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March Tip Of The Month

Monday, March 03, 2014

As the days become longer and the air begins to warm, bass begin migrating from their winter-time locations to warmer/shallower water to prepare for the spawn. One of the necessary items for a successful spawn is; energy. Bass will burn a lot of energy during the spawn, and need to replace much of the weight they lost over the long cold days of winter. The combination of increased metabolism and the need to replace lost body weight result in some of the best fishing days of the year!

Many anglers classify the pre-spawn as their favorite time of year to not only catch bass, but to catch big bass. Additionally the majority of anglers agree that the jig is the best bait for catching big bass. I guess you could look at jig fishing and pre-spawn like chocolate and peanut-butter…nearly a perfect match!

Today there are numerous styles, sizes, and colors of jigs on the market. The reason for this is the jig is the most versatile lure we have available today. The jig is really nothing more than a hook, weighted head, and some sort of skirt material. However, we can fish a jig at any depth or almost any speed. You may not think of a jig as a top water option, but a buzz bait is really nothing more than a jig with a blade on it, and bladed jigs can be retrieved to wake the surface. Jigs can be used to fish both vertically and horizontally.

Recently I conducted a survey on a few social media sites. I wanted to know what we thought was the most important part of a jig. An overwhelming 77% of the participants agreed that the hook is the most important part, followed by 14% for skirt color, 7% for skirt material, and 2% for other.

The hook is probably not only the most important component to the jig, but one hook is not suited for all applications. For instance, I prefer an extra-wide-gap (EWG) hook for any jig that is designed to fish on the bottom, and a regular round bend hook for swim jigs, bladed jigs, or any other jig that will be used horizontally in the water column. I believe the shape of the EWG hook allows the bass easier access to the jig on the bottom, while most round bend hooks have a longer shank and are easier to “catch” on moving baits.

Although skirt color finished a distant second to the hook in our survey, I think it is much closer than the survey revealed. Many participants listed two items, and many of the comments were similar to “hook followed by skirt color.” Additionally when you walk down the jig aisles at your favorite retailer, look at how many different colors are available (notice it is aisles, not jig aisle). The important thing to remember when it comes to jig color is that we are typically tying to emulate a crawfish or baitfish. Therefore, our colors should not only match the local prey, but should match the local prey at the correct time of the year.

Generally speaking we want our horizontal jigs (swim jigs, bladed jigs, etc…) to match the baitfish and our vertical jigs (flipping, heavy cover, football, round, etc…) to match the crawfish in the body of water we will be fishing and at the given time. Baitfish will change colors slightly depending on their surroundings, but crawfish typically follow a seasonal pattern in many areas of the country. There are many variations to this color pattern, but it typically follows a light color in the spring that transitions darker as the seasons progress, and reach their darkest color when the water temperature approaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit. To keep things simple, one can simply start the season with a light colored green pumpkin and progressively go to a darker shade as the water warms, adding orange or red accent colors in the summertime.

Another factor related to color, but not necessarily through the eyes of the bass, is confidence. As with most baits, we all have confidence in one bait and/or color more than others. I’m sure you remember a time when you were catching bass after bass on your favorite bait, and then the unthinkable happened…you lost the bait in the rocks. You put on a similar bait, but slightly different color and everything stopped. Was it truly the color you were throwing or did you subconsciously change something because you lost confidence in the new bait? Perhaps you have been in the same boat as someone else throwing the same bait, and one angler caught four times as many fish as the other. Was it due to the slight differences in bait color, line diameter, retrieve speed, or confidence in the bait or situation? Regardless of what we think about the role confidence plays in bass fishing, one thing is for sure…we all fish better when we have it!

Obsession Lures (www.obsessionlures.com) provides anglers the ability to create their own jig and design it around the local prey, or just as important, what the angler has confidence in. Create Your Own Jig is a revolutionary concept to the jig market that allows everyday anglers the ability to design and name their own jigs. Create Your Own Jigs are custom made based off input from the angler, and are comparably priced to stock jigs. Visit Obsession Lures (www.obsessionlures.com) to begin your creation today.

As the days become longer and air and water temperatures begin to warm, do yourself a favor, visit your favorite body of water and give your favorite jig a try. Horizontal jigs can be deadly during the pre-spawn when bass are chasing bait, and vertical jigs become more effective as the bass transition into the spawn. However, one thing is for sure…jigs are arguably the most versatile tool in our tackle box and should be fished year round.

The only thing better than catching that trophy bass on your favorite jig, is netting the trophy bass of a child! Take a kid fishing every chance you get…