If you only could fish one jig shape, what would it be? 

 

I'd say an arkie or swimjig. (swimjig because you can do a lot with it, swim it, hop it, flip it)

Some kind of pointy/cone shaped head with the line tie ethier on the very tip or slightly up.

Ball head, I can swim it, drag it, and hop it, I can use it in weeds, rocks, or brush with a great deal of effectiveness. I would normally pick the Arky head, it is my favorite but it isn't a good jig for weeds but I seldom throw a jig in the weeds except on a certain body of water and for that I use the ball head finesse jig very similar to an Eakins jig.

arky head

Brush head

Ball or Arky

 

Allen

Arkie

Brewer's Spider

 

 

oe

The fact that hundreds of jig head designs have been created should indicate the panacea design hasn't been invented yet!

The jig I have used since '71 works for me in deep rocky structure lakes and is close to ideal for that application, not good for grass/weed cover or dense brush. The Arkie head doesn't work for me, however is good for more vertical presentations in brushy cover, not so good in grass/weeds cover. The swim/bullet head designs are good in grass/weeds, wedge into rocks and brush.

Pick a jig that works good for you where you fish.

Tom

Not all jig heads can simply be lumped into categories, some cross over quite well.

Terry Oldham's Eye Max is a premier grass jig that is equally effective in brush/ timber.

The Original Lunker Lure Rattleback still works well in all cover.

I really like the Brush Jig head

Brush

I say swim jigs because most of the northern lakes dont have much rock so a swimjig works nice. When I smallmouth fish with jigs I only use football jigs