The Hair Jig w/Josh Rayner

 Skip it, hop it, drag it… even let it sit dead still. Hair jig is a lure that you absolutely should be throwing in cold water for smallmouth and largemouth. I’m lucky to have a very good friend of mine who ties his own. At the end of this I will leave his link where he has them for sale and even has available kayak guided trips to get you out and show you exactly how to fish this technique if interested. 

From late fall through the spring and spawn the hair jig shines. Being able to fish it effectively in depths from 2 to 35 feet plus, simply by changing the weight of the jig and line size makes it incredibly versatile. Fishing weights from 1/8-3/8th mostly. For smallmouth the plain jig seems to shine with no additional trailer necessary. Where largemouth adding a chunk trailer or plastic craw seems to help entice a bite. As it sits still on the bottom a little better and the plastic claws can slow the fall. 

 For gear I like to use a 7 foot spinning rod medium or medium lite action with 6-8 lb fluorocarbon and a 3000 size reel. I love my shimano nasci reels here. At 100 dollar price point it is a tough reel to beat for the money. A lot of this is personal preference and what you have confidence in at the end of the day. 

 This past December I was lucky enough to have Josh out on the boat on the river for a smallmouth mission. Water temp was between 36-38 degrees this day. We located some fish in 18-26 feet of water and it didn’t take long to get the first bites. I was fishing a plain simple black hair jig and josh was fishing a variety of hair jigs. We did end up with a few bites and fish on ned rigs too but 11 of our 14 fish came on the hair jig including my new PB smallie at 4 lbs 12 oz. I fished it about as slow as I could dragging it along with short pauses and little double hops. Most my bites came when I was paused. The hits are incredibly light. But as they say hook sets are free. If it doesn’t feel right or even slightly mushy set that hook. As with lots of bottom fishing you will lose jigs and you will get snagged. It’s part of the game but end of the day it’s what gives me the highest confidence to get that bite. It was an awesome day with a great friend which was long overdue. 

As the water warms up and fish move shallower the hair jig is also amazing for sight fishing and yes even bed fishing. Something I don't have a problem with as long as you release that fish back on the nest immediately..  not 8 miles away at a ramp or hours later for a hero photo from your livewell. So to end this DO NOT sleep on the hair jig. Consider it an important tool to have in your tool box. Will it always work, will you never get skunked..Nope!  but, it will give you a good chance and that’s all we can ask for as an angler. 

Check out Josh’s website CT Fish Nerd to see and purchase his jigs. He has an amazing variety from plain and simple to extravagant and everything in between. Can also find him on Instagram user name ct_fish_nerd

By: Joe Jacobowitz