Weedless Jig Not So Weedless? 2025
ajs196 reply :
I'm not going to say that I am new to bass fishing, however, I will say I have never really gotten into it. I do not know the fancy names of the lures I throw, or in some cases, what type of lure it is. I have always been primarily a cat fisher, as that is what my father grew up primarily living off of thus he passed the trade on to me. Now that I covered why I wouldn't necessarily know the answer to my seemingly "novice" or "rookie" question I am going to ask. I see all these bass fishermen throwing or talking about jigs. I went out and bought some really nice football head jigs with the weed guards and rattles, the whole works. Now, I've done my fair share of youtubing to see how to fish such a lure. The different tactics I've tried whether it be jerking it, or whipping it up words and letting it fall down it never fails that upon my retrieval I will have the weeds/moss covering the entire football head. I thought maybe I was getting the moss off of the bank, since there is always a lot of moss right there, so I've even ventured onto docs and tried. Does this mess with the fishing of the jig? I feel as if, if I was a bass, I wouldn't eat a crayfish covered in moss and weeds. Am I doing something wrong? Something to do to avoid with it? Any problems it may cause? I'm yet to catch a fish with one, and I've tried them with trailers and without. I should probably mention I am from central/southern Illinois and fish primarily murkey ponds and lakes. Any help or pointers would be appreciated.
Mark1300 reply :
I too have had a struggle with this, same type of water too
flyfisher reply :
Weedless doesn't mean weed free. Certain jigs are not great in the grass, I have better success with other rigs in denser grass like flukes, texas or florida rigged plastics or jika rigs.
Comfortably Numb reply :
I would consider Bass jigs brushless or snagless. not neccesarily weedless.
WRB reply :
A football jig is like a snow plow, doesn't slide over weeds, nothing goes through moss. With moss you need to slide on top of it, use a lighter weight and pointed jig head like a bullet weight or use a pegged bullet weight.
Tom
gulfcaptain reply :
Agree with Tom, moss is a mess. Doesn't matter what you drag it will catch. If I have to deal with really mossy conditons I fish a punch jig......weedless rigged creature and can pop most of the moss free most of the time.
Alonerankin2 reply :
I flip jigs in brush, footballs get dragged over harder bottoms, pea gravel, sand, etc.. You can and often do still pick up junk though.. On softer areas.. Skip the jig..go with a Texas rigged soft plastic bait of some sort.. Even then, you may still pick up junk.
Bluebasser86 reply :
The term weedless is misleading for sure. A majority of jigs are a poor option in weeds (none are a good option in moss). There really aren't many lures that can combat moss in fact. Fishing over or around that stuff is going to be your best bet. A lot of bodies of water will grow heavy weeds or moss that will die off around early summer time.
smalljaw67 reply :
Comfortably Numb said it best, basically weedless means it had a weed guard on it and it means you can throw it in brush and around deadfalls and work it through that stuff without it getting hung up. The problem with not knowing about certain things is following the hype, I see a lot of people using football heads in the wrong situations and it sounds like you have the wrong jig. Football heads are for rock, Arky heads are for brush, bullet heads are for weeds and there really isn't a good head design for moss or algae. You also have to be aware of the weight, if the lakes and ponds you are fishing have a soft muck bottom then you will be limited in the size of jig, I would probably say 1/4oz would be your best bet as it isn't heavy enough to get too deep in the muck plus the smaller jig will appeal to more fish as smaller ones will hit it quicker than they do a large jig.
Catt reply :
Y'all would never make it down south 
If y'all can not fish a jig cleanly through grass its operator error!
Everything we fish is grass (vegetation) in some form or another that is if you're catching!
There are dozens of effective grass jigs on the market; I'm kinda partial to Terry Oldham's Eye Max Jigs.
Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass. When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.
You want to stay as vertical as possible & you want to maintain bottom contact. Density of the grass & depth will determine how far off vertical you wanna go.
