1st Gen FlashX Swim Jig in sizes up to 3/4 ounce

In recent years I’ve done quite well just about everywhere I’ve fished for bass with some sort of underspin. Sometimes it’s a screw-lock swimbait hook upon which I impale a soft plastic like a Skinny Dipper or a Keitech Fat Swing Impact. Other times, it’s a regular swim jig with a blade protruding from the chin of the head. After seeing something like that in Georgia, I got my Cheesehead friend Dan Brovarney to build some even better versions for shallow water swimming.

On our most recent trip to El Salto, Hanna discovered the 5/8 and ¾ ounce Megabass Uoze. She tipped it with either a hollow belly swimbait or a Keitech-style lure and proceeded to wear out the bass. Admittedly, at some point during the week before losing the whole bait she lost the blade, so it’s unclear whether the small willowleaf was integral to the appeal or just an added bonus.

Upside Down Swim Jig

While perusing the “Summer Releases” tab on Tackle Warehouse recently I came across the 1st Gen FlashX Swim Jig, a lure that literally turns those bladed swim jigs on their heads – instead of a wire protruding from the chin of the lure, it emerges from the top. I suppose in the loosest sense of the word that makes it more of a spinnerbait than a swim jig, but the small #3 blade and titanium wire place it squarely in the jig category for me. I couldn’t find out much about the company, but in addition to their great selection of skirts, I noticed that they not only had small metallic willowleaf blades, but some models featured painted Colorados. That’s not something I’d seen in this space before. I also like the fact that they come in sizes up to ¾ ounces, which means we can use them in much the way Hanna used the Uoze. There are also 3/8 and ½ ounce models that are more suited for shallow- to mid-range swimming.

1st Gen Topspin, first of its kind and starting a new category in the fishing world, the opposite of an underspin

1st Gen also offers a non-skirted “Topspin” in sizes from 3/16 to ½ ounce, with hooks ranging from 3/0 to 6/0, if you just want to add your swimbait of choice.

More Painted Blade Underspins

Even though the underspin and bladed jig categories of products have exploded in recent years, at first I thought that the 1st Gen was the only underspin -- mean, “topspin” — with painted blades. However, that turned out not to be true. The Santone Lures Chris Zaldain Z-Spin Underspin comes in 3/8 to ¾ ounce sizes, with various sizes of hooks, and blade options include chartreuse, orange and white willows.

Santone Lures Chris Zaldain Z-Spin Underspin with painted fluorescent orange willowleaf blade

The V&M Flash Jig has painted blades on their Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin Craw and White swim jigs.

There are also several underspins with hammered blades.

Venom Lures hammered blade underspin with a turtleback blade and EWG hook

Bladed Swim Jigs

The addition of a blade to a swim jig makes a lot of sense. It’s not quite as obtrusive as a spinnerbait or Chatterbait, but creates slightly more commotion than a non-bladed jig. The first ones I purchased were JDM models from Shimano, and to be honest they sat in their packages unused for a long time. Then on a trip to Georgia some friends introduced me to a locally-made version. It had some design flaws, so I asked Brovarney Baits to make me some, and they proved to be much better. I don’t know if they ever put them in the regular rotation.

If you can’t get them from Brovarney, there are other options. For example, Strikezone’s Ledgebuster Sling Blade Underspin Swim Jig comes in 3/8, ½ and ¾ ounce sizes, in several popular swim jig colors.

Strikezone Ledgebuster Sling Blade Underspin Swim Jig in black and blue with a gold smooth blade

Some have the blade on a titanium wire, while others have them on a swivel. Gambler’s Southern Flash Swim Jig has the blade on the bend of the hook. So does Pepper’s Bladed Swim Jig. No matter which you prefer, just make sure that it has enough gap so that your preferred trailer and the blade do not interfere with one another’s action.

Gambler Southern Flash Swim Jigs for a Florida style moving bait, made for Okeechobee and Toho

Underspin Hooks We Like

The first non-jighead (i.e., weedless) underspin that I used was the Zappu Blading Pile Driver. It’s still probably my favorite for any application that requires a lightly weighted 4/0, 5/0 or 6/0 hook. Be sure to replace the included spring-lock with an Owner CPS model, because despite Zappu’s typically high quality control standards the factory spring is lightweight and tends to come off easily. They recently introduced the “Bredy” finesse versions in 1/16 and 1/32 ounce weights. Some others that I’ve used successfully include:

Strike King Tour Grade Belly Blade – Good variety of lighter weights, widely available, bargain priced.
Owner Flashy Swimmer – Great options in the upper size ranges from 6/0 up to 12/0 gaff-sized models, and always a quality hook.
Lazer Trokar Swim Blade – Super sharp, and good range of weights with hooks up to 7/0.

Today, it seems that just about every major hook manufacturer has their own take on this genre (as do many smaller, niche companies) so pick one or two that you like and get a variety of weights and sizes. I cannot guarantee that the blade alone will consistently make a huge difference, but there are enough times that it will so you should be prepared with a little bit of extra flash.