Shallow Water rock fishing

I don’t think I understand enough about jig heads.

If I’m rock fishing near the shore around kelp  in 15-30 ft of water, My 1 oz jig heads don’t sink fast enough and drift too much.  I got some 3 oz and they look too big for my 5inch swim baits.  Should I be bothering with anything this large in shallow water? How do I find the right combination for these conditions?

try dropshotting w/ a 2oz egg sinker and a Zoom magnum super fluke, that's my setup for shallow water rockfishing. it's more snag resistant than swimbaits imo and only the bottom portion of the line that connects to the sinker gets frayed by rocks. Also this sinks very quickly.

I wouldn’t worry about whether the head looks like it fits- but If if bothers you a bullet shape head will usually match better
 
 This isn’t what you asked,  but I  have found it easier  and more productive to  fish a double dropper loop and torpedo sinker in most  kayak rockfish scenarios.  You have much more flexibility to change weight, can present multiple offerings and  can even fish your swimbaits on an ewg type hook. The main exception to this is if you are in thick kelp or want  to cast and retrieve. I’m sure opinions differ.

... Zoom ...

This word should be banished from the English language, at least until we are in a post-covid world...

And,,,,with all the other stuff, sinker on the bottom suggestions, I use a length of say 10# less strength than the rest of the rig so that if the sinker gets stuck that's all you lose.

If you do want to continue on the jig head route, the smallest ive seen used in the ocean is 3oz. Last time i was using 4oz and still drifted quite a bit, I now use between 4-6oz shad jig heads.

If you are you fishing on top of kelp, clip your  yak and drop shot into the holes. 1 oz jig head with a swmbait should work fine. Keep moving until you find a productive area. 
Fishing outside or at the edge of the kelp, I like to use a 2 oz jig head and 5 inch swimbait. Cast it out towards where you are drifting. Work the bottom, I like a slow steady retrieve. When your line is vertical drop down and start jigging.
For deep water I like bouncing 6oz metal jigs for big reds.  A nice slow pitch jig rod makes deep jigging easier and fun.  Pics are my last 2 trips this month.

They make 1 1/2, 2. ,2 1/5. Oz. Jig heads.  If the head looks a little bit too big,don't worry ,it will work just fine.

I wouldn’t worry about whether the head looks like it fits- but If if bothers you a bullet shape head will usually match better
 
 This isn’t what you asked,  but I  have found it easier  and more productive to  fish a double dropper loop and torpedo sinker in most  kayak rockfish scenarios.  You have much more flexibility to change weight, can present multiple offerings and  can even fish your swimbaits on an ewg type hook. The main exception to this is if you are in thick kelp or want  to cast and retrieve. I’m sure opinions differ.

I will make sure I have weights with me to try this!  Yes it does sound much more flexible to the conditions.  I have a handful of torpedo weights in various sizes that I already painted and attached an assist hook to use as jigs, so I bet I could use one of those on the bottom and a dropper loop above.

If you are you fishing on top of kelp, clip your  yak and drop shot into the holes. 1 oz jig head with a swmbait should work fine. Keep moving until you find a productive area. 
Fishing outside or at the edge of the kelp, I like to use a 2 oz jig head and 5 inch swimbait. Cast it out towards where you are drifting. Work the bottom, I like a slow steady retrieve. When your line is vertical drop down and start jigging.
For deep water I like bouncing 6oz metal jigs for big reds.  A nice slow pitch jig rod makes deep jigging easier and fun.  Pics are my last 2 trips this month.

Thank you for the info!   I will try these sizes.  I'm in a small kayak so I won't be in any deep water very often.  That'l make it easier to carry smaller tackle!  Great catch.  I have a week to do nothing but fish, but I'll be camping, so I kind of hope I don't get that lucky

They make 1 1/2, 2. ,2 1/5. Oz. Jig heads.  If the head looks a little bit too big,don't worry ,it will work just fine.

I'll look for those, thank you!

... Zoom ...

This word should be banished from the English language, at least until we are in a post-covid world...

Haha.  Thanks for the guffaw!

With the wind moving me pretty fast on the surface, I felt like I could have definitely used more than 1oz jig head at the end of the day.  Even so, I caught a very pretty 13.75 inch gopher right away on that swimbait.  Earlier in the same day I was jigging my own hand tied bucktail hooks on 2-4oz torpedo weights that I painted with old glitter nailpolish.  Those worked amazingly well and we caught the most fish on them!  Even in 30-40 ft of water, I think I could have caught bigger fish on the bigger hooks and bigger swimbait.  I could see them on the sonar.  But in reality, we only needed fish for a 2 person dinner, so this was perfect.  Thanks y'all for the recommendations!

Super fun!  Good stuff!  Glad you caught fish...