Brian Schmidt Bait's Version of the RPO : The Hybrid Football Jig
Introduction: Jigs are among the most basic and universal baits offered in today's fishing tackle world. There are countless jig offerings for any number of species anglers like to pursue. Many are applicable to multiple species, many more are species and cover specific. Of course, the award goes to black bass for the number of specialty jigs made to be fished around specific cover or via a specific retrieve. Yet with all these options, jigs are still highly personal to the angler with few agreeing upon the same factors that make a "good" jig. Brian Schmidt Baits recently introduced a twist on the classic football that's sure to get some attention. Let's take a look.
The first sentence you wrote on your impressions should be corrected. You said, "Football jigs are characterized by big beefy hooks", you should have started that sentence with "most" rather than a blanket statement. I guess making jigs for more than 20 years makes me a little OCD about them but it is kind of how I found a site like this one. Original football jigs were made with light wire hooks and either no weed guard or thin fiber or wire weed guards. The light hooks were due to the jigs being fished in deep, clear water reservoirs on light line so the hooks had to penetrate easily. Braided line and heavier power rods is why the football jig evolved into a model with a big beefy hook and heavy weed guard which is good as it is allowed for it to be used in other spots. I also think if Brian Schmidt wanted a heavy hook football jig he should have stayed with a silicone and rubber version. The hybrid hair and silicone would have been much better as a lighter tackle original style with a lighter hook and wire weed guard, a more "finesse" version if you will. Anyway, good review as usual and my critique was just me being OCD about a type of lure that I'm into, so again my apologies if I come off as arrogant or rude, I didn't mean to be.
