Jigs

[bassinDerek]

what are the best jigs to use when fishing deep and when fishing rock piles? thanks
Derek

[Guest]

Deep water 60 to 80 go with 3/4 oz. or 1 oz. football head jig with 5/0 hook of your choice. Rock piles 30 to 40 feet deep go with 1/2 oz to 3/4 oz football head 45 to 80 go with 3/4 oz to 1 oz. most lakes we fish here in central valley anglers like the 1 oz football head i like throwing nothing heavier than 1/2 oz in that deep of water but im throwin 6, 8 & 10 pound test.

[acm95301]

Definetly football head jigs in the situation you described. If your learning I'd start big around 3/4 -1 oz so you get a feel of the bottom, then as your skill grows maybe you can reduce down to 1/2 oz or even 3/8 oz....I'm still using 3/4. light line, either fluro or braid with a fluro leader.

Brown with purple fleck and matching trailer or black. Green and blue work too.

[Guest]

There are several companys on this site that can help you get started with what you need depending on where you going to be fishing at. Keep your colors simple dont go buy 7 or 8 color you dont need talk to shop owners to help make the right selection and the right baits for your type of fishing.

[aNNieNsaLTIE]

what does it feel like when a bass hits a jig at 80'? braid must be a must huh?

steven

[ash]

I agree that football head jigs are more condusive for fishing deep rock piles. I also use 1/2oz to 1oz jig heads, on the larger jig heads you either want to cast them out in front of you and keep them moving or drop them directly underneath the boat and stay with your bait - depends on the presentation.

I do not make rules of where to fish these larger jigs - I will fish a 3/4 and 1oz right up on the bank or out as deep as I can

As far as "The best" jigs, well I dont know I have been using Basspatrol jigs football head jigs in brown black they are available at fishermans warehouse. There are a bunch of different manufactures out there, the keys for me are round rubber, eye position on the jig head and hook quality.

[Phil]

[quote="bassinDerek"]what are the best jigs to use when fishing deep and when fishing rock piles? thanks
Derek[/quote

Try 1/2 to 3/4 oz and sometime 1oz. If fishing rocks, I have found it does not matter much if you use weed guard. I loose just as many with or without, somehow the Jig finds its way into the rock cracks with or without. I never use braid, if you get hung up, its like trying to pull in a boat anchor. I use Trilene XT, vary abrasive resistant.

[bassinDerek]

thanks what kind of trailor do you guys like? what is also a good rod for jigs to?
Derek

[ash]

Derick,

It really depends on when I am fishing and the ROF the fish want and the size jig I am fishing.

So here is a typical rotation I throw

Late fall through spring Super PORK and I use my old senkos and torn up beavers from the summer as a spacers I slide the plastic onto the hook and rip it right at the base of the turn in the hook this keeps the pork from spinning around and fouling the hook, it also helps my ROF and adds a splash of color or contrast to my jig.

My other rotation are Yamamoto Grubs
Yamamoto Hula Grubs
Sweet Beavers
Paca Craws or Berkly Chigger Craw

The hula grub slows the fall rate down on the jig and adds a different look and bulk to my jig. I really like this for the 3/4 - 1oz jigs. The standard grubs and paca gets the bait falling faster and has a little more movement in the water.

If you are just starting out in the jig game a few basic colors that I found that work on any bass lake are
Green Pumpkin
Green Redflake
Brown Purple
Purple
Black
Black Blue

As for rods I tend to run heavy I like a 7' Heavy Action IMX Loomis Mag Bass Rod for the 1/2oz and lighter jigs I use a MH 7' Rod. For line I can not stress the use of Flurocarbon enough for jig fishing. Berkley 100% Fluro is good and Maximum fluro are both the same cost and do not fail me. For standard lake fishing I run 15lb Delta and Clear Lake 20lb

[mvanguilder]

I used to use Bass Patrol as well but the only problem is the cheap hook and if you do get some good ones the hook will snap, especially if your workin deep rock piles. I personally use berserk jigs they offer a football and an arkie. Purple hornet, green craw are good starts. As for trailers beavers and yamamoto single or twin tails. I am a jig guy myself. I guide on the motherlode as well.

www.fishwrangler.net
www.berserkbaits.com
www.baitbarn.net

[R.Cook]

I used to use Bass Patrol as well but the only problem is the cheap hook and if you do get some good ones the hook will snap, especially if your workin deep rock piles. I personally use berserk jigs they offer a football and an arkie. Purple hornet, green craw are good starts. As for trailers beavers and yamamoto single or twin tails. I am a jig guy myself. I guide on the motherlode as well.

www.fishwrangler.net
www.berserkbaits.com
www.baitbarn.net

+1

[TJ]

Derek,

I like Open Water Jigs ( http://openwatercustombaits.com/open-wa ... ts/16.html ).

The eye of the head is set in so it doesn't get hung up as much. Also, the paint holds up very well. And not to mention it has won me a fair amount of money!

My favorite skirt color is sprayed grass.

