Football Head Jig in grass?

[Catt]

In the past few years one of the hottest techniques down here is throwing large football head jigs in deep grass.

 

With the weight farther forward on the football head, the jig has a very direct fall, it provides better ‘feel’ and provides batter vibration and movement. A streamlined Arky or Grass head will slide towards you instead of falling straight down. In deep water, with the jig sliding towards you a bass can hit on the fall & y'all would never feel it.

 

The second consideration is to create a commotion!

 

Most flipping/pitching/punching anglers want a stealthy approach from the jigs or t-rigs. 

 

When a crawfish is startled it moves in short quick burst & at this point they aint concerned with stealth.

 

The commotion caused by working a football head attracts the bass's attention & peaks their curiosity!

[WRB]

I remember about 25 years ago Jim Moynagh winning tournaments with All Terrain football jigs targeting bass in the grass. Moynagh football head had a recessed hook eye to reduce weeds being trapped between the eye and line tie. Some football heads designs can work in weeds others not so good.

Tom

[Montanaro]

We talking casting or pitching?

 

Pretty much working it like a lipless if casting

[ww2farmer]

Ain't telling me nothing I don't already know..................Last few years my best producing jig in deep grass has been a 3/4oz football head, using it in places where in the past I would have tossed a flipping jig, I want that quick, straight fall, and when then I do a "semi stroke" where  I am not making it come up off the bottom far, but I am popping it a very short distance 2-3 times quick, then back up for another presentation. They are either on it before it hits the bottom on the first cast, or real quick after the "pop"s..............I think they come over and take a look see at whats jumpin around and actin a fool over here and they just eat it.....but there's still a time/place when a head designed for grass fishing is going to be your best bet...........but you already know that.

[Catt]

11 hours ago, Montanaro said:

We talking casting or pitching?

 

Pretty much working it like a lipless if casting

 

Casting & working the bottom pretty much like @ww2farmer technique.

 

The key is the commotion caused by the wide jig head moving though the grass & the quick hops.

 

Most anglers try to keep their flips/pitches/punches/casts in grass as quite as possible. I think sometimes this stealthy approach is not the proper approach. 

 

Why do many anglers add rattles to their jigs when fishing grass?

 

Answer; the noise helps the bass locate your jig when the can't visually see it!

 

Like bass in off colored water I'm playing off their lateral line to attract the attention.

[primetime]

Great Topic. I have heard people say they use Football Jigs or rigs like the Biffle Bug rig for flipping into grass & I have been wanting to try it. I recently tried using a 3/4 ounce football Jig head which is really big since it was lead, but I think the grass was too heavy, too much slime, but I did catch a fish dragging it on a soft bottom since I had a long worm with a long shank Worm hook on it so the fish would not care if the head was catching slime.

 

I am guilty of always trying to be as quiet as possible, and I often wonder how important being quiet is compared to accuracy. When I first learned how to pitch I would make some really loud entrances but I would still catch fish at times, but you are right about Rattles. I usually try not to use rattles as I have always felt it hurts more then it helps most times, but like anything else, when a rattle works, it is like a certain color, it really works. One thing I started to do when I make a loud pitch with a heavy weight, or even when I bomb a huge Topwater lure near a good spot, is let the bait sit for a minute in case you spooked a fish as they  usually will turn around & wait to see what happens.

 

I have some bladed Jigs that I purchased from Bluebasser and he made a bunch on football heads which I didn't really like as much compared to the other models he made, but I realized last year that in stained water that Head helps fish locate it especially slow rolling, hopping in weeds or soft bottom at times when the standard weedless heads do not work.

 

I still have a hard time feeling strikes with the football jig when it buries in the bottom, but everyone says kicking up the silt is what gets their attention like how a craw would scoot out of a hole. I usually use a big split shot or heavy stanley wedge weight really close to my bait when casting instead of the football jig & I am confinced it is the heavy weight that gets them to notice it.

 

I need to fish with someone who is good with a Football Jig out in open water and in tough areas since it seems some of the guys who always do much better than me use football heads offshore often. 

 

anyone who is good with football jigs please keep this thread going. Anyone know how Tommy Biffle fishes the swing Jig he makes? It sounds like he pitches it to grass with the Biffle bug, or is he just using it on Ledges?

[Catt]

@primetime lot to discuss right there

 

If you bottom composition is soft enough for a heavy jig "bury" in...ya probably wanna of lighter, under a 1/2 oz.

 

Ya mentioned "open water" & "offshore"

 

Round here open water refers to lack of cover!

 

For this technique I'm usually on offshore grass beds that don't grow to the surface or the outside weed line of a matted grass bed/flat.

 

I ain't talking about the "outside" weed line you can visually see but the one ya gotta find with electronics.