Whats your swim jig rod and why?

[StPaulPike]

I am looking for a swim jig rod and not sure what to do. I bought a Abu verdict 7'3 mh heavy for the task because i got a great deal on it. Im not sure if this is the right rod though seems to heavy. It is on par in action to my frog rod a Dobyns 735c. What do you use or look for in a swim jig rod.

[Imavol]

I have played with a few over the last year and settled on a G Loomis SBR813GLX it is also my spinnerbait rod. I like the 6'9" length of it, it is short enough if I am making close quarters casts, but long enough to heave it if I have to. I tried the BCR803GLX, MBR843Glx and the SBR812. But the 813 just felt right with the swim jigs I throw them with a supertuned Sol and 50lb braid most of the time.

[RIK]

I have been using the Powell Swim Jig rod from Tackle Warehouse's exclusive Powell series, and really like it.

With swim jigs, at least the light Midwestern style ones, a light, fast tip is important. A lot easier to cast light jigs, and the tip gives a little on a hit so you don't pull the bait away from quite as many fish. But the rod still need a lot of power once you get past the light tip into the heart of the blank to pull fish out of cover. It's not always an easy combination to find. A lot of blanks with the right power have too hard a tip to be ideal for swim jigs.

Another rod I know some guys really like is the Falcon Swim Jig rod. Never tried it personally, but know some guys who have it and love it.

[fishbum]

I am currently using a zillion 7' heavy, and have also used the St. Croix LTB slop&frog rod and like it equally as well. Both of these rods have a nice tip for casting the jigs far (I use 1/4 oz jigs w/4"grub) and have a lot of back bone which really comes in handy when fishing pads, docks and thick vegetation.

The dobyns 735 would probably be a great swim jig rod, and I would think the abu garcia you picked up would work pretty well. You might actually like the extra length for distance and leverage.

For me heavy is best, but if you're fishing more open water or in spinnerbait type situations a lighter rod would work.

[angler96]

I use the powell swim jig rod and i love it. It has a nice quick tip for casting lighter jigs and has plenty of backbone to get fish in the boat. I put a revo stx or curado 200e7 and spool it up with 40lb. braid or 15lb. fluro. I started using the omega swim jigs last year and have had great success with them.

[Derek777]

i have the tw powell jared litner swim jig rod as well.
three factors convinced me to get it. firstly, its a powell and the build quality is excellent. secondly its specifically designed for the task, including the use of braid. third factor was watching the tw videos with jared litner discussing the rod and technique in general.

i have it paired up with a smoke 100 and 55lb samurai braid. it casts a mile, the action is perfect with both the small 1/4 oz regular type swimjigs and the 1/2 oz keitech with a 4.8 inch swimbait trailer. the 7'2 length with a 3 power and fast action all work perfectly for casting, working the jigs and hooking and keeping hooked up swimjig fish.

i havent tried any other swimjig designed rods but i dont think for 139$ you can beat the tw rod.

[Micropterus salmoides]

For 3/8 oz swim jigs with trailers like the Swim Senko and Skinny Dipper I use the same rod I use for spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and buzzbaits - a Dobyns 734C. I like the power of the 734C, particularly because I use swim jigs around vegetation.

For 1/2-3/4 oz swim jigs with an EZ Shad as a trailer I plan on using a Dobyns 735C. I'm still fishing this swim jig in the same areas as the smaller swim jigs, but the heavier total weight works better with the 735C. I'd probably prefer the 765C, but the 735C is what I have.

Both the 734C and 735C have the characteristics I want in a swim jig rod - a fast action that is more moderate; powerful backbone yet a light enough tip to cast with ease; longer length for casting versatility, moving more line on hook sweep, controlling fish.

[NJ Jigman]

i use a 7'2'' med cumara xf for light 1/4-3/8 oz and a mh 7'2'' for heavier 1/2 oz on rocky humps or deep sand grass

[falcon]

If your using the northern style swimjigs you don't need a H rod. A Strong M or MH with a soft quick tip would be ideal with the backbone to pull a fish from the cover.

