Weedless jig head for 4" Zoom dead ringer??

[Kyle S]

Anyone have any recommendations for a a weedless jig head that can be used to fish 4" dead ringers and the like?

I've been Texas rigging them for a few years now but would like to find a jig head to switch it up.

I like to throw them on a 7' medium fast spinning setup.

Qualities about the jig head might include:

Thin to medium wire hook

preferably a fiber style weed guard, but a wire is not a deal breaker

comes in sizes from 1/16oz-1/4oz

paint doesn't matter in the slightest

Thanks fellas

 

[Pat Brown]

My sneaky sneaky with any swimming worm is keel weighted screw lock hooks that are typically used for swimbaits.  You can use flashy swimmers too and the bass don't seem to mind the blade.  Extremely weedless and very natural looking.😉👍🏼

[Shadow1]

Lifted Jigs makes a great weedless jighead for Ned fishing.  I use them all the time on the Dead Ringer.  Also, VMC has a jighead called the Rugby Head.  It is a little larger hook, but still a great head.  

[Kyle S]

13 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

My sneaky sneaky with any swimming worm is keel weighted screw lock hooks that are typically used for swimbaits.  You can use flashy swimmers too and the bass don't seem to mind the blade.  Extremely weedless and very natural looking.😉👍🏼

Thats certainly an interesting idea and something i haven't considered. I may just have to give that one a shot!

 

9 hours ago, Shadow1 said:

Lifted Jigs makes a great weedless jighead for Ned fishing.  I use them all the time on the Dead Ringer.  Also, VMC has a jighead called the Rugby Head.  It is a little larger hook, but still a great head.  

I actually very recently purchased a few different packs of the rugby jig heads and like them quite a bit so far! thanks for the recommendations fellas.

 

still on the prowl for that jig head with the weed guard that i'm after. I may just end up having to make them myself if I can't find something close thats not crazy expensive per jighead

@Bluebasser86@TnRiver46 

Don't one of you guys like the dead ringer??

 

@Catt I know your cajun tail throws every Zoom lure thats made. Do you fish the Dead ringer?

 

@NorthernBasser Any recommendations?

 

I'm calling you out Bass resource, I need your jig head advice!😂

[LrgmouthShad]

You want it to come through grass?

[NorthernBasser]

Gosh, I need to start throwing this worm, again. I have lost count of all the SM and LM bass caught on these tings over the years. This is my favorite style jig head to use with them. Either dragging it or swimming it. So freaking deadly.

 

 

[TnRiver46]

@Kyle S, it is I that is a super fan of the dead ringer 

[Bluebasser86]

I fish a very similar bait, the Poc-it Phenom worm. I use a weedless Ned head, works great for thin pastics like that.

[MIbassyaker]

I use @NorthernBasser's hook a lot for 4" worms: the Owner Ultrahead Bullet -- here is the 1/8oz on a 4" power worm:

[Kyle S]

23 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

You want it to come through grass?

Not necessarily, most of the cover I throw this worm around is lay down and the edges of grass

22 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

Gosh, I need to start throwing this worm, again. I have lost count of all the SM and LM bass caught on these tings over the years. This is my favorite style jig head to use with them. Either dragging it or swimming it. So freaking deadly.

 

 

Definitely a bite getter thats for sure! The owner bullet heads are great as well as the ultra ball heads. 

22 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@Kyle S, it is I that is a super fan of the dead ringer 

How do you like to fish them? Open jig head?

21 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I fish a very similar bait, the Poc-it Phenom worm. I use a weedless Ned head, works great for thin pastics like that.

Yes sir! The phenom worm is on the list to buy. I've got so many various types and flavors of 4" ring worms its hard to justify buying even more😂 M.T. Phenom worm will have to be the exception though. What kind of weedless ned head do you like? Make it yourself?

20 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

I use @NorthernBasser's hook a lot for 4" worms: the Owner Ultrahead Bullet -- here is the 1/8oz on a 4" power worm:

Thats a beauty of a sight right there!

[PhishLI]

I used the Owner Bullet head until I found this Decoy below which quite similar but specifically different in that the hook's point points slightly downward. This increases weedlessness without affecting hookups.

Decoy VJ-36 Decibo Darter Offset Jig Head | Tackle Warehouse

[TnRiver46]

@Kyle S, open jig head is good in open water but dragging bottom I do this

 

[softwateronly]

These do well for me...

 

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Fin-tech_Title_Shot_Shorty_Jig_2pk/descpage-FTTSS.html

 

scott

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Not as easy to get anymore, but the Hayabusa brush easy would work really well.  I jig worm with 1/0 on a 4" bubbling shaker.  The hooks tend to break instead of bend that and availability are the only drawbacks to the BR head IMO.

 

[Kyle S]

On 4/30/2024 at 6:16 PM, TnRiver46 said:

@Kyle S, open jig head is good in open water but dragging bottom I do this

 

Like a mini shakey head, I like it!

