mikey5string

I don't think the technique of jigging will ever die I think that more specialized and customizable terminal tackle will replace the traditional bass jigs. Concerning football jigs, a shakey head keeps the bait standing up better than a football jig. There is no need to work the bait to make it stand up, it just does. You can still drag or hop it as well. The advantage for me is the way plastics attach. A screw keeper or worm hook style keeps the plastic off the hook shank and the ability to Texas rig the bait with the point just in the skin is much more weedless than a weed guard and doesn't get in the way off hook sets. I am sure a lot of guys here are great jig fishermen and have no problems with the design or hook sets. I like jigs and think they are one of the most productive baits ever. As the bass tackle industry innovates and produces more and more specialized terminal tackle and options, the traditional bass jig could become less common. Not saying I want that to happen necessarily or that it should just what I see. The point was to start a discussion and I think it's accomplished that. Thanks

the ones I had were very small. under 2" for sure. I thought that was "standard size". I went to Dicks and picked up a few 2.5" KVD models and they are substantially larger and I had no problem casting them in the yard. I really like the looks of them and I am pumped to try them Saturday. I have been having mediocre luck with a spinner and chatter bait, this might be the little change up that turns them on. Only problem is that now I have a new thing to buy compulsively. Do you guys throw the small ones? Do you prefer a certain size?

my wife would literally murder me if I order one more piece of tackle online this month. The problem with ordering online is the paper trail ; ) I have been looking into getting some high quality jigs. I have a bunch that I have accumulated over the years but id like to replace them so I know every jig in my box is well made. Threads like this, with the product endorsements from members are the best thing for a business. I will definitely visit again when I am in the market.

you think they stink? I think they scent is mild if even that noticeable at all. you should try Gulp! or Lake Fork! Sometimes I have better luck with the Pit boss, sometimes with rage craws. IMO, the action on rage craws can be "too much" in some situations. I literally have a hundred bags of different creature/craw baits. The missle D-bomb is great, all of their products are. The tomahawk worm and drop craw always stay in my box. Reaction Innovations sweet beavers are great. I have a few bags of the kinky beaver but I havent used them yet. Owners Yuki bug is a really great bait. It has great "do nothing" action when stationary. The paddle floats up in the water slowly and it really looks alive. Jackalls Sasuteki craw is a fantastic craw bait. One of my favorites for weeds and shakey heads. Lake Fork makes some good baits.... I would experiment with some different brands you hear about here. Everyone has their favorite but there is no "best"

I have caught decent fish on the bleeding shad but I would always rather throw larger baits. I have caught so many 1-3lb fish this season and now I am really after the big girls. I would rather fewer bites with bigger fish. Bass might prefer to pick off the weaker fish in a school but smaller doesnt always equal weaker or slower. I would think a large, easy meal would be very tempting for a lazy slob

Find baitfish and fish there. At my favorite lake, weed flats have been productive but I see fish schooling on bait and breaking the surface above the deepest part of the lake (50') which is where the old river was before it was dammed. I cant chase bait as you are only allowed electric motors so I focus on areas that I know will be productive at some point in the day. Flats & points are good. The best spots will be where 2 good spots meet. Submerged grass (good) on a flat (good) equals very good. Wind blown (good) points (good) equals very good. In the summer, I was doing very well on the "ledge" side of the lake where it sits up against a ridge mountain. Heavy cover along the shore with access to deep water was the pattern then. Now, the fish just arent there, they are on the other side of the lake which is much flatter, with less dramatic depth changes. They are moving around, suspended, chasing bait. If you can find green weeds, a jig still works, but up here there are no more green weeds on the surface. I will tie a 3/4oz lipless crank on, let it sink to the bottom and pull it up. If there are greens on it, I fish there. If there are no weeds, or stringy slimy brown weeds, I keep moving. Access to deep water is key and if you look at it the other way, access to shallow water like flats is good. The bass corral bait in shallows, against points and wait by weedlines/weed beds, timber, or deeper water like ledges and sharp drops to pick them off. Swim jigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, lipless & squarebill cranks are good baits. I usually go lower in the water column as the day progresses with t-rigs & shakey heads. Mornings and dusk are great topwater opportunities. Buzzbaits and spooks good luck.

