I am going to try to learn how to fish a jig this year, even if I don't catch anything. Would like to know how one fine tunes the weed guard on a jig. I would think you might fan it out but do you thin it out or just fish it straight out of the pack? Thanks.

I normally leave them alone.....maybe bend them back and forth a bit to allow for more give.

I will take my weed guard and trim it right above the point of the hook(.25 inch). Then I will take my finger and fan out the guard so when your jig is on the bottom the hook point will be protected. When this is done it will limber the guard up a little, and every 10 casts or so I will fan the guard back out. This will keep you from losing so many jigs. Good luck, tight lines.

I do the same thing!

When they are short striking you can trim up a little more, but really fan it out.

+1 on fanning the guard out a little, i trim just below the tip of the hook

Your weed guard can be tweeked accordingly:

1]Shape the weed guard.
I will fan my guard as mentioned but I also will use scissors to shape the weed guard around the hook by trimming it in a dovetail shape.

2]Thin the weed guard.
Most jigs come with an excess amount of weed guard material.For a light jig I will remove much of this excess with scissors. This will not affect the ability of the weed guard to keep you from hanging up but will allow you a cleaner hookset especially if you are using a ligher line and can't really drive your hookset as hard as when fishing 20lb or bigger line.The heavier the jig and the heavier the line the more weed guard I will leave on.

3]Push weed guard forward.
Put your thumb at the base of the weed guard and push it forward and fan it out at the same time.This will help after you have thinned and trimmed it to be a little softer and result in better hookups.It can also help the jig roll across a horizontal limb or stick much easier and with less chance of hanging up.

Hope this helps.

What Jerry said

I agree with fanning out the weed guard as well. If the weed guard it too long, I will trim it down so it is no more than 1/4 inch longer past the hook point. Sometimes if I am having trouble with getting a good hook penetration, I will cut out 4 or 5 strands at the bottom (no more) just to soften up the guard. But if you plan on fishing heavy cover, don't cut any.

Besides the things above it I am using a short trailer I will trim the skirt a little so that the trailer is not covered up

I fish finese jigs,(3/16 oz.) with a Paca Craw trailer, a lot with spinning gear. I alter the weed guard by cutting off half the thickness right up against the jig head. Works well and helps to get good hook-ups. Don't believe that big fish won't hit a small jig!

ive noticed that when you shorten a weedguard it becomes more rigid.i usually just pull 3 or 4 fibers out with some needlenose.especially if i trim the weedguard

I leave it alone I only mess with the skirts.

Trim your guard to much and you might have fish getting off. That weed guard also helps with keeping that jig from moving around in the fishes mouth when he's fighting to get off.

I really never had a problem with jigs and hook sets. They suck those things up better then any other bait I use.

I cut the whole weedguard down to where it meets the hook. Then I cut about 2/3 of it completely off. This gives me enough protection to avoid serious snags, but enough give to set the hook on light bites. I normally fish jigs pretty slow, so 1/3 of the weedguard is enough to keep me mostly snag free. I would rather lose a few jigs than a few bass.