Hello All,

I'm looking into building a compact football jig with a smaller hook. Right now it would probably be a 3/8 and 1/2 but I'm stuck between what hook to use. What do you all prefer for all of you that use this type of jig? Any other ideas that you have please share.

Thank you

Mike

Personallythe Keitech and OW Sniper are mostly what I use. If Keitech moved up a gauge or two on the hook wire they'd be perfect. A 1 or 1/0 hook gives enough gap between line tie and hook point while being short enough to let the neds or tiny trailers flop a little.

Id like to see a 1/0 hook with the Owner Deep Throat hook. That’d be great

I would say a 1/0

For my compact jigs I use a 2/0 little nasty.

I'd personally love the 2/0 owner on the nishine finesse football, but I don't know the sku number.

scott

I've dumped so many fish on that dang Keitech hook.

2/0 BKK is the hook on other compact footballs that I use and don't lose fish on.

I fish shallow creeks/rivers with rocky bottoms for smallies mostly, and compact football jigs are my favorite lures.

For hook size, I feel that 2/0, like the ones on Bass Patrol football jigs, are great for average <17 inch fish, but I start to lose fish during the fight if it's >17 inch, and those are the fish I DON'T want to lose. 3/0 hooks work better for big fish, but again they're just a tiny bit too big for average size fish. Recently I find the hook size on Dobyns football jigs are quite good.

For hook shape, normal round bend would do, but I personally like the traditional o'shaughnessy shape. It might have a lesser chance to hook the lip, but once it's on, it will stay on. Also, you may get away with using a 3/0 o'shaughnessy hook for compact jigs.

For weights, I prefer 1/4oz for compact jigs. 3/8oz and above seem work better with standard size jigs with bigger hooks.

For trailer keeper, the sharp pointy shape, like the one on Dobyns football jighead, is perfect. It's the only jighead that I've tried that can keep a MaxScent lure on for a long time.

For line tie, recess ones are a big plus for me. It has much less chance to get snagged.

All considered, Dobyns football jigheads are currently my favorite, except maybe the hook length. If it's a bit shorter, that will be almost the perfect compact football jighead IMO.

The OSP Hunts is my favorite compact jig. I am not sure what hook they use but it is strong. Everything from the way the skirt is cut to the bait keeper is just about perfect. Below is a pic of one of my favorite colors.

26 minutes ago, FishTank said:

The OSP Hunts is my favorite compact jig. I am not sure what hook they use but it is strong. Everything from the way the skirt is cut to the hook keeper is just about perfect. Below is a pic of one of my favorite colors.

I second @FishTank amazing jig. This and the Deps finesse jig are great.

Flat eye 3/0 Gamakatsu hook is what I would go with. May want to try some finecut skirt material.

Allen

Mike, I’m leaning toward a 1/0 hook size. I think that size would match up with most applicable trailers. You could go the the 1/0 for the 3/8 and a 2/0 for the half ounce. Just a thought.

I'm in the 2/0 camp.

Looks like its a battle with the 1/0 and 2/0. Here is the head I'm looking at reworking. Its my 3/8 G2. Then the 1/2.

25 minutes ago, Siebert Outdoors said:

Looks like its a battle with the 1/0 and 2/0. Here is the head I'm looking at reworking. Its my 3/8 G2. Then the 1/2.

Are you changing the line tie or brush guard angle or looking to modify the hook only?

The hook to make it more compact but the weedguard fibers would be lighter too.

Looking at this chart helps - really not much difference between the 1/0 and 2/0 - the main things to consider are how heavy of a wire hook we get/bite gap/line tie placement/line tie orientation and hook type (conical/cutting tip/round bend/o’shaunessey/EWG etc)

I’d say just go all in on the compact part with 1/0 for sure having seen this chart but maybe go with a medium wire hook to keep those big girls pinned and maybe a round bend hook with verticals line tie for coming over rocks etc. conical tips seem to hold their point best coming through lots of rocks also. I’d go medium on the brush guard and let users remove material to their satisfaction personally but maybe go with lighter fibers.

The G2 shape is great because it makes baits stand up nicely.