Jig
Also called bass jig, skirted jig
What is a jig in fishing?
A weighted hook with a skirt and a weed guard, fished on the bottom. The bait that catches the biggest bass and the one most anglers skip.
Jig at a glance
- Common weights
- 3/8 to 1/2 oz
- Lighter in shallow water, heavier deep
- Built-in action
- None
- You supply all of it
- Imitates
- Crawfish or bluegill
- Depending on trailer and retrieve
- Bite feels like
- Weight, not a thump
What is a bass jig made of?
A jig is a lead or tungsten head moulded 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.
Why do most anglers give up on jigs?
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 bait was working; the bite simply did not announce itself the way a crankbait strike does.
Why fish a jig at all?
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 and partly because a jig can be put into cover that would strip the hooks off anything with trebles.
Reel down until the line is tight and sweep sideways when anything feels different. Half of jig bites feel like a snag.
What this means when you’re choosing
- A fibre weed guard you can trim. Straight out of the pack most are too stiff, and thinning it by a third improves hookups without costing much snag resistance.
- A stout hook with a sharp, chemically etched point. The jig hook has to move through a skirt, a trailer and a bass's jaw on one sweep.
- A tungsten head if you fish rock. It is smaller for the weight and transmits bottom composition far better than lead.
The common mistake
Setting the hook on the tick instead of the weight
New jig anglers wait for the sharp tap a crankbait gives and swing at every rock. Most jig bites are the opposite: the line just goes heavy, or the bait stops falling early. Treat anything unexpected as a fish. Reel down until you feel weight, then sweep, and let the rock tell you it was a rock.
Common questions
How do you fish a bass jig?
Cast it to cover, let it fall on a semi-slack line, then drag or hop it slowly along the bottom with pauses. Watch the line on the fall, and set the hook on weight rather than waiting for a distinct tap.
What size jig should a beginner use?
Three-eighths of an ounce covers most shallow and mid-depth water. Go to a quarter ounce in clear or cold water where a slower fall helps, and half an ounce or heavier for depth, wind or thick grass.
Where this comes up
The guides that use jig and show it on real gear.
Last reviewed . Jig is one of 222 terms in the fishing glossary.