let me down. When the water is cool and the fish are eating a football head there is no better place to be. When the water is between 45 and 55-degrees, it is time to throw a football jig. i have caught them in colder water, but that is the prime temperature range in my experience. The depth is another key factor for football jigs and i have caught them as deep as 65-feet on a football head, but the key range is 30 feet. in my opinion, the deeper you go the less crawfish you will see and you will also lose the bottom contact necessary to fish the jig correctly with a 1/2-oz jig. i do go to a 3/4-oz or even 1-oz jig, if i have to; but my ideal jig size is 1/2-oz.
rEtriEvE: kEEP it siMPlE
Slow and steady is the best retrieve during the winter months; but depending on where you live and species of fish you are targeting, it will vary. There are times when you have to drag the jig without any rod movement in order to get a bite, but usually a slow retrieve followed by a short pause is best. as long as you are keeping contact with the bottom and feeling rocks, you are doing it right.
jigs have very long strands and look great under water. The entire jig looks much bigger and the skirt flows with each movement. if i want this effect on the water, i will bring down the rubber collar of the skirt. This allows the top layer to be much longer and you get the same effect without needing a new jig. to switch back, it is just as easy to adjust the collar to normal. trimming skirts is usually the first thing i do on some of my jigs. i like to trim the length for action and also remove several strands to get a smaller profile. Sometimes the best trims are the uneven, messy looking skirts. Not everything in nature is perfectly symmetrical and i try to keep this in mind.
Picking your jig: MakE it count
every major company makes a football head by now; they are proven big fish baits. i am specific in what i like about football heads and that is why i like to go custom. 5alive Baits is a small company in my area and i get as many football heads as i can from them, because i have total control in choosing a jig from them. The head colors, skirt options and even the style and brand of hook used can be customized after talking to them. The sky is really the limit when ordering a jig and i have ordered some very unique jigs from them. For instance, i’ve gotten a half black and blue and half green pumpkin skirt, green pumpkin matte finish on the head that is molded to a stout 5/0 flipping hook. i haven’t found another company that allows
bulking, MoPPing and triMMing
Very rarely do i fish a football jig straight out of the package. i feel like there are a few things that you can do to get a better effect out of the jig, stand out from everything else presented to fish and get more bites. all of these tricks i have learned over the years and changing up mid-day from one jig to another can often get a few more bites. if i want to bulk up my jig, i will add an entire Hula Grub or damiki Hydra double tail under the rubber skirt. The soft plastic skirt under the rubber strands helps to push them out into a fuller look and changes the way the strands flow under water. “Mop Jigs” can be bought from several companies. These
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