Author: Sergio de la Garza

Bass jigs are an integral part of many Bass fishing techniques. With the right jiggling from the angler, they fool the fish into thinking they are getting the drop on an unsuspecting snack.

If you really wants to catch a Bass, you are going to have to be a little sneaky about things. Bass prefer to eat live fish, and may ignore lifeless-looking prey. Jigs that appear to be fish are more likely to invite an aggressive attack from a Bass.

Many top techniques revolve around using both a Bass jig and a trailer, which is attached to the main jig. This setup creates “legs” and makes the jig look more like a crayfish. This is usually best done in areas where there is some cover. Bass like to hang out in shade to ambush their prey, so having cover makes them feel safer about striking.

The art of fishing is much more interesting if you can actually catch something, so it makes sense to opt for what works!

Most Bass fishermen have Bass jigs in their kit.

When you really want to catch something, you need to fool the fish. Jigs are perfect for this! With Bass jigs, you will need to practice the various Bass fishing techniques to get the best results. Most fishermen take a few years to perfect their skills. After all, it takes a delicate touch to make the Bass jigs dance and flit through the water like a live fish.

Why do Bass jigs work and what are some of the best Bass Jigs available?

The best Bass jigs work because they resemble what Bass recognize and prefer to eat.  Crayfish are always popular snacks for Bass, both largemouth and smallmouth. Bass jigs that resemble crayfish in color, configuration and action are generally a good choice.

Sugar Lake Bass also enjoy baitfish, frogs, spiders and other small lake creatures. There are several classes of jigs that imitate baitfish.  Both classes of Bass jigs can be dressed with pork rinds or eel streamers to further enhance their effectiveness.

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in Bass fishing. Temperature, water clarity, fishing pressure, time of the year and all sorts of other variables make it impossible to identify a “best Bass jig” which will work everytime. There’s no lure out that that will work anywhere, anytime, in any water with both large and smallmouth Bass.

The Booyah Boo Bass Jig is always a good choice.  It is available in a variety of colors and sizes and it imitates a crayfish.  Most Bass will strike it on the fall and it is important to keep your line taught so that you do not miss the strike.  It will be a soft “pull”, usually.

While Bass will hit a spinner bait or plug bait hard, the strike on a jig is subtle and easy to miss.  The Bass fishing techniques to use will vary according to the Bass jig you use, so choosing and learning to use the your Bass jig of choice is crucial.

With a Bass jig, you must take your time retrieving the jig if you don’t get a strike on the first fall.  Twitch it and hop it slowly across the bottom. Bass jigs are comparatively snag resistant so do not be afraid to cast into structures like grass and weeds.  If the lure hangs up, it can usually be twitched or hopped off and you will find that many big Bass like weeds and grass. Fish the points but do not forget the indentures, because they can be hot too.

In winter, when water temperatures are colder, slow your action down a bit and use smaller jigs.  The Booyah is not the only good jig. The granddaddy of all jigs is the Arkie Bucktail. It is comparable to the Booyah in its action and characteristics. The Chompers Skirted Football Jig and Uncle Buck’s Best Bass Jig also fall into the category of great jigs that resemble crayfish.

The best Bass jigs to use to mimic baitfish are the Strike King Swim Jig, the Monsoor Swim Jig and Bass Pro’s Enticer. These lures can be more effective in streams than still waters. In addition, if you have run into the rare Bass that does not like crayfish, these lures can be a winning alternative.

The best fishing strategy is to have both types of Bass jigs available until you learn the particular waters you are fishing. It is the Bass who determine the best Bass jigs and they  are known to change their minds a lot. Keep experimenting and stay one step ahead of the fish.

Types of Bass Jigs

If you plan to go Bass fishing, you need to make sure you are properly geared up, and have all the best fishing tackle—especially a few good Bass jigs. This is why it is so important to take the time to learn more about the different types of  jigs and what each type has to offer.

One of the most commonly used types of Bass jigs is the finesse jig. This is one of the smaller jigs and works well when you want to fish in calm waters. These are best used in clear waters and they typically have a much smaller profile than other jigs for Bass fishing.

