Thousands of articles have been written about fishing with jigs. A high percentage of these articles start off with "If I had to choose one lure---." There are so many jig styles available now days that Jigs must be broken down into categories just like other lures. That being said, let’s look at a few styles that I particularly like. Where do we start?

Soft plastic tails have resulted in a new generation of jigs. Several type jig heads have evolved to work well with these tails. The first head made specifically for fishing plastic tails was probably the Grub Head type. This head has sort of a rounded front and works great with plastic tails with little or no wiggle like the basic grub. This combination is totally dependent upon the fisherman’s wrist for action. This head works ok with the curltail grubs also and with the curltail grubs is far less dependent on the fisherman for action.

Several flat sided heads have been designed to improve water flow along the side of Shad or minnow-type soft plastic tails and thus enhance their action. Some of these heads are designed to sort of "fit" a certain size and design of Shad body. In all cases, when picking a jig head for soft plastics, head weight and water depth are the greatest concerns. Hook size is determined by the size of the body as well as the size mouth of the fish you are seeking. In most cases, I prefer the largest hook size possible to help eliminate deep hooking. An exception is a jig for Pompano. I like a # 2-2/0 for Pompano.

The "Bananna head" jig is very popular where there are a lot of snags. Smaller sizes are used with live shrimp. Simply break of the "fan" portion of the shrimp’s tail and insert the jig hook from the tail end up through and out the top pf the back. . Fish it along to bottom for lots of species. These heads are often fished without hair or skirt.

The "Butterbean" or "Upperman" style jigs are more popular on northern waters than in Florida. I use them a lot for Mackerel, Bluefish, Jacks and other fish that like fast moving and darting jigs. These sleek jigs dart all over the place when whipped fast or slow. Bucktail is the traditional dressing and perhaps these lures were where the term "Bucktail Jig" originated.

Bullet heads are popular deep water jigs for both deep jigging and trolling . Their name comes from their bullet shape. I mold them in sizes from 3/16 oz all the way up to 13oz. They track straight when trolled and drop straight without spinning.

My all time favorite "Deep Jig" is tear drop shape when viewed from the front. Viewed from the side it resembles the Upperman/Butterbean head. I have molded hundreds of these weighing 4.5 oz. I dress them very sparsely so that they will sink fast. The Mylar flash material I use isn’t terribly durable but it sure catches fish.

I can’t close without mentioning a new jig I invented. I call it "The Worlds First Vibrating Jig." When pulled hard, it gives off a hard vibration similar to the lipless crank baits favored by Bass fishermen. I fish it by bouncing it along a few times then rip it up about 5’ off the bottom then return to the bottom for another few bounces and another rip. I get terrific strikse as I rip it up.

As I said at the outset, these are jigs I particularly like. I sometimes use others but these jigs are my "confidence lures." These lures catch fish for me for my clients. The enclosed scan shows the jigs I have described in the order I mentioned them.