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Jighead Selection Tech and Tips

By Justin Willmer

Soft plastics fishing is incredibly popular because it’s incredibly effective. Soft plastics look realistic, feel realistic, come scented or can be scented, are available in a myriad of shapes, sizes and colours, and they are extremely versatile as anglers can rig them on a jighead to fish throughout the water column, from topwater to deep water.

Selecting a jighead is one area that some anglers find confusing though, as there are so many options available. In fact, TT Fishing, Australia’s most popular jighead brand, offers over 740 different hook, weight, colour and configuration options for anglers, covering general, through to niche and specialized fishing techniques and applications. Let’s look at some options and tips for selecting a jighead.

Hook Size

When it comes to jighead selection, a good starting point is matching the size of the hook to the size of your plastic and your target species. When targeting small to medium species on plastics ranging from 2” – 5”, it is common for the hook to sit about a third to halfway down the length of the plastic, leaving the tail of the plastic to move freely and the presentation to look balanced and not overpowered by the hook.

When it comes to larger predators and larger plastics it can be more about selecting a hook size to handle your target species, while still looking natural and not overpowering the plastic. For example, you may rig a 6/0 for snapper and an 8/0 for barramundi, while still fishing the same plastic. Larger plastics are often more forgiving when it comes to selecting a range of jigheads, while a smaller plastic may have a sweet spot, with one hook size larger or smaller generally still fitting the plastic without issue.

There is flexibility to alter hook size when using the same plastic to better suit your target species and environment, for example if fishing a 4” plastic in weedy areas for flathead you may fish a 2/0 to reduce hook exposure and minimize fouling in the weed, switching to a 4/0 when chasing barramundi to maximize hook exposure and hook up rate when this implosion feeder inhales your soft plastic and quickly attempts to eject it. Similarly, you may rig a size 2 hook in your 2.5” plastic if your main target species is bream or a 1/0 in the same plastic if you are fishing finesse for flathead.

Jighead selection guides, like those found in the ‘Rigging Guides’ section of the Tackle Tactics website, www.tackletactics.com.au, are a great starting point, offering you a range of suggested hook sizes to suit the range of popular ZMan 10X Tough ElaZtech soft plastics.

Hook Type

Not all hooks are the same, with a basic difference being the wire gauge / strength of the hook. Some applications may require a fine gauge, lighter wire hook for maximum penetration, such as fishing finesse plastics for bream, while others may require a heavier gauge, heavy wire hook for maximum strength and stopping power, such as when chasing snapper around reefs or extracting mangrove jack from timber snags.

On your TT jighead packet you will find an ‘L’ with the hook size if it is a light wire hook, or a ‘H’ or ‘XH’ for heavy or extra heavy wire hooks. This will assist you when selecting a suitable hook to suit your soft plastic, target species and technique. Light wire hooks are popular for open water and finesse fishing with lighter lines, leaders and drag settings. Heavy wire hooks are popular when fishing heavier lines, leaders and drags, targeting jighead destroying species such as snapper, and when attempting to extract fish from structure.

Standard jighead hooks are often referred to as ‘standard’ or ‘J’ hooks because of their shape and they are the most popular style of jighead hook, commonly fished in open water and areas with minimal chance of snagging. Another popular hook option when fishing heavy structure is a weedless jighead option, which we will look at in more detail as a separate topic.

Jighead Weight

There is an old saying, ‘go light to get the bite’, which basically refers to fishing as light as possible in terms of gear and jighead weight, to present your soft plastic as naturally as possible. It is important to remember that although attempting to select the lightest jighead possible for a natural presentation, variables such as wind, water depth, current, target species, location, season and technique can impact jighead selection.

You still need enough weight to get your soft plastic into the strike zone when faced with these variables. Below is a short list of variables and how increasing the jighead weight may benefit you when the variable is working against you.

Wind – Increased casting distance to reach fish and the ability to target them from further away to minimize spooking. Increased control when working the plastic.

Depth – Faster sink rate can be a benefit if your target species is located in deeper water and also if your plastic has a lot of action that reduces the sink rate.

Current – Faster flowing water can create drag in your line and lift your plastic out of the strike zone, so increasing jighead weight can increase control, sink rate and the depth that can be reached when contending with current flow.

