Jig Hook

Every jig starts with a jig hook: a strong hook bent near the eye so a weight can be moulded onto it, positioning the eye to ride line-up while the point rides up. It's less a hook you buy loose than the skeleton inside every ballhead, football, swim and finesse jig - and understanding its bend angle, wire gauge and point tells you why one jig hooks fish and another loses them.

What it is

A hook with a defined bend near the eye (commonly 60° or 90°) built to be cast into a lead head, orienting the eye for the line and the point upward.

When to use it

Anywhere a jig fishes - ballhead finesse, football jigs on rock, swim jigs, flipping jigs - and when pouring or buying jig heads, the hook inside is the spec that matters.

How to rig & set it

Comes moulded in the head; thread a soft plastic or tie a skirt so the point stays clear and up. Set firmly - jigs are bottom-contact lures and the point must drive up into the roof of the mouth.

Sizing

J-numbering matched to head weight and target; heavier flipping jigs run 4/0-5/0 heavy wire, finesse heads 1-2/0 light wire.

Strengths & weaknesses

Point-up orientation and weight integration give jigs their bottom-feel and hooking power. Weakness is the flip side of any moulded hook: you can't change it without changing the whole head, so buy heads with quality, sharp, correctly-gauged hooks.

Common mistakes

Cheap heads with soft dull hooks (the #1 jig failure), wire too light for the cover, and rigging plastics that bury the point.