FishUSA Angler Resources

Jig Fishing For Bass: Techniques and Top Jigs for Year-Round Success

By: FishUSA Staff

August 16, 2024

Large and smallmouth bass are among the most sought-after fish in America, inhabiting lakes, ponds, creeks, and rivers across the country. While numerous baits and techniques are available for bass fishing, a jig stands out as one of the most versatile, affordable, and effective methods. Whether you're fishing from a boat or the shore, shallow or deep, or around just about any type of cover, jigs can help you catch bass throughout the year. 

Large and smallmouth bass are among the most sought-after fish in America, inhabiting lakes, ponds, creeks, and rivers across the country. While numerous baits and techniques are available for bass fishing, a jig stands out as one of the most versatile, affordable, and effective methods. Whether you're fishing from a boat or the shore, shallow or deep, or around just about any type of cover,  jigs can help you catch bass throughout the year. 

Table of Contents

  • What Is A Jig?
  • Why Jigs Are Essential For Bass Fishing
  • Techniques - Fishing Jigs For Bass
  • Swim Jigs
  • Jigheads And Worms
  • Football Jig
  • Flipping and Pitching
  • Offshore Bass Fishing With Hair Jigs
  • Casting Marabou Jigs
  • Top Jigs For Bass
  • Final Thoughts

What is a Jig?

The word “jig” might be the broadest term in fishing, but when a bass angler refers to a jig they are almost always talking about a lure with a lead or tungsten head and rubber skirt material. The head of the jig can vary in shape, with different designs better suited for different kinds of cover.  Hair jigs, crafted from bucktail or marabou, also work exceptionally well for bass under certain conditions and environments.  Keep reading to learn more about each jig variety. 

Why Jigs are Essential for Bass Fishing

Jigs are incredibly adaptable due to their varying weights, styles, materials, and colors. They can be fished throughout the water column and in just about any structure you might come across. Jigs can be fished fast, slow, or even dead sticked. The affordability of jigs allows anglers to stock up on various sizes and colors for any situation without breaking the bank.

Skirted jigs come in all shapes and sizes

Skirted jigs come in all shapes and sizes

Techniques for Jig Fishing For Bass

Swim Jigs

Swim jigs have become a popular choice for bass fishing in recent years. Originally an accidental discovery, swim jigging has evolved into a powerful technique. Instead of reeling a miscast jig back to the boat without fishing it, anglers found that swimming the jig back can trigger strikes.

Swim jigs consist of a pointed head that allows them to glide through the water with little resistance and come through cover such as aquatic vegetation and timber with ease. 

To fish a swim jig:

  • Cast and Reel: Cast your jig and reel it back while occasionally shaking the rod tip. The simplicity of this technique makes it ideal for beginners.
  • Equipment: Use a seven-foot medium-heavy action rod with a baitcaster spooled with 12-17 pound fluorocarbon line. The lower stretch of fluorocarbon aids in better hooksets. When fishing around very heavy vegetation, 30-50 pound braid is a better option. 
  • Pair it with a Trailer: A soft plastic trailer can add action and profile to a swim jig, helping to trigger more strikes. To give your jig a lot of action and help keep it high in the water column, add a trailer such as a Strike King Rage Craw. For more subtle action and to help fish your swim jig deep, go with a trailer such as a Missile Baits D Bomb or Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.

Recommended Swim Jig: Dirty Jigs No-Jack Swim Jig

Jighead and Worm

As summer progresses, bass often move to deeper water along weed line edges or offshore humps. A simple jighead and worm presentation fished slowly along the bottom can be excellent for triggering strikes when the bite gets tough.

  • Plastics: Use four to ten inch worms such as a Zoom Trick Worm or Ol’ Monster. Pair these up with a Mustad AlphaPoint A-Tak Stand Up Jig Head. Match the jighead weight with the depth you are fishing or the conditions. You want to be sure your bait is always making good contact with the bottom, so don’t be afraid to use sizes such as a ⅜ oz in 10-15 feet of water, especially if there’s a bit of wind.
  • Technique: Drag or hop the bait slowly along weed edges or offshore structure such as rockpiles, stumps or cribs.
  • Equipment: A seven-foot to seven-foot 3-inch medium or medium-heavy action rod works well for this technique. With lighter jigheads and smaller worms, a spinning rod with 10-20 lb braid and an 8-10 lb fluorocarbon leader is preferred. For heavier jigheads and larger worms, casting gear with 10-15 lb fluorocarbon is the ticket. 

Football Jig

For targeting bass on offshore structure such as rocks or stumps, the Keitech M2 Football Jig is unbeatable. Available in ¼, 3/8 and 1/2 ounce sizes, it allows you to explore the bottom structure in a variety of depths effectively. This jig also has a tungsten head, allowing you to better feel bottom structure. 

  • Technique: Drag the jig along the bottom, pausing it on or next to the best structure on the spot. Occasional short hops can trigger strikes as well by helping the jig mimic a fleeing crawfish.
  • Equipment: Use a seven-foot to seven-foot six-inch medium-heavy or heavy action casting rod with 15-20 lb fluorocarbon line. A longer rod is preferred as it helps the angler have more control when fishing deep on a long cast. 
  • Pair it with a Trailer: A soft plastic trailer is almost always used with a football jig. Even when the jig is paused, a trailer adds some enticing action to help a bass make that final bite decision. The Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, Strike King Rage Menace, and Great Lakes Finesse Snack Craw all make good options depending on conditions and forage base. 

Flipping and Pitching

When bass are buried in the grass or heavy cover, flipping and pitching can be highly effective. Match your jig size to the cover you're fishing and adjust your technique accordingly.