These will be the main variables that are easily recognized and you may need adjust your jighead weight throughout the session as these variables change. I often recommend to anglers that are getting into soft plastics fishing to select a plastic to suit their target species, select a recommended jighead weight for that target species in the environment where you are targeting them and then select a lighter and heavier jighead to have in your kit.

For example, when chasing bream in the canals with a ZMan 2.5” GrubZ, a popular jighead weight may be 1/16oz Size 1, so having a 1/20oz and 1/12oz Size 1 in your kit will allow you to present the same plastic at a variety of cast distances, sink rates and drift speeds with the current. Similarly, having a ZMan 3” MinnowZ in your kit for flathead is sure to produce some fish and a popular jighead for fishing the rivers and estuaries with this plastic is a 1/4oz 3/0. Adding a 1/8oz or 1/6oz 3/0 adds versatility for fishing shallow water and over weed, while a 3/8oz may add versatility in terms of fishing deeper edges and deeper structure. A simple change of jighead weight can be enough to get the plastic into the strike zone or to change the action and entice the fish to bite.

HWS (Hidden Weight System)

I often refer to the HWS as the ultimate finesse jighead as the only weight present is the grub keeper, which is concealed inside the plastic when rigged. This presents the plastic extremely naturally, with the only parts of the hook exposed from the plastic being the eye for attaching your leader and the bend and point for hooking the fish. The light weight of these heads makes them perfect for slowly sinking plastics naturally around structure and over the shallows.

If you are chasing fish around rock walls, pontoons, mangroves and other structures, fishing finesse, this is a great addition to your kit. You will find these jigheads in most bream tournament angler kits, with hundreds of tournament wins to their name. Most plastic styles can be rigged on a HWS, including curl tails, paddle tails, jerkbaits, crustaceans and creature baits.

Ned Rig System

The Ned Rig System has taken the US by storm as a finesse fishing for targeting bass in the fresh water. The TT NedlockZ was initially made for the US, however Aussie anglers quickly clued into the effectiveness of this technique, with the mushroom style head creating a rapid stand-up presentation when paired with ZMan’s naturally buoyant ElaZtech material.

Designed in lighter weights and smaller hook sizes, NedlockZ and NedlockZ EWG (weedless) jigheads allow you to fish your favourite ZMan finesse plastics with a totally different action. The plastic is constantly working as you move it with a shake, twitch or hop as if it is fleeing, before standing up rapidly on the pause and moving naturally with the current flow. When baitfish profile plastics are moved and paused it looks like bait foraging across the bottom, with the tail standing up rapidly on the pause in a natural feeding pose. For craws and curly tails, the movement resembles the creature fleeing, while the pause creates a rapid ‘claws up’ defensive pose that attracts fish and triggers strikes.

This is another rigging option that allows you to change things up, present your plastic in a different way and show the fish something different, especially in pressured waterways. It is ideal for fishing an area slowly and thoroughly, especially when targeting specific structure, or keep it moving and then slow it right down when fishing key strike zones, such as sand pockets in the weed.

Weedless Jigheads

Another option available to anglers when rigging soft plastics is to select a weedless jighead. You can easily identify a jighead designed for weedless rigging as unlike a standard ‘J’ hook that is basically the shape of the letter J, a weedless hook bends around further so that the point and barb are basically in line with the eye of the hook. Once rigged on a weedless hook the chin of the soft plastic is locked in near the eye of the hook and then the hook point is pushed straight up through the plastic before laying snug against the top of the plastic to minimize snagging or fouling.

Weedless rigging is an excellent option for targeting fish that are holding in heavy structure, such as weed, timber, mangroves, lilies, and reeds. Almost any style of plastic can be rigged weedless, and it may be rigged to fish unweighted on the surface on a TT ChinlockZ, for a slow sink on a ChinlockZ SWS (Snagless Weight System) or ChinlockZ SpinZ, or for fishing deeper subsurface on a TT SnakelockZ, Snake EyeZ, NedlockZ or NedlockZ EWG jighead.

