February is football month with the Super Bowl being played on the first of the month this year. It is also football time for bass anglers in February, and into March and April in many places⌠football jig fishing time.
I like the football jigs from D&L Tackle and even make some of my own with supplies from Mud Hole Custom Tackle. A sturdy Mustad hook is absolutely critical for deep fishing like this.
Football head jigs, because of their football shape, are made for dragging along the bottom. That head design allows you to keep from getting hung up while covering a ton of water. It has replaced the venerable Carolina Rig for many anglers. I use a ½-ounce jig most of the time. If fishing deeper than 20 feet, I switch to a ž-ounce.
Look for banks that feature transition areas in the rocks. Bluff walls transitioning to chunk rock and boulder-size rocks down to pea gravel are ideal. Points are also perfect places for a football jig as well as old underwater roadbeds.
Most of the time you just cast a football jig and drag it back to the boat. If you notice youâre getting bites when the jig is falling, either on the initial cast or when you come to a depth change, then start hopping it up and down. Some days the fish may want it hopped instead of dragged slowly on the bottom, but start with the dragging technique.
When you feel the bait contacting cover on the bottom, try shaking it a little and hop it up once. The bite feels like a small tick, and then they swim off with it. A lot of times you get the âmushy feelingâ or something just feels different on the line.
On the hook set, donât just swing as hard as you can. Instead, sweep the rod sideways to move as much line as possible. Many times youâre making long casts, and for that reason use 15-pound fluorocarbon line. It will provide more sensitivity and stretch very little on a long hook set.
I trim the jigâs skirt right behind the hook. That gives it a smaller profile and lets the skirt flair out easily. For colors, I go with natural crawfish colors. Green pumpkin and orange are great, as I am trying to imitate a crawfish. If you want to get real dialed in, spend some time turning over rocks near the ramp to see what the crawfish look like at that time of year. They change color through the seasons.
For the jigâs trailer, I always use a Strike King Rage Craw.
The rod itself is crucial to catching fish on a football jig. The MHX MB-843 for a ½-ounce jig and the MB-844 for a ž-ounce from Mud Hole Custom Tackle are perfect for this technique. They are super sensitive for feeling the bait on the bottom and detecting strikes and have the muscle needed for a solid hookup.
Now that football season is over, it is time to hit the lake and throw a different type of football around.
For more about Elite Series professional Brandon Lester, visit www.brandonlesterfishing.com or www.facebook.com/ProAnglerBrandonLester. Learn about the benefits and satisfaction of custom rod building at www.mudhole.com.