When it comes to jig heads, they offer some versatility and catch all kinds of different fish. Every shore angler, boat angler, or ice fishing angler should always have some jig heads in their tackle box. Here are 4 keys tips to understanding jig heads.

1) Color

Jig heads come in a variety of colors. It’s always nice if you can match the color of the jig head to the bait you are using. As a general rule though, black is your best all around color to use when it comes to jig heads.

Bright colored jig heads are better suited for stained water and jig heads with no color, are also effective & great to use when tipped with bait.

If you’re not catching fish and you are using a bright colored jig head, try switching to black or a no color jig head. Generally, black or natural will always work where as bright may not.

2) Hook Eye Orientation

When choosing jig heads, be sure to pay attention to the position of the hook eye (the area you tie your line to). If the hook eye is directly on top of the jig head, this is intended for vertical jigging.

If the hook eye is on a 45 degree angle in the front of the jig head, this would be well suited for more f a horizontal jig retrieve, or working through weeds.

3) Jig Head Shape

The standard round head jig, is your basic, general use jig head. This will fall through the water at a moderate rate. If the round jig has flat sides to it, then this will fall faster and make for a more aggressive presentation.

Generally speaking, different shaped jig heads will produce different falls and thus create different actions. As there is much to write about here, I’ll be sure to elaborate on an up-coming article.

4) Jig Hooks

Too often I see cheap jig heads with very poor hooks. The hooks are not only of poor quality, but also too small for the jig head. When fishing for any kind of game fish, a quality hook with a wide gap is preferred.

When using jig heads, they will accommodate live bait, cut bait or artificial soft plastic bait. You can cast and retrieve/swim - vertically jig - rip through weeds – bounce on rocks – or drag on the bottom. Any way you want to fish them, jigs are a very effective way to catch a wide variety of fish!

Until next time folks, good luck & good fishing.
Ivo