On 4/30/2024 at 5:53 PM, PhishLI said:

I used the Owner Bullet head until I found this Decoy below which quite similar but specifically different in that the hook's point points slightly downward. This increases weedlessness without affecting hookups.

Decoy VJ-36 Decibo Darter Offset Jig Head | Tackle Warehouse

Those do look good! I can't help but notice the snap connecting the jig head to your line...Is that something that you do often? For efficiency perhaps? I've thought about it in the past but only ever considered it for crank baits and what not?

On 4/30/2024 at 7:36 PM, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Not as easy to get anymore, but the Hayabusa brush easy would work really well.  I jig worm with 1/0 on a 4" bubbling shaker.  The hooks tend to break instead of bend that and availability are the only drawbacks to the BR head IMO.

 

Assuming the size and weights and what not are there, this is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. Shame the availability isn't the greatest. It greatly surprises me that a lightweight jig head with a weed guard isn't more common lol. I'll have to give these a look

[Munkin]

On 4/29/2024 at 9:53 PM, NorthernBasser said:

Gosh, I need to start throwing this worm, again. I have lost count of all the SM and LM bass caught on these tings over the years. This is my favorite style jig head to use with them. Either dragging it or swimming it. So freaking deadly.

 

 

 

This or a Slider head.

 

Allen

[GetFishorDieTryin]

12 hours ago, Kyle S said:

Assuming the size and weights and what not are there, this is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. Shame the availability isn't the greatest. It greatly surprises me that a lightweight jig head with a weed guard isn't more common lol. I'll have to give these a look

Yeah its a real shame they stopped making them.  They came in every size from 1/32-1/8 in #2, #1 and #1/0.  The shank is fairly short on all of them, which makes them ideal for jig worming.  The hook may seem small, but theyre plenty big for thinner 4" worms.  The smaller hook and short shank helps with snags and gives the bait a real natural look compared to a shakey head.  In the reality the guards are more of a novelty.  They help with light cover like weeds, but depending on them to keep the hook form sinking into a laydown isn't going to end well.  

Hayabusa also took the Shooting Ball off the market which is my absolute favorite lead 5" yamamoto spider grub head.  

 

 

 

[wonkyrig]

Keitech Tungsten Fine Guard Jig Head

 

I'd highly encourage you to try this instead though - rig it texas style on a light drop shot and pitch it or drag it fast.

[WRB]

Santone weedless finesse jig comes in 3/16 & 5/16 oz on sale @ TW, excellent swimming and great price.

Tom

[evilcatfish]

The owner ultra heads are really nice and available in both ball and bullet head styles. Recently I’ve been using the Bkk silent chaser as well and have been impressed 

[PhishLI]

On 5/1/2024 at 1:49 AM, Kyle S said:

I can't help but notice the snap connecting the jig head to your line

It's a SPRO Prime Snap Mini size 0, or 10lb. This isn't actually a snap but a clip similar to the design of the Tactical Angler clips but better as the line will remain centered and not creep around the bend due to the fashion in which it's made.

SPRO Prime Snap | Tackle Warehouse

On 5/1/2024 at 1:49 AM, Kyle S said:

For efficiency perhaps?

Exactly.  Efficiency in changing lures instantly and not burning up line by constantly retying. That said, we don't have zebra mussels, rocky bottoms, much wood or brush piles to speak of, or anything else terribly abrasive to deal with here. Just soft, mucky bottoms, endless milfoil, and pad fields. Here, I often have a clip tied to straight braid for months without retying, and just give it the pull test periodically to make sure all is well. However, when I use any type of clip/snap on fluoro, mono, or copoly I'll usually retie every third trip for peace of mind. Other than getting bitten off by Pickeral, I haven't broken off a bait in a bass's face ever using either the SPROs linked above or my favorite more typical snap for coming through weeds and algae cleanly, the VMC Touch-Lok snap: VMC Touch-Lok Snap | Tackle Warehouse

I use size #1 rated to 68lbs on straight 30-40lb braid and most plastic lines from 12-15lbs. Above those line sizes, I use size #2 rated to 94lbs on 50lbs and up straight braid, or on plastic lines from 17-30lbs for heavier jigs and larger swimbaits. However, these clips like all spring-tension loaded clips have a lifespan due to metal fatigue which is induced by cycling. Eventually, one can feel it lose a tad of its springiness, and that's when it's time to retire it, but that's after many, many cycles. Additionally, these snaps will only work with certain hooks whose eye is slightly larger than usual, and there are plenty of those types out there.

[ChrisD46]

Site sponsor Siebert Outdoors has the Lifted Jig type EWG jig head in the Ned / Finesse section … Great quality and color selection . 

[TnRiver46]

I also use eagle claw round ball jig heads with a wire weed guard 

[Shadow1]

I love the Zoom Dead Ringer . . . however, if you want a bait that is a little fatter and the same look, Lake Fork Tackle has an 8" ring worm that is a much fatter profile.  I cut about an inch and half off the top end, and trim the tail an inch or so.  Use an 1/8oz Rugby Head and boom . . . they eat it up.