Born in Texas, M-Pack Lures’ flagship products are a trio of jigs – football, flipping and swim-jig models – that feature an innovative Structure Guard system said to make the jigs more weedless and snagless than was previously possible. Each jig can be had for about $7, and they come in a wide enough array of sizes and colors that most applications are covered.
I’ve fished the Football Jig and Flippin Jig now for a few months, and they’ve impressed. Below, I’ll go in-depth on a few of the key features.
The primary feature of all M-Pack jigs is the Structure Guard, a patented rubber weedguard that loops over the hook and secures on it with a piece of rubber tubing. It’s designed to protect the hook from most obstacles and snags, but to compress or fold to the side when you set the hook on a bass.
Designed as an improvement on the classic fiber brush guard, it isn’t a totally new idea, as fly tiers have been making similar weedguards out of heavy fluorocarbon for a while. Still, the Structure Guard is an admirable piece of innovation that actually works.
A jig with a Structure Guard isn’t bulletproof, but I’m a believer to a fair extent. I’ve flipped and dragged the Flippin model around a lot of wood, some rock and some grass, and I’ve got no complaints. I think it does better flipping and dropping it around wood than a regular jig by a decent margin. You’ll get hung, but not as much. Around grass the advantage is less pronounced, and I expect it varies a lot depending on the type of grass you fish. I threw it mostly around some green milfoil up north, and it did well, but I don’t think it blew past a regular jig.
The Structure Guard really excels on the Football Jig. For dragging on ledges and over stumps and brush you’ll definitely notice a difference. The combination of the already fairly snagless football head with the Structure Guard really does the trick.
I dragged a jig over some pretty heavy brush and stumps for about three hours one day and got hung twice. Both times, I was able to free the jig, and those are the only times I can recall hanging up while dragging it.
One feature that M-Pack Lures advertises is the supposed ability of the Structure Guard to keep fish pegged. Per M-Pack, after the hookset the guard will pivot back up and pin the jig and hook in place a little during the fight. I haven’t lost any fish that I’ve hooked with it, but I’m still a little skeptical that it works as advertised in that instance. It’s just hard to prove. As for actually hooking fish, I’ve got no complaints. Every legit bite that I expected to hook I hooked.
When it comes to a jig, I’m not much concerned about the component brands that go into it. The main thing is that it does everything you want a jig to do. These jigs do. The hooks are plenty stout, the skirts are good quality (though if you like a straight silicone skirt with no tinsel you’ll want to swap them out) and the paint jobs are on par.
The only mark against these jigs is the price. At $6.99, they’re priced about $2 above some other high-quality jigs. That’s not insignificant, but it’s offset by the fact that you’ll probably lose fewer of them and can likely carry fewer and still be prepared for a day of fishing. Other than that, the M-Pack Flippin and Football jigs get good grades in every department.
Pros
Cons
Company: M-Pack Lures
Product: M-Pack Lures Football Jig and Flippin Jig
Football Jig weights: 3/4 and 1 ounce
Flippin Jig weights: 3/8 and 1/2 ounce
Cost: $6.99
Website: MPackLures.com