“It’s just a fabulous technique,” the Florida pro said. “You’ll never open my rod box and never find one or two swim jigs tied on.”
The reason is simple: Grigsby values time efficiency. Swim jigs will enter and exit just about anywhere he can place a cast, while presenting a profile that mimics a wide range of fish forage.
A true 4-wheel-drive bait, Grigsby said he favors the swim jig design because it allows for a multi-tasking strategy. While slipping through grass and pads comprises most of his presentations, he’s also keen to dead stick the bait next to timber for a slow, vulnerable fall, or pitch the jig directly to a stump, laydown or some other attractive target.
Noting how the swim jig shines in weedy waters like those of his home state, Grigsby said, “A lot of people don’t fish a jig in Florida because of all the vegetation, but the swim jig has the right head design to get through that cover.”
Indeed, this headstrong bass fishing bait seamlessly traversing a variety of emergent cover such as water willow, eel grass, pencil reeds, hay grass and Florida’s Kissimmee grass. Grigsby won’t lob a swim jig into the center of a dense lily pad field, but flaring the weed guard a little allows him to fish it through much of the shallow cover where big fish hide.
Retrieve speed is typically determined by water clarity, weather, time of day — the factors impacting visibility. When fish can get a good, long look at passersby, Grigsby’s gonna step on the gas to make ’em decide. Conversely, when bass need their eyeglasses, slowing down yields more connections.
As for retrieve style, Grigsby’s somewhere between a steady wind and the Alabama Shake. Neither is wrong, he said —- unless that’s all you do.
“Whatever you do, break it up so it looks different,” Grigsby said. “Think about a squarebill deflecting off a stump — it doesn’t do that all the time.”
“In vegetation, the line is not as much of a concern because it’s bumping through that cover and the fish is bursting out to get it, rather than tracking it in open water,” Grigsby said. “I use the Lew’s skipping reel because it has a shallow spool that (minimizes) backlashes
“It only holds 40 yards of line, but most of your casts are that or less, so it doesn’t really affect anything you do. I just like never having to mess with the reel.”
Grigsby said he commonly uses the swim jig in tandem with a Strike King Thunder Cricket (vibrating jig). The latter excels in sparser cover and open water; often tickling the tops of grass beds and occasionally snapping it free from temporary snags to trigger bites.
The swim jig also delivers in those light cover scenarios and offers a strategic benefit. Just as bass get tired of rattling and/or wide wobbling crankbaits, too many bladed jigs peppering their world will find them tuning out the bolder look.
Switch over to the sleek, silent swim jig and the ones will a rumble in their belly, or a chip on their shoulder might be more inclined to open their mouth.