I have a soft plastic addiction. I cant go to a tackle store, or walmart or dicks without buying at least one pack of something. The Havoc Pit Boss is my favorite "creature" bait. I use them for swim jig & chatter bait trailers, for flipping, on texas rigs, carolina rigs.....very versatile and inexpensive.

thanks. The ones i had were actually the small and medium sized 2" so I went out and picked up 2 new 2.5" and they feel better. I put one on and took a few casts in the yard and they cast fine. Looking forward to using them this weekend.

you have lot of options. I mostly use a big worm. I like Trigger X Hammer worm in black. I had the most success with that but I have caught fish on: Zoom Brush Hogs Sluggos (big & small) Super Flukes Big Senkos

Do they make them bigger than 2.5"? Id like to try them but I cant imagine throwing such a small bait on a casting rod. Do you use spinning gear? I have a handful in my tacklebox but I never use them .With the exception of lipless, cranks are not one of my confidence baits.

I fish them around submerged weeds where a creek enters the lake. Its a pretty big area and the water ranges from 4-15' I fish them in the weeds. Throwing the bait, letting them fall and ripping them out. The fish almost always hit it on the initial fall or when I pause and let the bait settle back into the weeds. I had thought about your point but with the hits coming when the lure is stopped, I thought that the retrieve speed wasnt as important, as long as it wasnt drastically different. Maybe thats it though, the larger baits fall faster, dont rip through the weeds as well and move quicker. Sometimes a little thing can make a huge difference. I will try some different retrieves and see what happens. thanks

I actually have that one. And the sexy shad, and another color Im not sure of. I havent caught a single fish on any of them. I have caught plenty on the 1/2oz red eye shad as well as the 1/2oz cordells in chrome/black, chrome/chartreuse, sexy shad..... Odd. I guess they just like the 1/2oz in this lake.

in heavy cover, aren't pegged t-tigs or "warhead" rigs better? The set up of both allows the bait to fall vertically more effectively doesnt it? Also they seem to get hung up in the grass less on the retrieve. The "warhead" rig has to be the best punching presentation there is. I really need to use it more...maybe next summer. I agree about shakey heads being tough to fish in grass, I would chose a t-rig here. In heavy vegetation, the bottom is often covered in a layer of dense undergrowth. I have literally seen my jig disappear in the green stuff about 5" from the bottom. I did read the horizontal jigging post. It was a good post, I went out and tried to use a football jig exclusively for a period. The lake I fish is a deep reservoir with heavy weeds in spots and sharp rocky drops in others. There is hump in 20-30fow with a couple brush piles on it where football jigs are supposed to be great. Thing is, I check out my jigs (and most of my baits) in the shallow, clear water near the boat ramp at the lake. I have found that shakey heads just look better than my football jigs. The bait stands up straighter and doesnt tip, the hook is at a better angle, the screw keeper with the plastic texas rigged is a better weedless option IMO and it doesnt get in the way of hook sets like a weed guard can. Seems like the standard football, arkie, grass, punching jig may eventually be phased out by more specialized gear. I dont know, just thinking about it the other day after looking at my box full of jigs that I never use....but I use the presentation all the time. I really love jigs. The craftsmanship and artistry of a really well made jig get me every time. I dont care if I never use them, I still buy them and still will. Need to try the Northstars or another hand tied custom jig. I really love the action of the mop jigs but havent had much luck with them yet. Again, I havent fished them as much as I could because they get hung up more than other techniques. OK. Done rambling. glad to see jigs are still alive and well.

Why can I catch plenty of fish on a 1/2oz but they wont touch a 3/4? It can't be that its too big. I have caught plenty of 3lb fish from this lake on a 6" swim bait, 8" fish on a 10" worm etc... Maybe the alewife they are changing are exactly the size of the 1/2 oz? Maybe they chose the smaller, weaker ones? Anyone have luck with a 3/4 oz rattling lipless crank? The vast majority of the ones I see being fished are the 1/2oz variety. thanks

this is the kind of jig I am referring to when I say "traditional" bass jig. Not this exact jig but this style, maybe a different shaped head (arkie,football etc) or different skirt but the same general idea. The other, more specialized options, like punching weights/hooks and heavy stand up "shakey heads" seem to do the things that jigs were meant to do better.

wow. what a pig! I LOVE frog fishing. Its my favorite way to fish bass in mid summer. The more slop the better. I have noticed that the biggest fish just seem to inhale the frogs from right under the surface. The big splashes and "out of the water" hits are great but its the "disappearing frog" ones that I live for.

