Finesse jigs on baitcasters

[TriStateBassin106]

What are some good finesse jigs I could throw on a baitcaster? I have no intention of throwing any normal sized jigs until the water really starts to warm up around here (NJ) My bass are pretty finicky until April but smaller profiles will produce bites until then. 

[Frezzy]

57 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

What are some good finesse jigs I could throw on a baitcaster? I have no intention of throwing any normal sized jigs until the water really starts to warm up around here (NJ) My bass are pretty finicky until April but smaller profiles will produce bites until then. 

The Keitech tungsten football jig is absolutely killer.  A little expensive but worth it.

[roadwarrior]

3/8 Grid Iron G2/ Rage Tail Baby Craw

 

https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/grid-iron-brush-jig

[mikey z]

Gotta start by saying I'm a novice jig user. That said, with me not having a lot of experience with jigs in general and not being totally confident on things like the best way I should present them, how long my retrieves should be, etc, I haven't had much luck at all except with Strike King Bitsy Bug. The only issue is since they're dirt cheap, the hooks on them rust easy. But you can usually prevent that by taking the trailer off and letting them air dry when not using them.

[walt-14]

Bass Patrol football jigs.  Rubber or silicone skirt.  Awesome little finesse jig and are awesome on the wallet.  

[Michigander]

If you're into the DIY life, my favorite finesse jigs are made by adding a skirt to a weighted wacky hook and using a TRD craw as the trailer. This jig is pretty mangled, it was after an amazing day on the water which included upgrading my PB twice, lol.

 

[waymont]

Strike king bitsy flip. Inexpensive, great hook, compact size. Add a super Chunk jr. It’s the best early season jig for me.

[DitchPanda]

I really like the BOSS offerings...for finesse I really prefer the mini ball jig. Just buy a pack of skirts and for $9.50 you have 4 nice quality jigs.

53 minutes ago, walt-14 said:

Bass Patrol football jigs.  Rubber or silicone skirt.  Awesome little finesse jig and are awesome on the wallet.  

These are also good if your ok with a football head.

[Fishes in trees]

I think that a jig/worm combo is a great early season choice.  Leadoff choice in this category is a quarter ounce Brewer Spider slider head.   I throw this on a 6'10 Falcon Low Rider Finesse Jig rod paired with a Chronarch 50 size reel/ 10 lb Seaguar Abraxz line.   Pick a 4 to 5 inch finesse worm in your favorite color and you're set.   My choices in this bait category would be a BPS Paddle Tail Stick-O ( officially discontinued but you can still find them at different BPS stores) or a Zoom Magnum Finesse worm or an original Brewer Slider worm.

I make my early spring color choices based on water color/ clearer water = more translucent colors with a significant amount of glitter & more stained water= more opaque colors, nearly always with a chartreuse dipped tail.

[Steveo-1969]

I fish a SK Bitsy Bug jig and Baby Rage Craw trailer. (Sometimes a Baby Rage Menace Grub too). A 3/16 ounce jig + trailer weighs 3/8 ounce so no problem on a baitcaster. It’s a sparse skirt and small profile. I will sharpen the bronze Eagle Claw hook if necessary. It’s not super stout but match your rod and line to the hook size and you won’t bend it out.

[Hook2Jaw]

I like the BOSS Finesse Flip in ⁵/¹⁶ with a Dirty Jigs 50 strand skirt.

[walleyecrazy]

My go to finesse jig is the Jewel baits finesse jig  usually in 5/16oz. 

[Catt]

A Ball Head design is probably the best finesse jig & Santone Lures Texas Finesse Jig is one of the best. Available in 3/16, 5/16, & 7/16 oz, $5.89 per 2.

[CountryboyinDC]

I like the Santone 'Texas Finesse' jig, and I used to use the War Eagle Heavy Finesse jigs.  Both are relatively similar, heavier (probably 2/0 or 3/0 hooks) hooks, with the a standard cast in keeper.  Both might need a little more 'oomph' than you can manage on spinning gear, so I use them with a lighter casting setup.  I think these run around 3/8 oz or so, so they're probably looking at 1/2 oz with a trailer (usually Missile Baits Twin Turbo or Paca chunk).  I don't just fish these when it's cold.

[mikey z]

1 hour ago, Steveo-1969 said:

I fish a SK Bitsy Bug jig

Their skirt color called camouflage with a california craw Rage Chunk is basically the only way I get bit with a jig!

[Finessegenics]

4 hours ago, Michigander said:

If you're into the DIY life, my favorite finesse jigs are made by adding a skirt to a weighted wacky hook and using a TRD craw as the trailer. This jig is pretty mangled, it was after an amazing day on the water which included upgrading my PB twice, lol.

 

That's genius. Which wacky jigheads do you use? 

[whitwolf]

I like this one a lot. I use a Reaction innovations Smallie beaver as a trailer. I usually remote a little of the top.

 

I throw it on Berkeley 12 lb big game.

