Search a dozen boats on a score of bass lakes, and you’ll find a jigging rod on every one.
The reason is as clear as clean water: jigs work, and the variety they offer in design means that there’s a perfect jig for every situation and season.
If you’re looking to stock-up on new jigs, keep reading.
Below, we’ll review some of our favorites, explaining why they make the cut:
Table of Contents (clickable)
Related: Most Popular Bass Fishing Lures
Jigs for Bass Reviewed
6th Sense Divine Swim Jig – Best Swim Jig for Bass
6th Sense’s Divine Swim Jig is everything you want when visibility is good and there’s cover to be worked.
The sloping head design and eye position ensure that this jig rises in the water column, allowing you to work it horizontally as well as vertically. And the weed guard keeps it clean and snag-free without interfering with hook-ups.
Available in a wide array of colors and patterns, I’m a sucker for all the “bluegill”options in the 6th Sense line up. Available in ¼-, ⅜-, and ½-ounce sizes, and armed with a sharp, wide-gap 5/0 hook sporting a ScrewLock keeper, you won’t find a better swim jig, especially for the price.
Pros:
- Fair price
- Wide range of colors and patterns
- Excellent head design
- Effective weed guard
- Excellent hook with ScrewLock keeper
Cons:
- Won’t be very effective in low-visibility situations
Strike King Thunder Cricket Vibrating Swim Jig – Best Vibrating Swim Jig for Bass
Strike King’s Thunder Cricket is the jig I reach for when the water is stained or muddy, or when I’m tossing jigs at night.
In addition to a well-designed head that helps you swim this jig effortlessly, it features a vibrating blade that thumps like mad. The resulting hybrid is the love child of a swim jig, a spinner, and a chatterbait, and it works as well as its parents.
Designed to draw bass in when they can’t see more than a few feet, it’s ideal for running above rocky, clean, and muddy bottoms, but the lack of a weed guard gets it hung up when you pull it through salad.
Available in ½- and ⅜-ounce sizes, as well as a wide range of colors and patterns, I’m a big fan of the darker colors for night fishing for bass in relatively shallow water.
Pros:
- Fair price
- Wide range of colors and patterns
- Excellent head design
- Vibrates like crazy as soon as you start your retrieve
Cons:
- No weed guard
War Eagle Heavy Finesse Jig – Best Finesse Jig for Bass
When the water’s cold or the pressure’s hot, I reach for a finesse jig designed by Andy Morgan for busy lakes and hard-hit rivers.
War Eagle’s Heavy Finesse Jig offers a compact size and profile that won’t spook wary bass while enticing strikes that other anglers miss.
The heavy, oversized ball head deflects beautifully from rocks, sticks, and other cover, while the weed guard keeps the hook clean without blocking hooksets. And the range of colors and patterns for the skirt are second-to-none.
Available in ½- and ⅜ ounce sizes, this is one finesse jig that you can really cast despite its unassumingly-small dimensions. And when the inevitable strike happens, you’ll be glad that War Eagle has armed the Heavy Finesse with a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook with a keeper that holds on to soft plastic trailers like they owe it money.
Pros:
- Fair price
- Wide range of colors and patterns
- Excellent head design
- Effective weed guard
- Excellent hook with great keeper
Cons:
Strike King Tour Grade Skipping Jig – Best Skipping Jig for Bass
Reaching bass that are huddled under decks and docks to escape the heat demands a jig that skips like a stone, and Strike King’s Tour Grade Skipping Jig works like magic.
When you try to skip a standard jig, it tends to hit the water once and then dive. But the up-angled head on a skipping high encourages it to bounce across the surface of the water, reaching way back under that dock to where the big bass are waiting.
Available in ⅜- and ½-ounce sizes, these skipping jigs are heavy enough to really sling without being so heavy that they sink immediately.
Expect a very sharp hook and screw-in keeper that’ll save your expensive trailers, despite the abuse they suffer on every cast and fight.
Offered in seven colors and patterns – six subdued, natural options plus white – Strike King’s Tour Grade Skipping Jig is an option you’ll want in your tackle box all summer.
Pros:
- Fair price
- Good range of colors and patterns
- Excellent head design
- Effective weed guard
- Excellent hook with great keeper
Cons:
Reaction Tackle Tungsten Flipping Jig – Best Flipping Jig for Bass
When I’m looking for a compact, heavy, accurate-casting option for flipping, Reaction Tackle’s Tungsten Flipping Jig is my go-to choice.
