J IG HEA DS
the difference in
Story & photos
BY JEN EDGAR
L
et’s begin by breaking down a jig. A jig in
terms of bass fishing is a heavy, lead or
tungsten weighted head bait with a single
hook, a weed-guard or not and a colored skirt to add visual attraction. More often than not,
we think of a jig as a crawdad imitator, but it is
sometimes used as a baitfish and other times just
something interesting enough a bass will eat.
Jigs are subtle, discrete and slip right into big bass
territory with or without a lot of commotion. When
you get a bass really hooked by a jig, it is less
likely they will shake off than when hooked by a
trebled lure.
DECIPHERING THE DIFFERENCES
The above description was putting it simply, because as you all know, there are several different jig head types and sizes which all fish differently. Jigs can be flipped, pitched, hopped, swam, casted, dragged, etc. Any jig head can be used to do any of these actions; however, jigs have been molded to make specific actions easier.
It’s important to select the proper jig for the type
of cover and depth you are fishing. I think the
single most important consideration is jig size.
You’ll need enough weight to penetrate cover,
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