Choosing the right jig

There are a ton of styles and types of jigs on the market, but what jig is best to use in each scenario.

The most common type is a typical flipping jig.  A flipping jig is made for hand to hand combat with the fish.  You're kicking in their front door and raiding their fridge and they aren't happy about it.  Good flipping jigs have heavy duty hooks, weed gaurds and the kind I like the best have a small flat spot or concave on the bottom to help keep the hook pointed up right.  I like them with a flaired band to give a better profile and also wire tied to help keep the skirt in place.  The reason you want everything heavy duty is because you will be flipping visible cover and usually thick cover, like shown in the pic on the right.  You don't want to get snagged easy and you don't want the hook bending trying to get the fish out of the cover.  I like to put a soft plastic craw trailer on the back of my flipping jig and what kind depends on the conditions.  Sometimes they don't want much action and other times they do.  Just have to expirement.  In the really cold water a pork bait will have more action than a soft plastic bait.  Sizes generally ranger from 1/4-1/2oz  depending on how deep the cover and how aggressive the fish are.  In general, I try to keep the bait as lite as possible, but if I have to I'll move up in weight.

S.W.A.G. Flipping jig

A football head jig generally has a lighter duty hook and thinner weed gaurds.  Its best used around rocks and open water situations.  The head is long and oval shaped which helps it keep from falling into the crevices of rocks.  It also keeps it from rolling on its side.  Any kind of craw trailer is good, but double tail grubs are also a good choice.  They generally range in sizes from 1/4-1 ounce and most people use them to fish rock flats, points and other underwater structure and cover offshore where they want to remain in contact with the bottom at all times to feel what is going on.

S.W.A.G football head jig

My personal favorite is a swimming jig.  I like a bullet head jig with a heavy weedgaurd and hook that comes straight out the back rather than curving up.  It helps keep the weeds from catching and the trailer looks more natural.  I generally use the same colors that you would choose with a spinnerbait and I like to throw it around heavy grass cover.  Cover that a spinnerbait just can't go.  I'll throw it on top of matted vegetation and let it fall into the holes or burn it across the top of them.  Its great for producing reaction strikes when it covers over small open holes.  I like to use it to trigger the fish and then throw back in and catch them, because a lot of times the fish will miss the bait, but you've triggered it to eat and will most likely bite again if you throw back a 2nd time and slow it down.  I also really like it around willow trees and flooded grass.  I like to use a large single tail grub to give off some vibration and flash to the bait.  They also really excell in ultra clear water and bright sunny days.  Sometimes spinnerbait blades just have to much flash and the swim jig is a great alternative to that.

                                                      S.W.A.G Swimming jigs.