FISHI NJI GG
Story & photos
BY KENT BROWN
itmhepawcetsotn’s
A
lthough there were pockets of anglers
across the country that did some deep
water fishing, much of the strides that took
hold in bass fishing in the ‘70s and early ‘80s were really tied to the western angler.
WESTERN INNOVATION
One of the first deep water jig that was being tied on here was made of vinyl. It was similar to a spinnerbait skirt. A few guys were fishing them with a football head, but most were using a round head. They usually ranged in size from 1/4 to 3/8 oz. A half ounce jig was a big jig, back then. That was like a 1 oz jig is today.
A lot of western guys, like Gliebe and Dee were fishing bucktail or hair jigs. They were good for flippin’
shallow, but they found that the hair didn’t really do
much in deep water.
Sometime in the ‘70s, Bobby Garland came out
with the “Mini-jig”. It was the original tube jig - a little
1/32, 1/64-oz head, made for crappie fishing. He had
two baits that followed. They were the 3-inch Mini Jig
which was a longer, bass version of the first one and
one called the Skinny Squid.
Kent Brown the
early years
A JIG IS BORN
Although the Mini Jig and the Skinny Squid were small minnow imitating jigs, they were where
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