What is everyone’s preferred style and brand of live bait jigs?

Like the Northland ball jigs, like the color options. This year I did invest in some google eyes jigs so I will see how those work.

I really like the fire ball jigs from Northland. I put a treble trailer hook on the jig most times. I just made about 20 trailer hooks with #20 hooks and a short Titanium leader. Very easy to make these with crimps at each end.

I also like the Moon Eyes in gold and silver by Northland. I tip these with a leech, deadly combo for Walleye.

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I like the fireball jigs for minnows at times. Usually I want to add a twister tail with live bait so I use the regular round jig heads with collars.

All good choices from everyone. I like the gumdrop floaters also. Small split shot 18” from the jig. Pretty deadly system.

I like stand up jigs. Eagle claw were the first that I used. I haven’t been able to find them in a few years. The Erie Dearie hog hunter is great and so is the Owner version of it. The Eagle claw had the best pure chartreuse color. I guess I could make them and paint them myself, but as far as jigs that I buy...

Northland makes the RZ jigs. They are pricey but do go on sale often enough to make them affordable. Come in lots of sizes and colors. IMO they RZ jigs have the best paint finish of all jigs. They can withstand the hard rock bottoms of the BWCAW. They also have a super sharp wide gap hook that helps with hook ups. Other than big time snags, I've only had 2 jigs begin to straighten out on me, both on walleyes that went 30 and 31.5 inches. A second choice of jig I like to use are long shank jigs. By long shank, I mean true long shank hooks that walleye fisherman use around the Lake Winnibigoshish area when fishing with shiners and are usually sold at local bait shops. They are homemade ones and I have never seen them for sale in retail chain stores. In the end, it comes down to fishing with something you have confidence in. One trip I used Northland short shank jigs and had 2 terrible days of missing lots of bites on short strikes. I could have gone with a stinger hook, but hate using those little treble hooks in a canoe with a flopping fish. I just think too many bad things could happen. The last day of fishing, I went to a longer shank hook and seemed to land every fish that bit. Probably just a coincident, but I have never gone back to the short shank style as I have more confidence in a longer shank hook. BTW, both those big walleyes were caught on Lake Insula.

Short shank = live bait

Lannie, Northland used to make a long shank jig called a shiner jig. I don’t know why these aren’t more popular with regular manufacturers? They have one now called current cutter jig with an allegedly longer shank but I haven’t seen it in person yet. We often jig with big shiner minnows for walleyes and the catch rate is usually much better with the long shank—-I think mostly because the minnow stays on better and thus more fishing time and less time just dragging a minnow head around. Also the longer shank seems to hook more fish without the hassle of the stinger hook. With that said SV’s post has me intrigued using titanium stinger. Lot’s of good ideas on this site.

T

FireBalls, self-poured "asprin head" (short shank), and Slevad jigs.