BRINGING THE HAIR JIG BACK TO THE LINEUP

It’s funny how older but still very effective lures get pushed aside for the latest “cute thing” that comes along. But as was proven to me on my most recent 3-day bender on Lake St. Clair, everything old is new again- at least it was for me with spinnerbaits and hair jigs. When you talk to “’old timers”- guys who have been fishing for smallmouth for a long, long time, they might share with you the “secrets” of the hair jig, but for the most part as newer and sexier drop shot baits and swimbaits have taken over the smallmouth world, hair jigs have slid under the radar- super-effective but not sexy enough to take into the spotlight. The elite Canadian anglers- Classic Champ Jeff Gustafson, the brothers Johnston- Chris and Cory- and their neighbor from the Canadian suburb of Minnesota, Seth Feider, all grew up fishing smallmouth with finesse marabou hair jigs and while they don’t brag about it, they always have one tied on when fishing St. Clair, Sturgeon Bay, Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence. With my newfound reintroduction experience with hair jigs still fresh, let’s discuss their use for smallmouth bass fishing.  

In recent years hair jigs have been in reserve as the lure you drop to smallies chasing the fish you are reeling in boat-side. It is, however, slowly retaking its place on the deck as one of the mainstay lures to use on clear Great Lakes waters and on shield lakes like those in Upstate New York, Northern Michigan, Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and of course Canada. Hair jigs shine when bass are cruising shallow flats, in clear water, or whenever bass are easily spooked for whatever reason. Their effectiveness stems from their natural and stealthy appearance in the water.

There are certain caveats on when to use them. They work in the shallows, but not too shallow because they easily get hung up in the weeds and even the smallest hooked piece of weed can negatively impact the effectiveness of the presentation. Making long casts to spooky fish is preferred but so is using as light of a jig as possible. Seems a bit counter intuitive but to achieve this you need to find a way to add weight without changing the action or profile of the bait- a tricky task.  To accomplish this, we added a piece of stick bait- like a Senko or Ned stick- to the hook for added weight. In addition to improving casting distance, the added piece of Senko adds scent, and body substance that enhances the action of the marabou.

When it comes to color, black is the new black- and the old black. The dark profile seems to be the most effective color in clear water. Brown or olive have their place, most notably if there is a mayfly hatch, but I would stick to black as it seems to work consistently in most situations.

In my view, size is also critical- the lighter the better- so I am using 1/16- to 1/8-ounce. While you want the bait to sink, you are not crawling it or bouncing it off the bottom like a swim jig or a tube. You are also fishing it in calmer, clearer water and not on a windblown or traffic-stirred surface. Therefore, adding weight when it is choppy is not necessary. If that is what you are facing, use a better suited presentation.

Many anglers remain tight-lipped about their hair jig use. How fast do you retrieve? How long do you count it down? You are not going to see a lot of quotes from top anglers giving you these answers. The key is to determine what works for you by experimentation. As usual, the fish will tell you what they want. What I can tell you is that I had success with the LS Tungsten Ping black hair jig from Queen Tackle- KJ Queen’s family bait business. The Queen tackle jigs are made for bass fishing. Unlike similar jigs made for crappie fishing, the bass versions have a larger, stronger hooks and slightly longer or thicker skirt to provide that needed fluttering action. Other anglers have other favorites, so again, experimentation will be key to what works for you on your water. There it is- what’s old is new again. Give a black hair jig a shot during the late summer doldrums or during the feeding frenzy of fall and Live The Passion!