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Match a jig’s head to the sort of cover you’ll be fishing. Match its trailer to the food bass are there to find.
Match a jig’s head to the sort of cover you’ll be fishing. Match its trailer to the food bass are there to find.
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No matter what obstacles bass habitat may present, there’s a jig shape and pattern perfect for the occasion.
From open water to the tightest cover, jigs present the opportunity to mimic bass food in any scenario. Where hard baits are meant to imitate very specific elements of the bass diet, jigs are fished as generalists. Colors and patterns are easily fished many ways to imitate many things the target species likes to eat.
Common jig patterns include round, football head, flipping, swim and grass. Each has its own zone of expertise.
“Round head jigs are good in finesse situations,” Andy McBrayer, with Hunter’s Haven in Tupelo, said. He manages the store’s extensive fishing inventory, outfitting bass enthusiasts for the past 10 years.
In a situation that finds you casting to pressured fish, the round head jig excels because it works especially well at smaller sizes.
“In a finesse situation, I’d say go with 10- or 12-pound line and a jig no heavier than a quarter or three-eights of an ounce,” McBrayer said. “These are great for fishing under docks and around shallow water structure.”
Round head jigs aren’t especially good in grass and weeds, but they work handily in woody or rocky cover because the eye is typically on the top, rather than the front, of the lure. The point at which the line is attached is 90 degrees off the long axis of the lure, which helps the jig pop out of trouble in many situations that would find any other jig permanently stuck.
“The football head jig is the most versatile jig there is,” McBrayer said. “I like those in the half- and three-quarter-ounce sizes. They’re great in open water, on deep ledges and along the bank.”
As the name suggests, the jig’s head is shaped like a football, usually one oriented sideways to the direction of travel, much like a minuscule hammerhead shark.
Football head jigs are especially adept for bumping along the bottom, tempting bass at considerable depths. They can outperform hard baits and diving baits here because they can be worked along the bottom for almost the entirety of the retrieve, keeping them in the fish-catching zone much longer.
A grass jig has a head designed to keep it above the grass itself.
“You flip this jig into the thickest, heaviest grass,” McBrayer said.
Unlike jigs that are designed to avoid weeds, the grass jig depends on contact with matted grass to perform at its best. Its shape lets it orient itself atop the grass, presenting its profile to bass at that point.
“I like these jigs to be at least a half ounce or heavier,” McBrayer said.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, swim jigs are designed to be cast and retrieved through open water. Their heads are shaped with hydrodynamics in mind. The way they’re built lets them stabilize themselves as they’re pulled through the water. Jigs of other shapes used for the same task are much more prone to flip, flop and twist their way back to the boat in very unnatural ways.
A flipping jig is a hybrid of multiple designs. It’s engineered for use in close contact situations around rocks and timber.
“You fish it like a grass jig, but on structure,” McBrayer said.
While there are no absolutes when it comes to fishing, making a point to add a soft plastic trailer that mimics the pattern of food found in the specific habitat being fished is a good place to start. Add a Strike King Rage Tail Craw to a football head jig being bumped along the bottom, and add a ribbon tail or fluke in shad or minnow colors to a swim jig being fished high in the water column, as opposed to the other way around.
“A lot of people like to match their jig and trailer colors, but I like to mix it up,” McBrayer said. “It gives the fish a different look, while still swimming or moving naturally.”
As for retrieving tackle, McBrayer recommends a 7-3 extra heavy Hammer rod, 15- to 17-pound test line and a 7.1- to 7.5-ratio reel for the vast majority of jig fishing scenarios.
“Unless you’re flipping into grass mats,” he said. “Then 20-pound test line and an 8-ratio reel is ideal.”
Matching heavy line and a fast reel to a rod with the same flexibility as a broom handle lets an angler get any fish that’s hooked out of the thick grass and into hand much more quickly and reliably.
“It’s about time for that to be happening, too,” McBrayer said. “Toward the end of August and into September, the big grass mats start appearing and matting up. That’s a prime opportunity for grass jig fishing. It’s a lot of fun.”
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