The hook up rate can decrease a little when fishing weedless, however the hook up rate of weedless fishing has drastically improved with the range of ZMan 10X Tough ElaZtech plastics. ZMan plastics clear the hook easily on the strike, due to their super-soft and flexible material, yet stand up to the chin rigging and aggressive strikes due to their 10X Tough durability. One tip when fishing weedless plastics is to keep the pauses short and keep the plastic moving, ensuring a more positive hook set on the strike.

Jighead Colour

Along with the standard, natural grey / silver finish available, there are also a variety of painted jigheads on offer to anglers, including the HeadlockZ Finesse UV, DemonZ, Big EyeZ, Snake EyeZ, NedlockZ and NedlockZ EWG jigheads from TT Fishing. Painted jigheads have become more popular in recent times as anglers look for an edge to make their presentation stand out from the crowd, whether utilizing the jighead colour to match or contrast their go-to plastic, especially in heavily pressured environments where the fish are seeing a lot of lure presentations.

Natural colours can be utilized to add realism to realistic looking plastic colours or offer contrast to more vibrant colours. Similarly, more vibrant jigheads can be paired with vibrant plastics to create a highly visible presentation that draws aggressive reaction bites or paired with more natural-coloured plastics to create a level of contrasting ‘pop’. Some jigheads are also UV reactive should you wish to utilize this factor for increased visibility, especially in dirty water or low light conditions.

Bladed Jigheads

Another option for adding bling to your soft plastic presentation is a bladed jighead, such as the TT RevlockZ underspin jighead. Mounted under the head of the jighead is a swivel that is molded into the head, and this has a blade attached. The blade creates flash and vibration, attracting fish to your presentation and triggering strikes.

Blades are available in brass (gold) and nickel (silver), with gold often favoured when fishing the freshwater and silver commonly the preferred option for clear water and when fishing the salt. Two blade shapes are available in each colour, Colorado (rounder) and willow (longer and narrower). The rounder Colorado blade creates a more aggressive thumping vibration, creating more drag and lift, which often sees it fished slower. The willow on the other hand catches less water, creating less drag and running deeper at faster speeds.

Commonly the gold Colorado is popular when fishing freshwater and silver willow popular for fishing the salt, however this can be switched up based on the environment and depth being fished, water clarity, season, and your chosen target species.

There is also a bladed, weedless option available in the TT ChinlockZ SpinZ jighead, allowing you to rig your plastics for fishing weed, reeds, timber, and other structures, with the added presence that the spinning blade offers.

Jig Spinners

Another option for adding flash and vibration is a TT Jig Spinner, which consists of a boomerang shaped wire frame with a clip on one end that is attached to the eye of your chosen jighead. At the other end of the wire is an attached blade that spins on the retrieve, while the centre point of the boomerang of wire is where your line is attached. This is a quick and easy way to add flash and vibration to any jighead, while some anglers attach the jig spinner to other lure types as a left field presentation.

Standard Jig Spinners are available for most finesse applications, with Jig Spinner HD options available for heavier applications. The wire frame on the Jig Spinner increases the snag resistance of your presentation, making them a popular option for fishing weed, reeds, timber, lilies, and other structures. You will find Jig Spinners in the kit of most freshwater anglers, while also turning up in the arsenal of some saltwater anglers as a left field presentation option.

Fish on!

Hopefully this quick overview and associated tips assists you with your soft plastic journey and selecting appropriate jigheads to suit your chosen target species, plastic, technique, and fishing environment. Remember to keep it simple for starters and get dialed in on a species, technique or style of plastic and then gradually expand your arsenal. As you become more experienced with soft plastic fishing your arsenal will grow and you will become a more adaptable and versatile angler as you add more jighead weights, hook sizes, hook types and specialist jigheads to your kit.

If you started off bait fishing and now want to give plastics a go, remember that you are simply adapting your bait fishing to artificial presentations, selecting a bait (plastic) to suit your target species and technique, a hook to suit your target species, plastic, and technique (jighead) and a sinker to get the bait in the strike zone and work it effectively (jighead weight). Do your research, start simple and before you know it you will be adapting to the variables you are confronted with and selecting a jighead and plastic from your kit without a second thought. All the best with the fishing, keep it simple, slow down and let the fish eat your plastic… and most of all, enjoy the journey.

See you on the water…
Justin Willmer