Trimming weed guards

[hackattack]

Hey guys I just ordered a bunch of jigs and was wondering how you guys trim (or if you do at all) the weed guards on the jig. I have messed up a couple nice jigs before cutting them too short...Maybe you could post pictures? thanks...

[FlyRod]

'Tack,

First, understand that not ALL weedguards necessarily need trimming. Be advised also that, if fishing in heavy cover (I'm thinking mostly of woody cover here), a low-resistance guard may NOT protect you against a fatal snag if you attempt a hookset and miss or if you try to clear a minor snag with a sudden snap of the rod (might "snap" the rod for real if you really pound it and you are using braid, but that's another issue.)
The single or two-pronged wire guards can be bent slightly (at right where they are imbedded in the jighead) to make it easier for the pressure of the fish's jaws to expose the hook; Don't snip them at all.
However, I'm betting you are inquiring about the fiber-type guards most commonly found. OK, here's what I recommend:
I take some VERY sharp and "tight" scissors and trim at a angle, leaving the rearmost fibers (those closest to the hook point) pretty much alone. I'm thus shortening the leading fibers only, with the first few losing more length than those behind.
When doing this, it's far better (as I suspect you've discovered) to trim too little than to trim too much.
That being said, if fishing in a rocky/gravelly environment, a "weak" guard is far less of a problem, snag/snag recovery-wise, and an advantage when a fish has picked up the jig. So, you might consider having a few jigs more aggressively trimmed for that type of situation, with the guard really serving more to protect the hook point's sharpness than snags. Then, tote along some that have had very little or NO trimming whatsoever, for those, errrr, "woody" moments.
You'd be amazed at just how much crushing force even a small bass's jaws can deliver, so go easy on weakening the guards.
Please, do NOT trim each new jig so soon as you tote it home from Granny's Tackle, Tire, and Taco Heaven. Carry some high-grade scissors in your gear and modify your toys according to the situation at hand.
Finally, make sure your hooks are so sharp that, if you simply wave 'em in the air you can hear the invisible litte atoms and microbes screaming as they are impaled.
See? No need for pics, but if you type in "Trimming weedguards on jigs" and hit "SEARCH", some site will appear that will provide same, thus avoiding one of the guys here having to drag out his camera and clean his fingernails for the closeups.
Have an absolutely bassy day...I plan to, with faithful companion Reb"Tonto"basser on Beautiful (until the lake lice swarm) Canyon Lake.

FR

[zooker]

hi ho lone fly farter..

i always trim mine. take your cutting tool leave the over all lenth but nip angle to be on the same plane as the hook..

zooker

[hackattack]

Thats so the fish doesn't feel the weedguard so much, right? Thanks fly

[MSfisher]

clipping the weed gaurd defeats the purpose of making the jig weedless.. i always fish with a jig, it is my number one lure. i dont clip mine mainly becuase fishing around cover and stumps the weed guard prevents any snagging, as far as the hook setting with the weed guard goes it doesnt make a diffference if you set the hook correcty the weed guard should penitrate the fishes jaw without any problem, my advise.. KEEP THE WEEDGUARD

[hackattack]

Originally Posted by MSfisher

clipping the weed gaurd defeats the purpose of making the jig weedless.. i always fish with a jig, it is my number one lure. i dont clip mine mainly becuase fishing around cover and stumps the weed guard prevents any snagging, as far as the hook setting with the weed guard goes it doesnt make a diffference if you set the hook correcty the weed guard should penitrate the fishes jaw without any problem, my advise.. KEEP THE WEEDGUARD

you misunderstand...I am not removing the weedguard, just shortening it

[zooker]

i am with hack here..

shortening it.. is about the only thing i do to them anyway..

zooker

[Jackl]

HACK,
Here is A trick I use that will take advantage of the weedguard in the best possible way, without interfering with the hookset: Place your thumb between the shank of the hook and the weedguard, press against the weedguard and bend it towards the hook eye. While holding the weedguard down at a foreward angle, pull the right half of the bristles off to the right and the left half of the bristles off to the left while pulling them foreward. When you get done, the bristles of the jig will look like someone has given it a Mohawk haircut, with the bristles standing up in every direction. This will allow the fish to bite without resistance from the jig, but the bristles will deflect off of limbs without hanging up. It will look wooly when you get done, but it works.

JackL

[bassnman30]

I do as Jackl said. Just bend the weedguard up and out. When you look at it sideways, it looks like a dog with the ears sticking up.

[dampeoples]

Fly is correct, as usual.

Lots and lots of people read that someone trimmed a weedguard, but don't really know why, or how, they just have to do it, to the point of defeating the purpose, as stated in the first post. Fly told you how to trim them, though, if you must, do it at an angle and do it minimally, only if you need it though. A bass can double a rod over, surely it can move 20-30 fibers out of the way.

[Patrick Krueger, Jr.]

When I first started trying this it didn't work out too well. I was cutting at angles and losing the lure. Now, in wood I don't do it. In grass I fan it out, as stated above.

[mont_lunker_hunter]

I'm with Zooker, cut it at an angle....Also by shortening the bristles in the front of the weedgaurd makes them stiffer and even better in the wood.