How to Fish a Jig for Bass
What are the Different Types of Jigs?
In the world of bass fishing, you have many different types of “Jigs.” Today we are just going to focus on the main players in this game we call Tournament Bass Fishing. The jigs we are going to cover today include Flipping and Football jigs. Each one of these has its ideal time, place, and structure. Lets go in depth on how to fish a jig for a bass.
Flipping Jig
As far as Bass Jigs go, flipping is by far my favorite. The key to a good flipping jig is having a stout hook to winch bass out of heavy cover, a sleek head design to allow the bait to glide effortlessly through the cover (whether it’s wood, grass, docks, ect), and a sturdy skirt band to keep the silicon skirting in place so it isn’t falling down when fishing in the thick stuff. Most bass jigs are made by pouring lead over the hook and brush guard to make the head. I prefer to use a material called Tungsten due to its added density. This more dense metal allow you to make the same sized bait in a smaller profile which allows it to glide into the “thick nasty” more effortlessly. Jigs such as the Yankem Tungsten Flipping Jig meet these qualifications perfectly.
To actually fish this bait, you want to position your boat/kayak about 3-5 yards from your target. Then let some line out of your bait caster and get that bait about 6 inches above your reel. Then in a pendulum motion, slowly swing the Flipping Jig a few inches above the water and drop it directly into the cover. The less splash the better. Once your bait enters the water, let it fall on slack line to the bottom. Make sure to watch your line because this is where 75% of your bites happen, on the initial fall. If you do get bit, DO NOT just jerk the rod and try to set the hook. Reel up your slack until you feel the pressure of the fish and CRACK ‘EM! The other key to being a successful flipper is to take your time and let the rod and bait do the work. If you start popping that jig around in the bush or flipping too fast, you will do nothing but get snagged and spook the fish. If you pull up on your rod and the jig hits a limb and stops, let your line go slack again so you can bring it back up and drag it over. No need to go jerking on anything but the fish.
I always flip on a high gear ratio reel such as a 7.1:1 or 8.1:1 Diawa Tatula CT, so you can get that fish out of the cover ASAP. I pair this with a long, heavy action rod like the Irod Air 7’10 H so when you set the hook it turns the fish’s head and he comes towards you and not deeper into the cover. Some anglers flip with braided line, but I am here to tell you that braided line is unnecessary unless you are flipping matted vegetation or lily pads. Flipping laydowns, TN River bushes, docks, sparse grass, I prefer 17lb or 20lb. Seaguar InvizX (depending on water clarity and the specific type of structure I am fishing).
Football Jigs
Football Jigs are probably the most common form of bass fishing jigs that we see today. This probably has a lot to do with the fact you can throw them almost anywhere. The main thing to understand when fishing a football jig is that its main purpose is to stay in contact with the bottom. These jigs and made to drag on gravel bars, down points, across rip rap, offshore on ledges, deep brush piles, basically anywhere that has hard bottom. The key to choosing the right football jig is picking the right size for the situation. If you choose too light, you wont be able to feel what your bait is doing very well. If you choose too large, you will get hung up on the bottom or snagged in cover before you can effectively fish it. As a general rule, if the structure you are fishing is between 5ft and 10ft, a 3/8oz football jig would be perfect. Between 10ft and 20ft is where a 1/2oz football jig thrives, and anything over 20ft is when you should break out the 3/4oz. The one exception to this rule is if you are fishing an area with heavy current. This is where I would break out a heavier 1oz football jig to help keep the bait it in contact with the bottom.
Like we discussed earlier, Tungsten is a much more desirable and denser material than your traditional lead jigs. When it comes to dragging a football jig around, this denser material picks up vibrations much better than its softer cousin. This allows you to know EXACTLY what your bait is doing when it is down there and EXACTLY when a fish thumps it. Yankem Lures took full advantage of this material and uses it in all of their jigs.
There are several different ways to retrieve a football jig, but the standard is just dragging it along the bottom. You CANNOT drag a jig too slow. I have seen guys win tournaments by letting a jig sit on a rock pile not being moved, and the fish would come over and pick it up off the bottom. My standard retrieve is what I call “Counting Rocks.” I want to be able to count how many rocks my jig drags over while it is coming down the structure. Let that bait go all the way to the bottom, reel up your slack, and drag your bait a few inches at a time with your rod tip down and to the side. You will start to feel your jig starting and stopping when it comes over the rocks or gravel. I typically do this on a 7’ or 7’6 MH rod (Irod Genesis II), with a 7.1:1 Diawa Tatula CT spooled up with 15lb or 17lb Seaguar InvizX. When you get bit on a football jig, quickly reel up the slack until you feel the fish’s pressure and sweep your rod up and to the side to lean into them. No need to throw out your shoulder setting the hook. This fish isn’t buried in a bush or under a dock like when you are flipping.