Bass Yakker

A jig is simply a hook with some weight added and hair, feathers, or some synthetic material tied to it. It's one of the oldest lures in the world, for all species of fish, freshwater or salt. As far as modern bass fishing goes, the "jig and pig" was just some rubber stranded skirt material on a weedless leadhead jig, and preserved pork skin trailer. Flipped into heavy cover, crawled along drop offs or even retrieved steadily to "swim" it, it remains a staple of every bass fisherman to this day. When I was a wee bass caster in my early teens, the jig'n'pig craze was in full swing, and I vividly remember one of my brothers catching some nice bass on it back in the day. When I was old enough to buy my own tackle, I was caught up in one tackle fad or another, and was either throwing a finesse worm or tube to cover where others were throwing jigs. Or maybe fishing a Slug-O, floating worm, or even using a fly rod. I was really into finesse fishing, and except for spinnerbaits, rarely picked up a baitcaster. At any rate, I never really got into regular old bass jigs. I tied and fished hair jigs a bit, but that's about it.

This changed when I moved to the Ozarks. It wasn't a short time after I was here that I was fishing with someone on the James River. I was really into fly gear at the time, and was using my 8 weight and a Clouser minnow. The water was still warmish, a little off color from some much needed rain, and I think it was early October. I couldn't get a bite to save my life. My host was creaming me by casting a funny looking little jig into pockets just off the current and letting that lure just sit. The bass would come over and pick it up. I asked to see it after a bit, it had cut collar skirt, small craw trailer, on a small ball head. It really did look like a crawfish. "Eakins Jig", he said. I had seen the Strike King "Bitsy Bug" and some other compact or small jigs, but this one really had it all tied together. The Eakins clan is still a force on regional tournaments, largely propelled by the use of their namesake jig. Because of that day and many other experiences over the years, I've come to realize that when bass are foraging on crawfish in the Ozarks, you better have a finesse jig.

Two Eakins 3/16 ounce jigs, one with Berkley PowerBait Craw(top) and Smallie Beaver(bottom).

The finesse jig is a result of clear water conditions in our Ozark lakes, combined with the almost constant fishing pressure from weekend guys to guides to national pro tours. When fish get pressured, sometimes you have to out fish the other fishermen. Something a little more compact, a little more natural looking, has it all over a traditional sized bass jig. What makes the finesse of a finesse jig? I think it's the combination of compact size (not necessarily weight), and a small matching trailer. There are different head shapes for different uses, as we will see. Pitched under docks, drug across pea gravel, or swam along rip-rap, if you don't use them, you are missing fish.
So let's at the makeup of finesse jigs, and see what qualities it needs for different uses.
First, the skirt. The cut collar popular on pitching jigs does three things: It thins the skirt by half, making the trailer more visible, helps slow the fall rate of the jig, like a small parachute, and lastly, it just looks "right".
There are several jigs on the market that I like to cut the skirt, "converting" them. Both the Strike King Bitsy Bug and Booyah Baby Boo jig have standard skirts, but "make the cut" well. The 1/8 ounce Bitsy Bug is really great paired up with a small craw for stream smallmouth (and has scored my biggest Goggle-Eye), but does have only a small 8 fiber weed guard not suitable for heavy cover. The 3/16 Baby Boo is my favorite finesse jig, used for stream smallmouth and dock skipping, but I think the hook could be one size smaller. That's just me, on the 5/16 version it's just right.

Strike King Bitsy Bug and Booyah Baby Boo, after trimming the skirts.

Finesse jigs now come in many weights and sizes.

Not every jig has the cut collar, and not all of them should. The Tom Monsoor swim jig available at Bas Pro comes in some good colors, has an awesome Owner hook, and is compact with a thin but nice skirt in many colors. Just because it says "Swim jig" doesn't mean you can't pitch it. I haven't used this one yet, but will this summer.

Another famous father - son duo from the Ozarks, Guido and Dion Hibdon, have racked up numerous tournament wins, one of the most recent was the elder Hibdons' win on Lake Champlain event of the FLW series. After doing well for the first days of the event on a bigger football jig, he cinched the win by skipping his namesake Luck "E" Strike finesse jig backed with a Guido Bug trailer under docks.

