Picked up these jigs and got me thinking about line tie positions and shakey head jig shapes.  Have a few questions:

 

Is the horizontal tie intended to let the bait float up while the ball head has bottom contact?

 

Pros/cons of fishing these heads another way? Eg cast and wind?

 

What is the advantage of a ball head over other shakey head shapes?

 

I think I will both shake and drag a bait with these, maintaining bottom contact.  
 

When is a ball head preferable to a football?  
 

Thanks guys.

 

 

 

 

Look at the photo you posted...that is how a ball lays on the bottom. Football head keeps the hook upright. The ball in the photo uses a 60 degree flat eye hook in lieu of the 90 degrees. The traditional eye Jig hook the line tie can only move forward and not to one side. Take your pick 100’s to choose from.

Tom

Off the subject a bit .

 I often fish a ball head jig straight down but the eye is not turned like this one  . When fished straight down I pull the knot tight to the rear of the eye so the bait hangs horizontal in the water not on an incline . It makes a difference . I discovered this while crappie fishing in brush  as a kid . Probably read it in a magazine as I devoured  every fishing article I got my hands on .

2 hours ago, snake95 said:

Picked up these jigs and got me thinking about line tie positions and shakey head jig shapes.  Have a few questions:

 

Is the horizontal tie intended to let the bait float up while the ball head has bottom contact?

 

Pros/cons of fishing these heads another way? Eg cast and wind?

 

What is the advantage of a ball head over other shakey head shapes?

 

I think I will both shake and drag a bait with these, maintaining bottom contact.  
 

When is a ball head preferable to a football?  
 

Thanks guys.

 

Don't overthink this. Some of this is just "the way it is" or "history." If you look back at jig heads and worm hooks in the 60s and 70s, you'll see that about 99% of all worm hooks were what we now call "cross eye" or "flat eye," while jigheads were nearly all vertical eye alignment. Much of this has carried on today as "tradition," but manufacturers and marketers have also arguably taken advantage of today's ability to make about anything you want. For example, look at the jig listings on TW or similar and you see about as many flat eye jigs as you do vertical eye.

 

In the big scheme of things, eye alignment probably doesn't play too much of a role, at least when compared to things like head shape and design, or line tie angle. You'll find plenty of people saying one is more weedless than another, etc., but you don't find consensus. The one argument that seems to hold up and is somewhat agreed upon is that flat eye alignment is likely more preferential for leverage and good hook penetration. This is because the line knot tends to stay in the center of the tie much more often on a flat eye jig when compared to a vertical eye connection, which tends to move around and float more based upon the angle of pressure it receives, or where someone actually places it.

 

As for ball head vs some other head design, the original marketed shakey head was a ball head. Like skirted jigs, other head designs came about likely because of preference or marketing - probably a little of both.

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

Don't overthink this. Some of this is just "the way it is" or "history."

 

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

You'll find plenty of people saying one is more weedless than another, etc., but you don't find consensus.

@Team9nine I posted this hoping someone like you would swoop in and provide this kind of an education on this topic.  Much appreciated.