Don’t hesitate this month. Point the bow of your boat directly toward this perennial winter hotspot.
Think of this brand-new jig as a bass fisherman’s dream version of an all-terrain vehicle. It’s an artificial lure that acts alive and apparently looks delicious to bass, fished shallow or deep, around rocks or wood and anything else they tend to hang out on.
It’s the Flex Head Jigz line from Vision Lures owned by Dave Trantham of Republic, Mo. The Flex Head Jigz has a patented hinged hook and flexible two-tier weighting system that allows it to crawl over and through cover with its weight distributed evenly, thus keeping its balance.
Envision that. Think about twitching the tip of your fishing rod just enough to lift and lower the head enticingly while the body of the jig stays where it is. Like Trantham says, “Finally, a jig that moves like it’s alive.”
He calls the jig “truly revolutionary,” and it’s hard to argue the claim. It does have a realistic action during a retrieve regardless how it is worked.
That’s what the 50-year-old designer of artificial lures was trying to achieve when the jig was just a gleam in his eyes two years ago. He wanted a jig that did something different underwater than other brands.
“You can move the head and keep the body on the target,” he said. “The head bobs up and down. It’s almost like a person putting a finger right in front of your face. That’s when the hit comes in. I just barely twitch the line and the head moves. I think we’ve got something pretty much what anglers want.”
Trantham, who has been in the business seven years, was talking about the latest of his artificial lure creations one evening the second week of November after a day of fishing with it on Table Rock Lake. Smallmouth bass there love the camo-colored Flex Head Jigz.
“That’s what I was playing with today,” he said.
The selling point of the jig, which hit the market in August, is the bullet-shaped steel head it has instead of a lead head. That helps those bass anglers with a deft touch feel what the jig is going over, through and around.
“With the steel head, it seems to transmit much better than a lead head. I can tell if it’s on wood or rock,” Trantham said.
The Flex Head Jigz are available in 1/4-, 3/8- and 1/2-ounce models with the most popular being the 3/8-ounce model, followed by the 1/4-ounce jig and then the 1/2-ounce model.
Trantham’s jig is armed with a Mustad Ultra-point Long Shank Round Bend Hook. It also has a Z-Man Fishing EZ Skirt system, a pliable silicone skirt with a collar you won’t have to worry about cracked or breaking, he said.
Camouflage is the top color, followed by black/blue and black/red, Trantham said. Impale a camo crawworm on it, and it can be simply irresistible to bass.
“Camo seems to be a perfect fit for everyone,” he said, noting more colors are in the works for 2010 based on requests from bass fishermen around the U.S.
Bassers have a choice to swim a Flex Head Swim Jigz without a New Titanium Wire Brush Guard or stock up on models with the Brush Guard.
“Some people prefer it without a Brush Guard,” Trantham said, noting those are the anglers who prefer to swim a jig combination and those who want to use it over spawning beds. “When I get into thicker cover, I always use one with a Brush Guard.”
He and others who have been introduced to both styles can’t wait to work it on bedding bass next spring, everywhere bass are sitting or about to sit on their beds.
For more information on the Flex Head Jigz, call (417) 732-1882 or visit www.visionlure.com.