Use them to easily skip under docks or when you want your jig to stay on the surface of the water. Because of their light weight, they allow for a more subtle approach and can be fished around rocks effectively. They are quite easy to use and typically very effective at catching Bass.

There is also the football head jig style, which is a fairly new concept but one most fishermen are taking to quite quickly. Because the head of the jig is shaped like a football, you can easily fish it around on rocks without it getting snagged. You do not have to worry about it getting caught in between rocks as you do with other Bass jigs, because of the oblong design of the head. This shape prevents it from fitting into any cracks or crevices in between rocks.

Swimming jigs are relatively new in the sport of Bass fishing. However, this is now one of the most versatile types of jigs. You can speed it up or slow it down, and fish it around any type of cover or structure.

If you want to use the most effective Bass fishing techniques, you must have the proper Bass jigs. These are just a few of the best Bass jigs, which show how important texture and color are to catching Bass. It can take a bit of trial and error to test out different Bass jigs and see what works for you and what you could go without. At least by supplying yourself with the right Bass jigs, you stand the best chances of success on your next fishing adventure.

Bass Jig Fishing Techniques

Fishing with a jig is one of the easier fishing techniques to learn, however it is one of the more difficult to truly master or even become proficient. A jig can be fished 100 different ways and as long as it is in the water, there is a good chance that a fish will take interest and bite it. Jigs come in all different sizes with different characteristics designed for specific presentations or situations. The following jigs and associated presentations are some of the most popular styles of fishing a jig for largemouth Bass.

1. Flipping / Pitching Jig

• They have an arkie style head jig often
• Rubber or Silicon Skirt
• Use a plastic trailer like a Zoom Chunk or a Yamamoto twin tail grub -oz. oz. to 1 ½ oz. in weight with 3/8 oz and 1/2 oz as the most standard weight.
• Imitates a crayfish in heavy grass or wood cover

Technique: After the flipping jig hits the water, let it sink straight down. Lots of bites occur on the fall. Hop the bait up and down and slowly swim it out of the cover and back to the boat.

2. Swimming a Jig

• Bullet shaped jig head – Rubber and silicon skirt combinations- often will have flash of silver, gold or bucktail hair
• Use a single tail grub for the trailer and make sure the tail is facing down
• 1/16 – ½oz in weight with a ¼ being the standard     – Imitates a minnow, bream, or other local baitfish

Technique: Cast to likely targets or just beyond them and slowly swim the bait back to the boat.Try and hit the cover in the water like tree branches or docks to create a reaction.

3. Jig head with Worm or Darter head

• Can come in several styles generally slender and bullet shaped
• No jig skirt use a plastic worm Roboworms are excellent anywhere in the country
• Make sure the worm is placed on the hook straight so it does not spin
• Use as light of a weight when dragging a worm as you are comfortable with

Technique: Let the lure sink to the bottom and then slowly swim the lure back to the boat. When the bite is really tough keep constant contact with the bottom and move it slowly.

4. Football Head Dragging Jig

• Football style head jig is excellent in rocky lake bottom lakes for preventing snags
• Rubber and silicon skirt type jigs
• Use a twin tail grub or other typical jig trailers like creature baits, chunks, or beavers.
• ¼ – 1 ½ oz. with ½ and ¾ oz. being exceptional for this style of fishing
• Imitates a crawdad or bream moving along the rocks

Technique: Cast the lure to deeper ledges and rocky points and drag the lure along the bottom. Excellent bait choice in the winter and summer in lakes with lots of water deeper than 25 feet.

5. Swim Jig – Chatterbait Style

• Arkie and bullet head style jigs with metal blade that vibrates and shakes in the water
• Uses Silicone skirts
• Use whatever plastic lure you like a trailer from a worm to grub to even a small swim bait
• ¼ – 1 oz. with a ? and ½ oz. lure being the most popular – Imitates baitfish, minnows, crawdads all depending on the color choice and technique

Technique: Cast and retrieve the bait like you would a crank bait or a spinnerbait. Let the chatter bait sink all the way to the bottom and fish more like a jig for a big bite

6. Ball Head jig – Grub Swimming for Smallmouth

If you fish a lake that has small mouths in it, one of the most tried and true methods is swimming a grub. Use a small ball head jig with a spinning rod and a grub anywhere from 3–5 inches. Cast it out, let it sink to the desired depths and just start to slowly reel and hang on for some smallie fun. I like a white with some color flake in the plastic or a smoke colored grub for most times of the year. However, an occasional all-chartreuse grub also works.

