Fishing jigs in grass?

[woolleyfooley]

I’ve always loved fishing jigs. I’ve got a pile of Siebert outdoors brush jigs in various weights and colors that are absolutely amazing. One problem I have: grass or any type of vegetation. 
 

The jig just doesn’t slide freely through the grass like a Texas rig would. Every time I try to hop it, it’s stuck and I have to give it a couple hard pops on a slack line. 
 

It’s not the hook that’s the issue, it’s where the line tie is. No matter what jig I try I end up with grass wrapping around the line tie. I’ve always assumed “well the grass is too thick for a jig here” and put on a Texas rig.
 

Is this just something that comes along with fishing a jig in grass? Any tips to help me be a more successful jig fisherman? I’d appreciate it!

 

P.S this is in no way a dig at Siebert outdoors jigs. I only mentioned his jigs because I love them so much and own a bunch. The grass “issue” is universal to all jigs I’ve fished, regardless of brand.

[Jason413]

Could try a tiny bullet weight in front of the jig, or a little glue over the knot.

 

Or just try to swim/bounce it on top of the grass.

[Jigfishn10]

Finessing a jig thru grass takes patience. If you can learn to take your time to lightly finessing a jig or even reeling it thru a grass snag will find you reeling more fish in. Once you get thru the snag stop b4 starting up again. Your patience will be rewarded. 
 

BTW: put a small jig up your line on a dropper loop while your drifting  along  you’ll be pleasantly surprised you tried that technique 

[Rockhopper]

Punching jigs were designed for this.

[Bankbeater]

I fish a 1/8 ounce jig in submerged grass that is around 1 to 2 feet below the surface.  That small of a jig won't sink down into the grass too far and is fairly easy to rip loose.  If you have vegetation that is matted on the surface try dropping a jig between the mats, or try a swim jig. 

[Mike L]

I don’t use jigs in heavy grass as I always feel there is a better option.
A boater I had once at a BFL used a swim jig but always with a flat eye when pulling through grass. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Oldham's trailer hitch and oldham's eyemax are two jigs that fare well in grass. There are many others, but those are my preference. The type of grass matters! Some grass is not very conducive to fishing jigs. You better believe hydrilla and jigs go together like PB and J! Regarding technique, ripping a jig out of grass can produce bites, but it is usually better to ease it through the grass. @Catt explains it best. Please help out here Catt.

[TnRiver46]

Jigs come thru grass great for me , yours must have some slime mixed in 

[A-Jay]

I'm just gonna leave this right here . . . . 

A-Jay

[MediumMouthBass]

The places i fish have a grass/slime/junk mixture.

Anything with bulk brings back tons of it, even on a t rigged creature bait there will be inches of slime hanging off it. Ive tried various jigs, nothing works. Its just a mess that looks like a swamp creature.

So ill just go over to the part of the lake thats rock bottom, or cleaner atleast and fish them.

Is the entire lake you fish covered in grass?

[NorthernBasser]

No jig will ever come through grass as well as a Texas rig will.

 

I like Siebert's tungsten pitching jigs when I'm fishing grass. IMO, the head design helps it come through the grass better than the other heads. Also, being tungsten, it's smaller than lead heads.

 

 

[RRocket]

Jika Rig comes through grass beautifully...

[Catt]

What I look for in a jig is a smooth transition from the line to the eye & around the belly, which requires the eye to be slightly rolled forward. 

 

Examples:

Terry Oldham's Eye Max 

Strike King's Hack Attack & Flourcarbon 

Seibert's Supreme Grass Jig 

 

Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass!

 

When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

 

The denser the grass the more vertical you want your presentation. 

[Mike L]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

What I look for in a jig is a smooth transition from the line to the eye & around the belly, which requires the eye to be slightly rolled forward. 

 

Examples:

Terry Oldham's Eye Max 

Strike King's Hack Attack & Flourcarbon 

Seibert's Supreme Grass Jig 

 

Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass!

 

When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

 

The denser the grass the more vertical you want your presentation. 

Excellent!

 

Thats good advice also when punching through a 2ft thick mat of hydrilla or a floating mat of hyacinth especially with a 1oz weight or heavier 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Catt]

2 hours ago, Catt said:

Examples:

Terry Oldham's Eye Max 

Strike King's Hack Attack & Flourcarbon 

Seibert's Supreme Grass Jig 

 

Work great for vegetation, timber, or brush

 

 

[woolleyfooley]

21 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Finessing a jig thru grass takes patience. If you can learn to take your time to lightly finessing a jig or even reeling it thru a grass snag will find you reeling more fish in. Once you get thru the snag stop b4 starting up again. Your patience will be rewarded. 
 

BTW: put a small jig up your line on a dropper loop while your drifting  along  you’ll be pleasantly surprised you tried that technique 

 

5 hours ago, Catt said:

What I look for in a jig is a smooth transition from the line to the eye & around the belly, which requires the eye to be slightly rolled forward. 

 

Examples:

Terry Oldham's Eye Max 

Strike King's Hack Attack & Flourcarbon 

Seibert's Supreme Grass Jig 

 

Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass!

 

When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

 

The denser the grass the more vertical you want your presentation. 

That makes sense! I’ll have to try slowing down and using more finesse next time I’m out. 
 