Paired with a lizard, big worm, or fat creature bait, these jigs punch matted grass and slide between lily pads without getting hung up. Chalk that up to an effective weed guard and a heavy-for-size, curved-belly head that just plain works!
Available in ⅜-, ¾, ½, and 1-ounce weights, Reaction Tackle offers this excellent flipping jig in a wide array of colors and patterns. The smaller sizes sport a sharp 4/0 hook, while the big boys run a strong 5/0. Both sizes include an effective keeper that locks your trailer to your jig, even when it takes a beating.
Pros:
- Excellent range of colors and patterns
- Excellent head design
- Effective weed guard
- Excellent hook with great keeper
Cons:
- The heavy-weights get a little expensive
When you want to slam a jig into rocks, sticks, stumps, or brush piles to create an erratic deflection, nothing beats a football jig.
Reaction Tackle’s Tungsten Football Jigs offer a well-designed oblong head that bounces and darts off cover just like you’d like, along with a great weed guard to keep your hook clean. Effective when the bass are feeding aggressively as well as when pressure leaves them gun-shy, I reach for these jigs every time I’m working a blowdown, a field of submerged stumps, or a rocky bottom.
They’re that good.
Available in ¼-, ⅜-, ½-, ¾-, and 1-ounce sizes, the smallest of the bunch is equipped with a sharp 3/0 hook, the ⅜ and ½ with a 4/0, and the ¾ and full-ounce with a 5/0. Lots of great colors and patterns are on offer, and whether you’re fishing a secret honey-hole or a tournament lake, these football jigs are simply superb.
Pros:
- Excellent range of colors and patterns
- Excellent head design
- Effective weed guard
- Excellent hook with great keeper
Cons:
- The heavy-weights get a little expensive
Z-MAN Z Man Cesj – Best Grass Jig for Bass
Swimming a jig through thick weeds or submerged grass requires a purpose-built design. Bassmaster Elite Series pro David Walker looked to imitate a snake’s head with this jig, giving it a profile that swims through the thick stuff without getting hung up.
Z-Man’s Z Man Cesj has an angular head and stiff weed guard that slices through salad like a torpedo, and the curved bottom of the jig head keeps it off the bottom, even in heavier weights.
I love this jig for swimming through weedbeds, popping and dropping into grass, and working vegetation-choked water for big bass.
Five colors and patterns are available, as well as two sizes: a ⅜- and ½-ounce. Both are armed with a sharp 4/0 VMC hook, and despite the strong weed guard, hook-up like a champ.
Pros:
- Great price!
- Excellent head design
- Effective weed guard
- Excellent hook with great keeper
Cons:
What to Look for in a Good Jig?
Jig heads: shape matters
While simple round-headed jigs can get the job done in most cases, they’re far from perfect for every situation.
For instance, swim jigs work better when they have heads with curved underbellies designed to push them higher in the water column, resisting their weight as you retrieve them.
Football jig heads, by contrast, don’t swim as well, but they deflect like crazy on impact with cover.
And pointy grass jigs slice through vegetation with ease, but get hung up on rocky bottoms.
What does that mean for you?
If you pick the right jig head for the situation, you’ll get better performance.
Related: How To Fish A Jig For Bass
Color and pattern
Color and pattern matter as much with jigs as they do with crankbaits, and choosing the right option is exactly the same.
Use light, bright colors in shallow water when visibility is low. Switch to muted, realistic hues when the water is clear and you’re fishing above 30 feet.
For deep water and night fishing, go with dark blues and blacks.
Hook quality
Jigs demand excellent hooks.
You want them sharp, strong, and big enough to provide a clean hookset.
Weed guards
A good weed guard keeps your hook clear of trash and junk without interfering with your hookset.
Keepers
Let’s face it: soft plastic trailers are expensive, and losing them every few casts is a great way to lose your mind.
Good jigs will feature a keeper that locks your trailer in place, saving you time and money.
Final Thoughts
While there’s really no “best jig” overall, there are a lot of best jigs for different situations.
We hope that this article has helped you pick out a jig or two for your fishing arsenal, and we’d love to hear from you if it has.
Please leave a comment below!
Source: usangler.com