Jig hooks and jig heads: Damiki rig heads

A swimbait head of a special kind, made for the Damiki rig: a stiff, slim minnow bait (Damiki Armor Shad and its copies) held dead level by the keeper and hovered in front of suspended fish, usually watched on forward-facing sonar. The head does not swim the bait; the angler holds it still or barely quivers it.

Item	Detail
Weight	3/16–1/2 oz (5.3–14 g); heavier to reach fish faster and hold in wind
Eye / hook	90° eye set forward on a ball, bullet or minnow-shaped head; #1–3/0
Keeper	Must hold the bait dead straight: spring, double barb or bait-lock; a bent bait spins
Baits	3–4" (7.5–10 cm) stiff minnows: Damiki Armor Shad, Jackall Rhythm Wave, Strike King Baby Z-Too
Techniques	Vertical hover over the fish, dead-stick, count down and hold; the video-game technique
Where	Suspended bass over deep water in winter and early spring; brush piles, bait balls

Hover-strolling heads (Japan's ホバスト) move a soft bait horizontally on a shaking rod; the Damiki head holds a stiff bait still. Different heads, different pages.

Top 10 in four markets

United States

VMC Neon Moon Eye Jig — $5.09 - $8.99. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: most fishing reports of any head filed there (149). Ball head with a 90-degree vertical line tie, big 3D eye and wire spike keeper; Bob Downey names it as a Damiki-rig head. Also ranks jighead-ball #5 Eyes: yes; keeper: wire keeper.
Dirty Jigs Matt Stefan Guppy Head — $7.49. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 99 fishing reports, 2nd most. Store text: 'fished as a Damiki rig... this swimbait head's 90-degree line tie' keeps a minnow level; conical lead barb keeper, 3D eyes. Also ranks jighead-swimbait #1 Eyes: yes; keeper: moulded collar.
VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jig — $5.49. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 91 fishing reports, 3rd. Filed under Damiki Rig and Vertical Jigging; 90-degree tie, screw-lock keeper holds a soft jerkbait dead straight; Wired2Fish's Damiki-rigging gear pick. Also ranks jighead-ball #1 Eyes: yes; keeper: screw-lock spring.
Northland Smeltinator Jig — $7.99. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 77 fishing reports, 4th. Minnow-shaped 90-degree swimbait head the store files under Damiki Rig; multi-barbed lead collar, 3D eye, Gamakatsu 604 hook; a Bob Downey Damiki pick. Same family as the Elite Series row at jighead-swimbait #4 Eyes: yes; keeper: moulded collar.
Outkast Tackle Golden Eye Swimmer Head — $4.49 - $5.99. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 60 fishing reports, 5th. Shad-shaped 90-degree Gamakatsu head filed under Damiki Rig; double lead barb plus wire keeper and a large gold 3D eye hold a minnow level Eyes: yes; keeper: wire keeper.
Owner Ultrahead Round Jig Head — $5.19. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 50 fishing reports, tied 6th. Store text: 'excels with swimbaits and damiki rigs'; plain round head, vertical tie, light-wire Owner 5318 hook, lead barb keeper; no eyes Eyes: no; keeper: moulded collar.
Queen Tackle LS Tungsten Jighead — $8.99 - $11.99. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 50 fishing reports, tied 6th. Store text: 'specifically designed for damiki rigging and forward-facing sonar'; tungsten ball, vertical tie, tied-on wire keeper, 1/4-1 oz for deep suspended fish Eyes: no; keeper: wire keeper.
Damiki Rig Jig Head — $4.69 - $5.99. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 42 fishing reports, 8th. The original: center-balanced arrow head with a 90-degree tie so an Armor Shad hangs horizontal while vertical jigging or dead-sticking; Viper hook, wire keeper, 3D eyes (TW $3.00-6.99). Also ranks jighead-darter #2 Eyes: yes; keeper: wire keeper.
YUM FF Sonar Jig Head — $3.09 - $3.99. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 29 fishing reports, 9th. Forward-facing-sonar ball head filed under Damiki Rig and Vertical Jigging; sickle hook, vertical tie, lead barb keeper. Also ranks jighead-ball #6 Eyes: no; keeper: barb up.
Keitech Tungsten Super Round Jig Head — $6.49. Omnia 'Damiki Rig' page: 22 fishing reports, 10th. Tungsten round head the store files under Damiki Rig and Vertical Jigging (LiveScope-optimized); 90-degree vertical tie, tungsten barb keeper, Daiichi/Katsuichi hooks; no eyes Eyes: no; keeper: moulded collar.