Grass is the reason I keep a Jig-n-Craw & Texas Rig on the deck of my boat 24/7/365!
Stapsy reply :
I also find that trying to rip a jig just results in more time spent removing weeds than gradually loading up the rod and allowing the jig to slide out.
Also, try to pay attention to where weeds are accumulating on the jig. That really helped me to pin point what style of jig to look for to increase weedlessness. For example, I can guarantee if your football jig had a 90 degree line tie the grass was getting stuck due to the angle of the line tie relative to the head. Everything has trade offs, but something like a grass or swim jig with a more horizontal line tie in the 30 degree range will probably work better.
FlipSide reply :
On 4/7/2015 at 12:00 AM, Catt said:Y'all would never make it down south
If y'all can not fish a jig cleanly through grass its operator error!
Everything we fish is grass (vegetation) in some form or another that is if you're catching!
There are dozens of effective grass jigs on the market; I'm kinda partial to Terry Oldham's Eye Max Jigs.
Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass. When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.
You want to stay as vertical as possible & you want to maintain bottom contact. Density of the grass & depth will determine how far off vertical you wanna go.
Grass is the reason I keep a Jig-n-Craw & Texas Rig on the deck of my boat 24/7/365!
This guy gets it
frogflogger reply :
football jig is not for grass - in your situation a swim jig might be a good choice
J Francho reply :
That's a brush guard. It's mostly for wood. Don't yank your jig through the weeds, finesse it through. You can clear weeds with a light pop or snap of the rod. This can generate a bite sometimes, too. If it's snot weed or hair algae you're dealing with, then a different bait or rig is needed - one that doesn't get stuck in the bottom.
WRB reply :
There are weeds, grass and what the OP had problems with moss. Depending on how you define moss, snoot grass or whatever, nothing goes through it good and usually requires removing by hand.
Tom
scaleface reply :
Grass and slimy moss are two different things. I catch fish in snotty , messy , slimy moss with weightless texas rigs.
J Francho reply :
Drop shot is good for this. Fluke on a short dropper - deadly in the shallow slime up here, especially when they aren't in a chasing mood.
Catt reply :
Right now bass are being caught in moss with a football head jigs. Go down & read the Toledo Bend & Sam Rayburn threads. Go to the Bass-n-Bucks, Bass Champs, Texas Team Trail, Oilman, & other tournament trailer.
Maybe y'all can explain to the winning teams how the can't catch what they just caught on what they caught em on!
J Francho reply :
I think it depends on what you call "moss." I bet Catt and I are on the same page - moss is the stuff some call coontail. I'd throw a jig in that all day long. Wait, I have! But if you're calling that slimy, hairy algae stuff "moss" then no. In fact, I often avoid those spots, unless absolutely driven there by big fish or big bites. Otherwise, it's not great cover.
WRB reply :
The hairy algea crud that wraps around a jg like a sticky mop, otherwise weeds/grass isn't a problem, you can present jigs, bombs, punch rigs, easily.On 4/8/2015 at 2:38 AM, J Francho said:I think it depends on what you call "moss." I bet Catt and I are on the same page - moss is the stuff some call coontail. I'd throw a jig in that all day long. Wait, I have! But if you're calling that slimy, hairy algae stuff "moss" then no. In fact, I often avoid those spots, unless absolutely driven there by big fish or big bites. Otherwise, it's not great cover.
