BFM_OctNov_2023 | Page 58

staying power
Brett Hite has won more than $ 600,000 on a vibrating jig during his pro career .
PHOTO BY MLF the art of presentation
Bladed jigs owe their sweeping success to equal parts science and art . While tackle creators have continually advanced the quality and variety of vibrating jigs , anglers have devised more and better means of presenting them .
Finding the best rod , reel , and line combination to deliver a bladed jig is a topic worthy of its own article . Many manufacturers have developed rods specifically tailored for the technique . The consensus across the industry seems to be that a rod with a moderate action , which allows the lure to roam and hunt freely and the bass to load up on the strike , is essential . As for how to use the rod and reel to impart action on the bait , that ’ s up to the angler . There don ’ t seem to be any hard-and-fast , right-or-wrong rules .
“ As with any bait , you have to vary the retrieve with the Slobberknocker , whether it ’ s as simple as holding the rod high or low to the water to vary the depth the bait is traveling ,” says Evers . “ At times , that is all it takes . Other times , I burn it , almost wake it . A good angler varies his retrieve until he figures it out .”
VanDam takes a similar approach to fishing the Thunder Cricket , constantly tweaking his retrieve . Bass seem ever eager to hit a bladed jig ripped free from vegetation . Simulating that sudden stop and start , which mimics fleeing or injured prey , can deliver similar results in open water .
“ Just casting it out and reeling it back to the boat is not the way you want to fish these baits ,” says VanDam . “ You want to twitch it . You want to shake it a little bit . When you are fishing it in grass , the bait is doing that for you . But if grass is sparse , you may want to change up the action a little bit . A lot of times , bass are following it , and when you stop it or start it real quickly , they react and bite it .”
PHOTO BY JOSH GASSMANN
Working vibrating jigs in deeper water is its own art form . Thrift , who designed the Big Blade ChatterBait , which features a 6 / 0 hook and extra-large blade , fishes as deep as 22 feet with the 3 / 4-ounce version and a soft jerkbait trailer .
“ I ’ ve been working that bait in deep water for two years ,” he says . “ I just stroke it , like you would a football jig on the ledges .” Thrift dares to fish his Jack Hammer in deep wood , too . “ A lot of guys are afraid to fish one in a deep brush pile , but the heavy 3 / 4- or 1 ¼-ounce bait is its own plug knocker ,” he says . “ Nine of 10 times , it will come free if you position the boat over it .”
Browning finds another reason to fish the heavier bait in deep wood . “ That bigger bait allows better deflection ,” he says . To be sure , nothing lasts forever , not even the most beloved baits in our tackle trays . For now , however , the vibrating jig seems here to stay — if not forever , at least for years , if not decades , to come . And rumor has it yet another version of the vibrating jig could arrive in the near future when a second Ron Davis patent under his new company , Air-E-Is , brings a new lure to market .
Stay tuned !
PHOTO BY BRANDON ROWAN
56 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2023