The light single wire weed guard on the Eakins Spider Jig and the double wire on the Terminator Finesse jig help keep light cover at bay, like when pitched to a specific spot, then retrieved. They aren't for heavy timber, or skipping where a forceful skip could knock the wires off center, making it easy to snag around dock hardware. I have twice skipped a Terminator Finesse into a dock float and had it stick like a dart! I've never had that happen with either the Eakins or Baby Boo.
The Booyah Baby Boo comes in 3/16 and 5/16 of an ounce, has a weed guard that can be trimmed down, and a slightly upturned pointed head that come though cover well.
You can probably tell I like these a lot. The Bitsy Bug has a similar head, but a much thinner weed guard. I only use it around thin cover, or it hangs up easily. The wildly popular Eakins has a ball head with 60 degree cross eye. According to the Eakins, the design is made mostly to pitch in a spot, jiggle it a little and reel it back. I have found this to be true, it comes over pea gravel and small rock well, but falls over and gets hung a little more than other designs in timber. A few more compact jigs have a Football head, which is great for dragging on a rocky bottom, but not so good in timber.

Last but not least, the trailer is not just a part of the jig, but probably the most important part. I think the skirt is really just dressing for the trailer. A small plastic craw is traditional, and there are a lot of them out there. Yamamoto, Eakins, Berkley, on and on. Usually it's recommended to pinch off enough of the tail of the trailer so that the hook comes out just between or behind the eyes on your craw. I sometime let it dangle just a touch more, but either way find what looks right to you.

You have to pinch off a little of your trailer sometimes, don't be afraid to experiment.

Some other trailers are also good. I like the small beaver baits for a trailer in cases where you just need a little more bulk. One case is if current or wind cause you to not be in touch with the lure at all times. Fish tend to hold on longer to these bulked up jigs. Another is if you want more of a spiraling glide, instead of a straight fall.

Some good trailers, from the traditional craws to chunks and beaver baits. Don't forget a simple grub, either.

The 3" PowerBait Beast from Berkley is the widest of the smaller sized beavers, and matched with a 3/16 Baby Boo is a real killer when that spiraling fall is the trigger fish want. Conversely, if fish have been hitting the jigs right on the bottom, a heavier head and small bodied trailer will get you back down to the strike zone in a hurry. Sometimes a different silhouette from the normal craw trailers is the ticket, so other small creature baits, like the popular Brush Hogs from Zoom, or even just a tiny chunk can be better if everyone is using the same type trailer where you fish. For swimming a jig, a double tail grub can be the most snag proof since it tends to keep the jig upright, but even a plain single tail grub can be a great trailer. The Baby Boo 5/16 in white with a pearl 5" Kalins grub has been my favorite swim jig for the past three years, but the whole topic of swimming jigs will be another story. Just experiment with size and keep colors mostly natural, adding contrasting highlights for off color water. I like orange or purple, but even chartreuse tips work.

O.K., tackle comes down to mostly older tech versus new tech. Most tournament guys use baitcasters in the 6' 6" to 7' range in medium to med/heavy power range, fast action. Usually spooled with fluorocarbon from 10 to 14 pounds. Most stream smallmouth fanatics use spinning rods of similar power and action, but spool 6 to 10 pound line, flouro or mono. I kind of split the difference with two favorite setups of mine, for small 1/8 or 3/16 ounce jigs I have a new Team Diawa 6' 6" medium heavy, fast action spinning rod spooled with 6/14 Fireline. I use 10 or 12 lb. fluorocarbon leaders about 7 or 8 foot long, tied together with back to back uni knots. This rod has a softer more "medium" tip, and is a new favorite for dock skipping. My heavier rod is a BPS Extreme 7 foot medium heavy spinning stick spooled with the same 6/14 Fireline, but almost always use 14 pound or heavier Flouro leaders. This is a fast action rod with lots of backbone, just like a 7' baitcaster pitching stick. I mostly use it for around heavy cover, or for the more weighty compact jigs in deep water. Why the spinning rods? Because of hand injuries and tendonitis I can only palm a baitcaster for so long, and I can only carry so many rods, and they are a little more versatile for me than a baitcaster, especially when it comes to casting light lures in the wind. The Diawa combo also works to pitch a Texas rigged plastic with a 1/16 ounce bullet weight, or skip a 1/8 ounce shaky head rig. I know there are guys who can really skip with casting gear, but I'm not one of them! The heavier 7' combo is also great for light Carolina rigs with 1/4 to 1/2 ounce weights, which is a killer for pre spawn smallies on the flat pea gravel banks on Table Rock or Beaver.

If you haven't tried finesse jigs yet, get a couple this year. If you fish stream smallmouth, try the 1/8 or 3/16 ounce versions around boulders and root balls, and you Table Rock guys will love the slightly bigger 5/16 ounce size for fishing around bluff banks and pitching to docks or brush piles. Like any lure, they aren't magic, but some times they can seem like it! Just try them, pick colors you like, experiment, and fish with confidence.