Weedless Jig Not So Weedless?

[ajs196]

I'm not going to say that I am new to bass fishing, however, I will say I have never really gotten into it. I do not know the fancy names of the lures I throw, or in some cases, what type of lure it is. I have always been primarily a cat fisher, as that is what my father grew up primarily living off of thus he passed the trade on to me. Now that I covered why I wouldn't necessarily know the answer to my seemingly "novice" or "rookie" question I am going to ask. I see all these bass fishermen throwing or talking about jigs. I went out and bought some really nice football head jigs with the weed guards and rattles, the whole works. Now, I've done my fair share of youtubing to see how to fish such a lure. The different tactics I've tried whether it be jerking it, or whipping it up words and letting it fall down it never fails that upon my retrieval I will have the weeds/moss covering the entire football head. I thought maybe I was getting the moss off of the bank, since there is always a lot of moss right there, so I've even ventured onto docs and tried. Does this mess with the fishing of the jig? I feel as if, if I was a bass, I wouldn't eat a crayfish covered in moss and weeds. Am I doing something wrong? Something to do to avoid with it? Any problems it may cause? I'm yet to catch a fish with one, and I've tried them with trailers and without. I should probably mention I am from central/southern Illinois and fish primarily murkey ponds and lakes. Any help or pointers would be appreciated.

[Mark1300]

I too have had a struggle with this, same type of water too

[flyfisher]

Weedless doesn't mean weed free.  Certain jigs are not great in the grass,  I have better success with other rigs in denser grass like flukes, texas or florida rigged plastics or jika rigs.  

[Comfortably Numb]

I would consider Bass jigs brushless or snagless. not neccesarily weedless.

[WRB]

A football jig is like a snow plow, doesn't slide over weeds, nothing goes through moss. With moss you need to slide on top of it, use a lighter weight and pointed jig head like a bullet weight or use a pegged bullet weight.

Tom

[gulfcaptain]

Agree with Tom, moss is a mess.  Doesn't matter what you drag it will catch. If I have to deal with really mossy conditons I fish a punch jig......weedless rigged creature and can pop most of the moss free most of the time. 

[F14A-B]

I flip jigs in brush, footballs get dragged over harder bottoms, pea gravel, sand, etc.. You can and often do still pick up junk though.. On softer areas.. Skip the jig..go with a Texas rigged soft plastic bait of some sort.. Even then, you may still pick up junk.

[Bluebasser86]

The term weedless is misleading for sure. A majority of jigs are a poor option in weeds (none are a good option in moss). There really aren't many lures that can combat moss in fact. Fishing over or around that stuff is going to be your best bet. A lot of bodies of water will grow heavy weeds or moss that will die off around early summer time. 

[smalljaw67]

Comfortably Numb said it best, basically weedless means it had a weed guard on it and it means you can throw it in brush and around deadfalls and work it through that stuff without it getting hung up. The problem with not knowing about certain things is following the hype, I see a lot of people using football heads in the wrong situations and it sounds like you have the wrong jig. Football heads are for rock, Arky heads are for brush, bullet heads are for weeds and there really isn't a good head design for moss or algae. You also have to be aware of the weight, if the lakes and ponds you are fishing have a soft muck bottom then you will be limited in the size of jig, I would probably say 1/4oz would be your best bet as it isn't heavy enough to get too deep in the muck plus the smaller jig will appeal to more fish as smaller ones will hit it quicker than they do a large jig.

[Catt]

Y'all would never make it down south

If y'all can not fish a jig cleanly through grass its operator error!

Everything we fish is grass (vegetation) in some form or another that is if you're catching!

There are dozens of effective grass jigs on the market; I'm kinda partial to Terry Oldham's Eye Max Jigs.

Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass. When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

You want to stay as vertical as possible & you want to maintain bottom contact. Density of the grass & depth will determine how far off vertical you wanna go.

Grass is the reason I keep a Jig-n-Craw & Texas Rig on the deck of my boat 24/7/365!

[Stapsy]

I also find that trying to rip a jig just results in more time spent removing weeds than gradually loading up the rod and allowing the jig to slide out.

Also, try to pay attention to where weeds are accumulating on the jig. That really helped me to pin point what style of jig to look for to increase weedlessness. For example, I can guarantee if your football jig had a 90 degree line tie the grass was getting stuck due to the angle of the line tie relative to the head. Everything has trade offs, but something like a grass or swim jig with a more horizontal line tie in the 30 degree range will probably work better.

[FlipSide]

Y'all would never make it down south

If y'all can not fish a jig cleanly through grass its operator error!

Everything we fish is grass (vegetation) in some form or another that is if you're catching!

There are dozens of effective grass jigs on the market; I'm kinda partial to Terry Oldham's Eye Max Jigs.

Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass. When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

You want to stay as vertical as possible & you want to maintain bottom contact. Density of the grass & depth will determine how far off vertical you wanna go.

Grass is the reason I keep a Jig-n-Craw & Texas Rig on the deck of my boat 24/7/365!

This guy gets it

[frogflogger]

football jig is not for grass - in your situation a swim jig might be a good choice

[J Francho]

That's a brush guard. It's mostly for wood. Don't yank your jig through the weeds, finesse it through. You can clear weeds with a light pop or snap of the rod. This can generate a bite sometimes, too. If it's snot weed or hair algae you're dealing with, then a different bait or rig is needed - one that doesn't get stuck in the bottom.

[WRB]

There are weeds, grass and what the OP had problems with moss. Depending on how you define moss, snoot grass or whatever, nothing goes through it good and usually requires removing by hand.

Tom

[scaleface]

Grass and slimy moss are two different things.  I catch fish in snotty , messy , slimy  moss with weightless texas rigs.

[J Francho]

Drop shot is good for this. Fluke on a short dropper - deadly in the shallow slime up here, especially when they aren't in a chasing mood.

[Catt]

Right now bass are being caught in moss with a football head jigs. Go down & read the Toledo Bend & Sam Rayburn threads. Go to the Bass-n-Bucks, Bass Champs, Texas Team Trail, Oilman, & other tournament trailer.

Maybe y'all can explain to the winning teams how the can't catch what they just caught on what they caught em on!

[J Francho]

I think it depends on what you call "moss." I bet Catt and I are on the same page - moss is the stuff some call coontail. I'd throw a jig in that all day long. Wait, I have! But if you're calling that slimy, hairy algae stuff "moss" then no. In fact, I often avoid those spots, unless absolutely driven there by big fish or big bites. Otherwise, it's not great cover.

[WRB]

I think it depends on what you call "moss." I bet Catt and I are on the same page - moss is the stuff some call coontail. I'd throw a jig in that all day long. Wait, I have! But if you're calling that slimy, hairy algae stuff "moss" then no. In fact, I often avoid those spots, unless absolutely driven there by big fish or big bites. Otherwise, it's not great cover.

The hairy algea crud that wraps around a jg like a sticky mop, otherwise weeds/grass isn't a problem, you can present jigs, bombs, punch rigs, easily.

Tom

[Catt]

I'm not going to say that I am new to bass fishing, however, I will say I have never really gotten into it. I do not know the fancy names of the lures I throw, or in some cases, what type of lure it is. I have always been primarily a cat fisher, as that is what my father grew up primarily living off of thus he passed the trade on to me. Now that I covered why I wouldn't necessarily know the answer to my seemingly "novice" or "rookie" question I am going to ask. I see all these bass fishermen throwing or talking about jigs. I went out and bought some really nice football head jigs with the weed guards and rattles, the whole works. Now, I've done my fair share of youtubing to see how to fish such a lure. The different tactics I've tried whether it be jerking it, or whipping it up words and letting it fall down it never fails that upon my retrieval I will have the weeds/moss covering the entire football head. I thought maybe I was getting the moss off of the bank, since there is always a lot of moss right there, so I've even ventured onto docs and tried. Does this mess with the fishing of the jig? I feel as if, if I was a bass, I wouldn't eat a crayfish covered in moss and weeds. Am I doing something wrong? Something to do to avoid with it? Any problems it may cause? I'm yet to catch a fish with one, and I've tried them with trailers and without. I should probably mention I am from central/southern Illinois and fish primarily murkey ponds and lakes. Any help or pointers would be appreciated.

Don't sound like he fishing algae

[ajs196]

It is the slimy stuff that takes several seconds to pull off and then often times sticks to your finger, which thats no problem to me, thats what pants are for. It's just every cast I throw I'm left picking it off unless i use a spinnerbait/crankbait or some sort of top water. And then I have to yank it out about a 2 foot before the bank to avoid the rest of the nasty green stuff. I don't know the technical name for it. I get it at the bank and on the bottom of the water. In the summer it is more weed like and covers the whole pond. I usually only fish it until that point in summer, or really until I get my boat fully going, or on days I only have an hour or so. However, at this point my boat is a little under the whether and needs some attention.

[Catt]

All the facts guys...we need all the facts

[WRB]

All the facts guys...we need all the facts

Sounds like algea "moss" snot crud. Your right Catt we need better definitions. Looked up aquatic moss and it's aquatic weeds that shouldn't be a problem to fish in. Moss to me is stringy hairy algea crud.

Peace.

Tom

[Big C]

Sounds like algea "moss" snot crud. Your right Catt we need better definitions. Looked up moss and it's aquatic weeds that shouldn't be a problem to fish in. Moss to me is stringy hairy algea crud.

Peace.

Tom

 

Snot crud is my new favorite term for weeds.