Bass Fishing with Jigs

There are many different types of jigs used for bass fishing. There are casting jigs, football jigs, finesse jigs, hair jigs, flipping jigs, swim jigs, bladed jigs and others. We will cover swim jigs and bladed jigs under a different section of this website.

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Over the years I have learned one important thing about jigs. They catch big fish. While I don’t fish tournaments any more (I just don’t enjoy them), in the past I have earned the ‘lunker’ money on jigs.

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Casting jigs, as the name implies are designed to be casted out and worked back in. Standard head jigs (pointed head or round head) and football head jigs are usually fished in this manner. Football heads are preferred when fishing rocky bottoms as they tend to get hung up less than round or pointed heads.

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When casting a jig, make a long cast (or cast to a particular piece of cover such as a laydown, bush, weed edge, boulder, etc.). Let the jig go all the way to the bottom. There are several different retrieve methods. One is to just drag the bait slowly across the bottom, pausing from time to time. Another is to hop the bait a few feet with your rod tip pause and then slowly take up the slack in the line and repeat. At times jerking the lure off the bottom and letting it fall can generate a strike.

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If you are casting repeatedly to an area with a somewhat consistent depth, count the lure down as it descends to the bottom. Let’s say it takes six seconds to reach bottom. Next, each time you cast, take note of how long it takes for the bait to stop falling (watch your line go slack). On any particular cast that you notice the line go slack sooner than expected, most likely a bass has picked it off on the fall. Set the hook.

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Jigs can also be flipped. Flipping is a specialized technique that many new bass anglers don’t get into right away. There are jigs designed specifically for flipping. We will discuss flipping techniques on another page of this website. Flipping requires heavy equipment and line along with a heavier jig in most cases.

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Jigs come in all sizes and weights. Small finesse jigs, (including hair jigs which sport animal hair instead of living rubber or silicone skirts) are sometimes only 1/8 oz up to about 3/8 of an ounce. Casting jigs are usually in the 3/16 to one ounce or more. Flipping jigs mostly start at 1/2 ounce and can go all the way up to 2 ounces.

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Jigs can be fished on either spinning or baitcasting tackle. Most bass fisherman will fish the larger size jigs on bait casters. In fact, fishing anything over 1/2 oz on spinning gear is pretty tough.

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Jigs come in a full assortment of colors. Starting off I would suggest getting a couple in various weights while focusing on just a few colors. Natural colors which resemble crawfish such as browns, greens work best in most lakes and rivers. Some anglers like to see a few strands of red or orange in their jigs as well. If the water is really dirty or muddy, black or black and blue jigs are the ticket.

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Most jigs are fished with trailers. Trailers are (usually) plastic chunks with legs, appendages or flaps. There are many options here but to simplify, choose a trailer color which is either similar or compliments the color of the jig.

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There are so many little nuances with jig fishing that text does not do it justice. Take a look at the videos below for more ideas and understanding of jig fishing.

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