ICAST Trends: Wobble-Head Jigs

This is the year of the wobble-head jig. More companies are jumping on the idea of joining a heavy head, usually in the shape of a football, to a hook with a flexible junction of some kind.

The reason is that articulated jigs can be fished in so many different ways: dragging, pitching, punching or slow-rolling, as examples.

This year, the shape of the head and the design of the junction separate the different jigs. The bulk follow the football-head theme with hook and head locked in tandem. However, other companies are using heads better suited for swimming techniques than scrubbing the bottom. Strike King opted for its arrow-head shaped Denny Brauer Structure Head for its new wobble-head jig, while VMC went with the traditional football shape in its Swinging Rugby Jig but attached it to a long-neck hook for rigging jumbo soft plastics.

You’ll also see articulated jigs that aren’t married to a specific hook but allow the fisherman to change hooks at will. Still, others have a built-in collar that allows a skirt to be used, essentially changing the articulated jig into a more standard football-head jig in appearance but maintaining the freedom of movement for the hook. The benefit there, of course, is that with a free-swinging hook, a bass is less likely to launch the jig back at the angler with a headshake.

Another advantage of the articulated design is freedom-of-movement for trailers, which is a cool advantage of a new skirted swim jig from Molix. Its pointed head can skim through cover, while the trailer wobbles freely.

More or less, there’s a wobble-head jig out there in virtually every style of jig imaginable, giving anglers plenty of additional options with what is one of the most versatile lure styles available.