Football Jigs

[ghost]

I've used football jigs before and I just don't have success.

How do you fish your football jig?  What weight do you use often and trailer?

 

[Bass_Fanatic]

Jewel 3/4 fb jig

rage craw trailer

Sometimes I drag it, sometimes I stroke it off the bottom. Just let the fish tell you what to do.

 

 

[deep]

2 hours ago, ghost said:

How do you fish your football jig?  What weight do you use often and trailer?

Horizontally. 3/8 oz. Yamamoto 5" DT grub.

[EvanT123]

1/8, 1/4 and will soon be trying 3/8 all with 3/0 hooks. I like the hula grubs, flukes, zoom craws, grubs really any soft plastc. I usually drag the bottom with them.

[Airman4754]

I use Sandman Custom 1/2oz tungsten footballs and a matching KVD chunk trailer. 

[Bankbeater]

I usually start with a 3/8 size.  If the wind is up, or I am fishing deep I will go with a 1/2 jig.  I keep my soft plastics if they are not too far gone, and use them for trailers.

[bunkerbstr]

Depth dictates size.  <10' 3/8-1/2 ounce.  10-20' 1/2-3/4 ounce, 20'+ 3/4-1+ ounce.  I cast them out, free spool to bottom, engage reel and start a slow drag sweeping the rod (think c-rig fishing).  I'll give them a rip every now and then moving the rod vertically just to annoy anyone looking.  

Trailers:  Power Team Lures Craw D'oeuvre, Paca Chunk, twin tail grub, Yum chunk, Zoom chunk and of course #11 Uncle Josh.  

[Jigfishn10]

Love em around rock with a rage tail trailer or chigger craw - 1/2 oz is my mainstay unless I'm fishing deep

[WRB]

I fish football jigs mostly on steeper sloping points or humps with rocky structure with sparse cover.

GYCB Hula twin tail grub or with a living rubber or silicone skirt and Berkley Chigger craw trailer. 3/8 to 1 oz depending on weather conditions and depth.

I cast a football jig anywhere from 60' to 120' and work it either down hill, sideways or uphill, depending on what the bass react to.

Tom

[papajoe222]

Like Tom, I'll use a football jig almost exclusively on hard or rocky structure, Mostly 1/2oz. as the majority is done in less than 20ft. I'll keep it in contact with the bottom as much as possible and pause it when it makes contact with anything. 

Tom gives some great advice to anyone just getting into jig fishing, or that wants to up their game  and this applies to a C-rig also listen up: "I cast a football jig anywhere from 60' to 120' and work it either down hill, sideways or uphill, depending on what the bass react to." That is the kind of information sharing that makes this site so great.   Thanks Tom

[Bruce424]

I ll fish football jigs any depth from 3'+ where I will be dragging my jig. Usually flats that have pebble or rocky bottoms. Or where I would carolina rig a bait but just don't feel like tying a leader up. Haha. 

[scaleface]

I use lots of different jigheads and they all work and are often interchangeable .If I feel like using a football jig I'll tie it on  knowing there's a good chance I'll catch something with it . I have some light weight quarter ounce football jig heads  with the wire worm keepers on them .One day I caught probably fifty smallmouth using it in combination with a Zoom Trick worm  while wading a river . i could have used a lot of jig head plastic combinations that day and done just as well but when something is working I stick with it .I picked it that day because I wanted something extremely snagless  and not roll over .

[roadwarrior]

I feel like the purpose of a football jig is to stay down and maintain contact with the bottom. I fish 1/2 oz, 3/4 oz and 1oz jigs. I fish Siebert Outdoors jigs exclusively. Black/ black & blue trailer is a mainstay, PBJ is a close second. My trailers are Rage Tail Craws and Lobsters. Stucture and/ or cover are key, but the #1 variable is depth. Oddly, on any given day the fish will prefer the jig to be dragged or lifted, but one of these presentations will dominate.

 

 

[Jigfishn10]

19 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

I feel like the purpose of a football jig is to stay down and maintain contact with the bottom. I fish 1/2 oz, 3/4 oz and 1oz jigs. I fish Siebert Outdoors jigs exclusively. Black/ black & blue trailer is a mainstay, PBJ is a close second. My trailers are Rage Tail Craws and Lobsters. Stucture and/ or cover are key, but the #1 variable is depth. Oddly, on any given day the fish will prefer the jig to be dragged or lifted, but one of these presentations will dominate.

 

 

Now that I think of it, a menace wouldn't be a bad trailer trimmed back a bit....HMMMM...Sorry, I quoted you because you like the menace so much and made me think of it...

[backcast88]

I mostly fish 1/2oz football jigs.  Unless I'm fishing over 25' or it's rough on the lake, then I'll go up to 3/4oz.  I usually fish a True South Blind Side jig or Siebert Derocker football.  Both have a recessed line tie and flat spot so it sits up better and comes through cover really well. 

Color wise, I keep it simple.  I fish mostly green pumpkin unless its really stained then I'll throw a black and purple.

For trailers, I use Zoom Fat Albert twin tail grubs, Zoom Super Chunks, Rage Chunks, or Missle D-Bombs.  I play with my trailers based on the water temps and how active the bass are.  When its cold I prefer the super chunk or d-bomb for added bulk.  When it warms up I prefer the Rage chunk or fat albert twin tail. 

I am always throwing them on a 7' Heavy Duckett Micro Magic Pro with a Lew's Tournament MB 7.5:1 with 20lb Sunline Assassin fluoro.  I focus on deep points, roadbeds, ledges, and humps.  I prefer to drag the jig.  Slowly (painfully slow) in the winter and rather quick in the summer.  If I hit structure I like to shake the jig then drag it over if I don't get bit.  A lot of people like to stroke the jig in the summer but I haven't had much luck stroking a jig so I stick to dragging it along the bottom. 

[Bluebasser86]

I like to use a 1/2 or 3/4oz football jig to count how many rocks are on the bottom. 

[UKCATSBASSER]

If I'm fishing in winter and/or colder water, I like a trailer with subtle action. Such as a zoom chunk or grub.  Barley moving  nothing too flaring.  

If it's warmer I'll use a SK rage craw. Or a RI beaver. Something with more action.