Jig weight for bank/shallow fishing wood and grass?

[fishwizzard]

I am going to give jigs a more serious try this coming season and am looking for some advice on what weights to look for.   My thought process is as follows; Bass most often hit a jig on the fall, so having one that will give a slow fall is a plus.  If I am fishing from the bank then I am going to be fishing shallower waters, so a lighter jig will give me a slower fall but will still make it to the bottom in a reasonable time frame.  I will be mostly fishing wood and open water with grass on the bottom, like these spots below:

 

 

Right now I have a Siebert 1/4 Dock Rocker that, with trailer, comes in at 1/2oz total weight, and for a larger profile lure, a Zero Gravity jig, with trailer, at about the same same weight.  For deeper waters in my kayak or when fishing pads or heavier cover from the shore there is a ton of good info on larger jigs out there, but before I stock up on the lighter stuff I would love to know if I am thinking in the right direction.  

 

[A-Jay]

No doubt that looks like a great water to present a jig but using a Texas-Rigged Plastic & Skirt combination is also viable & effective option; especially from the bank.

Comes through cover well and having the ability to mix & match weight size & skirt type and color makes it  very "customizable". 

 

 

Here's the rig, from the main line to the hook:
-A  bobber stop
- A small bead to keep the knot from slipping through the weight.( if needed) 
- A tungsten bullet weight of your choice
- a Boss Punch Hub - this is placed inside the skirt collar
- The skirt of your choice
- A parasite clip (optional, but does help prevent the plastic from sliding down the hook)
- A  Quality hook - pictured is a 5/0 Owner wide gap plus EWG hook (#5139 - very stout, I love this hook)
- Your favorite soft plastic - pictured is a Power Bait Beast

 

The Strike King Slither Rig is also an option & it's essentially a pre-made version of this rig.

You'd simply add bobber stop and the hook w/plastic bait.

 

A-Jay

[Catt]

Ya thinking in the right direction!

 

My suggestion would be pick one manufacturer for now, Siebert jigs are excellent.

 

My initial thoughts are 1/4, 3/8, & 1/2 oz jigs; two maybe three different colors in each weight. Black-n-Blue, Green Pumpkin, & Black Neon. 

 

If ya wanna go A-Jay's route go with something like V&M's slip-n-jig in the suggested weights...less pieces to buy!

[Bluebasser86]

I'd start with 1/4 and 1/2oz. That looks like great water for a black and blue jig.

[CTBassin860]

I'm strictly bank fishing as I haven't a boat.I throw any and all skirted jigs 1/4 to 1/2 oz depending on what I'm throwing it into.Add 1/3 oz for a nice beefy creature.Ill swim a flipping jig,Pitch a swim jig.As far as I'm concerned I haven't found a wrong way to fish them.Some come through cover better than others but hasn't stopped me yet

[fishwizzard]

35 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

No doubt that looks like a great water to present a jig but using a Texas-Rigged Plastic & Skirt combination is also viable & effective option; especially from the bank.

 

Yes, I have had some luck this season with that combo and plan to continue, especially for heavier rigs where I want to stay weedless.  I have a decent supply of tungsten weights in the 5/16-1/2oz range already.  For this rig, is there a benefit one way or the other to using a punch hub vs a weight with the hub molded in?  

 

For colors I was thinking to start with Blue/Black, Green Pumpkin/Gold/Purple, and Chartreuse Shad.   The last color because I plan to reuse old nose-ripped Menace grubs as trailers and I have had a ton of luck on the Pearl ones so I will have a bunch of them available for trailer duty.  

 

For the specific jig, anyone use the Dredge Dock Rocker Jig?  Another goal this season is to lean how to skip with a baitcaster and I need all the help I can get.  I bought a few of them last year and got to be pretty decent skipping them with spinning reel, they worked far better then the assorted football jigs I also tried.  

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, Bunnielab said:

 

Yes, I have had some luck this season with that combo and plan to continue, especially for heavier rigs where I want to stay weedless.  I have a decent supply of tungsten weights in the 5/16-1/2oz range already.  For this rig, is there a benefit one way or the other to using a punch hub vs a weight with the hub molded in?  

 

 

The punch hub version is a little longer when rigged as compared to the weight with the molded one piece hub.  Additionally, since the punch hub version consists of a separate weight & shirt, rather than that being one piece, it's a little more "flexible".  Can't sat for sure it either of these characteristics are actually "beneficial".  Beneficial to me means able to be fished effectively & catches fish.  Both do that. 

 

 Another way to rig this is to use the set up pictured below ~ this one's presented on a horizontal plane like a swimjig rather than the more vertical structure type manner.   And to keep the nose of this rig up you can omit the bullet weight and instead use a weighted swimbait hook. 

Both come through cover well.

A-Jay

 

[fishwizzard]

56 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

   And to keep the nose of this rig up you can omit the bullet weight and instead use a weighted swimbait hook. 

 

Now this is something right here.  Adding bulk but not weight, keeping a horizontal sink, and protecting my knot a little?   

 

Punch hubs are looking better and better.  

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, Bunnielab said:

 

Now this is something right here.  Adding bulk but not weight, keeping a horizontal sink, and protecting my knot a little?   

 

Punch hubs are looking better and better.  

 

The only knot on these rigs is when the main line connects to the hook.  In each case that area is most often buried in the front of your plastic.

