Jigs: Boil it down?

[billmac]

There are a myriad of jig styles.  But like most baits, a lot of them are similar to each other.  How would you boil jig styles down if you had to limit the number of styles you carried?  For example, does the ball head jig do something that cannot be done by another style?

[kdubracing]

Here’s what I do, probably a little different than others.

 

If the lake I’m fishing has a rocky or harder bottom, I carry some football jigs.

I always have flipping jigs (Siebert tungsten, Jigmaster) for fishing around wood, skipping, and general fishing. These are my go to. I also carry some brush jigs (Siebert) for use around wood. I always have some swim jigs (Siebert, 6th Sense) for swimming and grass. Last, I have some finesse flipping jigs (Siebert, Bass Pro tungsten) when I want to downsize. That’s all I use.

[DitchPanda]

I use BOSS finesse flip or Siebert sniper for almost all my flipping. In cold water especially around chunk rock I use a ball head finesse jig. Then I have my swim jigs. That's about it anymore.

[MGF]

My favorite "go-to all around" jig is a 3/8 oz. arkie head with a rubber skirt. From the river to moderate depths in the lakes I can do almost anything with it. If I could only have one color I'd take black. A few blue strands are ok but not too many.

 

Going back over the years I've probably spent more time with a 1/4 oz. ball head...rubber or marabou. I caught a lot of fish on them.

 

These days I have more of a variety. I have football jigs, swim jigs and some Rapala Terminators which is sort of a combination. I even have a "skipping jig". Given the conditions I fish I don't really think the greater variety has done much for me.

 

I want to add some swing heads to my arsenal but I haven't done it yet.

[roadwarrior]

This is my choice for everything:

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

[Dens228]

I have Arky and swim jigs..........I also have a couple football jigs but never use them despite throwing a jig every single time I fish. 

[galyonj]

You can do everything you want with a ballhead jig, skirted or otherwise, weedguard or otherwise.

 

But that doesn't mean that a ballhead is ideal for all the different things one might wish to do.

 

Honestly I think that it gets a little silly with how specialized some of the head designs get, but I'll admit that many of the ones I think that about are geared towards presentations I don't use.

 

I mainly use:

 

Siebert Outdoors Dock Rocker Dredge Jig which is my do-it-all jig, usually in junebug, usually 3/8oz.

 

Siebert Outdoors, Dirty Jigs, or 6th Sense swim jigs, usually in 1/4 oz in a bluegill, crappie, or shad pattern, with some skirt trimming. I... really like swim jigs, but only if they have a vertical line tie. I feel like it collects less gunk.

 

Siebert Outdoors Sniper and Lil Man finesse jigs, in 

 

These cover just about any situation in which I'd wish to use a skirted jig.

[Michigander]

Honestly, there's not a huge difference between most of the styles, they're just a bit better at specific circumstances than another choice. Choosing the right weight/profile for conditions is far more important than head style most of the time.

 

I will add that I don't recommend football heads for fishing in heavy vegetation, that's just more frustrating than it's worth.

[WRB]

Jigs are designed to perform a specific task; catch fish.

 

The 1st step is boil it down to bass jigs.

Where do bass locate and feed at and what are they feeding on to catch them.

The basic is a metal head molded onto a hook. The shape of the metal gives the jig it’s name, not it’s technique or presentation using it.  Like everything in bass fishing regional terms differ making a simple discussing nearly impossible.

Tackle Warehouse tries to group jigs by use to help buyers find what they are looking for, Bladed jigs, Flipping jigs, Swim jigs, Football jigs, Casting jigs, Finesse jigs, Tungsten non lead jigs, Grass jigs, Hair jigs. TW also has jigs listed under Terminal Tackle, jigs without skirts, Swing Head jigs, Football and Swinging jig heads, Ball and Datrer jig, Tube jigs, Flipping jigs, Underspins, Scrounger jigs.

There hundreds of variations for specific applications a bass angler can select, no way to boil it down.

I use several plus a jig I designed for my specific use where I fish in steep bank deep rock with sparse cover. 

I goal is to catch bass without snagging if possible. 

A exposed hook jig without a weed guard that doesn’t snag is ideal for the type of structure bass are located where I fish.

