(Editor's note: The following is the fourth in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
If you don’t think that Brett Hite is the master of the vibrating jig, all you need to do is check out is bank account to learn otherwise. At one point in his career he won $250,000 in two weeks on a vibrating jig, and he conservatively estimated that it has put over $400,000 in his pocket on it over the course of his career.
That’s a big deal for an angler who hails from the desert climes of Arizona, but he emphasized that the beauty of this style of lure is that it works in a wide variety of conditions. He’s caught bass on it in the clear, rocky fishbowl of Lake Mead as well as in the grassy waters of Florida and California. Of course, it’s around aquatic vegetation that it shines the most, because he believes it comes through the grass better than any other reaction bait. Over the past decade, he’s developed a system to maximize its effectiveness.
It starts off with the lure itself. There are many quality vibrating jigs, but Hite prefers a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce version with a stainless blade, which he said is more durable and provides more vibration than tin. The components, from the paint to the skirt, should all be top notch. Finally, he believes that a softer hook is a plus.
He keeps his color choices simple, saying that “the only three you need” are green pumpkin, green shad and straight white, and if forced to do so he could probably get away with just the first and last of that trio. He’s made his name with the green pumpkin version with a black blade. He believes it mimics a bluegill and in his worl,d that’s what the biggest bass eat.
While a variety of trailers will work, he likes the Yamamoto Swim Senko the best – 5-inch when he’s trying to build a big profile and 4-inch when he wants something a little bit more finesse-oriented. His favorite colors are natural shad (#306), baby bass (#305) and green pumpkin (#297). With the latter of that group, he dyes the tail chartreuse to make it even more bluegill-like. No matter which one he uses, he adds a drop or two of Super Glue to hold it in place, because ripping the lure out of the grass will pull the Senko down.
His rod, reel and line are also part of the winning system. Because the bass tend to hit this lure so violently, he wants some flex and give somewhere in the system. If you use a stiff rod, monofilament might be the best line choice. If you want braid, you need a little bit more flex in the rod.
He uses a 7’3” Leopard rod from Evergreen International along with 20-pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon.
He pairs the rod with a 6.3:1 Daiwa Zillion T-Wing, because not only does that speed allow him to vary retrieve speeds, but you can also catch up to a streaking fish in a hurry.
“One of the biggest keys to making them bite is actually speeding that bait up,” he said. The goal is to bring it over the vegetation, and every time it ticks the grass, he twitches the rod tip. That’s when bites most frequently occur.
One other tip: If fish are short-striking or just mouthing the lure, he’ll add a small stinger hook, usually a 1/0 or 2/0 trailer hook. Unlike free-swinging trailer hooks, it has a solid layer of plastic through the hook eye that allows the hook to remain in a rigid position. That keeps it upright and minimizes snags, while maximizing hookups.
To see Hite's full seminar on the vibrating jig, subscribe to The Bass University TV.
