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The Million Dollar Bass Bait
by "The Bass Coach", Roger Lee Brown
A million dollar bass bait? "Right"... Especially
just for catching bass? "Sure Thing"... Don’t
remark yet because I know what you must be thinking about this
article already. You are probably saying to yourself "is
this guy for real" right? The truth is that "It’s
True!" my dear fellow bass anglers (and future potential
bass anglers.) Yes, there is a artificial bait used for bass
angling on the market today that is actually worth a lot more
than a million dollars. Not only that, this certain bait has
proven itself over and over again for many years when used by
some of the top bass pros but, most of you just weren’t
aware of it. In fact, I would be willing to bet that most (I
said most) of today’s serious bass anglers already have
some of these baits in their tackle boxes or in their boats but
they rarely use them.
I use this bait most of the time, in fact, I caught a 7lb.
2oz. Smallmouth bass (the biggest Smallie I’ve ever caught
in my life) just last season with this bait as well as catching
the Lunker (winning the big bass pot) when I qualified for the
B.A.S.S. Federation State Team 2 years ago. This bait has also
enabled me to make many bass tournament checks over the course
of my pro career. Better yet! I’m not alone. I must be in
good company because there are many famous pro bass anglers that
use this bait probably more than any other bait they own, why?,
because it gets results. That’s why many pro anglers refer
to this as a "Big Bass Bait."
I feel so strongly and confident about this bait that I spend
a good part of a day teaching my students while attending my
3-day bass fishing school how to rig, what type of areas to fish
these baits in and around, and how to present (showing the different
techniques that can be applied) these baits with the results
being fantastic! In fact, many of my former students have stated
that while learning from the techniques and "how-to’s"
I teach them while attending my school many claimed that they
have caught the biggest bass of their entire lives while using
this bait. Oh yes, this million dollar bait has made many believers
out of my students and charter clients after showing them how
to use this bait. Have you guessed what it is yet?
Now that we got that out of the way I guess it’s time
to reveal this "Million Dollar Bass Bait" to all you
fellow anglers and potential bass anglers. This bait is more
commonly known as the JIG & PIG combo. This bait has earned
more money for anglers than any other artificial bass bait that
has ever been produced especially when fishing it in bass tournaments.
Denny Brauer just for example (one of the top super pros of bass
angling) became the 1st millionaire from fishing bass tournaments
and guess what bait he used most of the time to make his money?
You got it, the Jig & Pig Combo. Another fact about this
bait is that it has earned tournament anglers more money for
the "Lunker" or "Big Bass" pots in most bass
tournaments ever fished. I guess one could comfortably say that
the winnings earned by bass anglers when using this bait over
the past 30 years would not just fall in the million dollar bracket,
but closer to the MILLIONS of dollars bracket as well as earning
them fame and fortune for many of the well known top bass pros.
It’s kinda odd when you think about a bait such as this
getting very little attention to the average angler, especially
after knowing what this bait can produce. When a student enrolls
in my 3-day bass fishing school I always ask him or her what
type of baits they normally use, what kind of experience they
have as far as bass angling, what type of equipment they use,
what their goals are, and what knowledge they hope to gain while
attending my school, but what really surprises me is that the
Jig & Pig is rarely even mentioned by them. Let me tell you
a little secret, if you learn how to fish a Jig & Pig combo
correctly and give the bait a fair chance (not just thirty minutes
and put it away like most anglers) at least a good full day to
get a good feel of the bait, I can just about promise you that
you’ll become addicted to it especially after catching your
first Lunker bass while using it.
There are several patterns you can use with the Jig &
Pig combo such as Flippin’, Pitchin’, and Castin’,
and many different techniques you can apply in the presentation
when fishing this bait. There are also many different ways to
rig a Jig & Pig combo before actually fishing with it. One
of the best ways I found when rigging a Jig & Pig combo is
to use a 3/8 or 1/2oz. "Flippin’" jig (which is
the football type head) that is manufactured with a skirt and
weedguard, then I will usually attach a trailer and a rattle
(if the rattle don’t already come attached to the jig) to
it. This is now my Largemouth bass secret weapon. Now, if you
are fishing for Smallmouth or Spotted Bass I just downsize to
a 1/4 oz. jig and a smaller version of the same trailer.
The best trailers I found to use with my "Flippin’
Jig" would either be a Gary Yamamoto 4" "Twin
Tail" Hula Grub (a fantastic bait just used by itself Texas
rigged) or a big plastic "Salt Chunk" (which is just
a plastic chunk implanted with salt and two little tails on one
end of it.) Now, before fishing this bait there is another matter
of importance you really need to understand, and that is to have
the proper equipment and knowing how to use it when fishing this
bait. Not only will this bait catch more "quality"
bass than smaller ones, but mostly because of the areas that
you would fish the bait around and through. In fact, one of my
students last season while being taught how use this bait caught
nothing smaller than 3 and 4 pound bass the whole time he fished
with it! Once in a while you may catch a smaller bass with this
bait, but on the average it will catch the bigger ones if you
know where to look for them. Getting back to proper equipment,
I use a seven and a half foot telescopic flippin’ stick
(rod) with a heavy action, never anything less than 25lb. test
(clear or transparent) mono line, and a baitcaster reel with
a medium to a fast retrieve speed for fishing a Jig & Pig
combo.
Some areas I fish the Jig & Pig combo would be:
1. In and around "Fall-Downs"
2. Grassy Areas
3. Point drops
4. Channel contours
5. Around and under docks
6. Along rocks (or rip-rap)
7. Floating objects
8. Thick vegetation areas
9. Ledges
10. To many types of structure to mention
and many, many, more areas..... You can fish a Jig & Pig
combo in the shallows as well as deeper water, and it is also
by far one of the best "Year-round" artificial bass
baits an angler could own.
The name "Jig & Pig" goes back several years
ago when the trailers used with a Jig were actually made from
real pork products, commonly referred to as "Pork Chunks",
and even though most trailers used with a Jig today are made
of plastic, the name has carried on through the years kinda like
a tradition. There is however still a company that makes the
real pork products (or pork chunk trailers) for these Jigs but
I found from my own experience that the plastic trailers I use
actually get better results that the original pork products.
One problem I used to have with the pork products is that they
constantly dried out from the wind or sun while running the boat
down the lakes or rivers and having to change them all the time
(this got very costly.) The plastic trailers mentioned above
don’t have this problem, in fact I’ve caught up 5 or
6 bass using the same trailer, and they wont dry out!
If you want to become a more successful bass angler, catch
bigger fish, and start learning different baits that actually
work, you owe it to yourself to give the Jig & Pig combo
a fair try. Now, you may not catch as many bass during the course
of a day as other artificial baits would, but more times that
not you’ll catch the bigger quality ones. The largest bass
I ever caught in my life was a 17lb. 3oz. Largemouth bass caught
on a Jig & Pig combo pitchin’ along some stick-ups (or
as some would call Bull-Rush areas) in the Southern part of the
Nation, but don’t be to surprised to catch 5, 6, 7, and
8 pounders in the Northern part of the Nation as well using this
bait.
If I can help you with any questions concerning this article,
my bass fishing school or charter service, or you simply just
want to drop a line you can contact me at www.capital.net/~rlbrown
- www.fishing-boating.com/basscoach (my personal websites), or
Email me at: rlbrown@capital.net or call me at (518) 597-4240
Good Fishin’....... Until next time, take care &
God Bless!
"The Bass Coach"...Roger Lee Brown |
