“you actually want the lightest-
wire quality hook you can get away
with for any technique,” Monsoor
adds.
your jig’s hook might be a gaff, but
a hook that’s too strong or thick also
has the propensity to dull easier and
have a harder time penetrating a
fish’s mouth, both of which cause you
to miss more fish.
the Weedguard
denny brauer once mentioned to
me that a good jig fisherman can
work a jig without a weedguard
through a brush pile and never get
hung. by that standard, most of us
are probably not good jig fishermen.
still, he was onto something: a
weedguard is not always necessary.
In fact, Monsoor will often go with-
out a guard at all unless he knows
he’s fishing cover. even then, he
wants the lightest guard he can get,
because a guard is designed to keep
things off the hook, and it doesn’t
“know the difference” between a
weed and a fish’s mouth.
If you are going to use a jig with a
weedguard, make sure the angle
between the guard and the hook
shank is 45 degrees or less.
“you don’t want the guard sticking
straight up,” Monsoor says. “you’ll
never hook a fish.”
and don’t be afraid of wire or thin-
ner guards. you want a guard just
strong enough and angled enough to
protect the hook but also light
enough so it doesn’t restrict the hook
point from penetrating a bass’ mouth.
the skirt
In Monsoor’s eyes, jig skirts are
more style than substance.
yes, color is important, and so can
be material, but most skirts are pret-
ty decent quality. what separates
one jig from another is the strand
count and how it’s held to the jig.
you’ll actually get more action
from a skirt with fewer strands, and
while most production jigs are
secured to the shank by a rubber
band, skirts held on by wrapped wire
are more durable in the long run.
the eyelet
there are two key aspects to the
eyelet: angle and turn.
It’s not always easy to see the
specific angle of the eye to the shank
because where the eyelet bends up
(assuming it does) is covered in lead.
still, a 45-degree angle is best for
most applications. you can get away
with less for swim jigs, but too low
an angle can cause issues with hook
penetration, depending on the tech-
nique being used.
Meanwhile, the eyelet can either
run parallel to the hook shank or be
turned perpendicular to it. In general,
if you’re fishing cover or swimming
your jig, go with the straight/parallel
eye since it comes through cover bet-
ter. If you’re dragging your jig, a per-
pendicular eye will keep your knot
dead center and may reduce snags.
there’s a lot more to choosing jigs,
but a lot of jig fishing is personal pref-
erence, and this brief guide is a good
start. hopefully, Monsoor’s advice sim-
plifies what has become a not-so-sim-
ple staple in every angler’s arsenal.
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