When to use what finesse jig

[Caiden24]

Hi so I messaged tacticalbassin on a video and they never responded. So I thought I would ask the question here. So on this video he shows a bunch of different finesse jigs and some are smaller and some are bigger and he says that when a bass doesn't bite one then you can switch to the other (This will make more sense if you scanned through the video and listened to some of there points). But anyways If they say to use this one when they won't bite the other and you will catch fish on it or whatever, Then why wouldn't you always want to use that one? And also they say you can throw these anywhere you throw a shaky head and that it will catch bigger fish, But TacticalBassin uses shaky heads. So when would you also want to use a shaky head over a finesse jig? I have been really confused and I would appreciate help. Thanks!

 

[Finessegenics]

This kind of question comes up often. “When do I throw X instead of Y?” Honestly, I never know what advice to give for that kind of question because it’s far beyond my level of expertise. But I want to say that a lot of the advice online complicates things for no reason. There are no rules in fishing. You don’t need 5 different styles of finesse jigs. You’ll fall down a rabbit hole of buying hundreds of dollars worth of baits you never use.  Buy a finesse jig which looks interesting to you, buy some shakyhead worms and go fishing. When one’s not working, try the other. And if neither work, then try something else. It comes down to trying things out for yourself and seeing what works on your bodies of water. And what works one day might not work the next, or ever again. No rules! 

[Caiden24]

3 minutes ago, Finessegenics said:

This question comes up often. “When do I throw X instead of Y? Honestly, I never know what advice to give for that kind of question because it’s far beyond my level of expertise. But I want to say that a lot of the advice online complicates things for no reason. There are no rules in fishing. You don’t need 5 different styles of finesse jigs. You’ll fall down a rabbit hole of buying hundreds of dollars worth of baits you never use.  Buy a finesse jig which looks interesting to you, buy some shakyhead worms and go fishing. When one’s not working, try the other. And if neither work, then try something else. It comes down to trying things out for yourself and seeing what works on your bodies of water. And what works one day might not work the next, or ever again. No rules! 

Ok this helps, Thanks!

[NavyVet1204]

The best part of trying lures is discovering what works for you. You may find a lure or a particular color that has no rhyme or reason to work when and how it does, but it just will. For example, I took a chance on a pack of Zman peanut butter and jelly colored trick worms. To my eye, it doesn’t look flattering whatsoever. However, I have caught more fish on that color than any other color for trick worms.

[Caiden24]

15 minutes ago, NavyVet1204 said:

The best part of trying lures is discovering what works for you. You may find a lure or a particular color that has no rhyme or reason to work when and how it does, but it just will. For example, I took a chance on a pack of Zman peanut butter and jelly colored trick worms. To my eye, it doesn’t look flattering whatsoever. However, I have caught more fish on that color than any other color for trick worms.

ok thanks!

[geo g]

Besides switching jigs or any lure, I always try changing the approach.  Change the speed, try pausing the bait, try snapping up the bait, and try slow steady pulls.  I have found over the years that when the fishing is tough most fisherman work the bait too fast.  If I could only give one piece of advice, it would be SLOW WAY DOWN, and pause often.  It has worked for me on tough fishing days.

[Catt]

7 hours ago, Caiden24 said:

I have been really confused

 

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you confuse him for a lifetime.

 

Only way to know which lure a bass will eat is to throw it!

[OkobojiEagle]

"More tackle won't solve the absence of fish."  I keep this thought in the back of my mind every time I fish.

[Deleted account]

9 hours ago, Caiden24 said:

If they say to use this one when they won't bite the other and you will catch fish on it or whatever, Then why wouldn't you always want to use that one?

 

Good question, it comes down to two things, fish will not always respond the same way to the same stimulus, and sometimes fish bite a lure because they think it's something edible, and sometimes fish bite a lure as a reflexive action, much like a cat and a laser pointer, The reasons why fish behave this way is a whole other topic, but a jig is just a hook with built in weight, everything else is gravy, so the weight and shape of the jig in combination with it's skirt and trailer will affect both the rate of fall, the action (if any) on that fall, as well as the action when retrieved, hopped, slid, or any other rod motion imparted on it. So every jig/trailer combination will have a different action, sometimes a slight variation won't make a difference, and sometimes it will, so it's a matter of figuring out what the ticket is on a particular day on a particular body of water, that is what trying different combinations will accomplish, but after a while you will kinda get a feel for what they may want from experience. Lastly, the ability of a jig (and everything else attached to it) to be fishable in a particular cover plays into the choice, cause if the bass want it, but it won't come through cover, I don't care how tactical a jig might be...

[PaulVE64]

Those bass have such a small brain its best not to employ logic or reason when you fish

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, PaulVE64 said:

Those bass have such a small brain its best not to employ logic or reason when you fish

 

Yup, I say "Think like a fish, and they don't"...

[WRB]

The term finesse jig is difficult to define.

So my definition is any 3/16 oz to 3:8 oz casting jig is a finesse jig vs a heavy wire/cover weed guard jig.

Based on reference to shaky head jig with worm being fished in the same locations, you are Horizontal Jig Fishing*.

Using a jig you have a vast choice in trailers to choose, shaky head uses a worm.

Do you have a brand size that Tactical was promoting?

Helps to focus on answering instead of guessing.

Tom

*In-Fisherman article I can email if you PM your address.
 

[Caiden24]

22 hours ago, geo g said:

Besides switching jigs or any lure, I always try changing the approach.  Change the speed, try pausing the bait, try snapping up the bait, and try slow steady pulls.  I have found over the years that when the fishing is tough most fisherman work the bait too fast.  If I could only give one piece of advice, it would be SLOW WAY DOWN, and pause often.  It has worked for me on tough fishing days.

ok thanks!

