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Does jighead color matter for smallmouth, as in do you try to match the soft plastic or is unpainted/silver just as effective?


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  • Super User
Posted

I would go with chartreuse color to be safe.

  • Like 2
  • Super User
Posted

I only fish plain lead (pretty dull not very shiny) or black jig heads. I've never felt the need to match soft plastic body color. I don't feel my choice of jig head color as cost or gained me any fish.

 

But if a guy wants to do the color match I say go for it. There have been times where I've done the chartreuse head and a chartreuse grub or green pumpkin head with GP baby brush hog but I think a plain lead would have been ok. I don't think the smallies really care.

  • Like 2
  • Super User
Posted
32 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Chartreuse for any color plastic?

usually with black and blue or junbug

Posted

I paint my Ned jig heads brown which matches very well with green pumpkin and watermelon which is what I use 90% of the time.  My wife picked up a bottle of brown, black, and red nail polish on clearance for $2 each and I still haven't used them up.  You can paint a lot Ned jig head tops with a bottle of nail polish.  For 4" swimbaits, I never paint the jigheads.  The dull gray matches a shad colored bait just fine.  

  • Like 3
Posted
3 minutes ago, Junk Fisherman said:

I paint my Ned jig heads brown which matches very well with green pumpkin and watermelon which is what I use 90% of the time.  My wife picked up a bottle of brown, black, and red nail polish on clearance for $2 each and I still haven't used them up.  You can paint a lot Ned jig head tops with a bottle of nail polish.  For 4" swimbaits, I never paint the jigheads.  The dull gray matches a shad colored bait just fine.  

Yeah that’s why I’m getting unpainted for my smoke shad swimbaits, the locally made swimbaits I have already have eyes so I didn’t want painted.

Posted
On 7/16/2021 at 4:09 PM, ATA said:

I would go with chartreuse color to be safe.

 

I don't think jighead colors matter much to the fish, but it makes me feel better to have a jighead that's got pretty high contrast. If I'm fishing a ned rig, especially, I really like having a chartreuse head -- particularly because I find myself fishing fairly murky water.

 

Color of the plastic is whatever I grab because it suited the situation. I've used them with GP, black, junebug. Doesn't matter. I like having that little dot of high contrast for the fish to focus on, whether it matters to the fish or not.

  • Like 1
Posted

I try and roughly match. So if I’m using darker or craw color baits then I’d use a darker, green pumpkin, or black color. Or white for bait fish  colors.  I love tying jigs. So my rule of thumb is. If I’m going to match a craw or blue gill hair jig then I use the green pumpkin damiki head/free style ball head . If im going to use shad, shiner or perch color hair jig then I use white damiki head/ free style ball head 

  • Like 1
Posted

Fish don't care but they do like contrast.  Anything that would look different to catch their interest and entice them to bite seems to work well.  I've seen a lot of people fishing the Ned with different/brightly colored mushroom heads.

  • Super User
Posted

Painted jig head has more to do with your preference, what appeals to bass like Smallmouth it doesn’t mater.

I like to use brown, black, pearl white and purple painted with Testors model enamel. Eyes for the pearl white are simply a yellow dot, all others get a red dot.

The jig head color similar to the predominate skirt color or use black.

If you want dull lead in lieu of bright soak the plain jig in 50-50 white vinegar to water. 

Tom

Posted

I've only ever used black jig heads, head shape may change but not color. Doesn't usually matter which trailer I'm using.

  • Super User
Posted

I do a lot of smallmouth fishing with Ned and shaky heads.  I paint all of my jig heads.  However, the color of the head has nothing to do with the color of the bait that I am using.  
My smallmouth head colors are strictly for me so that I can get the size that I want to use.  For example, my Ned heads go up in weight by 1/16 oz increments and I color them brown, green, red, black, yellow and white.  So if I want a 1/16 oz head I grab a brown one.

 I use 4 different hook sizes so all I would have to do is grab a brown head with the correct size hook.

  • Like 5
  • Super User
Posted

I like unpainted heads then add eyes with black and white nail polish . My hand poured spinner and buzzbaits , same thing .

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted
57 minutes ago, Jig Man said:


My smallmouth head colors are strictly for me so that I can get the size that I want to use.  For example, my Ned heads go up in weight by 1/16 oz increments and I color them brown, green, red, black, yellow and white.  So if I want a 1/16 oz head I grab a brown one.

 

 

Yellow, blue, red & unpainted (1/16, 1/8, 3/16 & 1/4 ounce) in my box.  I just paint the lead collar.

 

oe

Posted
4 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I do a lot of smallmouth fishing with Ned and shaky heads.  I paint all of my jig heads.  However, the color of the head has nothing to do with the color of the bait that I am using.  
My smallmouth head colors are strictly for me so that I can get the size that I want to use.  For example, my Ned heads go up in weight by 1/16 oz increments and I color them brown, green, red, black, yellow and white.  So if I want a 1/16 oz head I grab a brown one.

 I use 4 different hook sizes so all I would have to do is grab a brown head with the correct size hook.

That’s a good system. What size Ned head would you say you use most frequently, and how do you fish them? Do you use the original presentation of light weight (1/10>) and letting it fall slowly or the Z Man mass marketed way of dead sticking and jigging off the bottom?

Posted

I never ever intentionally match but if the jighead does match the bait then it doesn’t hurt either. 75% of the time I’m using an unpainted jighead and it doesn’t seem to affect the bite in any way. Rest of the time it’s a black or orange one. Then again, i do use a lot of baitfish-y colors which match well with a plain lead jighead. 

 

 

  • Global Moderator
Posted

Chartreuse is my default jighead color for smallmouth with a lot baits. With a shakyhead, I might go black or green pumpkin. 

  • Global Moderator
Posted

Inevitably, I’m going to lose a ton of jigheads. It’s what I throw 3/4 of the time I would imagine, and they hang up a lot even with the hook buried in the plastic. Therefore I buy the cheapest ones I can find of reasonable quality. They are typically unpainted but often you can find the painted ones for the same prices or sometimes even less. 
88-CE3-C1-E-3-F89-4342-88-F7-167-CA66334

AF2-C67-C9-29-B3-47-E7-B57-F-407-E2-AC1-If smallies won’t eat these, it’s a rare day 

  • Like 3
Posted

The other night I mashed the smallies on a 4in paddletail with a red head, switched to a white one after I broke off and got one fish, I happen to believe that was at least part of the reason why.

Posted

I think you should choose a color scheme that looks good to you.  The fish don't care.  

 

 

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted
45 minutes ago, billmac said:

I think you should choose a color scheme that looks good to you.  The fish don't care.  

 

 

 

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