Jig

A jig is a lead or tungsten head molded onto a stout hook, dressed with a silicone skirt and usually fitted with a fibre weed guard. Add a soft plastic trailer and you have a lure that imitates a crawfish or a bluegill depending on how you fish it.

It is the most versatile bait in bass fishing and the least approachable. There is no built-in action, so nothing happens unless you make it happen: drag it, hop it, swim it, or let it sit. Bites are often just weight on the line rather than a thump, which is why people fish jigs for a while and conclude nothing is there.

The reward is size. Jigs consistently catch larger average fish than almost anything else, partly because a big profile on the bottom is what big bass are looking for.