Tom
Catt reply :
On 4/5/2015 at 9:42 AM, ajs196 said:I'm not going to say that I am new to bass fishing, however, I will say I have never really gotten into it. I do not know the fancy names of the lures I throw, or in some cases, what type of lure it is. I have always been primarily a cat fisher, as that is what my father grew up primarily living off of thus he passed the trade on to me. Now that I covered why I wouldn't necessarily know the answer to my seemingly "novice" or "rookie" question I am going to ask. I see all these bass fishermen throwing or talking about jigs. I went out and bought some really nice football head jigs with the weed guards and rattles, the whole works. Now, I've done my fair share of youtubing to see how to fish such a lure. The different tactics I've tried whether it be jerking it, or whipping it up words and letting it fall down it never fails that upon my retrieval I will have the weeds/moss covering the entire football head. I thought maybe I was getting the moss off of the bank, since there is always a lot of moss right there, so I've even ventured onto docs and tried. Does this mess with the fishing of the jig? I feel as if, if I was a bass, I wouldn't eat a crayfish covered in moss and weeds. Am I doing something wrong? Something to do to avoid with it? Any problems it may cause? I'm yet to catch a fish with one, and I've tried them with trailers and without. I should probably mention I am from central/southern Illinois and fish primarily murkey ponds and lakes. Any help or pointers would be appreciated.
Don't sound like he fishing algae
ajs196 reply :
It is the slimy stuff that takes several seconds to pull off and then often times sticks to your finger, which thats no problem to me, thats what pants are for. It's just every cast I throw I'm left picking it off unless i use a spinnerbait/crankbait or some sort of top water. And then I have to yank it out about a 2 foot before the bank to avoid the rest of the nasty green stuff. I don't know the technical name for it. I get it at the bank and on the bottom of the water. In the summer it is more weed like and covers the whole pond. I usually only fish it until that point in summer, or really until I get my boat fully going, or on days I only have an hour or so. However, at this point my boat is a little under the whether and needs some attention.
Catt reply :
All the facts guys...we need all the facts
WRB reply :
Sounds like algea "moss" snot crud. Your right Catt we need better definitions. Looked up aquatic moss and it's aquatic weeds that shouldn't be a problem to fish in. Moss to me is stringy hairy algea crud.On 4/8/2015 at 7:09 AM, Catt said:All the facts guys...we need all the facts
Peace.
Tom
Big C reply :
On 4/8/2015 at 10:32 AM, WRB said:Sounds like algea "moss" snot crud. Your right Catt we need better definitions. Looked up moss and it's aquatic weeds that shouldn't be a problem to fish in. Moss to me is stringy hairy algea crud.
Peace.
Tom
Snot crud is my new favorite term for weeds.
Catt reply :
On 4/8/2015 at 10:32 AM, WRB said:Sounds like algea "moss" snot crud. Your right Catt we need better definitions. Looked up aquatic moss and it's aquatic weeds that shouldn't be a problem to fish in. Moss to me is stringy hairy algea crud.
Peace.
Tom
Ya just gave the actual definition, how can we give it a "better" definition?
primetime reply :
Bass don't mind a little moss on the front of your bullet weight or jig as long as it is falling in front of them at the right time....I used to get annoyed when I first moved to Florida because the weeds in some places are crazy, but a few things that help....Scent and Oil to slide through, the right soft bait and weight-Make sure you do not have any crevice, the bullet weight or tungsten fits neatly over the bait....
I find that straight worms like a Senko and speed worm, or even the Yum Houdini SHad fluke are great for moss and flipping even with heavy weight. The Culprit Incredicraw is really good as it is thin and if fishing a hard bottom it shines if they want a bait on the bottom shaking, although most fish come on the initial drop and lift....Punch Rigs help for sure, heavier weights are best at times, and others a smaller weight and finesse bait and method will get you more bites as you need to be able to hit little areas so your bait has a chance to stay as clean as possible, but if flipping heavy hydrilla or Milfoil that is deep or has a hard bottom, those fish are all about reaction strikes, they could care less if some moss is on your jig, moss is on any crawfish or baitfish as well.....A good snap and it comes off, I love fishing rattle traps in and around submerged weeds and snapping them is a good method, but if you snap the jig to free weeds while trying to fish it, you usually will get snagged if around stalks of any kind...Hope that makes sense...But use Scent or worm oil,vegetable oil, It helps baits slide in and out faster, but accuracy will help, if Hyrdilla is top to bottom and not thin, fish probably are not using it anyhow.....Key is hard bottom but easier said than done often.
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