Jig hooks and jig heads: Modifying the weedguard

Modification	How	Effect
Thin it	Pull 30–50 % of the bristles out with pliers, from the middle	Folds under less pressure: more hook-ups, still deflects
Fan it	Bend the bristles sideways so they spread like a fan over the point	Wider shield against grass; each bristle is still weak
Split it	Divide the bundle in two, one each side of the point ("Y" guard)	Best of both: the point is bracketed, not covered
Soften it	Bend the guard down toward the point with your thumb and hold 10 s; hot water helps	Sets a lower angle without cutting
Snip the middle	Cut the centre bristles shorter than the outer ones	Outer bristles deflect, centre ones give at the bite
Wire guard swap	Replace the fibre guard with a single wire loop on brush jigs	Climbs limbs, springs back, never soaks water

← Weedguard length and trimming · Trimming the skirt →

Jig hooks and jig heads

Hooks whose shank bends at the eye so a head can be poured on: the bare jig hook, and weighted jig heads for soft plastics classified by head shape and build (ball in four builds, strolling jigs by mechanism, football, swing, stand-up, Ned in four builds, shaky, darter, swimbait, underspin, tube, weedless, grass), because each fishes differently; and the skirted jig itself, by head shape (casting, flipping, football, swim, finesse, punch).

Jig hooks and jig heads