mnbassman23

I use a small chunk trailer most of the time, plastic or pork and thread it up the hook shank. One trick I learned from Chris, with Northstar, is to cut the chunk into a V shape (fatter end towards the claws). The pointer end helps spread out the hair and allows it to breathe better in the water.

Or anything else for that matter Now carry on with this great topic

Thread them on.

Nothing like Russ's fish, but I have done well with the U2 gill up here in MN. FIshing it slow on weedlines or dragging it like a jig has both produced for me. I was also really impressed by how well they skip, great for shallow water. Now I need to get me a hardgill.

I yoyo my traps a lot and have good success doing it. As for jigs I have had some success stroking them off the bottom, but not as much as with traps. Unless you count ripping swim jigs from weeds, like your setting the hook, that's a killer technique.

Nice fish man!

Same for MN, it's felt like winter the past 5 days. We had snow over the weekend.

Leave it. Like you said they are not overly stiff like some brands so having them a bit long is ok.

Nice fish bud!

Nice work man!

Well done on the order man, now it's time for the fun part.

Nice work man!

Well said. If you become addicted to jig like many of us you can expand from there.

Fall is in full swing up here in the north country. It's been a good one for big largies

x2 I carry 4-5 different colors, but when it comes down to it black or white will get the job done.

If your going to get all football head jigs then why not get all brush/alien head jig heads? It will walk through laydowns better, skip better, it will stand the plastic upright like a football, and football heads suck in any kind of weeds. Unless your primary cover will be bigger chunk rock/rip rap (Like what your standing on in your profile picture CC268) a football jig would not be my first choice. I guess what I'm saying is an Alien head is more versatile IMO than a football head. If you do go with all football jigs make sure you grab a few swim jigs or flip and swims for the weeds. I do like Brain's suggestion of keeping it simple with 3 colors. One of those colors will get you bite day in and day out.

That was the first rod I ever bought for bass fishing. I used it for pitching jigs and plastics from 1/4-3/4oz. It will handle 3/8-1/2oz jigs with ease. Now get some jigs and get after them!

That things a tank! They are a riot to catch and bowfish for.

I started the year with about 80 jigs and have lost 20-25 jigs this year so far. Between the pike/muskie bite offs, rocks, snags, etc it's easy to go through a bunch. I know guys that have hundreds of jigs on hand, literally. When you start to accumulate different head style, colors, weights, it's pretty easy to get up there in numbers, epecially if its your forte. To answer the OP's question, I would add a brush/alien head to the mix for pitching/flipping around shallow cover. Unless your fishing a lot of rock I would substitue the Alien head for the football head. Just a thought. You have your weights picked out so your good there. Now pick out 4 colors. Personally I'd go black and blue, a shade of green, a shade of brown, and a bluegill imitator. (The bluegill imitator will be for your swim jigs). I use Northstar jigs so if you want any specific suggestions in their color line-up give me a shout.

Mark- nothing like waiting when you really want something. The next Hudd 68 I get will be perch. This swimbaiting is becoming addictive. Tony- You are correct sir and I'm pretty stoked about that!

I'm a Northstar guy. They have what I want and if for some reason I want a different color Chris will make it for me. It depends on what jigs your buying if you want/need to modify them. When I use to buy big named company jigs I would always trim the weedguard because they were so stiff. The only other thing I will do from time to time is shorten the skirting material. This is only if I want a smaller/compact look to my jig. As for the eyes, most times those are probably swim jigs. In this instace you are imitating some kind of baitfish be it either bluegill, shad, perch, etc. Most people will use a swimbait or some kind of grub for a trailer to mimic a baitfish with swim jigs. Although I have had good luck with a craw trailer on my swim jigs as well.

St Croix Avid 6'8" mxf for my jerkbaits. Should be golden with that setup bud!

Had a good Fall day up here in the North country and wanted to share it with everyone. We fished for 4 hours total and the first 2 hours we blanked. It wasn't until our 4th spot that we found them. Ended up with 25 fish that day, most being over 3lbs. It got to the point that it was hard to decide what fish to put on the video. I also want to thank a fellow BR member, 1234567. I was on the fence about getting into the swimbait world and he was kind enough to send me a Hudd 68, the same one that I used in this vid. Needless to say he's not getting it back thanks again bud! Thanks for watching!

I usually reel up any slack and then smack them. Given the conditions you may find that you can set the hook right away and other days you may have to wait on them. Pay attention to the bite and how they are eating the bait. On my last outing about half the fish thumped it one hard time and went to dead weight, each one of them had choked the jig. The other half all you could feel was a couple light taps as they slowly swam with it. If I set the hook right away on these fish I would miss them everytime, I had to let them eat it for 2-3 seconds. Attention to detail can be your friend.

As the others have said it is a great bait and has awesome walking action. I fish the bigger model (size 128 if i remember correctly).