In this article I'm going to explain to you ways of enhancing a "Jig & Pork" combination. There are many ways to do this. With the many companies with product on the market today, it's hard to say which company puts out the best head design combined with the best material money can buy. All companies favor a certain head design or material over the other, they themselves have confidence in their own product. This article is not about that.
I'll start off by saying that it doesn't matter which head you are using. What I'm going to share with you can be done with most head designs on the market today, so use what you prefer or have "confidence" in. Material here is the main concern.
There are many materials on the market today. I'm using your standard rubber and also your synthetic rubber has material coupled with standard pork. What I'm going to try to explain is the ways of cutting the materials to enhance the appearance of the jig & pork combination to the bass. There is only one tool that is required and that is a pair of scissors that is 4 to 6 inches long and that is narrow in appearance.
The Jig
Most companies today make and package their jig with an excessive amount in length of material. Usually hanging a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch below the bend in the hook. Sometimes this injures the action of the jig depending on how much material is incorporated into the jig. Most pro fisherman will cut the material a 1/8 to a 1/16 of an inch more. By doing this, the material allows the pork to function properly.
To enhance the jig appearance more, take the jig and lay it out on a flat surface and spread the material out in a fan position facing the head towards you. Take the scissors and place it anywhere from 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches on the outside edge of the material above the head (should be a 33 to 45 degree angle to the back of the hook) and cut it. Repeat the steps on the other side. Note: With live ruber I can cut it leaving an inch or a little more. Even more if it was synthetic material. Reason here is the limpness of the material, if you cut the synthetic material short it will kill the action of the outside material.
Another appearance of the jig is if your using a two color combination is to cut the main color shorter than your secondary color. This will overlap onto your pork, but will not kill the action of the pork in most cases.
A fourth way is to cut it to your desired length and then the material out of the head to obtain the more stream lined look. This is seldom done because the manufacturer has te amount of material down pat in obtaining optimum performance in their product.
The Pork
Here again, there are many companies in the market that solely manufacture and sell pork. But, they have one thing in common, the material is the same "pork". It just comes in different sizes.
Another thing in common is that they all have a "fat" section. This is what I"m going to talk about in this section. Here, you will need a regular pocket knife or a razor. I prefer a pocket knife myself because of the thickness of the blade that will spread the fat apart.
Being that they come in many sizes, you can cut them from one slice to as many as five slices. A standard size amoung the companies 3 slices is adequate. Take a standard size pork and lay it out flat. Take your knife or razor and make your first cut just behind where the hook point will come out. The rest of the cuts there after will depend on the length and size of the fat. You should at least get two cuts to obtain optimum performance with the smallest of pork so it will bend or get that wavy like action at the top of your lift-fall. On your cuts, cut only down to the skin of the pork.
Above is one way. To get even more performance from your pork, slice one or two length-wise cuts. This will enhance it more so.
Another method is to cut a section of pork completely off just behind the hook, not normally done, but fisherman are known to do this.
A way of making a large pork look more streamlined to your jig is to cut a little off the sides of the pork. You may say it's downsizing the appearance of the jig to obtain a faster fall than if you left the large section as is, you would have that slow fall.
The above are just some of the ways of obtaining optimum performance from your "Jig & Pork" combination. There are many ways, but these are some for the weekend fisherman to mentally and physically play with. I must WARN you that experimenting with new jigs can be hazardous to your pocket book. I'd advise first use older jigs for experimental purposes until you have achieved what you in desire in "Confidence".
Good Luck with the Jig & Pork.
Hookpoint
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