Japanese jigs add dimension to the category

The jig is a lure category that has come a long way since an inventive dude first decided to take his sinker off his line and squeeze it directly to his hook! Anglers and lure makers have tinkered with head shape for the last few decades. But don’t be fooled by the relative simplicity of the jig. The pace of modification and improvement has accelerated dramatically in recent years.

And leave it to the Japanese to adopt the finest components, add features, and find new ways to improve jig performance!

By reshaping heads, altering hook style and size, adjusting hook eye angle, and adding superior paint jobs and skirts, the jig has gone from a generic piece of terminal tackle to a sophisticated, finely engineered artificial lure.

Here’s what came in with the latest Lee’s Global Tackle Connection shipment!

Deps Head Lock Jig – The Deps Head Lock Jig had been the guarded secret of a handful of successful Midwest tournament anglers until Jason Knapp won last season’s Bassmaster Northern Open on Lake Champlain with it! The supply of this deadly jig remains limited, but they are available NOW at Lee’s Global Tackle! The latest addition to this premium jig line is the chartreuse skirt on a chartreuse jig head!

Deps Hyper Football Jig – The Deps Hyper Football sports a shorter, squatter football head than its sister jig from Deps, the Head Lock. (Compare the former, if you will, to the football of the leather helmet era prior to the advent of the forward pass, which led to the football’s subtly more elongated design.) On the bass end of the bait is a longer hook, which accommodates a larger bodied trailer. (No need to bite off the end of that craw bait!) [NOTE: While you are at it, check out the Deps Flat Back Jig, a swimming jig designed to move through heavy cover and vegetation. It is available in ½- and ¾-ounce varieties…if they are still in stock!]

Megabass Flamingo Stand-Up Mushroom Head Jig – Yes, Megabass makes a jig in addition to its blowaway hardbaits, magic wand rods and $1200 reels! This stand-up jig will walk over rock and wood. It keeps the tail-end of any attractive trailer up high so it can wave seductively and catch the eye of a bass on the prowl. The tough but flexible weed guard is molded into the jig ahead of a stout hook that will allow you to strong-arm even giant bass out of thick cover.

Noike Wild Kem Kem Jig – These small jigs (2.0-, 2.5- and 3.0 gram) are sparsely skirted, trim-neck finesse jigs that are perfect for tough, clear-water conditions when nothing else seems to work. Add a super-fine finesse plastic to maintain the slim profile of these baits.