With so many of bass fishing’s bait and lure manufacturers tirelessly working to crack the code on the next best thing, all that outside-the-box thinking has led to some outside-the-box baits.
Knowing this, I wasn’t too surprised when I recently stumbled on a vein of “jigheads” that didn’t look all that much like the jigheads I grew up using. But I was curious, so I decided to buy a few and try them out. Keep reading to check out what I found and how some of these unusual jigs performed.
Buckeye Freestyle Swimbait Jighead
I’ve seen some line-through swimbait heads before, like those from 6th Sense and Picasso, but this is a pretty unique concept.
Instead of feeding the line through this head to tie on the hook, Buckeye just attached a treble hook underneath the head. Then, they give you two line tie options: one at the nose for casting and retrieving, another on top of the jighead for vertical fishing. You’ll also find a free-swinging screw lock behind the head to attach your swimbaits while still allowing the bait the maximum range of motion.
I did get on the water with this one and was pretty impressed by it. I was skeptical of how the screw lock was clipped on the head and not fixed at first, but the bait’s range of motion changed my mind. A swimbait on the back of this one wobbles all over, while still tracking in a straight line behind the jighead.
Nako Tungsten Jika Rig
The Jika rig has been around for a while now, but I hadn’t fished with it until this piece. And now this may be my favorite new way to mix power and finesse.
At its core, the Jika rig consists of a long, conical weight hanging from a swivel and run through the eye of a hook. The result is something like a very short leaded drop shot or Tokyo rig.
I have fished with this one a few times, and it’s one of the most weedless presentations out there. Where you might usually throw a jig and drag it through a tree and get hung, this Jika rig can slide right through. Pairing it with the Z-Man Fuzzy TRD gave off a jig vibe but the ElaZtech bait being botany allowed it to wash around just off the bottom.
Mustad Tungsten TitanX Fastach Football Weights
I haven’t personally tried any of these time jigheads out myself yet but the TitanX Fastach Football Weights aren’t really a novel concept: The angler selects their favorite hook, which this product converts into a swinghead. Just take the clip of the Fastach weight, stick it through the eye of the hook, and give it a twist to connect your weight and hook. It is possible to attach the weight upside down, so make sure your line tie and hook point are aimed in the same direction.
There’s a lot of great swingheads out there already, and I don’t know how much I trust something to stay on the hook when I can attach and remove it so easily. But, if you want to be a minimalist and keep as little tackle as possible, you can do away with your swingheads completely and just keep a few of these in your tackle box. I do like that about them; I also like that the head not only has powder coating but also is where the weight size is stamped.
SPRO Blade Swing Jig Head
The SPRO Blade Swing Jig Head looks unlike any other, featuring something like a Colorado blade stuck in a jighead with an EWG hook hung on the back using a quick attach system. It’s quite the oddball that definitely caught my eye.
I fished with this one and was a little disappointed at first, thinking it would function like a ChatterBait with an aggressive side-to-side wobble; instead, it just wobbled lazily along. But the more I considered it, the more I thought this could be a pretty cool bait to use in submerged grass. It’s weedless with a little wobble and flash, able to go some places where a ChatterBait can’t.
Frenzy Baits Wack-A-Sack Wacky Jig with Round Bend Hook
I wasn’t very hopeful when I first pulled the Frenzy Baits Wack-A-Sack Wacky Jig from the packaging. If I were to design something I was certain would hang up on every cast, it would look just like this—an exposed wacky hook attached to a heavy weight. What could go wrong?
However, when I fished with it, I found that this setup is surprisingly snag-resistant. I didn’t throw it around wood or grass, but I fished it around rock for about 20 minutes and never had it hang up once. I even caught a small spot on it! It functions similarly to the Jika rig, but a lot more compact, allowing the bait to pendulum back and forth on a shorter leash.
A Favorite Emerges
Testing out several new jigheads on the market was a pretty fun exercise. I believe the Nako Jika Rig is my favorite of the bunch: I could see it becoming my go-to bottom bait this winter, as it’s kind of a hybrid between a finesse jig and a Ned rig, when paired with the Z-Man Fuzzy TRD.
The Buckeye Freestyle Swimbait Jighead and Mustad Tungsten TitanX Fastach Football Weights were pretty cool, too. One thing I really like about all three of these jigheads is how the manufacturers are stamping the weight of each product on the actual jighead. If you catch some fish when you decide to try one of these out, you’ll know exactly what you need to buy when it’s time to restock.