18 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you confuse him for a lifetime.

 

Only way to know which lure a bass will eat is to throw it!

Thanks!

[Bankbeater]

I’ll start off with a 3/8 jig and if I don’t get bites with that I will usually go down to a 1/8 or 1/4 size. There have been a few times when the bass won’t bite the smaller jig either. Then I try a 3/4 ounce jig. If that size doesn’t work I put the jig rod down. 

[LCG]

Sometimes I want a steak dinner, other times I want a burger and fries, sometimes I just want a snack. Same concept.

[Jeff Zurawski]

I generally lean toward a bigger, bulkier, more visible jig with more vibration in dirty water and a smaller, natural color, subtle action, finessey jig in clear water. 

[Team9nine]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:28 PM, Caiden24 said:

But anyways If they say to use this one when they won't bite the other and you will catch fish on it or whatever, Then why wouldn't you always want to use that one? And also they say you can throw these anywhere you throw a shaky head and that it will catch bigger fish, But TacticalBassin uses shaky heads. So when would you also want to use a shaky head over a finesse jig? I have been really confused and I would appreciate help. Thanks!

That’s the goal - it makes you end up buying everything, preferably from their direct links so they get a cut ?

 

If you really want to keep it simple, think in terms of shape. On any given day, fish might prefer short and bulky (jig), or long and thin (shakyhead). So you carry and throw both to determine a preference. In the beginning, don’t get all wrapped up in the tiny details of this jig over that jig. That will come soon enough with enough experience ? 
 

Personally, I throw compact ‘finesse’ jigs way more than I do “big” jigs and trailers.

[J.Vincent]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:28 PM, Caiden24 said:

Hi so I messaged tacticalbassin on a video and they never responded. So I thought I would ask the question here. So on this video he shows a bunch of different finesse jigs and some are smaller and some are bigger and he says that when a bass doesn't bite one then you can switch to the other (This will make more sense if you scanned through the video and listened to some of there points). But anyways If they say to use this one when they won't bite the other and you will catch fish on it or whatever, Then why wouldn't you always want to use that one? And also they say you can throw these anywhere you throw a shaky head and that it will catch bigger fish, But TacticalBassin uses shaky heads. So when would you also want to use a shaky head over a finesse jig? I have been really confused and I would appreciate help. Thanks!

 

 

Caiden24, These are the Finesse Jigs I keep on hand and when I like to throw them. Keep in mind, I consider finesse jigs to be 3/8oz and smaller; which may not actually be true for everyone, but I do think these 7 styles of finesse jigs are worth having to cover the bases: 

 

1/8oz Do-It Midwest Jig or similar Ned style Jig (In 1 to 8 feet of water drifting just above the bottom, when the bite and conditions are tough and Bass are pressured)

 

1/8oz Do-It Wacky Jig or similar Flick Shake Jig (Deep isolated structure or within a few feet of shallow isolated cover)

1/4oz Do-It Shaky Head Jig or similar Shaky head jig (In 5 to 15 feet, usually when Bass are relating with gravel or hard bottom) 

 

3/16 Do-It Freestyle Jig or VMC Mooneye Jig (Suspending Fish or anytime Bass are actively roaming around and predominantly feeding on Shad or smaller baitfish)

 

3/16oz Strike King Bitsy Bug Jig or Booyah Baby Boo Jig (When Bass won’t bite larger profile skirted jigs in and around lighter vegetation)

 

3/8oz Terminator Pro Brush Jigs or similar Brush Jig (Shallow Pitching cover situations, all seasons in and around vegetation)

1/4oz Internal Tube Jig Heads (Drifting in 5 to 10 feet of water, when Bass relate with the bottom or when feeding on Crawfish or Gobies. This is mostly a Smallmouth regional technique on the Great Lakes) 

 

This is not an exhaustive list of every jig style available but for $40 to $50 dollars it’s a good finesse foundation to start with.

[Jonas Staggs]

11 hours ago, Team9nine said:

That’s the goal - it makes you end up buying everything, preferably from their direct links so they get a cut ?

 

If you really want to keep it simple, think in terms of shape. On any given day, fish might prefer short and bulky (jig), or long and thin (shakyhead). So you carry and throw both to determine a preference. In the beginning, don’t get all wrapped up in the tiny details of this jig over that jig. That will come soon enough with enough experience ? 
 

Personally, I throw compact ‘finesse’ jigs way more than I do “big” jigs and trailers.

 

 

I have noticed that. I have learned a lot from watching their videos, but also enough to see that they are definitely pushing baits. The common theme seems to be to recommend a certain lure in a certain color, then branch off and recommend the same lure in 5 different colors for different situations etc. I find Matts videos more entertaining than Tim's.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

I think I know the video you're talking about.  Essentially what it comes down to is the smaller bait will get more bites vs a bigger bait.  Although the smaller bait, jig in this case is likley to get more bites then a bigger one, he starts out with a bigger bait because hes looking for a better fish.  The jig just gets steadily smaller and the action of the trailer gets more subtle as he becomes more desperate to get bit.  

[Caiden24]

On 3/19/2023 at 9:26 PM, GetFishorDieTryin said:

I think I know the video you're talking about.  Essentially what it comes down to is the smaller bait will get more bites vs a bigger bait.  Although the smaller bait, jig in this case is likley to get more bites then a bigger one, he starts out with a bigger bait because hes looking for a better fish.  The jig just gets steadily smaller and the action of the trailer gets more subtle as he becomes more desperate to get bit.  

Thanks this makes a lot of sense!