Swim Jig Techniques for Fall Bass Fishing

All right, guys, Bryan Schmitt here with bassresource.com. We're going to talk to you about fall-time swim jigging. This is an option for you to apply in the fall of the year You know, we know that fish get heavy on bait fish a lot in the fall of the year. A lot of guys like throwing spinnerbaits. A lot of guys like throwing crankbaits. There's a lot of options out there, but there is a time and place for a swim jig, guys. And, you know, we're gonna really narrow this down for you.

A lot of times in the fall, like we said, they're on bait fish They get on bait fish, and they will start to really key in on the back of the creeks chasing this food source. The bait starts to move to the back of these creeks, and, you know, the swim jig gives you option to cover water again but, you know, you're not really spooking the fish. You're not bringing a vibrating jig, that works, but this is a bait that you cover a lot of water with that's finesse, not obtrusive. I keep mentioning this. But you can go through these areas with a spinnerbait, catch a few fish. You can go through these areas with a vibrating jig, catch a few fish. And you can come right back through there with the swim jig and get a few more fish that you were not going to get to bite the other baits, so that's why it's an option, guys.

And also, you come across some shallow grass. You know, you come across some grass in the fall of year, the bait will get pinned in the grass, the fish will get on it. A swim jig really, really shines in this scenario. But, you know, to just start off with a color, my number one color in the fall would probably be this color here. I call it natural. It's just a white swim jig that would be a go-to in the fall of the year, Missile Baits Shockwave Trailer. I'll rotate between a frosted purple or a pearl color, you know, depending on the watercolor, but just something to imitate the bait fish. Fisholicious is another really good option for the Shockwave just to stay with your shady colors.

You know, 3/8 or a 1/2 ounce depending on what you're fishing. You know, if your fish are really, really shallow 3/8 of fish won't go a little bit deeper, the 1/2-ounce model Is a really good option. You know, keying in on the back of the creeks, covering a lot of water. You know, a lot of times in the fall of the year just looking for visual signs, let it be birds sitting on the bank, let it be fish breaking, bait fish rippling on the surface, get after with the swim jig.

You know, another cool thing that happens in the fall of the year to get on crayfish again, you know, I can tell you don't always have to go with the bright, bright colors, but there is a time where this is very hard to be in the fall of the year. But if you want to stick with more of your natural green pumpkins to relate to the crayfish that's fine too. It's just a different action. It's just a different bite. So what's happening with these with these two baits? I have a twin-tail trailer on. I have a Missile Baits D Bomb. I have one in a horizontal position, one in a vertical position. This is putting off a lot more vibration under the water for a swim jig compared to the Shockwave.

Shockwaves are just a streamlined trailer with a small boot tail. These two legs on the D Bomb put off a lot of action. It's just going to draw in a little more attention to the bait. You know, kind of sticking with the crayfish style just that the two legs moving. You know, when you're just working this nice and slow on the bottom, jerk-jerk, or some steady reel, this is looking just like a crayfish guys, so I'd really get into imitating the food source. But same kind of scenario, you know, back at a creeks fishing, you know, where is the bait fish going in the fall of the year? It's starting to migrate to the back of the creeks, and I'm going to apply these two colors a lot in the fall of the year as well as my natural color.

And then guys, just, you know, throw this sometimes. In the fall of the year, you don't have to always go in with the shady colors, the bluegill colors, you can just throw something crazy at them, a black and blue. Or a scenario like...let's just take this in for account in the fall of the year, you found back of a creek. They had a lot of fish and a lot of bait in it. And you had a good little rain overnight, and it brought in a little bit of color not too much. First and foremost, I don't like fishing a swim jig in dirty water. I need to have a little bit of visibility. But it just gets a little more color on you. The black and blue will really, really shine. The Chunky D trailer puts off enough vibration to draw them in, and the color brings them in as well.

So these are my core deals for the fall of the year. Keying in on where the bait is going. The fish are usually going to follow the bait, and I want to follow the fish. So, you know, I'm gonna stick with the back of the creeks, any available habitat. Okay, we're in the back of a creek. There's no grass but there's a ton of bait fish, isolated targets like the few boat docks in this particular area, a few laydowns, you know, something for a fish to relate to. And make a repetitive cast in the fall of the year with a swim jig can be a really cool option too. Same cast, multiple times at a piece of structure.

So that's my key deal for the fall of the year: following the food, sticking with some core colors, and then throwing something just a little bit different at them. Give them a rotation of baits. You know, rotation of sizes. You know, depending on what you're facing, you know, 3/8 ounce, I liken 1 to 4 foot of water. The 1/2-ounce model, I'll use a lot of times in 5 and deeper depth range, you know, especially if I want to keep it down. So that's my deal there. I hope you apply this on your home water and get a lot of bites. Thank you