Jig hooks and jig heads: Tuning a jig

A jig out of the packet is a starting point. Tournament anglers cut every one before it is tied on: the weedguard for the cover, the skirt for the mood of the fish, the trailer for the forage. Ten minutes with scissors changes the hook-up rate more than any brand.

Page	What it settles
Weedguard length and trimming	How long, what angle, how much for each cover
Modifying the weedguard	Thin, fan, split or soften it for weedlessness and hook-ups
Trimming the skirt	Cut for the mood of the fish and the water
Trailer and colour	Match forage and water; size and weight of the trailer

Rule of thumb: match the trailer to the forage and the head to the bottom, then cut the guard for the cover. A jig you have not trimmed is fishing at half efficiency.

← Punch and grass jigs · Weedguard length and trimming →

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