MEDLOCK SWIM JIG

By Don Norton

From time to time a new lure is introduced and if it catches bass, it doesn’t take long for word to get around. In the past 50 years I’ve seen it happen with dozens of new lures, many of which have become staples in my tackle boxes.

One lure that gained popularity, along with great success, was created by a local bass fisherman named Joe Medlock. Joe lives in Lake Placid, Florida and is a well-known angler who created a weedless jig, commonly known as the Medlock Jig.

Anyone who has ever purchased and fished with a Medlock jig can attest to the perfection in design and the weedless capabilities. It didn’t take long for the word to get out and not only local anglers but many of the pros on the national circuit began to search out Joe for this incredible jig.

Over the years I’ve interviewed Joe many times and I’m always amazed at his grace and humility. He’s a perfectionist, and it shows when you examine his jigs.

Unlike other jigs used in flipping and pitching, the weed guard on this original jig prevented the all-to-common hangups associated with other jigs in a similar style used for flipping and pitching. The Medlock Jig, in a variety of colors and sizes solved that problem, but it still hung up from time to time in heavier vegetation.

Today, years after he created the original Medlock Jig, he’s introducing a new lure that may be the answer to many anglers prayers.

I ran into Joe months ago at Marine and Tackle Warehouse in Sebring, Florida, and he told me about this new swim jig he was working on. Creating just the right balance and the placement of weed guards took months of trial and error and many attempts to create a new swim jig that would not snag up in heavy cover. Eventually he satisfied himself that he had perfected a weedless Swim Jig.

Most of my strikes came while the lure was swimming along. The largest bass hit with such ferocity that it almost pulled the rod out of my hands.

Joe gave me one of his prototypes and I was amazed at how well it came through bullrushes and pads on Lake Istokpoga. My third cast, an incredible distance into dense reeds and bullrushes rewarded me with a hefty four-pound bass who crushed the swim jig near the surface.

Even the cursed slit in the pads was no match for the jig. Slightly twitching it when it hit that slit was all it took for it to jump over the pad and continue swimming.

In four hours of fishing the new swim jig, it snagged up twice, but unlike other jigs where the hook snags onto the pads or reeds, the hook wasn’t the problem. It was the line. Even then, a strong pull on the braided line set the jig free.

Rigged with a Gambler Big Easy, the natural flow of the jig as it comes through the water is a work of art.

I retrieved the jig slowly through the vegetation, allowing it to fall and even stop occasionally. Most of my strikes came while the lure was swimming along. The largest bass hit with such ferocity that it almost pulled the rod out of my hands.

The Medlock Swim Jig will soon be available at Marine and Tackle Warehouse in Sebring, Florida and Bridgemasters (The Candy Store) in Lake Wales. This is going to be one of those lures that finds a place in every bass fisherman’s tackle box!

Let’s grow with Florida together.