Trimming Jig weed guards

[David P]

Do you do it?

I read something where not only does the guy shorten the weed guard he also fans out the remaining guards. Does anyone here do that?

Does anyone trim the skirts as well, if so how far back?

[jaskoh]

I trim the skirt and the weed guard everytime.  The skirt about 1/8 to 1/4 inch past the hook.  I trim the weed guard parallel to the hook but I do not fan out the remaining guard.  I read or saw this on tv as well but I haven't tried it yet.  

[RoLo]

I make four changes to every jig before I ever get it wet.

I usually modify my jigs at home in my living room. Below are notes I wrote to myself (copied and pasted):

                              JIG MODIFICATIONS

1. SHORTEN SKIRT

Benefit> Enhances skirt action <> Exposes more of trailer

Process> Hold jig by the head with the skirt hanging vertically down.

             With pair of scissors, trim the skirt 1/2 below bend-of-hook.

2. SHORTEN FIBERGUARD

Benefit> Prevents bristles from clashing with hook-point, which may interfere with hook-set.

Process> To eliminate bristle interference, trim weedguard fibers until they just miss the hook-point.

3. ADJUST WEEDGUARD TENSION

Benefit> Too little tension degrades weedlessness of lure <> Too much tension dilutes the hook-set force

Process> To relieve excess pressure start by removing about 20% of the bristles, by cutting the fibers

                  flush to the jighead. Remove more bristles as necessary until the tension is to your liking.

4. FAN-OUT FIBERGUARD

Benefit> Fanning out the bristles increases the lateral coverage of the weedguard

                   by reducing the possibility of side-entering snags and gives lure a nice bump-off action.

Process> Grasp the weedguard between the thumbs and forefingers of both hands,

                 holding about half the bristles in each hand. Now splay the bristles forcefully outward and down

                 to form the broadest fan. Don't worry about over-bending the fibers, because after 5 or 10 mins

                 the fan shrinks down. Normally the fanning process will need to be repeated a couple times

                 until the fan remains about 1/2 inch wide (check in 10 mins). An open V-gap between the halves

                 is okay, all the same, I feel more comfortable with evenly distributed bristles.

Roger

[grimlin]

On just about every jig.Some jigs i buy the weed guard and or skirts are already short enough.I check every one i buy though.

[David P]

I make four changes to every jig before I ever get it wet.

I usually modify my jigs at home in my living room. Below are notes I wrote to myself (copied and pasted):

                                    JIG MODIFICATIONS

1. SHORTEN SKIRT

   Benefit> Enhances skirt action <> Exposes more of trailer

   Process> Hold jig by the head with the skirt hanging vertically down.

                   With pair of scissors, trim the skirt 1/2 below bend-of-hook.

2.  SHORTEN FIBERGUARD

    Benefit> Prevents bristles from clashing with hook-point, which may interfere with hook-set.

    Process>  To eliminate bristle interference, trim weedguard fibers until they just miss the hook-point.

3.  ADJUST WEEDGUARD TENSION

    Benefit> Too little tension degrades weedlessness of lure <> Too much tension dilutes the hook-set force

    Process> To relieve excess pressure start by removing about 20% of the bristles, by cutting the fibers

                    flush to the jighead. Remove more bristles as necessary until the tension is to your liking.

4.  FAN-OUT FIBERGUARD

    Benefit>  Fanning out the bristles increases the lateral coverage of the weedguard

                   by reducing the possibility of side-entering snags and gives lure a nice bump-off action.

    Process> Grasp the weedguard between the thumbs and forefingers of both hands,

                 holding about half the bristles in each hand. Now splay the bristles forcefully outward and down

                 to form the broadest fan. Don't worry about over-bending the fibers, because after 5 or 10 mins

                 the fan shrinks down. Normally the fanning process will need to be repeated a couple times

                 until the fan remains about 1/2 inch wide (check in 10 mins). An open V-gap between the halves

                 is okay, all the same, I feel more comfortable with evenly distributed bristles.

Roger

Roger, I'm not sure if you wrote the thing that I read, or if you just do it the same way, but last night I was reading these EXACT steps.

I thank you very much,  I'm going to go lay down in front of the tv, relax, and trim my jigs!!

[Catt]

I throw Oldham's Lures Trailer Hitch Jig which has an excellent weed guard that seldom needs trimming but I do however fan it out; I seldom trim the skirt since I like a big bulky jigs.

[jdw174]

Trim the skirts, fan the weedguard (sometimes).  The fanning helps especially if you're tossing into a blowdown.

[Bankbeater]

I like to trim the guard even with, or just a little above the point of the hook.  As for the skirts, I really don't shorten them that much.  I do trim them so that all of the strands are even and the same length.

[bubbler]

i would say trim the skirt to the botom of teh hook and if u are in open water then don't use a guard at all.

open water i mean like a desert with no vegitation.

generaly when fishing weeds i dont trim the guard or the skirt.

i dont trim the skirt because i usualy fish heavy weeds so i want it to be as noticable to a fish that is burried in the thick cover as possible