what is the advantage of a football head over another head

[parker]

I do not quiet understand what the design is for

why do you use a football head over say an arkie style when fishing open water situations.
thank you

[wccjanel]

Answering a jighead question is like explaining to the wives why we need so many rods.

You can survive on the good old Arkie style jig head and nothing else.

The Arkie head will stall in grass, so that's when a grass jig is better. However, most grass jigs will not lay in the up position for when you deadstick. The Arkie style head usually will. And you rarely fish a grass jig head for deadsticking anyway.

The football head almost always will stand up like a defensive crawdad. The football is also effective for shaking, but not so much for sliding - that's when you want a ball or snake head.

The Skinny Bear Football almost never rolls over. This up position is a great way to attract deep water, and/or cold water bass.

Here's a link:
http://www.thefishicon.com/jigs/

Good luck,
James

[BassManDan]

Football heads are designed to minimize the chance of rolling over on their side, (i.e., the hook is always oriented up).

More of a general theme, is that Arkys have a weedguard, and footballs don't, mainly because most people pitch and flip with arkys or use them as a casting jig in cover, while footballs are predominantly used in open water, where snags are non existent.

Also on the rock, the wider design of the football makes it more difficult to drop down into a small crevice and get stuck on the head, (like dartheads do so well!)

Also to some extent, football head will 'walk" when they are drug across the bottom, which prettymuch means they swing from side to side.

Football heads are usually fitted with size 1-2/0, light-wire hooks, while arkys more often have a heavier size 3/0-5/0 hook.

that's pretty much all I know

BassManDan

[ash]

Well for one thing you can look this good with a football head




And only this good with a normal head

[bahlzar]

buisness in the front, party in the back

[ash]

Ok, and now the serious answer.

I utilize jigs when structure fishing, mainly in our resiviors and at times clear lake.

The distinction, for me, is that the football head jig is wider then a standard arkie or flippin jig, this gives the head design several advantages. 1.) the wider jig does not get hung up in the rocks as easily as the arkie style, and if it does I can typcailly come ov er the top of it it and get it back. 2) I am covering my surface area of the lake bottom, increasing my feel.

The other advantages of the Football head design come in terms of presentation. When horizontally dragging the jig head, a good football head jig does NOT roll over IE the hook point is always facing upward. With the correct line tie position when you move the bait you are rocking the trailer upward causing more action, when you drag into a rock or ditch the bait gets crazy while staying in the upright position.

Now the cons are in mixed presentation situations like around grass, wood etc... the head gets cought up in the grass, around too much wood it will work the hook point into the wood. In these situations an Arkie style jig is much more condusive. Also too the Arkie style is very condusive for the flipping and pitching presentation and you can find a GOOD arkie style jig that will stand up everytime when pitched and flipped. examples are Wadda, Bobby'Ds some rod strainers, and Revenge.

Hope this helps!

[parker]

thanks for the advice