There are some anglers whose preparation can be summed up like this: buy some equipment, turn up to fish! Some people love to fish Bass just to pass the time, and for them, just going through the motions is enough for a great trip.

For others, preparation goes a lot deeper. To be prepared, you must understand Bass behavior, how they are affected by the weather and by the temperature of the water. You need to learn to choose from different baits and lures, so you can narrow down what causes Bass to finally strike.

If you like to be prepared, you’ll appreciate this advice from people who have lived their lives fishing around these very lakes. Below are some of the best Bass fishing tips you can take with you on your next Bass fishing excursion.

How Bass Behave & Why they Strike

Successful Bass fishing depends a lot on understanding Bass Behavior.

It’s a lot like big game hunting. You wouldn’t go big cat hunting in Africa without having some idea of what to expect from your intended target! No, you would need to know the best time to approach, the best places to find him, the best equipment to hunt him with, and so on.

While you don’t have to worry about Bass eating you when they see through your tricks, it is still always frustrating to see them get away. If you understand how your prey behaves, you’ll feel that frustration a lot less often. That makes for a much better trip.

Why Bass Strike

There are a number of Bass behaviors that cause a bite, including:

Reflex Actions:  Just like humans, Bass can be startled into reflex actions. Biting is a reflex that anglers can encourage if they’re skilled.

Anger:  Bass have a temper, and they can become agitated enough to bite at your bait out of aggression. However, it can be difficult to incite Bass without just driving them out of the nearby area.

Protective/ Territorial Instinct:  A female Bass will strike to defend her nest. This impulse is often not worth exploiting because females don’t spend much of their lives nesting.

Curiosity: Sometimes curiosity gets the better of us; human, cat and Bass alike. Knowing what will interest a fish is often more guesswork than science, however. Good luck trying, though.

Competition:  Food may not always be in large supply, and a large Bass population may fight over what food there is, often causing them to bite with less caution. It can be easier getting a bite under these circumstances, but since we don’t control either the Bass population or the food source, there is no guarantee.

Feeding:  As with most predatory species, you can take for granted that Bass will strike when they are hungry and when they need to feed. Because Bass like to hunt at particular times of day, this is the best and most predictable behavior to leverage in your Bass fishing efforts.

Environmental Conditions

There are a number of environmental factors that affect the behavior of Bass, including:

Weather Conditions.

Water Temperature.

Weather and temperature are typically season driven, so you must approach Bass fishing differently in Spring than you do in Summer or Fall. Bass typically prefer water over 68F. Anything below that slows down their metabolism, causing the fish to be a lot less active.

Between 68F and 78F, you will often find Bass moving into shallow waters, hunting for food and on the prowl.

During the Spring months, the water gets warm enough to tempt the Bass into the shallows looking for food.  Anglers often anchor boats further out into the water and fish back into the grasses in the shallows during Spring.

During Summer, the opposite approach works best. Anchor your boat in shallow waters and fish out into the deeper water. You can find Bass deep against underwater structures where the water is deeper and cooler.

As Autumn approaches, the water begins to cool again and we see the Bass returning to the shallow waters again. This time, they’ll be hunting more aggressively to prepare for the long winter ahead. This is a great time to catch Bass as they feed more voraciously.

Understanding your prey is often the key to success in any hunting situation – be it big game, deer and elk, or fishing for Bass.  Understanding Bass behavior helps you to fish with confidence, and prepare appropriately for the conditions you expect while you are out there.