I have a bunch of Siebert outdoors brush jigs as I like the way they sit on the bottom. The way the line tie is recessed seems like it would work great in grass, but obviously Siebert has a grass jig that looks much different. 
 

Maybe @Siebert Outdoors could shed a little more light on the subject? Is the brush jig ok for grass? 

Brush jig that I use. See the recessed line tie. I figured this would be great in grass

 

[Jigfishn10]

Grass jigs for me is something that is more like a bullet head (or as closed to bullet head) and a line tie that is 30* from horizontal. Really think worm fishing. Slender and able to sit down to allow it to snake thru grass. Jigs that stand up generally have a harder time getting thru vegetation. 

 

The top jig stands up too much and really is great around rock. 
 

I personally wouldn’t fish the bottom jig in grass just because of the way it stands up. That to me invites more snags in grass. 

 

I’ll let others comment further.  

[Catt]

@woolleyfooley In my personal opinion Strike King's Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Jig is the best jig for everything but rock. 

 

Bend the weed guard down & it's a straight line to the hook similar to a Texas Rig. 

 

Like @Jigfishn10 mentioned I do not want a stand up head in "grass". I do however want a jig that doesn't fall over when at rest. 

 

 

[woolleyfooley]

On 11/28/2024 at 3:45 PM, Jigfishn10 said:

Grass jigs for me is something that is more like a bullet head (or as closed to bullet head) and a line tie that is 30* from horizontal. Really think worm fishing. Slender and able to sit down to allow it to snake thru grass. Jigs that stand up generally have a harder time getting thru vegetation. 

 

The top jig stands up too much and really is great around rock. 
 

I personally wouldn’t fish the bottom jig in grass just because of the way it stands up. That to me invites more snags in grass. 

 

I’ll let others comment further.  

 

 

22 hours ago, Catt said:

@woolleyfooley In my personal opinion Strike King's Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Jig is the best jig for everything but rock. 

 

Bend the weed guard down & it's a straight line to the hook similar to a Texas Rig. 

 

Like @Jigfishn10 mentioned I do not want a stand up head in "grass". I do however want a jig that doesn't fall over when at rest. 

 

 

Interesting. I’ve never thought about the jig standing up being an issue in grass, but it makes sense.

 

I’d really like to stick with Siebert jigs. Definitely looking into his grass jig. I wonder how the tungsten flippin jig compares to the grass jig. 

[Jigfishn10]

Seriously @woolleyfooley, they make jigs with all kinds of characteristics; some work in grass better than others like we’re talking about here. Take that same grass jig and it will swim better than the ones you posted earlier. The ones you posted earlier work great around rock and timber. A jig with the line tie 90* from the hook shank is a great vertical presented jig but also works well in a swimming application but maybe not as well as a grass jig does. 
 

I could go on and on. 
 

The one thing I’d recommend is to get to know what different jigs excel at and narrow your choices as to how it pertains to your fishing experience. Look for shape and line tie angles. Look at how a jig sits. Does it stand up or sit horizontal? Picture that jig in the water and how you want to retrieve it. 
 

The rabbit hole you go down is worth the investment in time.  

[LrgmouthShad]

The Siebert grass jig lives up to its namesake. It’s a good grass jig. 
 

I mostly adhere to the Catt / Greg Hackney school of thinking when selecting a jig to use. I want the gap between the hook point and eye to be large. The Coda Apex jig is one of my favorites because that owner jungle hook is stout but sticky sharp and not super wide. Combined with the head design, this jig hooks fish really well. I rarely miss a fish on those. 

There are better options for grass, though

6 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

The one thing I’d recommend is to get to know what different jigs excel at and narrow your choices as to how it pertains to your fishing experience. Look for shape and line tie angles. Look at how a jig sits. Does it stand up or sit horizontal? Picture that jig in the water and how you want to retrieve it. 
 

The rabbit hole you go down is worth the investment in time.  

Agree!!

[Catt]

3 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

The Siebert grass jig lives up to its namesake. It’s a good grass jig.

 

X2 😉

 

Seibert's grass jig at one time was listed as a grass/swim jig. He's Shot Caller Swim Jig would make a great grass jig. What are Swim Jigs designed for?

[LrgmouthShad]

19 minutes ago, Catt said:

He's Shot Caller Swim Jig would make a great grass jig

Too light a hook IMO

[Catt]

26 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Too light a hook IMO

 

IDK, 4/0 Mustad UltraPoint penetrates pretty fast. I think it's the same hook on the Siebert grass jig. I throw lighter jigs than most anglers, I will go down to a 1/4 oz when targeting the outer grasslines or openings.

[woolleyfooley]

23 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

The Siebert grass jig lives up to its namesake. It’s a good grass jig. 
 

I mostly adhere to the Catt / Greg Hackney school of thinking when selecting a jig to use. I want the gap between the hook point and eye to be large. The Coda Apex jig is one of my favorites because that owner jungle hook is stout but sticky sharp and not super wide. Combined with the head design, this jig hooks fish really well. I rarely miss a fish on those. 

There are better options for grass, though

Agree!!

What are some better options for grass? I wonder if the tungsten pitchin jig or tungsten flipping jig would be better since they’re smaller like another poster said.

 

Anyone have color suggestions for south Florida’s tannic water?