Definitely worth checking it out. Hope this helps.

Tami Curtis Jennings

[acm95301]

I've used the Berserkbaits football jig in brown with purple fleck, and like the 3/4 oz best.

[Jim Moulton]

If you are fishing deep two things I highly recomend. 1. Use flourocarbon line12# or 15#. 2. Use light wire hooks on your jigs. ie Bass patrol, Berserk, or Phantom to name just a few.
As far as trailers go I like the dual tail Yamamoto grubs.
Jim

[Guest]

Black nickel hooks are your best in any jig you throw from finesse jigs too heavy flippin they will hold up in most conditions your fishing in.

[acm95301]

If you are fishing deep two things I highly recomend. 1. Use flourocarbon line12# or 15#. 2. Use light wire hooks on your jigs. ie Bass patrol, Berserk, or Phantom to name just a few.
As far as trailers go I like the dual tail Yamamoto grubs.
Jim

This is what I've been doing but have lately considered using braid with a fluro leader. what do you think?

[Darkman]

Ganns jigs...take a peek at the TT review or the web site...quality form top to bottom...

[Jim Moulton]

Alex for the mother load lakes I prefer using Floro the whole way, as fall gets in full effect your going to see our lakes really clear up. I will also go to 12# test during the winter months.
hope this helps jim

[Mike Thomas]

Ganns jigs...take a peek at the TT review or the web site...quality form top to bottom...

+1...... I'm Really diggin' the Green Pumpkin candy right now. As far as line goes 12# Floro all the way

[Phil]

This Jig (no name) works for me with Berkley variuos color trailers
[albumimg]914[/albumimg]

[mark poulson]

I think that the football head rocks the jig and trailer from side to side, which is a great attractor for deep jigs, where fish aren't necessarily in a feeding position.
For shallow jigs, an arkie head is a good combination of wider head and swimming action.
I've fished same color jig and trailer on a arkie head next to someone with a foot ball head, and he got bit much more than I did. And I was on the bow, so I had first shot. On shallow stuff, I stuck more fish than him, probably because I had first shot, but, when we were fishing deep, in front of steep structure, he got bit, and I didn't until I put on a football head.
I also think that the line angle on deeper jigs helps the football not get stuck in the rocks as much as it does on when fishing shallow.
The arkie head seems to come through shallow rock better.
But the line on deeper jigs is at a steeper angle, so you're pulling the jig up more, as opposed to across, and that keeps the football head from getting stuck as much as it does shallow.
The position of the line tie, more towar the top of the jig, is also really important in being able to pull/pop the football over rock at depth, because it give a more direct pull at depth because the line is point up at rest, instead of forward, and that tends to keep the line, fluorcarbon for me, from sinking directly in front of the jig and getting stuck in the rock.

[Oldschool]

Deep strucrure fishing with jigs in our western reserviors is a presentation that I can help with. PM me with your email address. The football jig was created back in the early 60's to fish SoCal deep srtuctured lakes. My first football jig mold was made by Larry McCain when vinyl skirts first became available; PVJ.
How deep you fish is dependant on the primary thermocline in lakes without areation systems. Lakes with areations systems and power generation lakes it's possible to have mulitple thermoclines, however rarely do you need to target bass deepr than 50 feet.
1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 oz jigs should be all you need, unless it's it's high wind then maybe a 1 oz jig is needed.
The key to catching deep jig bass is the hook design and wire size.
Short sank heavy wire hook jig designs used for flipping & pitching are poor for casting and retrieving jig in deep structure. Use jigs with 4/0 to 6/0 hooks in wire size .046D to .055D. The football head is compact allowing the hook bend to be back from the lead and a longer hook shank design will improve you strike to hook up ratio.
Tom

[ken burk]

Tom! is there nothing you don't now? Not busting your balls but you need to take me fishing sometime just were I can learn more. Every now and then I really feel like I'm just starting out in this sport...LOL Ken

[Andi]

Tom, your explanation of the Football Jig is like a breath of fresh air! I keep telling these Texans that Football Jigs were never intended to have heavy gauge flipping hooks. Ugh. Sometimes it seems hopeless!

[Oldschool]

There is a big difference between flipping or pitching a jig and casting a jig. The flip or pitch is a verticle presentaion where the jig falls through heavy cover and the fisherman has little slack in the line. Concentrating of a jig for a few seconds as it falls 1 to 8 feet isn't difficult and hook setting is a simple rod set. The Heavy cover jig should be compact like the Arkie head design and have a short strong wide gap hook with a good weed guard. The Wadda jig is ideally suited for verticle presentations.
Casting a jig out 30 to 90 feet and retrieving it back horizontally requires a different type of jig, one with an extremely sharp hook that can stick into the basses mouth when engulfed, giving the fisherman an indication that a strike has occurred. The weed guard doesn't need to protect the hook point nearly as effective as the heavy cover jig. A wire weed guard or a section of plastic worm on a hitchhiker will protect the hook point and still stick the soft inside mouth tissue. Reel setting with a rod sweep is much more effective with horizontal jig presentions. FC line in 8 to 14 lb, depending on the lake and depth is all that is needed for deep structure lakes, therefore you don't need a heavy wire hook.
Tom

[Andi]

Tom, can I quote you on that? That's exactly where we stand as well! Great info!

