Attack both Fresh and Saltwater Species with the Slayer Swim Jig from Warbaits

Total Score: 8.41 - EDITOR'S CHOICE!

Introduction: Swimming jigs continue to gain popularity and ready to take aim at this fast growing category is Warbaits which specializes in jigs designed for both inshore and freshwater applications targeting everything from Lingcod to Largemouth Bass. These sleek jigs are designed for even the thickest cover and are designed to be fished through a kelp forests, trophy bass lakes and everything in between.

Warbaits Slayer Swim Jigs are designed for both fresh and saltwater fishing

Impressions: Just how different can you make a jig? In the case of Warbaits it is clear that the San Diego based company isn’t interested in making just another “me-too” jig, instead the company has designed a product from the ground up specifically for swim-jig applications. The bait has plenty of features designed to improve durability so that the jig can handle more hard core applications including standing up to saltwater species. 

Warbaits feature a streamline head designed for fishing heavy cover

The Warbaits Slayer Jig features a large yet streamlined head that is designed to get in and out of heavy cover quickly. For extra durability the heads are powder coated to resist impact with structure and the jigs come armed with Mustad UltraPoint hooks that are protected by resilient PerFlex weed guards. Gill vents on the head are added on the sides and each jig features a 66 strand silicone skirt. There are a ton of colors (21 to be exact) to choose from and all come with matching 3D bubble eyes give the jigs a realistic baitfish-like appearance. Slayer swim jigs are designed for heavier applications so you won’t find an ultralight finesse jig in this lineup, instead jigs start at 3/4oz. and are available all the way up 2oz. in weight.

The weight of each jig is marked on the packaging

Real World Tests: To test the Warbaits Slayer Swim Jigs we fished the baits right out of the package as well as paired them with various swimbait tails from manufacturers including Roboworm and Basstrix. We targeted lingcod off the Northern California coast for the first part of our tests but spent the majority of time seeing just how these jigs would perform when fishing for largemouth bass in lakes in both California and Texas.

A closer look at the head and you can see the gill design which displaces water for more natural skirt movement, not to mention it looks realistic too

Casting: The Slayer Swim Jig is best fished with a heavy jig rod, football head rod or even a flipping stick. These same rods can be employed for both freshwater and saltwater fishing, and it is an absolute blast landing a lingcod using a flipping stick or medium heavy bass rod and this lure enables anglers to do exactly that. The Slayer Jig really is a no brainer to cast, simply lob it out with either an overhand or underhand cast and let the fun begin.

The Slayer Swim Jigs can be fished alone or paired with swimbait tails

Retrieve: It is no surprise to me that these jigs work so well for rockfish species, in the water they look very much like rubber jigs and are not all that different from the new fangled premium jigs from Shimano and Daiwa. With so many colors to choose from there really is a jig for every application. For inshore fishing I really preferred the heavier 1.5-2oz. jigs as they helped me get down to the strike zone quicker.

Each head comes with a PerFlex weed guard

While the jigs worked right out of the package for many rockfish both the strike and catch ratio of Vermillion Rockfish and Lingcod shot up once we added a swimbait tail from either Roboworm or Basstrix. The line tie is positioned at the upper nose of the bait so that it can be retrieved with a swimbait tail level or jigged so that it looks like a baitfish darting quickly in and out of structure.

The Warbait Slayer Swim Jig is deadly effective for targeting Lings when paired with a swimbait tail

In freshwater we also found that the jigs did perform better when paired with a trailer. At times a small single tail grub was enough but in most cases the bigger bass were caught using a 4-5” swimbait tail. The Warbaits Slayer Jig is extremely easy to fish and is a good bait for targeting fish throughout the water column. On colder days I let the jig drop all the way to the bottom and slow retrieve it back up, at times a pause allowing the jig to drop downwards was enough to get a bite.

Some patterns feature heads that are powered coated with StonePro paint for matching with skirt patterns and improved durability

Once the water temperature hit 58 plus degrees I found that I could get fish to more readily chase the jig and strike it in open water. I preferred a slower retrieve, just enough to get the jig to swim back with a tail level, and only went to a fast retrieve when the bass were very aggressive. While good for largemouth bass the Slayer Jig is also absolutely deadly for striped bass and can even be ripped or jigged much like a bucktail to draw strikes.

The camo "Recon" pattern paired with a roboworm saltwater swimbait proved excellent for Lings