The jigs I've been using for years are the round ball type with any number of soft plastic baits on them. They work well for me, I have no trouble at all.

My question is about the other type, I think some refer to it as a "hair" jig. Obviously (to me anyway) this jig is supposed to be fished VERY slowly on the bottom - correct ?

Also, are you supposed to set the hook at the first slight "tic" or do you let them run with it ?

Straighten me out. Any and all advice is welcome.

A hair jig is usually used for Smallmouth Bass or in cold water conditions. When you fish them slowly along the bottom the hair pulsates or "breathes" with any movement or water current. They have a different action then the standard jigs that use silcone or rubber for skirt material.

I always set the hook with a jig right after I feel the "thump" of a bite or see any unusual line movement.

I don't wait for that fish to chew on the jig and spit it out, once he bites, I nail him.

Ok I was refering to the silicone/rubber skirt type. I'm trying to improve my cold weather catch. Here's the thing, I'm primarily a nightime guy. I rely more on feel than line watching. I want to learn these types of jigs as they seem to work for quite a few guys on this site.

Once I get my new Avid this Christmas, I plan to fish these jigs heavy until I "get it". I've read the other threads in this section about the trailers and such. I figure I'm just going to put my time in until I get results.

One last question - most of the water I fish has vegetation on the bottom as opposed to sand or gravel. How do you minimize getting fouled up ? Or is it a matter of just dealing with it ?

For one thing...if you're fishing in ponds that are mostly vegetation on the bottom instead of sand or gravel,  usually the ball-type head is not your best option. It is not the most weedless design. Roundball and Football heads are good around sand, gravel, and bigger rocks.  For vegetation you usually want a flippin' jig w/ a more pointed head on it. The Picasso Flippin jig is excellent around vegetation along with Revenge, Booyah, and just about any flippin' jig. For very heavy vegetation the All-Terrain Grassmaster Jig is incredible and the Vertical Lures Jig-X is my go-to bait (the line actually feeds thru the head on this one like a bullet weight then ties to a line tie behind the head. Great design.)

Of course, most of these jigs are for shallower water when you're pitching/flipping to direct targets like laydowns, brushpiles, weedpatches, beds, or just the shoreline. These jigs have big, heavy gauge hooks on them because most flippin'+pitchin's done in close proximity and it helps to not straighten out/break the hook on powerful hooksets w/ heavy rods. So if you want a jig that is good around vegation but you want to fish deeper water you want a lighter hook for longer casts and longer/deeper hooksets. There is some good casting jigs w/ good designs. The Picasso Flippin' jig does not have a super heavy gauge hook and works great. ProLine Jigs makes a great Casting jig. The Tabu Open Water jig is great. And my absolute favorite jig company for football/finesse jigs is Skinny Bear. They make a great casting jig that is awesome for finesse/cold water called the Pro Series Signature Jigs. They are incredible. All these jigs I've mentioned are available at ***.com.

Do not ever give up on the jig. If you want to become a great fisherman there is NO better lure at all to "Master". (even though you can never truly MASTER it, always learn) More tournaments are won using jigs than anything at least around here. They work great in any season and there is jigs for every situation. Keep jiggin' bud!