I fish a river system close to my house that is generally waist deep in most places with an occasional deeper hole here and there.My go to jig the past couple of years have been the cheap Bitsy bug jig in the 1/16 and 1/8 ounce size. I find these lighter jig weights pretty effective in the current with the only downside being that the pointy type jig head gets caught up in the rocks.It’s not uncommon for me to lose a few on every outing .This got me thinking that maybe something like an 1/8 oz skirted football jig might be a better option for me.I did a quick research on Tackle warehouse but could only find some 3/16 and bigger.I found some 1/16 and 1/8 football heads so maybe I can make my own. Just curious if there’s a vendor out there who makes a finesse football jig in that size.

Maybe add a skirt to 6th sense divine ned football head?  I picked some up on bf, hook is small but seems stout enough.  I'm planning on using it on the great lakes with a keitech spider grub and zmn crawz/pro craws for smallies.

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/6th_Sense_Divine_Ned_Rig_Weedless_Football_Heads_4pk/descpage-6DNRF.html

 

scott

Buy a pack of Gamakatsu football jigheads and add a skirt. Ends up being about 

a 1.25 a jig.

 

Keitech and OSP are two that I have used that have 1/8oz jigs but you are better off with the Bitsy bug cost wise.

 

I do have to say that my buddy fishes the Bitsy Bug and I have seen him loose more fish on them than any other lure. I have been working on getting him to use something different and heavier but he is stubborn.  Also, we are fishing in 10-20 feet of water, where an 1/8oz jig just doesn't seem to be the best choice either. 

North Branch Tackle. On FB or google for his new website. Skirted or non. Ryan Alunni is the owner. He's a guide and tackle maker. Great guy and great tackle!

Id recommend the Gamakatsu in size 3/16ths.  

I have some from Venom and some from Keithech.  Both are solid options.

TWH has Owner football heads from 1/16 and up.

 

 

 

21 hours ago, softwateronly said:

Maybe add a skirt to 6th sense divine ned football head?  I picked some up on bf, hook is small but seems stout enough.  I'm planning on using it on the great lakes with a keitech spider grub and zmn crawz/pro craws for smallies.

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/6th_Sense_Divine_Ned_Rig_Weedless_Football_Heads_4pk/descpage-6DNRF.html

 

scott

Woah didn’t know these existed, I think I will try turning a few of them into jigs as well.

Keitech makes a good micro jig in 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32... the hook is small, like #3 which many people complain about.  Its a limerick bend so its very strong for the size.  Ive caught fish up to 6lbs on it with no issues.  

Missle Baits has a Micro Jig too which is serviceable.  

The Molix Nano Jig is a good choice.  Its a tiny little jig with a little #1 limerick bend hook, but the wire is very stout.

You have the obvious Zman TRD jigs as well.

The other option is to use spider grubs on little football heads or tie jigs the jig up yourself.  A spider grub has a similar profile and have found they are pretty much interchangeable in most situations.

My favorite little football head is the Hayabusa Shooting Ball and Baby Shooting Ball.  Owner Makes a decent football head as well.

Contact smalljaw67 on here as he is the master of finesse jigs.

 

Allen

Not a football head but I do this with a poisontail head in the setting you describe. With a small weedguard and braided line, they are pretty hard to snag. If you are interested in some pm me.

Working on some more of these myself. Waiting on some teflon material in order to pour some heads. Unfortunately my thread tieing skills suck so they will not look good. 

 

Allen 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334682732379?hash=item4deca5375b:g:FVsAAOSw7h1jrZ6L&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAsMDDSef7QXDiedYzVA0MZkKRsJcyTkuN3EC5KMZpBQg5kG%2F23gKuxQ7lA3IKvnGi1tMgDUV%2FY3b%2F9QfYwPgKwgle8mU%2Bp8F%2BZ3YwfbMFEIFcNvYwo8NKeZWk9wKCc%2F%2BJfKa%2FDq%2FmXSTjkqHsQg4lqIqUu77aQbkV0%2Bg3PgMEZPFYuFiQkHHDs6mOouKJg6OM8RRV2Ona1fEvwWs5yg9N%2BLBdaXUO9lyKKy96Ic01VTz%2F|tkp%3ABk9SR4rRlai3YQ

I dont have a football but I have one that might work.  My Dredge 1/8 Arky.

 

Dredge 1/8 Arky

NorthStar custom baits makes great jigs - their hairy jig is about what you want. If you order bulk sometimes he’ll do some custom runs as well. They are (or used to be?) a site sponsor.

 

Bass Pro Shops XPS Tungsten Finesse Jig - 1/8 oz.

It’s skirted

In rivers, I've had a lot of luck with a VMC Rugby jig - with a Twin Tail Hula Grub which has the tentacles like a skirt. 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Finesse_Rugby_Jig_4pk/descpage-VMCFRJ.html

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yamamoto_Double_Tail_Hula_Grubs/descpage-YA4DTHG.html

 

On 1/17/2023 at 6:29 AM, FryDog62 said:

In rivers, I've had a lot of luck with a VMC Rugby jig - with a Twin Tail Hula Grub which has the tentacles like a skirt. 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Finesse_Rugby_Jig_4pk/descpage-VMCFRJ.html

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yamamoto_Double_Tail_Hula_Grubs/descpage-YA4DTHG.html

 

Hula grubs are a deadly river smallie bait i dont throw them near enough anymore. I like texas rigging it with a small bullet weight.

On 1/15/2023 at 4:21 PM, WRB said:

Lefty’s Lure Co makes 1/8 oz foothead jigs, his Puffball would be perfect for you.

Tom

Tom, I get the feeling if I was looking for yellowcake uranium you’d likely have a contact! You are truly a wealth of knowledge on this site!