy, but I still caught them on a 3/8-ounce Swim-It Jig with a dark color skirt and dark color Swimmin Super Fluke as a trailer reeling it fast through the grass,” said Short.

Short likes to rig his Swim-It swim jig with one of the following trailers depending on how he is trying to present it. “I like adding a Zoom Swimmin Super Fluke when I am fishing it quickly; I begin by pinching off about ¾-inches of the head and if I get a lot of short strikes I will shorten it even more. Another trailer I like to fish with is the Zoom Super Chunk. It gives the Swim-It Jig a totally different movement when swimming it. One other trailer I like to use with a Swim-It Jig is a Zoom Fat Albert; a double tail grub. The Zoom Fat Albert really slows the bait down when retrieving it,” explained Short. Short also noted that the Swim-It Jig produced more of a subtle action than a spinnerbait and its movement could be changed easily by switching the trailer. “I also believe that the Swim-It is a better clear water bait than a spinnerbait,” said Short.

Features of the Jewel Bait Company Swim-It Jig:
• Unique boat hull shape for enhanced swimming
• Jewel’s proprietary J Lock holds plastics in place
• Custom Mustad Ultra Point heavy-duty black nickel hook
• Specially positioned fiber weedguard improves hook sets
• Realistic scale-pattern baitfish finish
• Available in five color combinations matched to head

Short likes to use a heavy action St. Croix Legend Extreme and 6.4:1 Lew’s baitcasting reel when fishing with a swim jig. “For line, I use either 30-pound or 50-pound Vicious Braid when fishing in grass and 15-pound or 20-pound Vicious Pro Elite Series Fluorocarbon line when I am fishing around bushes,” said Short.

The popularity of swim jigs is growing in leaps and bounds. Swim jigs are the perfect lure because they can be rigged so many different ways; in addition to being able to change the presentation of the jig by only changing the trailer.