Setting the Hook with Swinging Jig-heads

One technique for bass that has taken the fishing world by storm in recent years is the swinging football head (aka: Biffle HardHads, Swing Head Jig, Swing-Hook Football Jigs, Wobble Head). It's an excellent presentation that allows an angler to cover water quickly like with a crankbait or spinnerbait, but has the profile of a jig/creature bait.

I'm a huge fan of this technique and have had great success with it. Unfortunately, I've heard many anglers write off this technique due to a low hook-up ratio.

How you set the hook with this rig is crucial. When I first started using swinging jig-heads, I found myself setting the hook in an upward motion. I also found myself losing a lot of fish.

I made a change and started sweeping my rod to the side, like you would when fishing a crankbait or spinnerbait. My hook-up ratio increased dramatically. I believe a sweeping hook set allows for better penetration with the swinging jig-heads.

I'm not necessarily sure why this is the case, but it's certainly helped me get more fish in the boat.