Thread: Matching plastic to jig head

I like large hooks in my jigs, crappie have big mouths. I've caught them on large deep diving crankbaits bass fishing. The weight depends on how deep I'm fishing, wind also plays a role in weight selection too. I cast 99% of the time.

I’ve always disliked the really large hooks that come in 1/4 oz. jig heads They never fit any of the soft plastic tubes or grubs that I like to fish with.
A jig head that I found that I have had awesome success with is the 1/4 oz. Bighead jig currently marketed under the Deep Ledge Jigs name.
What makes these so great is that they are 1/4 oz. but only have a #4 hook, the same hook as a 1/16th oz. jig.


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Don’t overthink it. The 1/16 jig heads at Walmart (painted or unpainted) work just fine on all
The 1.5-2.5” bodies. Pick a weight you want (and can cast well) and your favorite body and go fish. The will eat it.

Originally Posted by Ranger690

Don’t overthink it. The 1/16 jig heads at Walmart (painted or unpainted) work just fine on all
The 1.5-2.5� bodies. Pick a weight you want (and can cast well) and your favorite body and go fish. The will eat it.

I’ve tried to force myself to think this way. I heard a talented bass guy say one time he throws a 3/4 ounce jig no matter if he was fishing 2 feet deep or 20. He said if a bass was going to bite, it was going to bite regardless if it was 1/4 or 3/4 ounce. I want to fish and think this way. But I keep confusing myself


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Originally Posted by Auston22688

Sorry guys, it’s me again. Instead of opening a whole new can of worms on an existing thread, I figured I’d ask here.
When pairing a jig head to a plastic, are you guys matching the hook size to the jig head? Or are you choosing the weight more so to match your fall rate? Still a pain to find a jig head that matches a plastic just right with the weight and hook size. Thanks again for everything guys


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Sorry, I should’ve remembered what my 6th grade English teacher told us: Proofread your work.
I screwed my question up. I meant to ask do you pair the plastic to the hook size? Or pair the plastic to the weight you want?


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I went to a 1/16oz jighead w/#2 Aberdeen hook, just because I started using bigger/thicker plastic bodies. And I still use those same jigs when putting a 1.5" plastic body on. I also have some 1/16oz jigheads with #4 hooks & they work just fine, except when using a thicker bodied plastic. Then the #4 hook can be too close (IMHO) to the top of the plastic body, that it may not stick into the fish's mouth. (example : I've had several occasions where the fish bit, and the plastic body got pulled down on the hook (& turned), which caused the hook to bury into the plastic body or get jammed up against the hook point to where the hook point was unable to come into contact with the fish's mouth.)

So, no .... I'm not matching hook size to jighead weight, rather matching it to the size of the plastics I'm using. But, yes ... I'm using the jighead weight for fall rate & for the depth I'm fishing.

Before having LS I was mostly casting a jig to cover & was using weedless jigheads in 1/32oz & 1/16oz, both of which I had made with #2 Aberdeen hooks. Were I to need a 1/32oz jig to fish shallower water w/LS .... I'd have no qualms about removing the weedguard and using them. Or I might even use them "as is" ... knowing I could get those jigs down into the cover and back out again more often than with a regular jig. (which I have successfully done, several times)

When I use plastic, it is almost always tubes. I use 2 sizes of Southern Pro tubes. The 2'' Umbrella tube on a 1/8th using #1 hook . The Little Hustler is a 2.5'' bait and rig it on a 1/4 oz jig head using 1/0 hook . I think using bigger hooks when it fits is best for holding big fish .

I'm glad I waited to read what some of the crew posted before giving my . Dothan is much further south, more like our style of fishing. The further south you get the fishing needs change a bit. Florida anglers mid state will fish different from us. I pour 1/16oz heads with #6 Matzou sickle hooks to 1/32oz with #2 Aberdeen XXFine wire Mustad hooks. Sink Rate is a important factor for us. Using Southern Pro's Original Crappie Stinger (I highly recommend) with the #6 Matzou hooks is a great Micro - Hot weather jig for presenting to finicky Big Blacks but depending on depth I change the weight. Heat of summer one year I will be fishing braid at 12ft, next summer the fish are 3ft but in shade. A heavy head won't catch like the lighter one will. Ketchn posted about three years ago now fish smaller hooks in heavy cover. As usual the rest of his post was the wraparound story. I picked the gold out of his post and applied it on Ross Barnett Fall fishing in heavy cover, well it works. My confidence in small hooks after that exploded to the point I only pour #4 Matzou Sickle & #4 Eagle Claw 570's or #6 Matzou Sickle hooks for something as small as Southern Pro's Original Stinger up to Do-It's 2-1/2in Fluke. BG Scent Wigglers on a #4 Matzou Sickle and I swing everything in the boat. Haven't had a fish come off the hook in years. If I can't see the jig in the fish's mouth I swing'em in. CrappiePappy is a very skilled Crappie angler as well as Nimrod, both gave you good advice but don't underrate Ketchn's smaller hooks as my full ice chests can attest to their lethalness to Crappie. Lastly, bend your hook out enough that when passing your finger over the eye of the hook towards the point it catches your finger. If it does not stick you after opening it up a little you have your hook buried too deep in the plastic body.