I cast jigs between 30’ to 150’ depending where the bass are located and conditions. 

If I am fishing in heavy cover like brush, trees the jigs needs to be more snag free, it’s a different shape then a stand up head used for rocky structure. 

If I am fishing heavy aquatic plant growth it’s possible to use the same lig as heavy wood cover, hook eye at the nose of the jig with a weed guard.

So boiled down to 2 types of jigs works for me 90% of the time.

Tom

 

[Skunkmaster-k]

3 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

This is my choice for everything:

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

I just checked this out . Wow, that’s a nice jig! 

[roadwarrior]

I have mine wire tied. Give the color "Kent Craw" a try.

[Deleted account]

It's not as complicated as folks make it out to be. A jig is just a weighted hook. Pick the hook, heavy, light, something in between, a little longer, etc, then pick the weight to make it behave the way you want. As far as head shapes, you can narrow it down to 2 or 3 for all but the most niche presentations.

[Boomstick]

I carry pitching (arky head), flipping, swim, bladed, finesse and finesse football jigs.

I probably use an arky head jig most of the time. As a general rule of thumb, I will use 3/8oz in up to 12 feet of water or so, and a 1/2oz jig in deeper water. For finesse jigs I will often go a little lighter, maybe 5/16 and 7/16 or sometimes even lighter. For flippin' jigs, I pretty much start at 1/2oz and will often use 3/4oz so it can get through thick cover (in areas with more cover than I have, some people will use 1oz jigs for the same reason).

The hardest decision can be to decide between a football and an arky head jig if I'm trying to tie on just one jig. Sometimes I'll have a lake that is largely a hard bottom with rocks but there's patches of weeds and some wood in areas that is more suited towards an arky head jig. Also I generally prefer arky head jigs for working drop offs, as they are better for hopping off the bottom and for a vertical drag as opposed to a horizontal drag how I usually fish a football head jig.

[RDB]

8 hours ago, WRB said:

I cast jigs between 30’ to 150’ depending where the bass are located and conditions

[Kenny Yi]

I always bring every type of jig with me in my bag, just in case, but the ones that I use the most are finesse, swim, and bladed.  I don't normally go past 3/8 for those styles (the swim jig is a 5/16).

 

That being said, an arkie/casting jig and a ballhead jig are probably the most versatile, imo. 

[PhishLI]

On 5/2/2021 at 9:02 AM, billmac said:

How would you boil jig styles down if you had to limit the number of styles you carried?  For example, does the ball head jig do something that cannot be done by another style?

 

[Catt]

Right now only one, Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Jig 

 

I cast it, flip it, pitch it, swim it, & punch with it.

[Columbia Craw]

You want a jig style that can get in, through, out and over the cover/structure.  That’s about it.

[ajschn06]

Absolutely do not boil your jigs....

[AmmoGuy]

16 minutes ago, ajschn06 said:

Absolutely do not boil your jigs....

 

Agreed. Much better fried. 

[the reel ess]

I do limit the ones I carry. They're almost all black/blue, 3/8-1/2 oz. Arky head, or, lately I'm trying the CatchCo Trashmaster. It works just as well but is more weedless.

[billmac]

I would think fondue would be most appropriate for jigs.

 

[Eddie101]

On 5/2/2021 at 11:22 AM, roadwarrior said:

This is my choice for everything:

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

What size jig is your preference? Have you tried any of their spinnerbaits? If so, what's your favorite?

[waymont]

On 5/2/2021 at 9:02 AM, DitchPanda said:

BOSS finesse flip

I find this jig to be very snag resistant, especially around wood.

On 5/3/2021 at 12:47 PM, Catt said:

Right now only one, Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Jig 

 

I cast it, flip it, pitch it, swim it, & punch with it.

I've looked at those but on TW the photos show the weed guards to be in an odd position in some of the photos. Like this one, doesn't look like it will flex at all.No issues with you huh? 

[Catt]

12 minutes ago, waymont said:

I've looked at those but on TW the photos show the weed guards to be in an odd position in some of the photos. Like this one, doesn't look like it will flex at all.No issues with you huh? 

 

If you scroll through all the photos they all look different.

 

Go put one in your hand ?