 

 

It's from @Siebert Outdoors

 

https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/roundball-xl-jig-rnd-xl-jig26

 

 

 

[Michigander]

7 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

That's genius. Which wacky jigheads do you use? 

Can't take credit for the idea, learned from @smalljaw67's YouTube channel. Fantastic resource.

 

My current favorite heads are these: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Wacky_Weedless_Jig_Head_4pk/descpage-VMCWWJ.html?from=gshop&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5dIjp4xc_dZ1qvi3cJU_fsmZtiM9k7KtnFXrVJJCzlLAmJugiG1FJ0aAvVFEALw_wcB

 

But I bought a bunch of these to experiment with this year: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_G-Finesse_Series_Wacky_Jig_Head_3pk/descpage-SJW.html?from=gshop&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5feR6lUNGnYjYmoGjje6klYaQG35NLRzuGAT0Gk0rrWqjH29TbrBT4aAtM3EALw_wcB

[MIbassyaker]

5 hours ago, Michigander said:

If you're into the DIY life, my favorite finesse jigs are made by adding a skirt to a weighted wacky hook and using a TRD craw as the trailer. This jig is pretty mangled, it was after an amazing day on the water which included upgrading my PB twice, lol.

 

 

 

Nice!!

[WRB]

Skinny Bear Pro Signature jigs w/Owner hooks, 1/4 or 3/8 oz is my choice.

Tom

[Michigander]

2 minutes ago, WRB said:

Skinny Bear Pro Signature jigs w/Owner hooks, 1/4 or 3/8 oz is my choice.

Tom

They have some cool patterns, thanks for sharing!

[ironbjorn]

The Dirty Jigs Luke Clausen Finesse Jig is the best finesse jig I've ever used. I prefer it in the 5/16oz. It pairs well with a Baby Rage Craw, Baby Rage Bug, Baby Rage Menace, or even a Z-Man TRD CrawZ.

 

If you want to go cheaper, the Strike King Bitsy Bug is really good. The package deal where you can buy a Bitsy Bug with 3 Baby Menaces for less than $3 at Walmart is a steal.

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

The Ktech football jigs are great, just make sure you use lighter gear so you dont bend the hook out, its a really light wire for a jig.  There casting jig is a good option, its really compact with a bigger hook of a thicker wire. 

 

The Picasso Little Spotty (ball head) and AM tungsten FB jig are slightly bigger then the Ktech FB jig.  So the profile is close to the same size, but the Picasso jig has a stout 3/0 hook with that can be used on heavier tackle without issues.  Instead of a fiber guard Picasso uses titanium wires. (2 on the spotty, 3 on the AM FB) The only thing about them Im not crazy about is that they use a grommet instead of wire.  The actually skirt material is really nice and the colors are pretty good.

 

If you want to go with lead...

Peppers Micro Finesse is great little jig with a good 2/0 Gami hook along with a god wire keeper.  Its about the same size as the Picasso and just like the Picasso it comes with a long skirt that you cut to the size you want.  The bottom of the head is flat so when you pair with a floating or neutral buoyancy bait its stands up really well.  Its kind of like Zmans finesse shroom head jigs in size with a more traditional hook.

 

The 1/4 Molix Kento Jig is a good little casting jig.  The head is pretty much the same chape as an Arkie, so you can do just about anything with it.  Its got a sharp hook with a short shank.  They come with a really long skirt that you rim down to the size you want.  The silicon is really high quality and the skirt is hand tied.  Not sure of the process, but the heads are one of the most chip resistant ive used.  The 1/4 is a really good swim jig in shallow water.  Just make sure to get the 1/4 if you want the smaller jig, the 3/8 uses the same hook except the shank is much longer so its a full size jig.  The skirts without fleck are much more supple.  Avoid the skirts with a lot of fleck like GP red purple, wild craw has some stiffer strands but most of it is solid colored so its not stiff like the GP red.

 

Dobyns FB jig are a good option.  There more of a compact FB jig then a finesse jig IMO.  There a lot like Bass Patrol jigs except they have a better hook and keeper, a hybrid skirt silicon with some rubber mixed in instead of just silicon or rubber.  The colors are pretty good, I really like the rootbeer GP.  Tough to beat for the $ you can get 3 jigs with hand tied skirts for 10$. 

 

 

 

[TriStateBassin106]

1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

The Dirty Jigs Luke Clausen Finesse Jig is the best finesse jig I've ever used. I prefer it in the 5/16oz. It pairs well with a Baby Rage Craw, Baby Rage Bug, Baby Rage Menace, or even a Z-Man TRD CrawZ.

 

If you want to go cheaper, the Strike King Bitsy Bug is really good. The package deal where you can buy a Bitsy Bug with 3 Baby Menaces for less than $3 at Walmart is a steal.

 

I was thinking about getting this one, what colors would you recommend for stained water? also would any of those trailers work in the cold weather? i was thinking more of a smallie beaver type bait  to put on the back of it. 

[Bankbeater]

1/8 ounce bitsy bug with a super chunk jr.