By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan


(Editor's note: This is part 1 of a 2-part series on cold-water swim jig tactics.)

It’s difficult to not like FLW Tour angler Tom Monsoor. He always seems to be smiling and genuinely loves the fact that he gets to fish for a living. He also always seems to have a swim jig tied on to one (and sometimes more) rod, regardless of where he’s fishing.

That said, don’t expect him to just spill the beans about his favorite tactics, especially the one about using a swim jig, typically a warm-water option, when the water temperatures dip below 55 degrees.

Monsoor has earned several top-10 finishes fishing a swim jig in water 30 feet deep – and cold.

“Nobody knew about that swim jig,” he said. “That was pretty cool when I figured that out.”

Year-Round Confidence

Being from La Crosse, Wis., nestled along the banks of the upper Mississippi River, Monsoor really had only dialed in the technique in shallow water. He decided to test its deep-water worthiness at Beaver Lake.

“The secret was learning to use it deep, that was part of the learning curve,” he said. “I went to a heavier jig, a slower retrieve, and it works all year.”

Any time the water is fairly clear and not dirty, Monsoor is confident he can get a swim jig to work. He targets points, trees, reeds, and weed lines with changes in water depth. Deep water is key. Anywhere a crankbait, vibrating jig, or a spinnerbait would perform well, a swim jig works just as well, he says.

“Nobody understands the fact that there are 1/4- 3/8-, and 1/2-ounce jigs,” he noted. “It doesn’t matter if it's a 1-foot drop, a 6-foot drop, or a 30-foot drop, it works on all of those. Everyone thinks it's a shallow thing. That’s how it started, but the last 20 years on (Lake) Murray I’ve proved otherwise.”

In water less than 6 feet deep, a 1/4-ounce bullet head jig works best. Any deeper and a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce version helps him to stay in contact with, and above, the bottom. He prefers the 16- to 30-foot section of the water column. Rarely will he probe deeper than 30.

Monsoor admits to catching 40 to 50 largemouth off one spot, and big ones, too, using a swim jig. At the 2016 Pickwick Lake FLW Tour, Monsoor captured big bass honors with a 9-13 brute caught on a swim jig.

“It’s a definitely a numbers bait, it swims like a baitfish,” he said. “If you are throwing a little Skinny Dipper or a grub, those are numbers baits. I don’t throw great big swim jigs. They might be a half-ounce, but I’ll use a small 4 1/2-inch Yamamoto Swimming Senko, a 4-inch grub or a Reaction Innovations Lil’ Dipper (as a trailer).”

Not All Swim Jigs Are Created Equal

Like any other bait, each size represents a tool for each area of the water column. Monsoor says the majority of anglers view a swimbait as a one-dimensional bait with a “one-size fits all” mentality. Swim jigs are hardly that.

“You don’t just have one swim jig. I have boxes of them,” he said.



FLW
Photo: FLW

Monsoor pours his own swim jigs at home and ties his own skirts.

Monsoor has no jig sponsor to plug – he builds his own from scratch. He never uses more than 21 or 22 strands of material that he orders from Skirts Plus in Minneapolis, Minn. He’ll trim the skirt just behind the hook so that he doesn’t impair the action of the trailer.

His skirt patterns are designed to mimic crayfish, bluegill and shad. Green-pumpkin, green-pumpkin/orange, black/blue and white are his trusted patterns.

“It comes down to matching the hatch,” Monsoor said.

He favors a very light weed guard that he’ll remove entirely if he can get away with it.

Monsoor is especially particular about the head design. In the weeds, a bullet head is the only way to go. In deeper water, he’ll throw nothing but an Arkie head, weeds or not, because it will always run true. Unless he’s fishing at Beaver Lake or Lake Murray, the Arkie head gets the nod. He’ll fish a half-ounce Arkie in those deep-water scenarios.

Because the mouth of a bass is harder in cold water, he builds jigs with a light-wire hook as it penetrates more easily, especially on long casts in deep water. A vertical line tie is key to keeping the bait running true.

Right Retrieve

Monsoor stresses that the right cadence is key to triggering bites from cold-water bass.

“The one thing you’ve got to watch is when it gets below 55 degrees,” he said. “You really have to slow down and start fine tuning things. You might have to hop it, raise the rod and let it swim 2 feet and let it hit bottom. I like a slower retrieve. I want that fish to look and think that it’s easy to catch.”

Monsoor’s rule of thumb with a swim jig is this: When targeting shallow fish, keep the bait within 12 inches of the surface and when fishing deep, keep it within 12 inches of the bottom. The bite is comparable to a strike you’d get when fishing a spinnerbait.

“Reel fast to take up the slack sweeping the hook into the fish, not setting the hook,” Monsoor said. “If you give them slack they will spit it out.”

Geared Up

When throwing a half-ounce jig, Monsoor likes to pair it with a Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits grub. He also rotates through a Yamamoto Swimming Senko and a Reaction Innovations Lil' Dipper. For swim jigs, he prefers a 7-foot medium-action Lew’s casting rod paired with a Lew’s casting reel spooled with 10- to 12-pound Sugoi fluorocarbon line.

He opts for 10-pound in clear water while 12-pound is his preference when fishing in and around grass.