Fishing Rods

Great! What is your opinion on the best way to retrieve a football head jig? Why wouldn't someone just stick with their regular grass jigs? Thanks,

I usually use a football head jig when im fishing around rocks. The most effective retrieve is dragging it slowly with very little hops now and then. When i fish it expecially around rocks im trying to think of what a crawfish looks like on those rocks,and hopping it to much just looks unnatural. The reason i use a football head jig around rocks is because it's less likely to get hung up beacuase of the head shape, and more likely to get hung up around brush because i've found it easy to get wedeged between branches. Black Angel Jigs has a new head design for the flipping jigs thats great for heavy cover rather it be brush or rocks. here's a picture. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

I have great success with football jigs, One of the most effective techniques for me is to let the football jig sink all the way to the bottom and then slowly retrieve the bait across the rocky cover.

yes true but it's really quite more complex than that.

What, in your opinion, would be the most effective ways to fish a jig this time of year in fairly clear water (47 - 51 degrees) on grassy points without much wood on it? What sizes and colors would you recommend for late winter? What factors determine the speed you fish that jig?

Are there conditions you would fish a "chatterbait" instead of a jig?

These are great questions, this time of year with that cold of water temp im throwing a 5/16 oz finesse jig or a 5/16 oz hair jig because it has a slower fall and im only throwing that size because fish are real scary right now. As far as colors there is a general rule i stick to. Clear water im throwing watermelon candy or PB&j, muddy or murky water im throwing black and blue or black and yellow. what im looking for as far as where to fish is docks at the start of a cove that turns into a creek channel in the back and im fishing the front docks that are in 15-25 ft of water if you can find them with christmas trees on them there will be fish there. Im casting to the bank though and working the whole dock. A chatterbait can be very affective right now worked as a spoon the same way i described how to work the jig im using white/char and blk/blue. working in like that and slow just up and down makes it look like an injured baitfish and most of your bites will come on the pause when its just sitting there. keep in mind most of the bites are going to be really hard to feel. I'd recommend using fluorocarbon line 8-10lb test for this time of year. Hope this helped you out. Good Luck!

Thanks; I appreciate your insight and recommendations. I have a few 1/4 oz. "hair jigs," but never really had too much confidence in them in East Texas; how, what, and when would you use a small hair jig instead of a rubber skirted jig?

What kind(s) of trailers (pork or plastic) would you use on a hair jig?

What makes your "Black Angel" jigs better, or any different, than say a "Santone" jig? (I did notice the stainless bait keeper on the picture, and think that is fairly impressive if you were using a plastic crawfish trailer.)

When/why do you use a jig with rattles, vs. one w/o rattles?

Finally, where can you find the "Black Angel" jigs for sale?

Thanks,
Scott Burns

Well as far as the Black Angel jigs to me they are the best jig on the market once you get one you will see. you can order one of two ways i am part of the field staff so you can order them through me or you can go to www.blackangeljigs.com. Now as far as the trailer i use on the hair jig, im usually fishing a black hair jig and i use the uncle josh mini pork frog, as far as when i throw it is usually nov-feb when the water is cold because is has such a slow fall. Using jigs with rattles is something honestly i very rarely do, but usually when im using a rattle is either when the fish are really agressive or at night.

Thanks again. I'll take a look at your "Black Angel" jigs, and will contact you when I need to get some!

Scott Burns
Kistler ProStaff

No problem also in reply to your "santone" jig they are good jigs but they just don't have the skirt or color or overall appearance that black angel has. Not to down Santone though because i do have a couple in my box but Black Angel is just an awesome jig.

Exclusive Trailer Enhancer

This is the only jig on the market that has a built

in trailer enhancer. The long strands of extra skirt

that come out the back of the jig are designed to

imitate the antennas of a crawfish when paired

up with your favorite soft plastic or pork trailer.

Anytime you stop hopping the jig, the trailer

enhancer's are still moving, just like the antennas

on a live crawfish!

Thanks for the info and tips!

I was working on my jig skills most of last season, even when the bass were hitting Sweet Beavers, stubborn ol' me would not put the jig down.

I have tried many and my favs are the Booyah Pigskin in 1/2 & 3/8, and the Booyah Bedbug in 3/16 & 5/16 for going lighter, plus those thin rubber strands are SWEET!

I also love Mega Strike Evolution jigs, because the way that tin 3/8ths jig falls with an appropriate sized trailer, say a 4" Yum Craw Papi, and stands up is just AWESOME!

I get tired of buying jigs, just to get them hung up on rocks, branches, or some other unseen obstacle under murky water, but I keep at it. "It keeps the lure companies in business", is my thinking.

That's great, The best thing about the jig is that it can be fished year round. If you have any questions don't be shy.

[i][b]I've decided to give a tip out for every month on here so here goes the first one.

Jig Trailers

Getting creative:

As we all know there are many jig trailers out on the market today rather it be pork or plastic. With all those on the market we tend to go straight to where all the jig junks are in the store. If that is you what you don't know and your missing out on is there is a whole other world to trailers that sometimes we don't think about. Below is a Black Angel finesse jig shown with a Yum wooly hawgtail, it works great for just a soft plastic bait but if you pinch the top off it works even better for a jig trailer. Bass pro shops also has the new tube dart that works really well as a jig trailer. So next time your looking for something new take a look at all the soft plastics and creature baits and get a little creative.[/i][/b]

I think we missed our calling as hand models.

That's a sweet looking color combo, as I try to do just that when matching jigs and trailers. Get them as close as you can, for a complete color presentation.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...but hey, that's fishin'.