Swimming a jig means different things to different anglers, but in the Arkansas River Valley, the term refers to one thing and one thing only. Because of the pioneering work of trophy-bass specialist Mitch Looper, Arkansas anglers swim jigs on the surface, usually skirting the tops of the thickest grass mats they can find.
Looper, who began swimming jigs two decades ago, designed the BOOYAH Swim’n Jig specifically with this technique in mind. It will come through virtually any kind of vegetation without getting hung, and its head shape gives it a very slight wiggle as it comes through the water. Cranked quickly and steadily, the Swim’n Jig swells the top and creates a wake.
The bait slides over the thickest grass and picks up its wiggle and wake in every opening or thin spot in the vegetation. Strikes, which are usually fierce, can come at any time. Anglers crank quickly with rods held high and stay ready all the time.
When the jig bite is hot, the best retrieve almost looks foolish, with the jig swimming quickly across the top, even skipping a bit on the matted grass, like marlin-troller’s teaser rig. The fast action attracts furious strikes.
Swim’n a jig is clearly a big-bass tactic. “You never have to measure them,” said Brad Smith, a Fort Smith angler who grew up fishing the Arkansas River and has learned the swimming tactic from some of the region’s best anglers. “Most fish will be at least 3 pounds.”
Because the Swim’n Jig brings up hefty bass and because it works best in the thick stuff, an angler must go out loaded for bear, using 25- or 30-pound-test Silver Thread and fishing with a heavy action 7- or 7 1/2- foot rod. Beyond providing power for hooking fish and getting them out of the slop, a long rod is helpful for keeping the Swim’n Jig skirting the top.
The classic Swim’n Jig bite heats up as soon as the vegetation starts reaching the surface and greening up on a body of water. In the Arkansas River, that usually occurs in late March or early April. In Florida and Texas, it’s already going full-bore. The action stays good throughout the warm months and even well into the fall.
Looper commonly adds a YUM Wooly Hawgtail to the back of his Swim’n Jig. The whole thing wiggles, really creating the look of a fast-fleeing baitfish. At times he’ll instead use a YUM Chunk, which creates a crawfish appearance, or fishes the bait with no trailer.
In the Arkansas River anglers mostly commonly swim a jig across water willows and pepper grass. However, the same approach works just as well around milfoil, hydrilla and other types of vegetation. In fact, Looper doesn’t limit the tactic to fishing grass. He’ll wake a Swim’n Jig among stumps beside docks or even through open water.
The BOOYAH Swim’n Jig weighs 1/2 ounce. It has two extra-loud rattle, a BOOYAH silicone skirt, a strong weed guard, hard-coat paint and an Excalibur Tx3 Point triple cutting edge hook.