Jig Heads
Jigging with a jig is one common fishing practice that most fishers do. A Jig consists of a lead sinker with a hook molded and covered by a soft body that helps attract fishes.
Jigs are efficient, and you can use them both in freshwater and saltwater, so if you are looking for the best jig heads that you can use for fishing, well, you came to the right place.
A Must-Read: Types of Fishing Poles
In this article, we will list different types of jig heads for you to choose from.
These jig heads differ from each other according to their quality and use. If you want to know about the perfect jig heads that you can use, here are some lists that will help you.
Roundheads
Round jig heads are considered the most popular heads. It is asymmetrical in shape, allowing this shape to cut through the water quicker.
It can also sink fast but with minimal action. The hook’s shank is flat, and its eyes pointed upwards.
Bullethead
Bullethead jigs are known to be the type of jig head that can cut quicker too through the water.
Stand-up Head
This jig head has a flat-bottom design that lies on the bottom when it’s steady. It can also help position the hook at a 45-degree angle. Also, this causes water resistance, meaning slowing the fall of the bait.
Tube Head
This jig head comes in tapered or straight shapes that can fit in a tube jig’s body. It’s hook’s shank is longer compared to the average length. Helping it to a position that is close enough to the bait’s tail end.
Darter Heads
In this type of jig heads, it’s shapes are like a cone or a bullet one.
These jigs are easy to use as they can bounce back from the bottom. It also cuts easier through the water, making it better for current fishing.
Aspirin Heads
This jig head resembles it’s profile from a pill and has flat sides on the head. These flat sides help to jig in a quick manner cutting through the water.
Shaky Heads
This type of jig head has a feature of wire and spring.
One effective material that helps hold the soft-baits like worms. Its design is primarily made to keep the hook and bait up at the bottom.
Slider Or Glider Heads
This is one finesse jigs as they say. It’s lightweight, and flat heads cause the jigs slower. Hooks sometimes on an offset shank hook for bait can be texas-rigged.
Mushroom Heads
Mushrooms or the worm nose heads are round-like in shape. But it has a flat back before a wired collar or a barbed wire. With its design, it can hold soft plastic worms or a grubs flash.
Pony And Horse Heads
It has a design that holds the spinner and a swivel blade. You can find that the blades are opposite the hook eye.
Wobble And Swim Heads
This design has a large surface area that causes them to wobble as it sinks towards the bottom.
Prop Heads
This one has a small propeller towards the end of the jig’s collar. When you retrieve it, the blade spins, causing vibration and a flash.
Shad Heads
The heads are designed to rig with shad bodies. It has barbed collars that help in holding plastic baits. While the triangular design of the heads makes it cut through the water easier, it is effective too for swimming the bait in a straight retrieve manner.
Airplane
This head has a similar feature like the wings. Like in an airplane, it’s found on the sides to catch water as it sinks. Resulting in a spiraling downfall.
Things to Consider Before Buying A Jig Heads
1. The Body Of The Jig Baits
Jigs are weighted, except for floating jigs. The typical range of jig weights for freshwater is 1/32, 1/64, 1/16, 1/8, 1/2, 1/4, 3/8 3/4 ounces.
Jigs are made using a mold, which shaped the metal to form its head and collar.
However, most jig heads are made from lead, which gives the jig heads a weight.
There is also one substance that’s making its way to popularity, the tungsten.
The tungsten is heavier than lead, which they said is also more environmentally friendly.
To make a hook, manufacturers let the metal melted until it becomes liquid, then pour it into a mold. Then solidifies to create a weighted hook.
2. Jig Hooks
There are two common styles of a jig, the premium, and the low-cost jigs.
You can spot the difference between them when the premium jigs contain ultra-sharp hooks. And the low-cost jigs have regular hooks.
On average, a jig hook shank is bent between 90 to 60 degrees before the hook tip.
The bend in the hook affects the placement of the hook and the jig head’s eye.
It also affects the movement of the bait through the water. Light wire hooks often used for fishing timber because it bends and pulls free from snagging.
These are also used for soft-mouth fishing fish such as crappie.
