Help! swim jig weights

[zachrf]

ive just gotten into the world of jigs, and im wondering on what weights to use when. the lakes i primarily fish have docks and sparse lilly pads, anywhere from 3-8ft deep. i was wondering on what size swim jig to use. is 3/8 too heavy and will it just drag on the bottom? i use 1/4 ounce on spinning tackle just fine in shallow but on a bait caster lighter lures are better suited for spinning.

[Buzbait88]

I throw a 1/4 ounce swimjig on a baitcaster all the time.  The real advantage the 1/4 is you can put a 4" grub on it and rather than just swimming it you can almost pop it and jig it above the bottom or burn it across the top like a buzzbait.  I've used a 3/8 in the past and there isn't a ton of difference, but most of the grass here grows in 3' of water or less so no real need for it.

[zachrf]

thanks for the info, maybe the 5/16 with a heavy grub will increase my casting confidence. never used a baitcaster before and im ordering one next week along with some swim jigs.

[Buzbait88]

thanks for the info, maybe the 5/16 with a heavy grub will increase my casting confidence. never used a baitcaster before and im ordering one next week along with some swim jigs.

You'd be surprised at how well a 1/4 ounce jig will cast.  The head is 1/4 but then you add the weight of the trailer and the skirt along with the slim profile of the swim jig and you can cast it pretty far to be honest.  I throw mine on a Dobyns 703C using a shimano curado 200E7 and 30lb suffix 832 braid and can cast plenty far with this setup, never even thought about going to a heavier jig so I could cast farther.  It might help being that you are new to baitcasters, but I wouldn't worry about it.  Practice makes perfect, before you know it you'll be skipping that 1/4ounce jig under docks.

[zachrf]

ah, distance isnt my concern, its the backlash people talk about with light lures. and yeah, itl be real fun trying to skip from a kayak 

[Oldfart9999]

It depends on the cover, you can use from 1/8 to 1/2 fishing shallow, the heavier the cover the heavier the jig.
Rodney

[zachrf]

thanks for the info

[bigjim5589]

Good advise! For me, fall rate & current are concerns, so I use jigs of different weights. I'm primarily fishing in shallow tidal creeks where the depth is often less than 5 ft. The cover & structure varies. Sometimes, since it's tidal, there may be current. Current affects the fall rate, and will require a heavier jig.

Generally I use the lightest jigs I can, which may be as light as 1/16 oz, but more so in the 1/8 oz to 1/2 oz range as Oldfart9999 has said. I too use spinning gear with jigs that are 1/8 oz or less, but opt for baitcasting @ 1/4 oz & up. Distance is not a big issue as much of the time I'm flipping or pitching jigs. You also have to take into consideration what you're adding to the jig as a trailer. The more compact it is the less wind resistance it has, which should make casting a bit easier. A jig & worm will cast somewhat different than a jig & pig.

I'm not a kayak angler, but do fish from a Gheenoe, so sometimes it may be similar. IMO, a variety of weights & perhaps types of jigs is a good idea. By types I mean head designs, as some are better than others for different types of cover.

Because I'm fishing in shallow water, I usually start light & go up in weight, letting the bass tell me what they want. Light falls slower, but that's not always what they want.

[Oldfart9999]

In shallow water distance isn't that important, you're using shorter casts and bring the bait by the cover. Accuracy is important at this point. Pratice is important.
Rodney

[CaliforniaBass]

Personally, when I'm fishing any sort of swimjig in water shallower then 8ft deep I would never throw anything bigger then a 3/8 ounce, maybe if I was dragging the bottom you could throw an 1/2 ounce.  It really all depends where in the water column your going to fish it, because if your trying to get it across the surface your really going to have to burn it to get that heavy swimjig to stay on top. 

[zachrf]

i used a 1/4 ounce in about 8-12 feet of water the other day, and i couldnt keep it down, so maybe the 3/8 will keep it near the deep summer time bass.

[Oldfart9999]

The faster you move the jig the heavier it needs to be to keep it down, the slower the movement the lighter it needs to be. Heavier line will help keep the jig up as well as a larger trailer. There are a lot of variables involved, I would hope that some of those that know more about jig fishing than I do would chime in.
Rodney

[zachrf]

good info. thank you.