Jig Fishing Help

[sdesi2010]

After getting such great info & feedback from my thread on buzzbaits, I figured I get another one going on jig fishing.

There are so many different types (flipping, swimming, football etc.), when to use?

There are so many different type of trailers? Preferences? Thoughts on one trailer type over others? Personally I love zoom super chunk & jrs.

Color? I know black/blue seems to be the main staple of jig fishing, but I've had great personal success with light brown/green variations.

White jigs. Do they have a place? When/where?

What manuf. jigs do you have most success & preference with?

[carolina-rig-01]

Not often do I get to claim this, but I think this one is in my wheel house. I have been a jig fishing nut for as far back as I can recall and I owned a jig company for several years.

Jig fishing can honestly be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Like most other things, I tend to make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Swim jigs, football heads, roundhead finesse jigs, and flipping jigs are the 4 styles I use the most.

Football heads - This jig is designed to be drug over the bottom. I don't hop it so much but I sweep the rod to the side like a carolina rig, just crawling the jig along the bottom. It's at its best in pea gravel areas and areas where larger rock exists but is scattered. In areas where you have a lot of chunk rock or rip rap you will find that this jig will hang up pretty easily.

Roundhead finesse jigs - These little jigs are flat out awesome! They can come with either finesse skirts or full skirts but I mainly just fish finesse skirts on this head. They will get you a lot of bites, even on tough days but don't let their small profile trick you because they can catch some giant fish. I really like this head style in areas where there is a lot of wood or rock because they won't hang up quite as easy. I know a lot of other people might disagree, but for some reason I have a lot more success keeping this head from hanging up than a football head. This style is also one that I flip and pitch a lot if I am not fishing really think stuff.

Flipping jigs - Pretty simple stuff here, if I am flipping or pitching in really heavy cover I use this style.

Swim jig - Also pretty simple, if I am swimming a jig I use this style. I really have come ot be a huge swim jig guy over the last few years, thanks to Jrob78, Tavery5, Bubba_Bruiser, and a few other members here who helped me get into this technique.

Trailers are where it can really get complicated, if you let it. I used to carry way too many trailers and a lot of the times I got overwhelmed with all the options. To keep it simple just remember a few things. 1. The bulkier the trailer the slower the fall rate of the jig. If the fish are really active then I usually want a faster fall rate, if they aren't active I usually want a slower fall rate. 2. Decide if your situation calls for a trailer with a lot of action, such as maybe a Rage Craw or Chigger Craw, or if you need a trailer with less action like a Super Chunk. My favorite trailers are Baby Brush Hogs, Rage Craws, twin tailed grubs, Super Chunks, Super Chunk Jr's, Ultravibe Speed Craws, and Smallie Beavers.

Colors is another part of the equation that can get complicated if you let it. I try to keep this part fairly simple. I want to carry 3 or 4 craw colors such as green pumpkins, browns, watermelons, ect. I also carry black and blue, it's just an awesome color that can immitate bluegill or crawfish. On top of these I will carry a few personal favorite colors like PB&J, Missouri Craw, and some custom concoctions I have come up with over the years. All of those colors cover every style of jig I use with the exception of swim jigs. For swim jigs I use mainly either a shad color or a bluegill color.

What brands? Well I still make my own jigs, with the exception of flipping jigs and swim jigs. I just never found a mold that I liked better than the ones I can buy in these styles, so I save myself some time and just buy swim jigs and flipping jigs off the shelf, although I will still put my own skirts on them a lot of the time. Here are some really good brands though.

Football heads - Jewel and Chompers are probably as good as any.
Flipping jigs - Jewel, Strike King, and Omega
Roundhead finesse jigs - Jewel and War Eagle are probably as good as any.
Swim jigs - I am still experimenting with different brands to see what I like. So far I can tell you that I don't care for Omegas swim jigs because they have a really light hook that will flex. I really haven't found one yet that I like more than Stike Kings KVD swim jigs.

Do some digging and look at some ways to modify jigs. There are tons of ways that guys modify their jigs to give them a different look. I have 2 or 3 modifications I do to my jigs that really seem to help. One of my favorites is to use thinning shears to chop the skirt up a little, this is quick and easy and it really helps give your jig a more natural look. Someone posted a video on here a while back that gives a pretty good explanation how to do it. Another good trick I use is on a jig with a finesse skirt I will cut off all of the long strands below the band except for 5 or 6 strands on the back. You will end up with a jig that still has all the short strands that make up the collar around the jighead but just 5 or 6 long strands down the back. Then I will use a Smallie Beaver trailer, this is a very good finesse jig when things are tough.

[sdesi2010]

Carolina, again thanks for all your info & response. All very helpful.

I've been using many Strike King jigs myself, and found them to be very good. One feature they have that I feel many of the other manuf. lack is a trailer hold. Some of their models have a metal wire clip that inserts into the trailer and really does a good job of holding it up tight to the jig head.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by sdesi2010

Carolina, again thanks for all your info & response. All very helpful.

I've been using many Strike King jigs myself, and found them to be very good. One feature they have that I feel many of the other manuf. lack is a trailer hold. Some of their models have a metal wire clip that inserts into the trailer and really does a good job of holding it up tight to the jig head.

Their swim jigs have that wire keeper too. At first I wasn't sure I would like it because it didn't look like it would hold the plastic that well, but I was surprised at how well it worked. I don't think I have the picture anymore but last summer I actually caught a fish on that wire keeper. I caught it on a swim jig and when I went to unhook it I was shocked that the hook never went in its mouth. Somehow the wire keeper came out of the plastic and actually went through the mouth of the fish LOL.

[IowaBasser]

Originally Posted by sdesi2010

Carolina, again thanks for all your info & response. All very helpful.

I've been using many Strike King jigs myself, and found them to be very good. One feature they have that I feel many of the other manuf. lack is a trailer hold. Some of their models have a metal wire clip that inserts into the trailer and really does a good job of holding it up tight to the jig head.

X2 on the wire that helps hold the trailer - I love it!

[sdesi2010]

X2? Probably a stupid question.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by sdesi2010

X2? Probably a stupid question.

X2 means "times 2" or I agree.

[Rebbasser]

Geat info, C-rig.

I make my own jigs-not making the jigheads but buy the components from lurepartsonline.com-the new name for Stamina-and put them together myself. I mix and match skirting material and get some great looking combinations.

If you fish a lot of weeds I really like the Grassmaster Weed Jig from All-terrain Tackle. It has a recessed line tie that cuts down on snags.

Still getting comfortable using football jigs.

Trailers-I use several. for football jigs I use a matching twin tail grub. For casting/flipping jigs I usually use a Zoom chunk. For finesse jigs I like a Tiny Paca Craw. Bulky so it slows the fall and makes a great trailer. In real cold water-lower than 50 degrees-I lean towards real pork. It stays more supple than plastic at lower temperatures.