Bass Eat what they Know

Bass feed on a wide variety of creatures including other small fish, worms, snakes, bugs, frogs and crayfish. Understanding what food the Bass are eating (and what times of day that prey is active) at your fishing spot will help you choose the perfect bait. The closer your bait is to the food in the water, the more likely you are to tempt the Bass with something they recognize.

You should match your lures to the color of the native Bass prey. Use your judgement if the water is murky or otherwise stained, because you may need to use a bright or sparkling lure to draw the fish out.

Water Temperature

Fish are cold blooded and are affected by the temperature of the water they reside in. Knowing the best times of day and the warmest parts of the lake can help you to determine the best spots, even as they change throughout the year. You can learn more about this by reading our helpful resource page: Bass Fishing Environmental Factors.

Cover

Bass are predators. They crave cover that allows them to ambush their intended prey without being spotted. Fish for Bass where there is enough cover for them to hide in. Grasses under the water, fallen tree branches, and even fishing docks are great places to find Bass lurking.

Underwater Plant-life

Plants produce essential oxygen which sustains many small underwater life forms—including the small fish and frogs that Bass love to eat! Where there is active plant-life underwater, there will be food, and Bass eager to bite.

Clear Water

When you fish in very clear water, the Bass you are hunting will rely primarily on their sight. One of the things they can easily spot is the angler above the water in his brightly colored clothes, waving his line back and forth and looking like a big, active predator.

You need to make your lure move a lot faster when you’re in clear water. This will reduce the chance that the fish recognize it as a fake. Wear clothing that won’t cause you to stand out above the water if you want the Bass to become curious enough to approach the bait.

Murky Water

Sight becomes impractical in murky waters, but luckily, Bass can use their lateral lines to detect prey through motion in the water. In murky water, it makes sense to use a more brightly colored lure to help the Bass see what it’s hunting.

Crankbaits and spinners can help in murky water by reflecting more light and making sounds that the Bass can detect more easily.

There are some fishermen whose preparation can be summed up as buying some equipment and turning up to fish. Some people fish bass just to pass the time, and for them just going through the motions, so-to-speak, is enough.

For others, preparation goes a lot deeper. Thorough preparation includes understanding bass behavior, how bass are affected by the weather, by the water temperatures, learning about different baits and lures to use, what causes bass to strike, and many other factors.

Below are some bass fishing tips you can take with you on your next bass Fishing excursion.

Fish need to eat

Bass feed on a wide variety of creatures including other small fish, worms, snakes, bugs, frogs and crayfish. Understanding what food the bass are eating at your fishing spot helps you to choose appropriate bait. The closer your bait is to the food in the water the more likely you are to tempt the bass with something they recognize.

While you want to match your lures to the color of the native Bass prey, if the water is murky or otherwise stained, you will want to use a lure colored to stand out.

Water Temperature

Fish are cold blooded and are affected by the temperature of the water they reside in. Knowing this helps you to determine the best spots to find them at different seasons of the year. You can learn more about this reading the following resource page: Bass Fishing Environmental Factors.

Cover

Bass are predators, they like cover that allows them to ambush their intended prey from a relatively safe position. Try fishing for bass where there is cover for them to hide in. Grasses under the water, fallen tree branches, and even fishing docks are great places to find bass lurking.

Underwater Plant-life

Plants produce essential oxygen which feeds many small underwater life forms such as small fish and frogs – which make ideal food for hungry bass. Where there is active plant-life underwater, there will be food, and where there is food there will be bass hunting them.

Clear Water

When you fish in very clear water the bass you are hunting will be relying primarily on their sight, and one of the things they can easily pick upon is that fisherman above the water in his brightly colored clothes tossing out his line and jerking it around to attract the fish.

You need to make your lure move a lot fast in clear water to avoid the fish recognizing it as a fake, and you need to wear clothes that won’t cause you to stand out above the water.

Murky water

Sight becoming impractical in murky waters, but luckily bass can use their lateral lines to detect motion in the water, which they use to tell where potential food may be. If it’s harder to see in murky water, it makes sense to use a more brightly colored lure to help the bass see what its hunting.

Crankbaits and spinners can help in murky water by reflecting more light and making sounds that the bass can detect easier.