Spring 2025
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If you are fishing in heavy cover, and using braided line, you’ll want a swim jig that has a stouter hook in it, as you don’t want to bend the hook out when battling a bass. On the other hand, if you are fishing sparser vegetation, and using fluorocarbon, you want the swim jig to have a lighter wire hook in it.
Some swim jigs have a plastic wire keeper. Others rely on the angler using superglue to keep their trailer in place. The weedguard is another important component of the swim jig. You do not need or want the heavy weedguards that come on a standard flipping jig, so it is important to look at the weedguard and trim it down to your desired thickness. It is important not to flair out the weedguard because it acts as a keel and if it is flared too much on one side or the other it will make the jig roll.
FINESSE JIGS
The round, ball headed finesse jig is a staple lure for bass anglers in the mid-south during the spring months, when bass are pre-spawn or spawning around chunk rock or gravel. This has a light wire hook in the ball head jig, then has a unique skirt that flares up around the head of the jig.
The light wire hook is beneficial because if you get it hung in the rocks, a good pull with your rod and the jig will pop free. But because of the light wire hook, you won’t want to use above 15-pound fluorocarbon line, as anything higher and you’ll risk straightening the hook out.
A compact, smaller profiled finesse jig has the same benefits of fishing a standard jig. With a lighter wire hook, and thinned out weedguard, an angler can make longer casts to those isolated weed clumps that are still present on a lake and not have to worry about having a low hook up ratio.
FOOTBALL JIGS
Dragging the bottom with a jig is a very productive technique anytime
the bass are holding close to structure, such as a pile, sand flat, or an underwater point. Keeping the jighead in contact with the bottom and allowing it to crawl over rocks, gravel or along sand is made easier by using a football head jig.
I suggest using a jig that has enough weight to keep in contact with the bottom, but also choosing the smallest weight as possible, as this will help the bass from feeling your jig for as long as possible. You’ll want to have a football jig that has a strong, sharp hook. But if you are making extremely long casts, you’ll want to use a lighter wire hook, this will help you achieve a better hook set.
Some football head jigs come with a weedguard, others do not. I prefer ones with a weedguard when the bottom structure you are dragging has brush on it, as I do not want the jig to get hung in the brush. If the structure I’m dragging is rock, gravel or sand, I like to use a football head jig that does not have a weedguard.
As you are getting your jig boxes ready for this season, be sure you have a variety of jig styles, sizes, and colors. You don’t want to be caught out on the water without that certain jig you need. •
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