I spent a good portion of my free time this winter tying hair jigs. These had been inspired (mostly) by my daydreams of finicky smallmouths in shallow, cold water. I've thrown them in a variety of situations so far this season, but other than a single set of flared walleye gills, I've not had any action on my jigs.
When I found myself struggling on Lake St. Clair the other day, targeting pre-spawn smallmouths in relatively cold, shallow water, I remembered those jigs! Just a few casts into my newly-focused effort, I saw a flash in the vicinity of my bucktail. The rod loaded, and for a moment I thought I'd hooked the bass of my dreams. But this fish was lethargic and the clear water soon allowed me to identify it as a drum. A big "bass drum" if you will, and a very acceptable by-catch, but not exactly the bass of my dreams.
I didn't stick with the jig for long, however, because skies were starting to clear and the air temperature was finally higher than the water temperature. I thought that, perhaps, the bass would start waking up, and to really excite them, I chose a bright pink jerk bait. A few casts later I got my first bass bite, and a half hour or so later, I completed my virtual 5-bass limit with the biggest of the day, a very solid 5-pounder.
I allowed myself to get distracted by the allure of finding productive, new water and didn't catch much for the rest of the day. The quality bass and their dogged pulling were clearly the highlights of the day, but I'll also remember this day for the Hair Jig Payoff. The Hair showed that there were, indeed, fish in the lake and got me started on a fine day's catch.
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| And the first fish to eat my custom hair jig is... a drum! |
I didn't stick with the jig for long, however, because skies were starting to clear and the air temperature was finally higher than the water temperature. I thought that, perhaps, the bass would start waking up, and to really excite them, I chose a bright pink jerk bait. A few casts later I got my first bass bite, and a half hour or so later, I completed my virtual 5-bass limit with the biggest of the day, a very solid 5-pounder.
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| The bass preferred jerk baits. |
I allowed myself to get distracted by the allure of finding productive, new water and didn't catch much for the rest of the day. The quality bass and their dogged pulling were clearly the highlights of the day, but I'll also remember this day for the Hair Jig Payoff. The Hair showed that there were, indeed, fish in the lake and got me started on a fine day's catch.
