“ when i feel the bait is hitting something , i twitch the rod tip . That can help to keep it from getting hung up , but that ’ s als0 when you ’ re mostly likely to get a strike .” when
There ’ s really no bad time to fish a bladed jig because it ’ s so versatile , but I ’ d have to say that it really shines in the prespawn and spawn , when the water temperature is between about 55 and 65 degrees . The bladed jig is a lure that you can fish almost anywhere . It comes through cover
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL HOEWELER as well as just about any lure , it “ hunts ” ( so it ’ s erratic ), you can skip it easily , and you can cast it a long way . It really has a lot going for it .
where
At first , I thought bladed jigs were just for fishing aquatic vegetation , but I ’ ve learned a lot since then . I ’ ve fished the bladed jig on all types of waters and in all kinds of cover and caught fish everywhere . I ’ ve caught bass on bladed jigs in the salad bowl lakes of Florida and in the deep , clear waters of Lake Mead in Nevada .
Generally , though , I ’ d say a bladed jig is going to be effective in the same kinds of situations that you ’ d fish a spinnerbait . If the bass are 10 feet deep or shallower and hitting reaction baits , the bladed jig is going to work for you .
tackle
My style of bladed jig fishing is a lot like crankbaiting . As a result , I like a fiberglass rod . My favorite is the 7-foot , 3-inch Evergreen Brett Hite Combat Stick . It ’ s got a heavy action , and that rod is definitely a key to my success . A lot of anglers think they need a jig rod because the lure is called a bladed jig , but since the lure has a solid body with no flex to it – like a crankbait – you need to compensate for that with a softer action . Spinnerbaits flex on the hookset , so you need a stiffer rod . Bladed jigs don ’ t flex , and that glass rod sets the hook just right and keeps them buttoned up .
My reel is a Daiwa Tatula Elite with a 6.3:1 gear ratio . That sounds a little slow these days , but it ’ s just right for me and the slower retrieves that are generally most productive . I use that gear ratio about 90 percent of the time . Occasionally , I ’ ll go to a 7.1:1 if I ’ m fishing really shallow grass and need to speed things up .
I spool the Tatula Elite with 20-pound-test Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon line about 98 percent of the time I ’ m fishing the ChatterBait Jack Hammer . The other two percent is when I ’ m fishing super clear water or very deep water . Then I ’ ll drop down to 16-pound-test Sniper FC .
When I ’ m fishing the Jack Hammer StealthBlade , I ’ ll throw it on 16-pound Sniper most of the time , but will drop down to 14-pound in really clear water .
I never fish a bladed jig on braided line .
lures
I use two bladed jigs : The Z-Man / Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer and the Jack Hammer StealthBlade . I throw the Jack Hammer about 60 percent of the time and the StealthBlade about 40 percent of the time . Japanese pro Morizo Shimizu and I designed the Jack Hammer in 2015 and 2016 as a collaborative effort between Evergreen and Z-Man .
When I ’ m fishing the Jack Hammer , I ’ m usually using the 1 / 2-ounce model , but I ’ ll go as light as 3 / 8-ounce in Florida ( shallow , grassy water ) or as heavy as 1 1 / 4-ounce in very deep water . With the StealthBlade , I ’ m usually using the 3 / 8- or 1 / 2-ounce version . I like the StealthBlade when I feel I
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