That is not a easy question for a rookie like me to answer because what you are doing has a lot to do with how it needs to be fished.

In general in open water I throw it out and reel it back.  I don't do anything to it.  I let the trailers do the work. 

I was missing a lot of fish using it at night and JoeS recommended that I not set the hook when I felt a strike.  That was good advice.  Now I cast it out and reel up the slack pointing my rod tip at the jig.  I just reel till I feel the strike, keep reeling until I am sure the fish has it, then sometimes I set the hook and if I can be patient just keep reeling and let the fish set the hook.

I fish it in all depths and in all parts of the water column.  I will start out fishing it close to the surface.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll do count downs then retrieve until I find out what works.  (Last summer a couple of friends of mine had a 5 and a 7 year old with them.  The boys couldn’t cast baitcasters so the guys would cast for them, hand them the setup, tell them to count to 10 then reel in the bait.  They were fishing bridge piers over 80 fow.  The boys caught 20 bass with 8 keepers in about an hour never once setting the hook.  They were using 1/2 oz brown football heads with BPS twin tail grubs.)  Sometimes I’ll let it go all the way to the bottom, pick it up and reel it back keeping it a few feet off the bottom.  Sometimes I’ll reel it a ways then let it fall back to the bottom.

It can be effective out to 25’ or so but is most effective in 15’ or less.

After the jerkbait bite is slowing, if the water gets into the bushes, I like to swim the lighter weight (1/8 and 1/4 oz) jigs around the bushes and stop and drop them in holes and between bushes.  I’d rather use them than a spinnerbait most of the time.

I know one guy who has won a ton of money and now guides on LOZ who does the swim/twitch over brush piles that he has planted.  I haven’t really tried that with this type jig [that is how I fish my bucktails] but plan to this summer.  I do swim/twitch for post spawn smallies when they get on the flats in 10-12 fow.

I generally stick to shallow water with the swimming jig myself, Pondhopper. I have been considering putting in some time though doing the depthes like Jig Man has mentioned. The most common retrieve for me is just casting it to the target, kind of gingerly working the bait out away from the target and once it clears the target let it drop down in the column to where you can barely see it(much like a spinnerbait when not being burned across the surface) and retrieve it a steady pace(I do twitch it sometimes) setting the hook when I know it's on there. I do try different depthes in the shallows just to make sure I'm not missing a better bite one way or the other.

I fish mine like Jack. 

Sometimes I will YO Yo if there is structure around. 

If I'm in open water I will bring it back at a steady pace.  If I'm in weeds I will let it drop on top of the weeds and give it a quick snap to make it hop forward.  Most of the time the bass will hit it on the hop.

Constantly working wrist of reel hand while constantly turning the handle with the other. Not so rythmytic as jerkbaiting, but kind of "random little pumps" that keep the bait jumping. Caught a 3 1/2 pounder day before yesterday doing that in four feet of dirty cold water @ Seminole. I use jigs with a lighter wire hook for swimming, so setting the hook isn't really a problem. Besides, the constant pumping means that you're basically making little "mini" hooksets all the time, and with a moving lure like that the fish does the work. Of course, making a REAL hookset once you feel the strike is always the best policy IMHO.

Lord I hope not. I use to set the hook in my sleep all the time. Don't do it anymore though (don't do it while i'm awake either, much, anymore  )