thanks for the reply. When I say "Traditional jig" I mean the molded head, skirt, weed guard type jig like football, flipping, grass, wood & casting jigs. A shakey head is a kind of jig but I dont consider it a "traditional" bass jig per se. I dont think that, or a pegged T-rig is anything new, just see it more and more where I used to see "out of the package" jigs. The megastrike is my favorite shakey head but I dont mean that specific one has to be used, Im sure there are ranges of hooks quality in all jigs. I guess I think that all things being equal. i think a shakey head is a better option than a football jig. Thinking about it, I suppose a jig is jut as customizable "on the spot" as you can change skirts and trailers without re-tying. I do like the way the plastic attaches to a shakey head over a jig. I never liked threading plastic on a hook. I have no problems with baits staying put on the screw keeper without superglue. Although it is kind of a pain screwing plastics on to them at first. Ideally, I would like it to have a worm hook type keeper, those always work best for me. I guess a pegged texas rig would be as good as the sum of its parts. If you use quality components, it shouldnt get torn up anymore than a jig would. I can see how the weight could be used to throw the hook but wouldnt that be true on a jig too?

I dont use live bait for bass but sometimes will use alewife for walleye. Worms if I am fishing with a kid or novice or just messing around. I didnt spend all this money on lures to fish with worms! For bottom fishing I like split shots about 18" away from the hook so it can float up and move with current a bit. I find trout, perch, eel and walleye take bait from the bottom more than bass. I use a slip bobber for suspended bait (alewife for walleye but worms work too) You put a bobber stop on the line, then the slip bobber, then a bullet weight, a swivel, a 12-18" leader and finally a hook. Sounds like a lit but its really not. You can then set your bobber stop to the depth you want to fish and the weight will keep the bait down. This allows you to put your bait 10, 20ft down and have the bobber keep it suspended and weight keep it down. The bobber also serves as a strike indicator.

Prepare a good presentation as to why they would want you as a sponsor and most importantly how it would benefit them. You are selling yourself so be professional. Dress well and speak well. It wouldn't hurt to have a "brochure" or a sales sheet outlining your accomplishments and what you can do for their company. Look at all industries that are present in fishing, not just tackle companies. Boats, trucks, tools, clothing, sunglasses, etc. Be prepared for plenty of rejection.

I have a few bladed jigs that dont seem to "chatter" as well as others. Some just require slight, steady pressure to get them and keep them going and others will only work if I really rip them. Is there something I can do to the blade to make it "chatter" better?

I use one water proof 3740 plano box in a backpack when I am shore fishing. I also carry a "wallet" type case about the size of a CD wallet for spinnerbaits & buzzbaits. I throw a few bags of plastics in there and I am ready to go. The thing about a backpack is that you have to take it on and off every time you want to access the contents. Usually I will find a spot, take out the plano box and leave it on the ground for easier access then put it in the pack when I move. I have found that I usually stick to 3 or 4 baits so the whole big plano box is really unnecessary. I have a belt type pack that holds a small box that fits about 6-8 lures and some terminal tackle. It also has pockets for pliers/tools and a few bags of pastics. Something like this: http://www.planomolding.com/fishing/fishing-products/ If you get an idea of the water youre fishing and choose a strategy, you can really narrow down your bait selection. There isnt much a selection of bullet weights, hooks and plastics cant conquer.

This is what I use where I might have used a football jig in the past. Havent found a good shakey head jig over 1/2oz so for anything heavier I still use a traditional football jig as I can find them in bigger sizes.

I have actually gotten away from traditional jigs this season. Instead of football jigs, I would be more inclined to use that 1/2 oz megastrike shake2 head, they keep the baits standing up so well, better than any I have seen. IMO the bait is more visible, looks to be either feeding on the bottom or in a defensive posture & the hook is positioned for a good hook set. You can add a skirt to the "keeper" on the hook shank for a larger profile bait and changing plastics and skirts is easy without re-tying. If I am punching grass, I like a pegged texas rig with or without a skirt for the same reason of quick changing of the plastic and skirt combo. I have also played around with the weight on bottom rig, I think its called a "warhead". It works great at punching heavy mats but I havent built up my confidence with it yet. A swim jig is about the only traditional jig I use anymore although a texas rig could work as one. Although, the profile of a swim jig head is hard to replicate with a separate weight. Does anyone else not use traditional jigs? What does a "flipping" jig offer that a pegged t-rig doesnt? Same question for the football/shakey head. I love jigs and have a bunch of them, they just havent gotten wet in a while. Curious to see what others think.

braid cuts through grass better than anything.

Shakey head. Specifically megastrike shake2. Some skirts of assorted colors and some assorted soft plastics.