Posted by Marc Wisniewski on 1/1/2010 to
Casting Jigs and Baits
Thinking outside of the box has been the root of a lot of great innovations and ideas in history. And, a lot of great fishermen and fishing techniques have also excelled from looking beyond the obvious.
The Do It Brush Jig would be a perfect example of this scenario. It’s a perfect design for working through weeds and timber for Largemouth Bass. Flip it into heavy cover, pads, hydrilla, you name it. This jig will come through and bring a big Bass with it. It’s the military grade H1 Hummer of Bass jigs.
I was showing the jig to a friend of mine here in Wisconsin last winter. He was studying it with intensity when he said, “This would be a great jig for saltwater flats fishing”. Not knowing a lot about flats fishing, I trusted his opinion and made him a couple dozen to take along on a trip he was about to take to the Gulf of Mexico.
His hunch was correct. The jig preformed beautifully on a variety of Gulf species such as Redfish, Sea Trout, flounder, and even a hard fighting Cobia. Whether it was grass, sand, or oyster beds, the jigs fished through and presented a variety of plastics flawlessly. No straightened hooks either. The Mustad 32786 not only held up to the salt conditions, but it held up to the rigors handed out by these hard fighting fish.
A few weeks later, I had the chance myself to give them a try in the Florida Salt. The results were fantastic. I fished a couple piers and waded an oyster bar catching Jack Cravelle and Spanish mackerel along with a few Ladyfish and Whiting. The hard fighting Jacks and lightning fast mackerel were no match for the super strong Mustad hook.
Since then, my friend has continued to do very well on them and it has become his go-to jig for the flats species.
But the hook isn’t the story. The head shape of the Brush Jig is what makes this jig so effective. It could be the best stand-up jig in the Do-It line-up right now. Whether its hair or plastic, this jig presents its tail dressing high off the bottom to an interested follower. Whether you are lifting and dropping on an oyster bar or dragging it through the sand, your tail dressing will ride high without snagging.
As I mentioned earlier, the Brush Jig was designed to come through the toughest jungles so slithering through a grass flat for Redfish is a piece of cake. Tip it with a 4” plastic shrimp imitation or 5” jerk shad type body. Brush jigs fitted with clear weed guards seem to be the ticket for these keen sighted fish.
Once you get out of the grass, the weed guard isn’t necessary. For casting the beach, working an oyster bar, jigging around a pier, or tossing under docks for Snook, you can go without the guard. There are two options here. You can pour them as designed with the empty hole and don’t add the guard. What I did is cut back a base hole pin so that it is flush with the jig surface. Now you can pour a full jig without the weed guard cavity.
As noted earlier, this jig accepts all types of plastics very well. Shrimp bodies, jerk shad bodies, sting-ray grubs, and swim baits all match up well. For those of you that like a tied jig, the classic Al Pflueger style bucktail jig can be tied on the Brush Jig . Even the popular Pompano style jig, sporting the short synthetic hair, can be created on this jig. Hop it along the surf creating puffs of sand which looks like a fleeing crab and the Pomps will eat it.
For the flats, the ¼ ounce is the workhorse for most conditions. But don’t get caught without some 3/8 th and ½ ounce for when the tide starts ripping out. Off the piers, the 3/8 and ½ ounce will be your mainstay.
As for colors, it’s hard to go wrong with pink, pearl white, chartreuse, and red Component Systems Inc. powder paints . They hold up really well under the saltwater conditions. One really good color has been Candy Orange mixed with gold glitter over a red base. You end up with a rusty-reddish color that must look like something to the flats fish because they sure love it.
Vivid colors are important for these fish. A little trick I developed with powder paints is to over-coat a standard color with one of the “Candy” colors. For instance, paint the jig with yellow chartreuse. While the jig is hot, dip it into Candy Yellow. The standard yellow chartreuse is hot! Hit it with the candy yellow and it is smokin’!. The candy color, which is semi-transparent, makes the color jump out. The same can be done with orange/candy orange, red/candy red, bright green/candy lime, purple/candy purple, and pink/candy pink. The candy overcoat also adds a protective coating to the jig.
If you fish saltwater flats, piers, or most any other inshore application you will want to try the Do-It Brush Jig . Not only is it a great jig for pulling Bass out of heavy cover, it has also found a comfortable home in the tackle boxes of Sea Trout, Snook, Redfish, Pompano, Jack Cravelle, and even Flounder fisherman.