Football/Touchdown Jigs

[Aaron Carrell]

Alright guys, I'm about to buy a few jigs of several styles, but I'm especially curious what most guys will put on Football/Touchdown jigs for fishing rip rap along shore (river), or just hard rocky points (metro lakes). I guess I am kind of looking for some very specific examples to get a feel for the style anyways, and what colors you're usually going to for jig head vs plastic color. Help a fella out!

Oh, and to clarify, I have done very little successful jigging except for a couple rare outtings last season (mostly with a shakey head and skirt grub).

[bemidjibasser]

Get yourself some skirted twintails like chompers or yamamoto's in natural colors like pumpkin, greeen pumpkin, watermelon, etc. and some in black/blue and smoke. Those colors oughta be all you will really need. If you get football jigs with the skirt already on them, plain twin tails in the afore mentioned colors are a good choice. Alot of guys also throw footballs with craw type trailers like the Berkley chigger craw or zoom speed craw. Basically what you are looking for is something that mimics a crayfish scooting along the bottom.

[Aaron Carrell]

I'm already a big fan of the skirted twin-tail grubs, but I've had an exceptionally hard time finding Chompers nowadays. The only place that I ever found had a good stock of them was Sportsman's and now they're closing so I dunno. I've only really looked at Gander and Cabelas though. I should check out Fleet Farm and any others sometime soon. Either way, those on any style non-skirted jig seemed to work great on bass last spring.

[bemidjibasser]

Gander was closing them out in Bemidji a couple weeks ago. I bought about 15 packs at half price. They had Zoom baits for a dollar a bag...I bought like 80. I think I'll have enough for the summer! You might want to check them out, otherwise Chompers has a HSOforum.

[RK]

Hiya -

Skirted twin tails are kind of the classic trailer, but anything will work really. I fish them with creature-type baits a lot. Northland Jungle Hogs, Power Craws, Chigger Craws, Paca Craws - stuff like that. A flipping tube is dang good too.

Main thing is just fish 'em. They'll get bit.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[TonkaBass]

I remember I was out on a deep rock pile and ran out of spider grubs so I used a lizard on a 3/4 oz. rollr jig and nailed them. I liked it because it got to the bottom so fast. The fish were going nuts though. I also like creatures of all types on them, but my favorite is the spider grub.

[Central Bassman]

The Rage Craw from Strike King Lure Company is going to be a great bait for Football Jigs, I do like double tail grubs as well.

[OLY]

I like the chompers twin tail grubs as well for football jigs, but another thing I use alot is a berkley beast or power hawg.

[TonkaBass]

The Gander spider grub is pretty nice too, but is a little too small for the bigger spidergrubs. I like this sized grub on a 3/8 oz. owner best. MONEY!

[Ray Esboldt]

My two favorites on a football jig are a senko-style bait or french-fry looking bait. My thought is that those two baits flop all over the place while you're dragging a football jig through gravel and rocks making them look like a minnow rooting around for food. I also like reaper style baits (that statement might date me - RK knows what I mean) and sandworms (baits with a bunch of little legs) work very too. Essentially, I like a bait with slim profile.

[TonkaBass]

never tried a staight worm on a football, I'll have to give that a try ray!

[RK]

Ray -

My turn: shush

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[bemidjibasser]

I didn't want to say anything about the reapers... =) Ray, what RK said. =)

[french_lake_kid]

Read that a few years back in "Bass Times" about "wacky-rigging" a senko style bait on a football jig with nothing else on the hook. Never tryed it but may do so now...it just seems to small of a profile, idk. But hey if it works ya cant argue with that. Personally Ive caught the biggest bass of my life on a "All Terain" football jig which Im pretty sure was designed by Jim Moynagh who is a Minnesotan himself and he dominated a 90's tourney on Minnetonka with a Rollr' Jig. When they're on it, there on it bad! Its some insane fishing when you think you hooked a rock and then that rock comes flying out of the water with your jig! Mostly dark earthy colors with the same colred trailer. Though mix it up with some funky colors and it can be sick! Chompers are deff. the way to go. Fish it slow and have LOOOOOOOOOTSSSSSSSSSSS of patience cause it can be brutal. Good Luck

[Central Bassman]

All Terrain makes great jigs!!! I used there Roller' and there flipping jig all the time.

[Cecil]

I love throwing football jigs in the summer and fall! Have been messing around with a few prototypes Outkast is working on. A weedless skirted version and a finnesse football jig. Finnesse is just a smaller profile than the regular ones. I use many different trailers, but most resemble craws.

[sicheneder]

a few things to think about.

for lakes i would stick with the jigs mentioned above. dimples on the bottom of the jig is a absolute must. when moynagh developed the first roller rock he did it right for scattered rock areas. the dimples gives a tremendous feel on metro area lakes where there are not rocks all over. even on tonka some of the rock spots are hard to get a football head thru.

for rip-rap i would go with one of the jigs made down south that doesn't have the dimples. most of the other football jigs except picasso,jewel,outkast,all-terrain have a regular football shape that is slick on the bottom. they slide over lots of rocks better where feel is not as important and wedging of the jig in the rocks happens more.