Summer 2022
W
hen we get to the summer months of the
fishing season, bass activity will be at its
highest level of the year. Chances are good that you can open your tackle box and pick any lure that
you want to use to catch bass. For me, yes, I have certain
favorites that I like to use throughout the year, but in this
case, I am going to lean towards fishing a jig.
Looking at the big picture a jig offers you different
options to choose from helping you to match your jig with
the conditions in which you are facing. For this article I am
going to breakdown four different jigs that you should stock
in your jig box.
SUMMERTIME JIG OPTIONS
ARKY JIGS
The first jig out of the box will be an Arky jig. The Arky jig is one of bass fishing most versatile jigs. If you really wanted to push the parameters of this jig you can use it for many different presentations throughout the year. If you look back at some of the most popular jigs in bass history Stanley and Bass Pro’s Enticer Pro jigs are prime examples of just a few bass jigs that are using an Arky head.
In this case for shallow conditions, you can use it as a skipping jig to fish docks with and it can also be fished as a weed jig, when and if needed. An Arky jig can also play a primary roll when fishing transition areas like weed to rock. The Arky head allows you to get this jig through the weeds, but also fishes well in rocks. The wider under head surface keeps the jig above the rocks, guarding against falling into crevasse like other jig heads can.
When you can find an overall jig that can fish different structure conditions and not get fouled this is a jig that should earn a spot in your jig box, the Arky head is one of these jigs.
BULLET HEAD JIGS
I use bullet head jigs as my primary weed jig. The pointed-nose of this jig makes it the most popular weed jig option on the market. I also use this as my swim jig.
With this jig I can get double duty at the same time. I can start as a swim jig and then also target key weed clumps that I want to drop my jig into as I am fishing both options. The bullet jig got its start in the Upper Midwest and is really the only weed/swim jig that I fish.
FOOTBALL JIG
A Football jig is the best jig option to use when targeting rocks to imitate a craw or baitfish. The football jig is designed to stands on its head and has a back-and- forth movement as it works across the bottom, this action mimics a craw. This is what really put the football jig on the map.
There are many football jig heads on the market, but I make my own football jig heads from a Do-It Mold (model #FWB-4M-ASU).
This jig has a flat spot on the bottom to keep the jig head standing up better and is also equipped with a plastic keeper to keep plastics options locked in place. With your craw or creature bait rigged on this jig when fished it is in the fighting position, and I believe this helps triggers more strikes as the bass investigate your jig.
SWING HEAD JIG
Many may know this jig by the name of Hard Head. Tommy Biffle produced this jig head idea and quickly won two Bassmaster tournaments with it. The swing head uses a football shaped head paired with a EWG hook behind that can freely move back and forth giving your
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