[Cooch]

I would tend to agree with Tom in the distinctive differences in where you would use either a football head or Arkie jig style head. Where my opinion differs from his, would be in the designated species you are after and where it is your fishing..

I wouldn't think twice about using a football head rubber jig when fishing our deep Canyon lakes where our main target is Smallmouth or Spotted bass. That football head, typically is a smaller profile jig, better suited for these two species where we tend to fish in open water lacking a lot of cover. It's stand up nature, also keeps that hook in an better position, allowing for better hook penetration for these smaller, quick striking species. Another overlooked aspect is that when fishing them down a flat, hard bottom surface, the football head has quite a bit more surface area that is in contact with the bottom, so it tends to displace and disturb the sediment more than an arkie head when bouncing or dragging on the bottom.

Another thing to think about is, not all rock piles are created equally! I have an absolute horrible time when fishing a football head jig in places like the Cal Delta with it's vast miles of small chunk rock levee walls. I experience the exact same thing when fishing football heads on the lava rock banks and piles of Clearlake. The Oblong nature of that jig head causes it to tilt and fall into cracks much too freaquently. Hence, it gits more easily wedged to where I end up having to break them off. Certainly that football head will work very well on the hard, gravely bottoms found all through out Clearlake and it's vast oppurtunities to fish around the docks and Tulles. But in them chunk rock situations, they are a break off waiting to happen.

I much more prefer to use the same Arkie head jigs I flip with, when casting and pitching to the chunky, rip rap like rocks. They don't slide and fall into the cracks as eaily and with that weed gaurd, tend to come out more often when they do. That weed gaurd helps to protect your jig from sticking a rock, the same as it does with grass, tulles and other cover that wanna keep our jigs for souviners.

In the case of the two bodies of water I've mentioned here, the predominant species is largemouth bass. I would always want to have the "Bubba Up" features of the flippen jigs when chasing largemouth. If I git a 6 to 10 pounder on, while fishing these rocks, especially deeper rocks, I want the strength of that stouter hook used. I also love the advantage of the weed gaurd here as it acts as a lip locking device. Football heads are too easy for a big large mouth bass to either throw or straighten out the hook, especially when trying to git em up from 25 feet or deeper.

Granted, there are guys who use that football head and feel comfortable in doing so and have very good success with it. But for the begginer, or average fisherman who does not have the fine tuned expertese of fishing with a jig, they will loose a lot more largemouth bass on a football head jig fishing on deep rock piles, than if they use an Arkie head flippen jig.

[Andi]

What are your thoughts about casting a ball head finesse style jig with a 60 degree flat eye hook, same style used in many football jigs, to deeper chunk rock for bass?

[ash]

What are your thoughts about casting a ball head finesse style jig with a 60 degree flat eye hook, same style used in many football jigs, to deeper chunk rock for bass?

When you say this I think of the Picasso Shaky head jig and for those I think they have a place at least they do for me especially when the fish get finicky with a standard jig. For me this is a spot on spot presentation. The other issue I have with a P-head is that the bait has a tendancy to roll over when jigging it.

The other area a P-head style jig excels for me is skipping - I can skip this style of jig under docs a long ways. But in terms of using them as a search bait I prefer the Football Head or Arkie Style head over the P-head.

Great Thread!

[Delta is beast]

for deeper water use a revenge football head in 3/4 ounce. for rocky areas 20 ft or less cooches wada. around wood cooches wada. and if your flipping the delta revenge flippin jigs. cooches wadas are my favorites though.

[tunaman]

1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 oz jigs should be all you need, unless it's it's high wind then maybe a 1 oz jig is needed.

Tom - love your information always, but in this case you obviously haven't fished the rippin' currents of the Delta! I had some times this past year when trying to fish the deeper channels (say, the channel leading into Holland's, for instance) and couldn't hit bottom with a 1 oz. jig!

I've learned, fishing with my partner Cooch, that the football head jigs don't work very well here and that the Wadda jigs are far superior... I'm a stubborn son of a gun but the proof is in the fishing!

Roger

[Oldschool]

You are right, I haven't fished the strong currents, prefer to fish the eddies and current breaks. There are situations a 1 oz is needed, just not very often where I fish.
Also agree the football head can be a rock grabber and the reason why I redesigned the head into a modified viper shape with a slight stand up way back in '71, to lift the hook to slide up and over rocky crevices. High floatation trailers also help. Heavy jigs tend to fall in between the rocks on slack line, one more reason to keep the jig under control and use a lighter weight, if possible.
Can't tell you how many times I watch good fisherman miss jig bites when teaching them to fish horizontally. Using the right jig makes a big differnce. When the bass engulf a jig and swim away with it, any jig should work, that just doesn't happen often enough.
Tom