The jig is having a come back the past 2 years and becoming a lure that the average bass fisherman wants to use. To become a good jig fisherman you should have a basic understanding of how a bass bites a jig that represents a crawdad.
First we need to remind ourselves that bass are bass; largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. All bass kill a crawdad the same way, by crunching it with the cartilage in back of the mouth before swallowing it. Smallmouth and spotted bass tend to de claw the pincher's off the crawdad using their lips to bite down and hold the crawdad, the crawdad then releases it's claw arm to escape. The smallie or spot then quickly engulfs the crawdad into the back of it's mouth and crunches it. Largemouth bass usually pass up the de clawing step and just engulf the crawdad and crunch it.
Jigs are not usually a big lure being under 5" long and a adult bass can easily engulf it, like a crawdad. The problem is a jig is not a live crawdad and the bass can reject it quickly. Bass tend to bite soft plastic worms or creatures with their lips before engulfing them. The soft plastic fills their mouth and it feels more natural than a jig, so the bass tends to keep it in their mouth longer or even swallows it. With a jig bite you get one chance to set the hook before the jig is rejected. You may get the bass to strike the jig more than ounce, but if the bass detects something wrong, it's gone.
The way a bass engulfs something is by vacuuming it into it's mouth by flushing water through the gills. What you feel as a tap is the jig hitting the inside of the basses mouth. Smallies and spot you may feel a light pecking before they engulf the jig. You do not feel the jig being back flushed out of the mouth, unless the hook point has found soft tissue and the bass tries shake it out. So keep alert, you have less than a second to react.
Tom
First we need to remind ourselves that bass are bass; largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. All bass kill a crawdad the same way, by crunching it with the cartilage in back of the mouth before swallowing it. Smallmouth and spotted bass tend to de claw the pincher's off the crawdad using their lips to bite down and hold the crawdad, the crawdad then releases it's claw arm to escape. The smallie or spot then quickly engulfs the crawdad into the back of it's mouth and crunches it. Largemouth bass usually pass up the de clawing step and just engulf the crawdad and crunch it.
Jigs are not usually a big lure being under 5" long and a adult bass can easily engulf it, like a crawdad. The problem is a jig is not a live crawdad and the bass can reject it quickly. Bass tend to bite soft plastic worms or creatures with their lips before engulfing them. The soft plastic fills their mouth and it feels more natural than a jig, so the bass tends to keep it in their mouth longer or even swallows it. With a jig bite you get one chance to set the hook before the jig is rejected. You may get the bass to strike the jig more than ounce, but if the bass detects something wrong, it's gone.
The way a bass engulfs something is by vacuuming it into it's mouth by flushing water through the gills. What you feel as a tap is the jig hitting the inside of the basses mouth. Smallies and spot you may feel a light pecking before they engulf the jig. You do not feel the jig being back flushed out of the mouth, unless the hook point has found soft tissue and the bass tries shake it out. So keep alert, you have less than a second to react.
Tom