Best Football Jig Options For Targeting Bass
Football jigs today are readily available in a variety of different colors, sizes, materials and each year there are more variations of these jigs as well as the equipment to throw them. The following is an in-depth look at football jig setups and how to best select the one based on where you are fishing.
Selecting the Correct Weight For Football Jigs
Football jigs can be found ranging from 1/4oz all the way up to 1oz which gives anglers a ton of options when looking for the right fit. Typically, anglers will stay between the 3/8oz to 5/8oz range to fish any depth they may encounter but those outlier sizes do have a purpose.
3/4oz to 1oz weights are popular among anglers who fish lakes that generate current. These larger size heads are able to keep your football jig in the strike zone without the current drifting your jig off of the area you are fishing.
On the flip side, smaller football jigs from 1/4oz to 3/8oz allow anglers to downsize their presentation to coax highly pressured fish into biting or to try and get more bites than a standard size football jig.
Lead vs. Tungsten Football Jigs
Over the last few years, several manufacturers have introduced tungsten football jigs to their assortment. Tungsten is a much harder material than lead which allows tungsten heads to maintain the same weight in a smaller profile as well as making the tungsten jigs more responsive to bottom contact. Plus, tungsten is a great alternative to lead which can cause poisoning of waterfowl.
Tungsten Football Jigs are a good option for anglers looking for a more finesse approach with their jig while having the ability to still fish it at deeper depths. Although tungsten seems to be the superior material, these jigs are more expensive than traditional lead and sometimes you need the larger presentation that the lead football jigs provide to match the larger forage found in some lakes. Additionally, a smaller size tungsten head can be more prone to sliding in between rocks and getting snagged than a larger sized lead head.
Selecting Color For Football Jigs
Color selection for football jigs among anglers is typically involves the same few colors. Brown, Green Pumpkin, or Black base colors with accents of blue, purple, or orange are the staples for any brand of football jigs.
Football Jigs are predominantly used to imitate crawfish along the bottom so color selection for most is based on the particular shade of the crawfish in your local lakes. This same principle applies to your trailer selection as you want the whole package of the football jig to be uniform in order to best mimic the local forage.
Selecting a Trailer
Trailer selection for Football Jigs can be overwhelming as every plastic manufacture has several different creature and craw options to choose from. In order to alleviate this we like to first identify the conditions of the lake we will be fishing on. As a general rule, we like to look at trailers based on the amount of action they put out when being dragged slowly along the bottom and the warmer the water is, the more action we like for my football jig trailer to impart.
Trailers such as a Zoom Super Chunk have little action to the which is better in the colder months where the fish are less active. During warmer months, anglers use trailers such as a Strike King Rage Craw that will have a lot of movement even while being fished slowly. Once you have identified the style of trailer to fit the conditions, all you need to do is match the color up to the skirt on the football jig you have selected.
Line Selection
Most anglers utilize fluorocarbon fishing line for football jig fishing as its sensitivity allows anglers to feel every rock they climb over while the strength of fluorocarbon helps to get those fish out of the rocks and in the boat. 14lb to 17lb is the standard but anglers can go down to 12lb for a more finesse approach or 20lb if they are targeting larger than average bass or are fishing their football jig around heavier cover.
Rod and Reel Selection
Reel selection is pretty simple as about any reel can handle fishing football jigs since the rod does most of the work on the retrieve. Most anglers prefer a higher gear ratio such as a 7.1:1 which just allows them to pick up any slack line quicker once a fish bites. Most football jig rods are medium heavy action with a fast tip and range from 7'0" to 7'4". The medium heavy action and longer length allows anglers to get a good hookset even on a long cast and the fast action taper has just enough flex to keep those fish hooked as they try to throw it.
When you find the right options for your gear, you're bound to have a ball catching big bass with football jigs.
Related: Polish Pete's Complete Football Jig Setup
Related: Tips for Bass Fishing Jigs
