| A skirted jig has accounted for a majority of my winnings over my tournament career. It is the backbone of many other professional’s careers as well. Getting the most out of a skirted jig starts with understanding the three basic designs and their applications. The designs differ in head shape and the location of the “eye” where the line ties.
The first design I like to call a weed-jig. It would be the most universal of the four designs, being able to fish it anywhere. If you only had one design, this would be the best choice. The head is shaped similar to a cone with the eye located at the tip of the cone. This eye placement and head shape, allows it to swim through aquatic vegetation without catching the weeds on the eye. It will slip right through lilypads, wild rice, duckweed, hydrilla, bulrushes, floating mats, and so on. Because of its fishing ease, a fisherman can operate at maximum efficiency; which of course means more bass by days end. The Grassmaster weed jig that FLW tour Pro Scott R. Martin helps promote is the best example of this type of jig and is my choice any time there is grass around. In a very short time this has become on of the favorite jigs of several FLW anglers.
The second design I like to call a flippin’ or wood jig. Most skirted jigs on the market today would fall into this category. It has a more compact head compared to a weed-jig, and the eye exits the head at an upward angle. This angled eye is very beneficial when setting the hook. It causes the hook point to draw forward, resulting in better hook-ups versus a weed -jig. It also helps the jig up-and-over brush better than a weed jig will, which is why I use the term “wood jig”. Because of this benefit, I’ll use it anytime I’m fishing older, woody cover, docks, or open pockets in weeds. I have been using the Rattling All-Terrain jig for the past two years with great success and it falls in to this flippin’ category perfectly.
The third design I like to call a rock jig. These jigs have a football or egg-shaped head with the eye coming straight out the top of its head. This design does not allow it to come through cover as easily as the above designs. Therefore I limit the use of this jig to places where snags are limited or absent. The rock jig excels when used to fish structure comprised of sand, gravel, and/or rock. This type of bottom draws all species of bass – smallmouth, spots, and largemouth. And this jig, when dragged along the bottom will catch them all. Why not just use one of the above-mentioned designs? That’s because a fisherman can better “feel” the bottom with this type of head. It won’t slide over the bottom; the front face of the head will firmly contact everything in its path. Subtle changes from clay to sand, sand to gravel, sand to muck, and so on can best be deciphered using a rock jig. Additionally, the rock jig will cause more commotion and action, because of its better bottom contact. Obviously, the Rock Jig I designed for All-Terrain is my choice for fishing rock and hard bottom areas. The good news is that a brushguard version of my jig will be out this spring and will make the jig even more versatile when there are weeds around. Many times rock areas that have small patches of weed on or near them will hold the most fish.
Finally, a relatively new term in the bass world is the swimming jig. This jig has the line tie off the front and allows the jig to “swim” horizontally through the water column. All-Terrain has just finished the All-Terrain - Swim Jig that will be on the website in April. This jig is fished with a 3-inch grub that is sold with the jig and will come in 6 great color. Be sure to check them out.
Having these jigs in your arsenal and knowing when to fish each one will make you the most complete jig fisherman around and will definitely help increase your catch.
|