Canada

Northland Smeltinator — C$10.99. anglingsports.ca 'jig-head' collection, best-selling sort #18 (1/4 oz listing; 3/8, 1/8 and 1/2 oz are #22, #24, #36; re-checked 2026-09-27) and fishingworld.ca 'bass-jigs' #2. The Bassmaster-Classic-winning 'moping' (Damiki-rig) minnow head of Jeff Gustafson: slender smelt-shaped head with 3D eyes, 90-degree eye that hangs a minnow bait dead horizontal, exposed Gamakatsu hook, ribbed bump keeper; store copy tags it 'vertical jigging' and sells it for forward-facing-sonar minnow presentations. Also ranks jighead-swimbait #5 in CA. Judgement call: the stores do not use the word Damiki; the maker markets it as the moping/Damiki jig. Eyes: yes; keeper: moulded collar.
Great Lakes Finesse Hanging Head — C$9.99. anglingsports.ca 'jig-head' collection, best-selling sort #26 (re-checked 2026-09-27) and fishingworld.ca 'bass-jigs' #48 (C$8.99). The only head on either store whose copy names the technique outright: 'Hanging a Minnow, Moping, Damiki rigging... call it what you want'. Minnow head with 3D eyes and a pushed-back 90-degree eye so the bait suspends perfectly horizontal, fine-wire 1/0 Gamakatsu exposed hook, wire keeper; made to match the GLF Drop Minnow. Also ranks jighead-swimbait #7 in CA. Eyes: yes; keeper: wire keeper.
6th Sense Juggle Head — C$4.50. anglingsports.ca 'jig-head' collection, best-selling sort #21 (re-checked 2026-09-27); not carried by fishingworld.ca. 6th Sense's Damiki-style head: streamlined shad-shaped head with 3D eyes, 90-degree eye, exposed hook and a stepped bump keeper, sold by the store 'for vertical presentations... mimicking a baitfish hovering in the water column... suspended fish... forward-facing sonar'. Store copy does not use the word Damiki; the maker markets the Juggle Head for the Damiki/jighead-minnow rig. Eyes: yes; keeper: moulded collar.
Northland Tungsten Smeltinator Jig — C$14.99. fishingworld.ca 'bass-jigs' collection, best-selling sort #29 (re-checked 2026-09-27); not carried by anglingsports.ca. Tungsten version of the Classic-winning moping head: same smelt profile with eyes, 90-degree eye that keeps the minnow 'horizontal in the water column' for 'presenting minnow baits in open water using forward facing sonar' (store copy), Gamakatsu 604 exposed hook, ribbed bump keeper; smaller and brighter on sonar than lead. Single-store listing; same maker marketing caveat as the lead Smeltinator. Eyes: yes; keeper: moulded collar.
Z-Man Finesse EyeZ Jighead — C$8.99. anglingsports.ca 'jig-head' collection, best-selling sort #58 (re-checked 2026-09-27); not carried by fishingworld.ca. Store copy calls it 'an ideal jighead for vertical fishing or moping with a StreakZ 3.75, 4in Finesse ShadZ or Jerk ShadZ' - moping is the northern name for the Damiki rig (the GLF Hanging Head copy above equates the two). Low-centre-of-gravity ball head with oversized 3D eye, 90-degree eye, light-wire exposed hook and a welded wire keeper. Weakest evidence of the five: one store, deep in the list. Eyes: yes; keeper: wire keeper.

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