So it's fairly "protected".

A-Jay

[fishwizzard]

I use twist locks for my belly weighted/EWG hooks, so the knot is out there exposed.  I meant that the punch hub would cover it in that case.  

[WRB]

Owner Ultra sled head comes in 1/8, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 oz with 4/0 off set hook. You can paint the plain lead using Testors model enamel whatever color you like.

Skirts can be wire or zip tied or spray the rubber collar type with silicone and slip on over the front end. Use any type of soft plastic trailer of choice.

Simple and effective for what you are wanting to do.

Tom

[A-Jay]

Another option, and this one hasn't gotten any where near the attention I thought it would, especially since it's so versatile & super effective - is the Stealth Live Action Hybrid Jig and the Hydra Live Action Hybrid Jig  by Freedom Lures.

http://freedomlures.com/stealth.html

http://freedomlures.com/hydra.html

 

 Both these heads are pretty Killer.

A-Jay

 

 

[bigbassin']

When flipping and pitching wood, I've had my most success with a 3/8 ounce football head jig. Other styles such as arky heads come through the wood a little better in my opinion, but for whatever reason I've never caught a single jig fish from wood if I wasn't using a football head. I'm assuming that's just a confidence thing.

 

With grass I will always start with a 7/16 ounce gambler swimjig. Regardless of water color, green pumpkin has hands down been my top producer if I'm swimming a jig, but this may be because bluegill are the primary forage almost everywhere I fish.

 

The rigs A-Jay posted do look like pretty good options though.

[CTBassin860]

16 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Another option, and this one hasn't gotten any where near the attention I thought it would, especially since it's so versatile & super effective - is the Stealth Live Action Hybrid Jig and the Hydra Live Action Hybrid Jig  by Freedom Lures.

http://freedomlures.com/stealth.html

http://freedomlures.com/hydra.html

 

 Both these heads are pretty Killer.

A-Jay

 

 

So it's a SK swinging swim jig with a screwlock?I like it.

[A-Jay]

32 minutes ago, MassBassin508 said:

So it's a SK swinging swim jig with a screwlock?I like it.

 

Yes.

 

A-Jay

[CTBassin860]

Just now, A-Jay said:

 

Yes.

 

A-Jay

Better quality than the SK?I haven't used either one?I always liked the concept but never bought it.I have so many jigs its not funny.

[A-Jay]

8 minutes ago, MassBassin508 said:

Better quality than the SK?I haven't used either one?I always liked the concept but never bought it.I have so many jigs its not funny.

 

Better Quality is a relative term and may mean something a little different to each of us.

I have a decent assortment (insert Way Too Many) of jigs myself. 

This product is in a separate category for me because of it's versatility.

I'll tell you that I'll only recommend products here that I've used, are effective and most importantly - I've caught bass with.

That qualifies as solid quality in my book.

A-Jay

[fishwizzard]

Last year on a road trip I walked into a Cabelas "just to use the bathroom" and walked out with a pile of Eco Pro swing jigs;

 

They were bogo, how was I to resist?  In any case I have yet to really fish them, but they are on the list as well.  I do dislike how short the head/neck of the hook is before the bend, keitechs are too soft and rip off when you pull them through weeds.  But, the new SK swimmers seem much tougher and I am going to give them a go as soon as I find time and soft water.  

 

EDIT:  Now, looking at that picture, is there any reason why I can't swap the hook out with a flipping hook and use them as light pitching rigs? 

[Catt]

[A-Jay]

4 hours ago, Bunnielab said:

Last year on a road trip I walked into a Cabelas "just to use the bathroom" and walked out with a pile of Eco Pro swing jigs;

 

They were bogo, how was I to resist?  In any case I have yet to really fish them, but they are on the list as well.  I do dislike how short the head/neck of the hook is before the bend, keitechs are too soft and rip off when you pull them through weeds.  But, the new SK swimmers seem much tougher and I am going to give them a go as soon as I find time and soft water.  

 

EDIT:  Now, looking at that picture, is there any reason why I can't swap the hook out with a flipping hook and use them as light pitching rigs? 

 

If that split ring allows you to switch out the hook and you want a longer section before the hook bend - check out the VMC Extra Long Wide Gap Hooks. 

They should solve that problem. 

A-Jay

[RoLo]

The use of 'tungsten' sinkers can be taken out of context.

For heavyweight sinkers in the 3/4 to 2-1/2 oz range, the smaller diameter of a tungsten sinker

tends to enhance weed-penetration. On the other hand, for lighter weight sinkers

in the 1/8 to 1/2 oz range, I prefer a sinker with the "greatest" diameter to serve as a weed-deflector.

 

With respect to lightweight sinkers, the smaller diameter of a tungsten weight often creates

an unwanted 'step' between the outer edge of the sinker and the outer edge of the lure (sinker vs. trailer).

In weedy natural lakes, that innocent looking shoulder is colliding constantly with vegetation,

and will ultimately get hung-up, even though the hook isn't involved.

 

Roger

 

[fishwizzard]

Guys, thanks a lot of all the help and advice.  My jig rod came in today (a CR 723 IMX) and after playing with it I have a much better sense of what weights and such to look for.  I played around with different jugs, weights, and plastics, and am ready to make a nice big order from Siebert.