Meanwhile, strong wire hooks can perform better in rocky or weedy areas for game fish like walleye.
You should also know that the length of the hook’s shank should match the body size.
But what’s most favorite is the short shanks that fishers can use for live minnows. And longer shanks can be used for rigging worms or lizard bodies.
Colors of the hook may be in bronze, gold, black, and red.
3. Collars
Collars have various designs and are found directly after the jig’s head. There are two types of collar, the barbed and the ball collars.
Barbed collars have a small point, but sometimes they have two while the ball collars have a small nub that helps in holding the plastic.
It prevents the thread from sliding down when the jig is being put up with feathers or hair.
Remember that there are jigs that have straight collars, and some, like the live bait jigs, don’t have any.
4. Choosing The Right Color Jig Head
Colorful Jig head has something to do with the fishing conditions and with the angler’s confidence too.
Most anglers prefer to use two-toned jigs to increase their chance of presenting the right color for finicky fishes.
Available Jig head colors are natural, primary, fluorescent, metallic, and glow are some that are available. Painted jigs have a protective clear coat to make the paint chip resistant.
Want to know how the process of painting the jig heads, then read on.
Jig heads are being dipped into the powder or liquid, but sometimes they cover the hook’s eye with paint. Premium jigs often have an open eye, but some are left with paints.
5. Jig’s Body Material
There are common types of jig-bait body material. The flipping jigs, or often called the bass jigs, are used by bass anglers.
Its head often features a low-profile stand-up or what they called the football design. To which weights up to 1/8.
Lightweight jigs are considered the heavier baits and finesse bait quick in penetrating the canopy of the weeds.
These jigs come with weed guards and rattles. Its body consists of silicone or a rubber skirt.
When the bait is hopped, the skirt strands quiver on the decent jig and pulsate. And many anglers prefer to add a trailer on the hook to add to the bait’s profile.
6. Additional Features
Adding rattles are often added to the jigs. Most jig heads come with an extra eye to catch light biters.
They attach a snelled stinger hook to the back of the head to the main jig handle. Weed and brush guards are two essential features in a jig.
It prevents the hook from catching the weeds or wood, making the jigs more efficient with the help of these covers.
To further understand, weed guards are plastic bristles that can be trimmed.
And the brush guards have few wire strands, but both features are anchored in a lead that is behind the hook eye.
Jigging Is A Technique You Can Use For Fishing
If you didn’t know, it was re-invented by the Japanese Jig Master fisherman, Yoichi Mogi. Mogi has helped anglers understand more that jigging is a technique.
If some may think that jigging is easy, then you need to think of it again because many would prove that jigging can’t be learned overnight.
Experts anglers would say that jigging can be demanding, and it requires a good basic level of fitness.
That, if you want to last one full day on the water. But, when you happen to know this technique, you might get surprised that it can be addictive too.
That’s why when you decide to do jigging. Anglers suggest that you need to book a trip first.
Yes, booking a trip is better, especially with a recognized jigging charter operator. They can take you to places to places on where’s the best place to jig.
While they’re taking you to the best jigging spots, it’ll give you time to learn about the correct techniques.
Aside from learning the correct techniques, it also helps you look for what is on your sounder.
Jigging requires you to pop or snap the tip of the rod tip up quicker.
To move the lure in a vertical position in the water, you can try jigging straight up and down when you drift.
Or you can do casting the lure out and then jig it back to you horizontally when reeling.
These jigging techniques create a look like an injured baitfish, which most fishes like to prey.
As you learn the jigging technique, remember that when you jig out and retrieve, you need to reel slowly. It is to keep the jig at the bottom.
Different Bass Jigs
To help you choose the best bass jigs partner for your fishing needs, check some of these.
Original Jig Lead-Free Bass Jigs
This type of Bass jigs is good at creating high performing jigs. It contains a lead-free, which is essential for some water bodies and doesn’t allow lead tackle.
The free bass jigs are perfect for pitching or flipping, and it works well as a swim jig.
It weighs 3/8 oz, and its head has a stand-up design that helps keep the hook facing up.
