{"id":791,"date":"2023-02-21T16:07:32","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T16:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/?p=791"},"modified":"2023-02-21T18:19:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T18:19:27","slug":"what-makes-a-good-bass-jig-featuring-chris-love-of-911-custom-lures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/what-makes-a-good-bass-jig-featuring-chris-love-of-911-custom-lures\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes a Good Bass Jig – Featuring Chris Love of 911 Custom Lures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the better part of the last decade, Chris Love has been making custom jigs as the founder of 911 Custom Lures<\/a>. Over that time, he\u2019s developed some expert insights on what makes a great jig, and if you\u2019re newer to jig fishing, the nuances may surprise you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We talked with him about those nuances of jig design, and how you as an angler can refine your jig fishing by understanding what makes a more effective jig. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out our other jig article for a beginner\u2019s course on jigs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jig heads<\/a> and Picking the Right Jig Trailers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flipping\/Skipping Heads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you checked out our article on the different types of bass jigs, you know there are two main kinds of heads found on flipping jigs. Most anglers these days prefer the arkie style head, and 911\u2019s flipping jigs feature a more advanced version of that.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy head is called a sparkie. So it\u2019s really similar, that arkie is just a little flatter. I tell people that mine looks like it\u2019s got shoulders on it. It\u2019s designed to lay flat on the bottom and not roll to one side or the other. So that\u2019s the desirable attribute for that jig. When it falls, it lands flat, not laying on its side.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"flipjig\" <\/picture><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Love and his customers prefer the flatter style heads on flipping jigs for a number of reasons, and Love\u2019s design uses some nuance in the weight distribution to make it more versatile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mold I use is a weight forward mold. The weight is more forward in the jig head so it\u2019s closer to the line tie, and that helps you with your momentum, and that\u2019s what helps it skip better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love also makes a point to maximize sensitivity. Flipping jig bites can often be very subtle, so every little bit counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t paint the line tie on my jigs. I keep them clean, and I think that adds just a bit of sensitivity from the bit. It may not be that big of a deal, but then again, it might.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Football Heads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Football heads are generally the simplest jig heads to design and use. Any football head will keep the bait from rolling as it works over rocks and other types of bottom. The most important thing, as Love notes, is that the head allows the bait to stand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re looking for it to stand up. That\u2019s an important aspect of the football head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swim Heads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy swim jig mold is called a Pro Swim, and the nose of it turns up. That helps it not get hung up as bad,\u201d says Love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The line tie on the Pro Swim is angled on top of the jig head instead of in line with the head. That\u2019s what lifts the head, allowing the jig to work over cover better without rolling and getting hung up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"swimjig <\/picture><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hooks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Love is a big believer in upsizing the hook on a flipping jig or any jig you\u2019re fishing around shallow cover. While many manufacturers will install a 4\/0 hook on a mid\u2013size flipping jig, 911 jigs have a 5\/0, and Love considers this a differentiator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe hook size for most competitors when I started building jigs were all 4\/0 hooks on a half-ounce jig. I hooked it to a 5\/0 and I added a stiffer weed guard, and that seemed to be what really took off for my product. I think by the time you add some sort of chunk or trailer on a jig with a 4\/0 hook, you\u2019re losing some space in there to be able to get that fish hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love also believes in upsizing the hook on football jigs, but in many cases installs a smaller diameter hook than he would on a flipping jig. Thinner diameter hooks don\u2019t require as much power to penetrate the fish\u2019s mouth, and when your bait is 30 yards away from you and 18 feet under water, you\u2019re just not going to be able to bring the power you can when flipping or pitching. That\u2019s the value of the lighter wire hook that Love includes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weed guards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Love\u2019s jigs feature a weed guard that\u2019s flatter than most jigs. The veteran bait builder has found a tighter angle on the weed guard relative to the jig to be advantageous in avoiding hang ups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big thing with my jigs, and it just happened by chance but I studied this after a couple years of building them. The way the hole for the weed guard is, it\u2019s flatter in the gap than a lot of the newer molds which are a little bit more perpendicular to the bait.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, you need a weed guard that is stout enough to prevent hang ups but soft enough to allow for a hookset. While the angle aids in the former, some anglers believe that modifications are in order for the ladder. Love does not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t cut my weed guards. I know a lot of guys that do. Personally, I think that\u2019s a little bit of a mistake. Everybody has their own technique and their own style, and I recognize that, but there\u2019s no use cutting them. That weed guard is not going to cause you to not get a hook set. And when you cut them, it makes them stiffer. People don\u2019t realize that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rattles <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rattles aren\u2019t too common on jigs, but a lot of anglers will insist there is a time and a place. Love will include rattles upon request, but typically does not bother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t normally build them with a rattle on them. Some guys like it, some guys don\u2019t. That\u2019s up to each individual customer. If it\u2019s really muddy water, I would probably put a rattle on a jig too. Nighttime too, a lot of people fish at night. It has its place, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that flipping jigs are often designed to generate a reaction bite, so additional noise can actually hinder the bait\u2019s ability to, for lack of a better term, sneak up on a fish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skirts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Love is not a big believer in trimming the skirts on his jigs, but recognizes that it does have its place <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I build my jigs, I try to make that skirt as long as possible. It just gives it more movement in the water. I don\u2019t trim my skirts at all, period, whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trimming the skirt and other modifications like it can give the jig a smaller profile, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know guys that pull out a lot of the strands of the jig because they want it to be slim. So if it\u2019s a crawdad hatch or something where you\u2019re looking for just a smaller approach, that\u2019s a time they would do that. But again, I don\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the better part of the last decade, Chris Love has been making custom jigs as the founder of 911 Custom Lures. Over that time, he\u2019s developed some expert insights on what makes a great jig, and if you\u2019re newer to jig fishing, the nuances may surprise you.  We talked with him about those nuances…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,21,19],"tags":[25],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured.jpg",508,244,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured-300x144.jpg",300,144,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured.jpg",508,244,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured.jpg",508,244,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured.jpg",508,244,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured.jpg",508,244,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable":"

For the better part of the last decade, Chris Love has been making custom jigs as the founder of 911 Custom Lures. Over that time, he\u2019s developed some expert insights on what makes a great jig, and if you\u2019re newer to jig fishing, the nuances may surprise you.  We talked with him about those nuances of jig design, and how you as an angler can refine your jig fishing by understanding what makes a more effective jig.  Check out our other jig article for a beginner\u2019s course on jigs Jig heads and Picking the Right Jig Trailers Flipping\/Skipping Heads If…<\/p>\n","category_list":"Advice from a Pro<\/a>, Bass Lures<\/a>, Equipment<\/a>","author_info":{"display_name":"Alec Lower","author_link":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/author\/alec\/"},"comments_num":"0 comments","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":22,"label":"Advice from a Pro"},{"value":21,"label":"Bass Lures"},{"value":19,"label":"Equipment"}],"post_tag":[{"value":25,"label":"lures"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jigfeatured.jpg",508,244,false],"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":22,"name":"Advice from a Pro","slug":"tips","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":22,"category_count":1,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Advice from a Pro","category_nicename":"tips","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"Bass Lures","slug":"bass-lures","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":19,"count":9,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":9,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Bass Lures","category_nicename":"bass-lures","category_parent":19},{"term_id":19,"name":"Equipment","slug":"equipmentold","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":19,"category_count":8,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Equipment","category_nicename":"equipmentold","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":25,"name":"lures","slug":"lures","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":25,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassblog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}