(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
A standard rubber-skirted jig has a wide variety of applications, but if you’re fishing for clear-water smallmouths, it pays to have a selection of lightweight marabou jigs as well. They produce numbers of brown bass, but also some true giants.
“It catches all sizes,” said veteran Minnesota angler Scott Bonnema. “You never know what you’re going to hook on the next set.” Canadian anglers like Jeff Gustafson and Minnesotans including Seth Feider have helped to popularize the technique, but Bonnema broke down exactly why it’s so effective.
Straight out of the package, the marabou jig looks like a “fur ball” and when it’s wet it looks like a drowned rat, but in the water it’s the perfect combination of subtlety and extreme motion. “When it’s in the water, it just floats,” Bonemma said. For that reason, he tries to keep the jig as light as possible. Over 90 percent of the time that means a 3/16-ounce model, although he’ll occasionally drop down to 1/8 or upsize to 1/4 if he’s fishing in water deeper than 20 feet.
Many of the Canadians use a standup-style head, but he prefers a pointed, darter-style head. Usually it’s black, or black and some other color. However, he’ll slide a small piece of plastic worm onto the shank of the hook, usually purple or green, but sometimes in a shocking chartreuse. The worm aids in casting the light jig and creates a little bit of softness, scent and taste – that encourages finicky smallmouths to bite and then hold on.
While smallmouths will often just follow the jig, if they get each other interested and several start to track it, invariably one will bite. The cast and retrieve is simple – throw it out, let it settle to the desired depth and reel it back very slowly, with the rod pointed straight at the bait. Bonnema usually keeps it 1 to 2 feet off the bottom. The bite will be a pronounced tap. Don’t use a bone crushing hook set, just pull the rod up and take your time. Fight the fish away from you, where there’s usually very little for it to hang up on, not at the side of the boat.
The distinguishing characteristic of his tackle is a 7’11” medium-light spinning rod that he characterized as a “buggy whip.” A 2500-sized reel will suffice, but the larger spool of a 3000 allows for longer casts. He spools it with 10- to 15-pound braid, which helps in strike detection, and then adds 3 to 4 feet of fluorocarbon leader – usually 7- to 10-pound, but occasionally he’ll go as high as 12 if he’s around giant fish in shallow water, or where there’s some cover to get hung up on..
If you want to learn some of Bonnema’s other marabou jig smallmouth secrets, as well as the story of how he and Bass University co-founder Pete Gluszek met over two decades ago, check out his full on-the-water video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
