What makes a perfect jig, perfect for you?

[Bassboss]

This year jigs have really replaced senkos as my go to. Ever since I caught that first fish on a jig, I've loved fishing em, but haven't really caught good numbers on them until this year. I've yet to find "the one" jig, that has everything of what I want in a jig, but I'm on the hunt. But... when I'm at the store looking for jigs, here's what I keep an eye out for.

HAND TIED SKIRT!!
This is very important to me, I hate it when the rubber band on a jig loosens up, and falls down the hook. If they ain't that why when I buy them, it changes the moment the package is opened. The skirts last longer that way too!

A good quality hook is a must(ad). If it's anything less then a mustad, it goes back on the shelf. The lower end SK jigs don't have good hooks, end up rusting, and getting dull after one use.

Next is a good head design. I want some that will stand up, not foul in grass, and come through anything I wanna throw at. A hidden line tie earns big bonus points in my book. Not a necessity for me, but a huge plus.

A good flexible skirt (unlike the wall-mart SK jigs), is a must have too. If it's to stiff, they won't flair out, and ungulate like a good skirt should.

The least important thing to me is an awesome looking skirt color. To me it's more of a "catch the fish then the fisherman" kinda deal. Yes, they look sweet, and sometimes it makes the difference. But I think more often not, the basic shade, action, and trailer you put on the jig are much important.

I throw jigs into the thickest stuff I can, and loose at least 2 or 3 in a couple hours. It can't be no 5.00 Japanese yokashomisu jig (made that up, not a real jig, lol). If the price is around 3.50, it's affordable for me, anything over 5.00 there's no way.

One more thing I'll add that doesn't have to do with the jig its self, but I think should be said. Ever since I started using pork trailers (#11), over plastic, I've seen my catch rate sky rocket. More fish, and much higher quality fish. maybe it's the taste, the action, or fall rate, but whatever it is, they seem to produce better for me. The only time I'll still use a plastic trailer is when the water is really muddied up. Then a flapping plastic trailer helps lots I think!

I havn't found the perfect jig yet, but once I do, who ever makes it will be in business! Closeting thing I've found to all that is the All Terrain Tackle Rattling A.T. Jig. Not the perfect head (dons't always stand up straight), and not a hand tied skirt, but like I said, I tie em. And at 3.00 a pop, how can I complain?

Enough long windedness... What makes a perfect jig, perfect for you?

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Bassboss

This year jigs have really replaced senkos as my go to. Ever since I caught that first fish on a jig, I've loved fishing em, but haven't really caught good numbers on them until this year. I've yet to find "the one" jig, that has everything of what I want in a jig, but I'm on the hunt. But... when I'm at the store looking for jigs, here's what I keep an eye out for.

HAND TIED SKIRT!!
This is very important to me, I hate it when the rubber band on a jig loosens up, and falls down the hook. If they ain't that why when I buy them, it changes the moment the package is opened. The skirts last longer that way too! To be completely honest I think that a hand tied skirt is a bonus but it's far from being as big of a deal as it used to be. In the old days head designs as well as the rubber bands were no where near as good as they are today. Head designs have come a long ways and for the most part they keep skirts up with absolutley no problem. Of course there are a few designs still around that don't do the job well but for the most part skirts slipping down the head is a thing of the past. Rubber bands don't dry out and break like they used to, at least if you buy the good ones. When I was running the jig company I bought good rubber bands and had good head designs and I have jigs in my boat (which gets blazing hot in the compartments) that have been in there for several years and they are in just as good of shape today as they were when they were put in there. A lot of them have seen action and a lot of them haven't yet but I have never ever ever had a skirt slip down one of my jigheads or a band break yet.

A good quality hook is a must(ad). If it's anything less then a mustad, it goes back on the shelf. The lower end SK jigs don't have good hooks, end up rusting, and getting dull after one use. Mustad is my favorite jig hook. But I will say that there are some other great hooks out there and as long as you stay with a quality hook you can't really go wrong. Owner and Gamakatsu both make a great jig hook as well and although they may dull a little easier than the Mustad, they still are a good enough hook that if your refusing to buy a jig with their hooks on them I think you might be limiting yourself for no good reason.

