I always hear all the hype about football jigs and for some reason I just cant seem to be able to figure it out. I feel like I am fishing the right areas, the same places I catch them on c rigs and crank baits, Usually 12' to 25' deep ledges and brush piles. I have decided that I am gonna fish this weekend with nothing but football jigs and figure this out. Any advice on weight, weight, color, trailers and the proper way to work one would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

If your catching them on a crank throw the football jig right back to the same spot. Fish want it different ways at different times. I have had better luck lately just dragging it back like a crig. Or you might look at some videos online about stroking a jig. I like green pumpkin, pb&j, or blk and blue with matching trailers. I very weight by depth and wind. At the depth your talking about fishing I would say 1/2-3/4oz should work.

I use about a 1/2 to 1/3. As long as you can maintain contact with the bottom. I personally drag my jigs like a c-rig. When I use one

I mostly throw a 3/4 oz football head jig and especially would in the depth range you are going to. You are in the right area to throw the jig. Most of the time I just drag and pause, drag and pause. That usually works. You can also try short little hops. After it hits bottom give it a quick snap of the rod tip and let it sit again. Just experiment.

I like to use a Netbait baby paca craw or a Lake Fork Tackle hyper freak as a trailer. Colors, well I like way to many but that's just me. I'm a tackle nut. I like several variations of green pumpkin with accent colors. Green pumpkin/purple, green pumpkin/orange, green pumpkin candy. Black/brown/amber, Peanut butter N Jelly, black/blue or black/blue/purple, Texas craw.
Check out Santone jigs and MPack jigs @ Tackle Warehouse for some of the colors that I mentioned.
Trailer colors, you can either match the jig as close as possible or have some contrast and accent or be totally different. All three combo's work.
Santone Mexican Heather I use a green pumpkin purple glitter trailer. The trailer matches the jig. With the Black/brown/amber you can add a black neon trailer to match the jig or put on a green pumpkin/red trailer which would add in the green color to the jig with the accent in red. With a black/blue I do a matching trailer, or a junebug color and even a green pumpkin or green pumpkin/blue.
Like I said, I'm a tackle nut and like way too many colors. You don't need to get this detailed to get bit. LOL I just have fun with all the colors. Its a sickness that there is no cure for. Time on the water helps. Hahahahaha

I like using a heavier football jig as a punch bait. Usually run one with a weed gaurd and drag it or small bounces depending on what action is working that day. Sometimes if its not working Ill throw it along the edge of a patch of what I call mess (lilly pads, algea, weeds, ect) with a trailor just to see if a different look will get them active.

For me it depends on the structure I am fishing. Ledges, humps, points I prefer to drag. When im fishing brush, docks and grass I prefer more of a hop and pause retrieve. Mainly because dragging into brush is a quick way to get hung up for me

Drag it, just like the others said. To me, the great thing about a football jig is that you have better feel with it than with any other bait, especially on fluoro. Bites are a lot easier to feel than with a c-rig because you don't have the slack in the leader. And its easy to fish. Cast, drag, cast.

Laces up. Sorry, I couldn't help myself on that attempt of humor. All the above is great advice, only thing I could add is Goggle "Stroking a jig".

Call Andrew Grills and set up a guide trip, cut the learning curve back a little bit. It is a must know how presentation to learn and the correct way to present year round.

Here is a great article on "Advanced Football Jig Fishing"
http://www.getalimitoutdoors.com/home/brad-wiegmann-articles/286-advanced-football-jig-fishing

I like to keep my colors simple. I like green, black/brown/amber, a black/blue and sometimes even a shad pattern. My favorite color jig and trailer combination right now on fork is a 3/4 oz. Santone's Pake's Perch paired with a LFT Hyper-freak in green pumpkin gold/purple flake.


Put that trailer behind your jig and swim it by the boat and you'll quikly see why it's a favorite with many.
This is what I have tied on mostly this time of year. You have to let the fish tell you how they want it. I'll usually start by dragging it slowly like a c-rig, then slowly swimming it on the bottom, making contact with the bottom by starting and stopping the retrieve and sometimes they want you to stroke it and let it fall. Stroking a jig can be little short pops with the rod tip to hop the jig off the bottom all the way to working it like a flutter spoon. I've even had times when the only way to get bit is to barely move it and let it sit and soak. To set the hook reel down and make a long sweeping hook set like a c-rig. You can catch them with a violent head cracking hook set, but in the end, you'll get more in the boat if you reel down to tighten up and sweep the rod. You'll catch some at the end of a long cast and with line stretch (20 lb. Seguar Invisx) a long rod helps take up the slack.

thanks for share...it nice..+2

I use that same trailer from lake fork tackle.

There is great article in recent BASS magazine from Cliff Pace all the different jigs and techniques. I didn't realize there was so much to it.

Drag it or stroke it!