The jig is probably the oldest of all fishing lures. In the early 1800s, adventurers exploring the Pacific Northwest documented Indians using jigs with weighted bone hooks and feathered skirts to catch salmon. Even earlier examples of these simple, yet deadly lures have been uncovered in excavations of early settlements along river banks in Europe.
But even though jigs have been around for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, anglers are still coming up with new ways to tweak them and catch fish on them. Bass fishermen especially have a fascination with jigs and have developed specialized varieties designed for specific scenarios, including pitching and flipping in heavy grass, dropping down stair-stepping ledges and crawling over rocks like a crayfish. A recent example is the football jig. This bottom-bumping style received considerable attention when Texas pro Alton Jones used one to win the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. But there’s an even newer jig style that bass pros and big-bass experts alike have been quietly using with tremendous success. It’s called the swim jig, and it’s about to bust loose on the bass-fishing scene in a big way. Here’s what you need to know about this new class of deadly artificials so you can stay ahead of your competition and whack more lunker bass on your home lakes.
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