Next is a good head design. I want some that will stand up, not foul in grass, and come through anything I wanna throw at. A hidden line tie earns big bonus points in my book. Not a necessity for me, but a huge plus. There is no one jig hook that will come through everything you can throw it into, period end of story. There are a lot of different head designs out there and for a good reason, each one is a different tool to do a different job. One of the things that reall urks me is when I fishing with someone who will throw a football head jig into a brush pile or laydown and get mad when they keep getting hung up, they are not designed for that. Same thing goes for throwing a football head into large rocks and getting hung up, yes they are made for sparse rock areas but they are not the best option for fishing a lot of big rocks. Don't even think about getting a football head to come through grass, it won't happen. A head design more along the lines of a flipping head is what you will want for grass but it will drive you nuts in rock. What I am saying is if you find a head design that comes through everything you can throw it into then you better make a mold and start selling them because as far as I know it doesn't exist.

A good flexible skirt (unlike the wall-mart SK jigs), is a must have too. If it's to stiff, they won't flair out, and ungulate like a good skirt should. I can't promise it to be gospel truth but I was told by the skirt supplier that we used for the jig company that there were only 3 companies that make silicone skirt material, and I consider this guy a reliable source. What this means is there is a great chance that the skirt on all the big name brands is the same material that is used on all the smaller brands as well. I think the stiff skirt material you are seeing has more to do with how long it's in the package than it does the quality of the skirt. I know that our supplier was the same company that supplied all the big names out there with the exception of Jewel, and I think that some of their stuff came from him as well but not all of it. Also the number of strands in a skirt will drastically effect how much action and flare a skirt will provide, the thicker the skirt the less they flare.

The least important thing to me is an awesome looking skirt color. To me it's more of a "catch the fish then the fisherman" kinda deal. Yes, they look sweet, and sometimes it makes the difference. But I think more often not, the basic shade, action, and trailer you put on the jig are much important. I agree with this to a point. I think that people really over complicate jig fishing with color choices. With the tons of color combinations I could have come up with for myself over the years of running the jig company, and even today since I still make them for myself and some buddies I only carry a small selection of colors. I think you need a few natural colors like green pumpkin and watermelon, a few different crawdad colors, some dark water colors like black and blue and maybe junebug or something, and if you want a shad pattern or two then that's fine. But people really tend to get carried away with skirt colors when in reality they can cover two or three forage options in one color of skirt if they change colors of their trailers.

I throw jigs into the thickest stuff I can, and loose at least 2 or 3 in a couple hours. It can't be no 5.00 Japanese yokashomisu jig (made that up, not a real jig, lol). If the price is around 3.50, it's affordable for me, anything over 5.00 there's no way. There is no reason to invest $5.00 for a lead headed jig, tungsten is maybe a different story if you want to go that route though. One thing I never wanted to come out and say when I was running the jig company is that to an extent a jig is a jig and everyone is trying to re-invent the wheel. I say to an extent because a lot of the really cheap $.99 jigs out there will have lack luster head designs that will not only hang up easy but will also let the skirt slip down like we talked about earlier, and they will almost always have a below par hook. But once you get into a quality head design and a quality hook there isn't much difference from one jig to another and $5.00 for a jig is just over paying in my opinion.

One more thing I'll add that doesn't have to do with the jig its self, but I think should be said. Ever since I started using pork trailers (#11), over plastic, I've seen my catch rate sky rocket. More fish, and much higher quality fish. maybe it's the taste, the action, or fall rate, but whatever it is, they seem to produce better for me. The only time I'll still use a plastic trailer is when the water is really muddied up. Then a flapping plastic trailer helps lots I think!