  • Technique: Pitch the jig into open holes or the edge of grass or cover from 10-20 ft away. Let the bait fall to the bottom, give it a few hops, then reel it in and pitch to the next target. A snap and pop technique can be very effective when fishing shorter grass. Pitch the jig 20-30 ft, let it fall to the bottom, then give the rod a hard snap to rip the jig up out of the grass, then let it fall to the bottom again. 
  • Equipment: A heavy-action seven-foot three-inch to seven-foot six-inch casting rod is required to set heavy gauge hooks and pull big bass out of heavy cover. Use 50-65 lb braided line for thick vegetation and 17-20 lb fluorocarbon for all other applications. A high speed reel is preferred to move the bass away from cover quickly.
  • Pair it with a Trailer: A soft plastic trailer is important to add action to the jig as it falls. Appendages thumping and fluttering can help catch the eye of a nearby bass. The Berkley Chigger Craw is an excellent trailer choice for this technique. 

Recommended Jig: Dirty Jigs Tour Level Pitchin’ Jig

Offshore Fishing with Hair Jigs

When bass reach their offshore haunts in the heat of the summer, they can be tricky to catch. Large, heavy hair jigs are excellent for triggering strikes when bass are hanging around ledges or rockpiles. 

    • Technique: Cast the jig past where the bass are holding and use a burn pause technique with the reel, allowing the jig to fall to the bottom on the pause. This allows the hair jig’s material to produce the best action and when the bait hits the bottom it gives the fish a perfect opportunity to strike. 
    • Equipment: A seven-foot three-inch to seven-foot six-inch medium-heavy to heavy-action casting rod and 15-20 lb fluorocarbon are perfect for throwing these heavy hair jigs in deep water. 

Recommended Jig: Northland Minnesota Mullet Hair Jig

Casting Marabou Jigs 

Marabou jigs are great for mimicking insects, shiners, or other small aquatic forage. They work exceptionally well when insect hatches are occurring or bass are cruising shallow in the pre and post-spawn periods. Marabou jigs are much lighter than the heavy hair jigs we talked about above. 1/16, ⅛, and ¼ oz sizes are the most popular. 

  • Technique: Make as long of a cast as possible with the marabou jig and use a slow and steady retrieve. Be sure to fish the jig all the way back to the boat as bass tend to follow it. Work the jig along shallow weed edges, boulders, or other visible structure. 
  • Equipment: A seven-foot six-inch light to medium-light action spinning rod with a 3000 or 4000 size reel, 10 lb braid, and a six to eight pound fluorocarbon leader allows you to make the longest cast with these light jigs. 

Recommended Jig: Outkast Feider Fly Jig

Top Jigs For Bass Fishing

Dirty Jigs No-Jack Swim Jig

Buy No-Jack Swim Jig

With a bullet shaped head to come through grass, a super sturdy Gamakatsu hook, and high definition skirt patterns, this swim jig quickly becomes an angler’s favorite

Mustad AlphaPoint A-Tak Stand Up Jig Head 

Buy AlphaPoint A-Tak Stand Up Jig Head

Complete with Mustad’s AlphaPoint technology to keep your hook sharp and durable, this jig head also has a screwlock keeper to keep your soft plastic worm in place and a matte grey nano-coat finish to stay finesse. 

Keitech M2 Football Jig 

Buy The M2 Football Jig

This football jig is composed of a tungsten head, allowing you to feel bottom structure significantly better than with a lead head. This also means the jig head is smaller, keeping the jig more finesse and compact. These features make this jig a favorite for smallmouth bass.

Z-Man CrossEyeZ Football Jig 

Buy CrossEyeZ Football Jig

This is a heavy-duty football jig made for fishing deep. Available in ½ and ¾ oz sizes, the CrossEyeZ Football Jig gets to the bottom quick and stays there. 

Dirty Jigs Scott Canterbury Flippin’ Jig 

Buy Scott Canterbury Flippin’ Jig

The Scott Canterbury Flippin’ Jig is for the angler looking for a big profile, sturdy jig. Featuring a Gamakatsu 3X heavy-wire hook, this jig will stick big ones and keep them pinned no matter what thick cover they’re buried in. 

Epic Baits Finesse Jig

Buy Epic Baits Finesse Jig

There are times when a small, compact jig just flat out gets more bites. The Epic Finesse Jig comes with a long skirt that can be trimmed to the angler’s desired length. It also features 3D eyes for a realistic look to pressured fish. The head design of this jig allows it to be flipped and pitched around wood or grass, skipped under docks, or drug offshore. 

Northland Minnesota Mullet Hair Jig 

Buy Mullet Hair Jig 

The Minnesota Mullet Hair Jig is a combination of synthetic and natural fibers to move like real baitfish. It’s a large profile and the lifelike head design is available in ⅜ - ¾ oz sizes, making it perfect for fishing deep ledges, rock piles, or stump fields. 

Outkast Feider Fly Jig

Buy Outkast Feider Fly Jig

The Outkast Feider Fly Jig consists of hand-tied marabou concealing a sticky-sharp light wire Gamakatsu hook. The head of this jig is pointed, allowing it to seamlessly come through the water, giving the marabou the best action possible. Chunks of soft plastic can be added to this marabou jig for added weight and scent thanks to a double barbed bait keeper. The Feider Fly is a smallmouth bass killer! 

VMC Dominator Marabou Jig

Buy VMC Dominator Marabou Jig

The Dominator jig features beautifully undulating marabou as well as a hint of flashabou fibers to attract fish. It’s available in up to ¼ oz, allowing for long casts and the ability to be fished a little deeper than most marabou jigs. 

Final Thoughts

Fishing a jig for bass might just be the most effective way to catch America’s favorite gamefish. The incredible variety and versatility of these lures makes them fish-catchers in just about any scenario. Visit FishUSA for a wide selection of quality jigs and start improving your bass fishing game today!

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