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Throw an ancient lure for early spring bass
By: Lee McClellan
Ancient Native Americans
learned to adorn bone hooks with animal hair to make them more appealing to
fish. This oldest and simplest of lures, a hair jig, still is the best choice
to catch bass in the cold water of early spring.
A modern hair jig isn't much different from those used by the ancestors of the Shawnee.
It consists of deer, rabbit or synthetic craft hair tied onto the hook
shank of a lead-head jig.
"Hair looks more natural in cold water," said Benjy Kinman, deputy commissioner
of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "It flows and looks
more like a baitfish or a crayfish."
That flowing quality is what makes
bass chomp hair jigs in water colder than 60 degrees. Hair jigs also possess
a smaller profile than silicone-skirted jigs and generally weigh less.
These qualities make hair jigs excellent for fooling lethargic,
early spring bass.
Hair jigs work in water as cold as 38 degrees. With water temperatures in
Kentucky reservoirs and streams currently ranging from the mid to high 40s,
a hair jig will catch more smallmouth, spotted and largemouth bass now than
anything you can throw.
Fish a 1/8- to 5/16-ounce hair jig on channel drops, flats and points in
clearer water reservoirs such as Green River, Cave Run, Nolin River, Barren
River, Lake Cumberland, Laurel River, Paintsville Lake and Dale Hollow. Shades
of brown, olive, green and black make the best hair jig colors for these
lakes, but purple and white work well on bright days.
A hair jig slowly crawled down main lake points imitates emerging crayfish, a prime food for early season fish. Use the lightest hair jig possible, but one heavy enough to maintain regular contact with the bottom.
If the hair jig falls down a drop-off, let it sink to the bottom and leave it motionless
for several minutes while you keep your fishing line tight.
Jigs tied with synthetic craft hair or rabbit fur really shine for this
dead-sticking presentation. The material appears to breath with the slightest
water movement - creating motion that a smallmouth or a spotted bass can't resist.
The pull-and-drop presentation works great on points as well. Stay well off the
point and cast onto it. Let the hair jig sink to the bottom. Reel up the slack
and gently lift the rod tip to the 11 o'clock position. Intently watch the
line as the jig falls back to the bottom. If the line jumps, goes slack,
or does anything unnatural, set the hook. Smallmouth bass often inhale
the jig on the drop.
A hair jig worked along channel drops in creek arms is a highly productive way
to intercept bass moving from their deep water winter lairs to spawning flats
in the creeks. Submerged channels serve as their migration routes. Work the
hair jig along the channel's edge or use the pull-and-drop technique to work
the lure down the drop-off.
When the water warms a little more, swim the hair jig just above bottom on the
flats or gently sloping banks adjacent to the submerged channel. Cast the
hair jig onto the flat or gently sloping bank and let it hit bottom. Reel
quickly to get the lure moving above the bottom and turn the handle in a
steady rhythm to keep it there. The hair jig should touch the bottom occasionally.
This presentation resembles a fleeing crayfish or an unaware baitfish.
A 6- to 7-foot medium to medium-heavy spinning rod spooled with 6- to 8-pound
line works best for fishing a hair jig in deeper, rocky lakes
relatively free of snags.
These jigs are not just lures for clear, rocky lakes, however. A hair jig cast into
shallow wood cover in lakes such as Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley and Cedar Creek
Lake in early spring will often out-fish a soft plastic lure or traditional jig.
Your jig must have a brush guard for fishing around woody cover, or the lure will
snag and you could lose it.
When fishing around heavy cover such as submerged trees and brush, it's best to
switch to a stiff medium-heavy spinning or medium action baitcasting with the reel
spooled with 8- to -10-pound line. A heavier hair jig - up to 3/8 ounce -works
well for coaxing wood-bound largemouth bass in early spring. Jigs are most
effective when the water clears while remaining slightly high.
A 1/8-ounce hair jig fished in the smallmouth bass-rich streams of Kentucky
will get crushed right now. Fish it slowly on the bottom in deep pockets near
flowing water, but not in the flow itself. The largest smallmouth bass in the
stream, most of them big females, are putting on the feedbag in these first
few warm days of the year.
Try a purple hair jig made of craft hair, or a rabbit fur jig colored black or
black and brown for early spring stream smallies. Bring several jigs, as they
tend to hang up in water deeper than you can wade into and retrieve.
Jig trailers - usually plastic grubs or pork rinds stuck onto the
hook - create an unnecessary drag in current that looks unnatural to
a smallmouth. Leave them at home if you're fishing a stream or river.
This is one of the most reliable patterns for trophy stream smallmouth.
However, for lakes, small and subtle jig trailers do work well. A small strip
of black pork rind, a small black or brown grub or the last inch or two of a
black finesse worm make great trailers for hair jigs. Avoid the gaudy, newer
style of crawfish trailers with large flapping claws. A subdued presentation
is the reason you fish a hair jig.
Several manufacturers in Kentucky and Tennessee produce some of the best hair jigs in the world.
Be on the prowl for them at local tackle shops. You might discover some locally produced
jigs in proven colors for the nearby lake.
Try fishing a hair jig in the next six weeks or so. You just might catch the same
kind of large bass as your ancestors.
Author Lee McClellan is an award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources manages, regulates, enforces and promotes responsible use of all fish and wildlife species, their habitats, public wildlife areas and waterways for the benefit of those resources and for public enjoyment. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. For more information on the department, visit our web site at fw.ky.gov.
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