A million dollar bass bait? "Right"... Especially just for catching bass?
"Sure Thing"... Don't remark yet because I know what you must be thinking
about this article already. You are probably saying to yourself "is this
guy for real" right? The truth is that "It's True!" my dear fellow bass
anglers (and future potential bass anglers.) Yes, there is a artificial
bait used for bass angling on the market today that is actually worth a lot
more than a million dollars. Not only that, this certain bait has proven
itself over and over again for many years when used by some of the top bass
pros but, most of you just weren't aware of it. In fact, I would be
willing to bet that most (I said most) of today's serious bass anglers
already have some of these baits in their tackle boxes or in their boats but
they rarely use them.
I use this bait most of the time, in fact, I caught a 7lb. 2oz. Smallmouth
bass (the biggest Smallie I've ever caught in my life) just last season
with this bait as well as catching the lunker (winning the big bass pot)
when I qualified for the B.A.S.S. Federation State Team 2 years ago. This
bait has also enabled me to make many bass tournament checks over the course
of my pro career. Better yet! I'm not alone. I must be in good company
because there are many famous pro bass anglers that use this bait probably
more than any other bait they own, why?, because it gets results. That's
why many pro anglers refer to this as a "Big Bass Bait."
I feel so strongly and confident about this bait that I spend a good part of
a day teaching my students while attending my 3-day bass fishing school how
to rig, what type of areas to fish these baits in and around, and how to
present (showing the different techniques that can be applied) these baits
with the results being fantastic! In fact, many of my former students have
stated that while learning from the techniques and "how-to's" I teach them
while attending my school many claimed that they have caught the biggest
bass of their entire lives while using this bait. Oh yes, this million
dollar bait has made many believers out of my students and charter clients
after showing them how to use this bait. Have you guessed what it is yet?
Now that we got that out of the way I guess it's time to reveal this
"Million Dollar Bass Bait" to all you fellow anglers and potential bass
anglers. This bait is more commonly known as the JIG & PIG combo. This
bait has earned more money for anglers than any other artificial bass bait
that has ever been produced especially when fishing it in bass tournaments.
Denny Brauer just for example (one of the top super pros of bass angling)
became the 1st millionaire from fishing bass tournaments and guess what bait
he used most of the time to make his money? You got it, the Jig & Pig
Combo. Another fact about this bait is that it has earned tournament
anglers more money for the "Lunker" or "Big Bass" pots in most bass
tournaments ever fished. I guess one could comfortably say that the
winnings earned by bass anglers when using this bait over the past 30 years
would not just fall in the million dollar bracket, but closer to the
MILLIONS of dollars bracket as well as earning them fame and fortune for
many of the well known top bass pros.
It's kinda odd when you think about a bait such as this getting very little
attention to the average angler, especially after knowing what this bait
can produce. When a student enrolls in my 3-day bass fishing school I
always ask him or her what type of baits they normally use, what kind of
experience they have as far as bass angling, what type of equipment they
use, what their goals are, and what knowledge they hope to gain while
attending my school, but what really surprises me is that the Jig & Pig is
rarely even mentioned by them. Let me tell you a little secret, if you
learn how to fish a Jig & Pig combo correctly and give the bait a fair
chance (not just thirty minutes and put it away like most anglers) at least
a good full day to get a good feel of the bait, I can just about promise you
that you'll become addicted to it especially after catching your first
lunker bass while using it.
There are several patterns you can use with the Jig & Pig combo such as
Flippin', Pitchin', and Castin', and many different techniques you can apply
in the presentation when fishing this bait. There are also many different
ways to rig a Jig & Pig combo before actually fishing with it. One of the
best ways I found when rigging a Jig & Pig combo is to use a 3/8 or 1/2oz.
"Flippin'" jig (which is the football type head) that is manufactured with a
skirt and weedguard, then I will usually attach a trailer and a rattle (if
the rattle don't already come attached to the jig) to it. This is now my
Largemouth bass secret weapon. Now, if you are fishing for Smallmouth or
Spotted Bass I just downsize to a 1/4 oz. jig and a smaller version of the
same trailer.
The best trailers I found to use with my "Flippin' Jig" would either be a
Gary Yamamoto 4" "Twin Tail" Hula Grub (a fantastic bait just used by itself
Texas rigged) or a big plastic "Salt Chunk" (which is just a plastic chunk
implanted with salt and two little tails on one end of it.) Now, before
fishing this bait there is another matter of importance you really need to
understand, and that is to have the proper equipment and knowing how to use
it when fishing this bait. Not only will this bait catch more "quality"
bass than smaller ones, but mostly because of the areas that you would fish
the bait around and through. In fact, one of my students last season while
being taught how use this bait caught nothing smaller than 3 and 4 pound
bass the whole time he fished with it! Once in a while you may catch a
smaller bass with this bait, but on the average it will catch the bigger
ones if you know where to look for them. Getting back to proper equipment,
I use a seven and a half foot telescopic flippin' stick (rod) with a heavy
action, never anything less than 25lb. test (clear or transparent) mono
line, and a baitcaster reel with a medium to a fast retrieve speed for
fishing a Jig & Pig combo.
Some areas I fish the Jig & Pig combo would be:
1. In and around "Fall-Downs"
2. Grassy Areas
3. Point drops
4. Channel contours
5. Around and under docks
6. Along rocks (or rip-rap)
7. Floating objects
8. Thick vegetation areas
9. Ledges
10. To many types of structure to mention
and many, many, more areas..... You can fish a Jig & Pig combo in the
shallows as well as deeper water, and it is also by far one of the best
"Year-round" artificial bass baits an angler could own.
The name "Jig & Pig" goes back several years ago when the trailers used with
a Jig were actually made from real pork products, commonly referred to as
"Pork Chunks", and even though most trailers used with a Jig today are made
of plastic, the name has carried on through the years kinda like a
tradition. There is however still a company that makes the real pork
products (or pork chunk trailers) for these Jigs but I found from my own
experience that the plastic trailers I use actually get better results that
the original pork products. One problem I used to have with the pork
products is that they constantly dried out from the wind or sun while
running the boat down the lakes or rivers and having to change them all the
time (this got very costly.) The plastic trailers mentioned above don't
have this problem, in fact I've caught up 5 or 6 bass using the same
trailer, and they wont dry out!
If you want to become a more successful bass angler, catch bigger fish, and
start learning different baits that actually work, you owe it to yourself to
give the Jig & Pig combo a fair try. Now, you may not catch as many bass
during the course of a day as other artificial baits would, but more times
that not you'll catch the bigger quality ones. The largest bass I ever
caught in my life was a 17lb. 3oz. Largemouth bass caught on a Jig & Pig
combo pitchin' along some stick-ups (or as some would call Bull-Rush areas)
in the Southern part of the Nation, but don't be to surprised to catch 5, 6,
7, and 8 pounders in the Northern part of the Nation as well using this
bait.
If I can help you with any questions concerning this article, my bass
fishing school or charter service, or you simply just want to drop a line
you can contact me at www.capital.net/~rlbrown -
www.fishing-boating.com/basscoach (my personal websites), or Email me at:
rlbrown@capital.net or call me at (518) 597-4240
Good Fishin'....... Until next time, take care & God Bless!
"The Bass Coach"...Roger Lee Brown