If you’re looking for another color, then it’s perfect for you too because it comes in 11 colors.
It means that you can choose the best for your fishing location and bass targets.
Booyah Boo Jig
The booyah boo jig is one of those top-rated and effective options too for a bass fishing jig. Its features have a heavy weed guard and a weedless design.
It makes it easier to prey on fish anywhere, and its components are of high quality. This bass jigs also comes in 7 colors and varies with four sizes.
Sizes range from 1/4 ounce to 3/4 ounce. Its head has a flat bottom and has two rattles to draw in fish.
Like the Lead-Free bass jigs, it’s a free-lead too, which makes it efficient to most bodies of water.
Tungsten Flipping Jigs
Tungsten Flipping jigs come in two-pack but at an affordable price. Obviously. It’s made with tungsten but is lead-free, which means it is safe to use.
It is also lighter, meaning this bass jig is more sensitive and smaller than others. Making it excellent on attracting bass.
Tungsten jigs come in 8 colors and have four sizes. Sizes range from 3/8 ounce to 1 ounce.
Its feature has a weed guard that helps prevent snagging, and it’s silicone skirts are wire-tired to the jig.
Tungsten Football Jig
It makes a better option for those looking for football jigs at the bottom of the water. It works well in both freshwater and salt and is made of 100% tungsten. But don’t worry as it is still safe for all waters even if it doesn’t contain lead.
Unlike other jigs, this comes with three different colors and three sizes too. It ranges from 1/2, 3/4, and 1 ounce that some stores sell in sets with soft crawfish baits.
The set also includes the Lure’s Jig Fishing Guide, which comes with a color-matched weed guard. Lure’s Jig is made with superior sensitivity and a black nickel hook.
Strike King Tour Grade Swim Jig
If you’re looking for swimming jigs, well, this one’s perfect for you.
The strike king tour’s jigs are perfect for catching more and are best for bass fishing too. Strike King is a well-known brand for lures and also for other fishing gear. That’s why it belongs to those top-rated products.
The Strike King’s Jig comes with ten colors and three sizes, ranging from 1/4 ounce to 3/8.
It has a streamlined, balanced head that helps in enhancing the swimming action. Each color of the head is matched to the skirt.
This type of jigs comes with a medium wire sharp-look and a weed guard.
And with this brand, it recommends having a craw trailer so that you can catch bass.
Terminator Finesse Jig
If you’re looking for a lighter jig or simply for smallmouth bass, then this jig is one great option. It has a single strand braided wire weed guard that helps protect from snagging without bragging it down.
Finesse jig comes with eight colors and two sizes, ranging from 1/8 ounce and 3/16 ounce. It has a medium-long shank and a VMC black nickel hook.
Heavy Mat Jig
This jig has a dual weed guard that can break through a heavy through the mat.
Meanwhile, it’s bullet-shaped head makes it more pretty because it can get through It ned debris. Mat Jig comes in 7 colors and four sizes ranging from 1/2 to 1 1/4 ounce.
Terminator Pro’s Jig
It is one trusted fishing brand that many trusted. You can use this for casting, flipping, and pitching in and around cover. It also comes in with a heavy VMC black nickel hook with a nylon weed guard.
Terminator Jigs comes with 12 colors and five sizes ranging from 1/4 to 1 ounces.
It also has a unique head, which is ideal in breaking through the cover. Terminator Jig also comes with a single rattle that helps in attracting the fish to bite.
Factors To Consider When Buying For Bass Jigs
Bass jigs come in different weights. Before buying one, you need to consider what might affect its weight. And these factors are the depth and the wind speed.
Depth- Most anglers often use a weight for bass jigs that is at 3/8 ounces. They say that it’s the perfect weight for fishing, especially in shallow water.
Wind- this is one another factor to consider when buying for a bass jigs. If the wind is heavier than it used to, then you will need heavier bass jigs.
Conclusion
In general, there are various types of jig heads that you can choose from.
Each head has its uniqueness according to each strength and use. We also learned that jigging is a technique that not all can master within overnight.
For you to master it, you need to remember and follow some simple steps based on expert anglers.