I havn't found the perfect jig yet, but once I do, who ever makes it will be in business! Closeting thing I've found to all that is the All Terrain Tackle Rattling A.T. Jig. Not the perfect head (dons't always stand up straight), and not a hand tied skirt, but like I said, I tie em. And at 3.00 a pop, how can I complain? All Terrain makes a good looking jig. But just because a head desing stands straight up for you on your kitchen table or even when you drop it in the edge of the water where you can see it doesn't mean it's not laying on its side when being drug in deep water over rocks. In fact I would be willing to bet next weeks paycheck that most of the head designs that people have confidence in because they "stand up" actually spend as much time on their sides as any other jig because the bottom of the lake isn't always flat and doesn't always afford the jig the chance to stand up. Where a difference can be made is by having a jig trailer that will float and aid the jig to stand up or at least get the pinchers up in the water a little so it's in a defense posture, and this will even work with the jig laying on its side.

Enough long windedness... What makes a perfect jig, perfect for you?

Sorry if I over analyzed the jig, but as you probably know they are a bait that I have spent a lot of time tinkering with and I feel like I have a fair grasp on the jig as a whole. It's a great bait and the best thing about it is that it's one of the only baits out there that will catch fish 365 days a year. Just don't get too caught up in finding the one head design that does everything great because like I said each head design is a tool to do a certain job but trying to use one head design for everything is like trying to cut a 2X4 in half with a framing hammer.

[Bender]

I agree with what Kory wrote. I've also been told there are only two or three silicone skirt manufacturers out there. One is in the Philippines and another in China or Taiwan I think. I think that excludes stuff like Starflash and Living Rubber.

I've made jigs for several years now and really just started fishing them a lot in the past year or two. I do like our standard head design and it seems to work very well for an "all purpose" jig. It may not take the place of a FB or a pointed head in certain circumstances, but in general it works pretty well. Unfortunately I can't quite sell them for a very low cost because it does take quite a bit of time to make every one by hand, as we do. My suggestion to you is to buy heads and tie your own. If you only want a few colors then it stays pretty cheap. Check out www.fishingskirts.com and get a $4.00 skirt making tool, some bands, and some 24 gauge craft wire. When tying them it is easier to assemble with the band then tie the wire and cut off the band. It will help keep your cost down and let you have exactly what you want.

[Bassboss]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I guess the way I worded the head design part was kinda weird. I know that there's not one head that will work in everything you throw it at. I guess what I was more trying to say is that I was looking for a more perfected wheel. For example a grass jig that comes through grass better then others, and a rock jog that comes through rock better then others (not necessarily a football jig).

Making jigs is definitely something on my to-do list, I've looked into it, and it'll save money pre jig (assuming I want to pay for 20 or 30 jigs at a time), just something I have to get around to doing. Thanks for that site too, I think I know where I'll be ordering my stuff from!

[sdesi2010]

I like the small metal 'trailer stay' that some jigs have. I know the KVD jigs have them. They really hold the trailer up tight to the jig head.

Also agree with a good hook. I really like the Owner hooks myself.

[Tavery5]

My jig of choice is a swim jig, when I look for one that suits my needs some of the things I look at are head design and hook placement, does it have painted on, or 3d style eyes. How thick and how stiff is the weed guard, does it need the length trimmed. Doese the jig have a trailer keeper. The last item I look at is the skirt, I don't find any real advantage to a hand tied skirt over a banded these days, I have the tools and the material to create and replace any skirt that becomes old or damaged. One of the biggest things that I look for is a good sharp hook with the correct bend angle. If you get all these things in one package, you will have yourself a nice jig.

[lilmule]

Well like said each not only heads but shape ,skirt etc are designed for certain things.
One favorite of mine and is hard to find is one made of living rubber the older brown color,looks like chocolate milk when in the water,its great here on kylake in the spring,yet as a shirt material isnt very good as does not last a season.But I tend to let the fish tell me what they want not what I want to feed them.99c all day long in the 70s,I have to stalk ebay for the older living rubber.

[Jigger]

You're 100% correct that hand tied is the only way to go. Even if the rubber skirt holder holds the skirt in place, they rot over a period of years. Everyone I've ever tried either rots or loosens up on you after a number of years. I won't own a jig that's not hand tied. Period. Same goes for buzz baits and spinnerbaits.

[C DUDE]

I love a standard jig, with a heavy wire hook, a full skirt (preferred), about 3/8oz, and either black & blue or PB&J! Second jig would be a white/shad colored swim jig!