[Steve Williams]

If you are swimming the northern style swim jigs in 3/16-1/4oz with the light wire hooks, you should stay away from the 734 and the 735, especially if you are using braid. They will open up the hook on you because they are too powerful when combined with the braid.

I use a 733 Dobyns Savvy rod for 3/16-5/16oz swim jigs with the lighter wire hooks. It has a soft tip that is great for moving baits like swim jigs, small spinnerbaits and topwaters however it maintains enough backbone to move the fish and a fast enough action that you can cast accurately when needed. I use this for most of my open water, docks or hard cover jig swimming. When I move to grass, I do step up to the 734 Dobyns Savvy. It has a good tip action as well but has more power and will move the heavier hook through the fishes mouth better. It is also a very good spinnerbait, buzzbait, chartterbait rod in the 3/8-1/2oz range. I use 40lb braid on the 734 and .013 fluorocarbon on the 733.

I steer away from the 735 for jig swimming. It has a great tip for frogs, jigs and worms but I like a little bit softer tip for swim jigs. I guess the exception would be if you were burning a flat head jig like the booyah over the top of hydrilla or milfoil on Guntersville, then you might want the 735 to get the fish out of the mat. That would be the only I place I ever used it for swimming jigs and I usually use a frog in that situation.

I prefer fluorocarbon for swim jigs because you can get the bait deeper and work it faster than you can with braid or mono. Braid and mono will make the jig rise faster than fluoro will. If I am in shallow grass or swimming over thick hydrilla though, I always opt for braid.

[Boods]

Currently I have a St. Croix Avid Heavy action rod and it does an incredible job throwing swim jigs. On the Mississippi River where I fish, we throw a swim jig in cover that is a little less sparse than where I toss a frog, and in some cases throw it right in the slop where we throw a frog. Anyways, this rod has the proper amount of backbone to get fish out and away from thick cover whether it be grass, pads, slop, or wood. The action of the tip is a little stiff, but the overall performance of this rod throwing swim jigs is great.

Some other possible swim jig rods may be the Powell 705C, 725C Endurance, and 734C. I believe the 705 has the correct tip and enough backbone to really do the job effectively while throwing smaller to heavier swim jigs.

I think it really boils down to a personal preference to what you feel is right in your hands in relation to the different types of cover you fish in as well as what size of jigs you throw as well.

[civicrr]

I've been using a Dobyns 734 or DX744 throwing the Dirty Jigs 'Coosa River' style. These jigs have heavy hooks (5/0 3X hooks) which is why I'm throwing them on the heavy power rod. I also like using a bigger trailer than the standard twin tail grub which is another reason to use them on the heavier rod.

As noted above, the light wire hook swimjigs should be used to a MH rod or at least a lighter drag setting. Don't ask me how I know.

[DUZBASS]

I have a few different swim jig rods for different situations. I primarily use the Zillion 7' Heavy for most swim jigging. This rod can handle it all, and when you're in the slop/pads/under docks/around trees it gets the fish out and fast. In lighter cover I opt for the 7mh sweeper Croix LT, awesome rod for this technique. Enough tip to bomb them and let the fish eat the jig, but plenty of backbone for most situations. My backup to the LT is the 7mh Croix Avid, which was my first swim jig rod and still one of my favorites. I fish swim jigs with 50# braid 90% of the time, but occasionally will use 16# sunline machineguncast, or a 15-17# fluoro on my Megabass Diablo in open water

I would also like to add that I have fished MH and H rods exclusively for the past 6 years for swim jigs and almost always with 50# braid and I have never had a lighter wire swim jig hook open up on me, and this includes catching pike and muskie

[Mr SwimJig]

I have the Cara T7 Swim Jig rod and really like it a lot, but I just ordered a Shimano Cumara CUCX72MH to try out and see how it compares to the Cara.

I mainly throw 1/4, 5/16 and the occasional 3/8oz swim jig.

SJ

[DavidSA]

swimming a 3/8oz jig and speed crawl trailor I would normally use a 3 power rod. A looms 843 or 803. If I was fishing over the very nasty vegitation I might go to the 844.