Storm’s WildEye Curl Tail Minnow, with a weighted head and hook encased in a soft-plastic body, tends to bounce off the bottom rather than burrow into it. (Photo by Scott Turo)
March 27, 2025
By Scott Turo
My path from college to a career in fisheries science took me through a litany of seasonal jobs for which I collected field data for various projects. I put my fishing experience to use in Southwest Alaska over several summers, working on a project to determine if angling was an effective substitute for more traditional fish population sampling methods. I was paid to fish remote streams for rainbow trout, collecting data through tagging and recapturing trout, and a white curly-tail grub attached to an 1/8-ounce pink jig head was the workhorse of my research-gathering efforts. In the 30 years since, I’ve improved the effectiveness of my jigs, making them my everywhere, all-the-time, go-to lure for trout.
THE STRIKE ZONE In the streams we fish across the West, trout spend most of their lives in the bottom half of the water column. Maintaining a presentation in this strike zone is tough, and the trout’s finicky nature doesn’t make it any easier. To consistently catch trout, anglers must avoid alerting or spooking fish, offer something resembling a meal that triggers a strike and effectively cover productive water. I feel jigs have a clear advantage over other lures in meeting these requirements while keeping you fishing in the strike zone with minimal effort.
The long casting range of small jigs on light spinning tackle allows anglers to stay on the bank in most situations and avoid spooking fish by wading. Additionally, lightweight jigs enter the water like raindrops on most casts, adding stealth to the presentation. This factor can prompt surface-orientated fish like trout to take the jig as it sinks naturally without tension on the line. Additionally, the short casting stroke required to accurately present jigs on light spinning tackle makes presentations in tight brushy areas easy and opens up more fisahble water.
Focus efforts on areas with 2 to 6 feet of depth, especially spots where structure is present, when trout fishing with jigs, (Photo by Scott Turo) Trout eat small fish, and large trout eat a lot them. Jigs are designed to resemble prey fish, relying on their shape and movement to appear realistic and trigger strikes. I’ve found that large eyes on jigs, whether they are metallic or realistic, act as a strike trigger that enhances their effectiveness. Trout, like most predatory fish, swallow prey fish head-first and use the prey’s eyes as a location and direction indicator when attacking a potential meal. Many baitfish have false eyes near their tails to confuse predators for this reason.
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The variety of realistic soft-plastic baits on the market is almost endless. However, keep in mind that a mouthful of rubber may limit solid hook sets on trout compared to bass, which inhale baits. Some trimming may be required get the right fit on smaller trout jigs. Curly and whale tails provide action that elicits strikes, while the tailless soft stick baits do a good job of imitating juvenile trout and salmon. I also tie my own hair jigs based on my favorite streamer fly patterns. The movement of the natural fibers and endless color options add to the realistic appeal.
Jigs fish well in most situations and allow the angler to cover a lot of water. I prefer to maximize my time in areas with moderate depth of 2 to 6 feet. That depth provides trout safety, and my jig can easily reach the strike zone. Structure like boulders, logs and weed lines attract trout. The current seams around these types of structure create funnels where food flows and are prime locations to target predatory trout.
To cover water effectively, position yourself downstream from likely holding water and make angled casts upstream into it. The weight-forward design of jigs causes them to fall instantly through the water column after the cast. Pinpoint your casts upstream of the structure, allowing the jig to sink and drift right to the trout feeding in the current seams. The upstream angle of your cast helps manage the sink rate. Maintaining a casting angle of 45 to 60 degrees upstream into the current allows the jig to sink into the strike zone while drifting through target water. Jigs cast straight upstream will have the fastest sink rate. This presentation is advised for use in slower currents where you can manage the slack line more effectively
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Large eyes on jigs can serve as strike triggers and give trout something to focus on during the attack. (Photo courtesy of Clay Bradley) CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON Jig fishing is a finesse technique for which minimal motion of the rod tip is best. Stream and river habitats will allow you to drift a jig through holding water as if it was a wounded or disorientated prey fish. A small, infrequent pop of the rod tip to ensure the jig is free of the bottom allows the natural drift to continue. As a finesse technique, learning the feel with lightweight jigs is the toughest part. The trick is to find a balance between staying connected to the jig to manage the slack line while not inhibiting any natural movement. Spend some time working the jig around the streambed structure at your feet. Get a feel for the level of rod movement required to create natural movements to imitate prey fish like sculpins, dace, minnows and small whitefish and trout that also live in the bottom half of the water column.
When you do this, you may find that many of your favorite jigs you use when fishing lakes don’t have the same realistic action in moving water. They will roll unnaturally from side to side, or even spin all the way around and twist your line. That said, they may work very well with a drifting presentation where retrieving the jig into the current is limited.
The WildEye Curl Tail Minnow from Storm Lures is a great, realistic choice that has fooled a lot of big trout for me over the years. The weight is molded to a strong hook, covered in flash material and sealed inside a realistic soft-plastic body with a small set of eyes floating in the plastic. I prefer the 2-inch, 1/16-ounce and 3-inch, 1/8-ounce models for river-dwelling trout. With six colors to choose from, there is sure to be a realistic version you will find confidence in.
I like drifting this jig through seams and pockets, letting the natural look of the body and seductive action of the curly tail do its work. I’ve found that the weight sealed within the soft-plastic body helps this jig bounce off the bottom rather than burrow like traditional jig heads do. However, the fully molded body is not very hydrodynamic in moving water and will roll erratically on fast retrieves in current.
I’ve found pill-head-style jigs track the straightest in the moderate current speeds experienced when fishing rivers and streams. Some excellent choices are VMC’s Sleek and Neon Moon Eye models , along with Northland Tackle’s Deep-Vee line . These all have a pill-style head and realistic eye that attracts trout. I tie my hair jigs on these models and continue to be impressed with their effectiveness. Pill heads work with soft-plastic trailers in moving water as well. I end up trimming the trailer to fit the smaller hooks on the 1/16- and 1/8-ounce jigs I use. I prefer ribbed grub trailers like Zoom’s Fat Albert and the Slug-Go from Lunker City. Both work well when trimmed to fit and come in a variety of realistic colors. Rig them weedless to fish through the sticks and cover.
My homespun hair jigs allow me to maximize the strike triggers that increase realism and effectiveness. A tail of barred rabbit fur with a flashy body of diamond braid set the foundation. A tuft of red marabou on the underside imitates gills or a bleeding injury. A collar of palmered marabou adds tantalizing movement through the undulations of each individual fiber, and a few strands of flash brings the lateral line seen on many fish to life. Feathers and fur have less resistance in the strong currents than soft plastics and perform well by maintaining a natural, angulating, strike-triggering rhythm.
TACKLE TALK Rod, reel and line considerations for fishing jigs A good jig arsenal includes versions that feature both natural hair and hackle and soft-plastic bodies. (Photo by Scott Turo) A 6 1/2-foot, light-action spinning rod is my choice for the 1/16-ounce pill-head hair jig, while a medium-light rod is ideal when a 1/8-ounce jig is needed. These two rod configurations cover 95 percent of the trout water I fish. Size up to a 7-foot rod and 1/4-ounce jigs in big water; size down to a 5-foot rod and 1/32-ounce jigs for small streams. To create a multi-rod arsenal for a reasonable budget, I gravitate to the Fish Eagle series from Bass Pro Shops. Paired with a 2500-size Daiwa Fuego spinning reel spooled with 8-pound Power Pro braided line , the Fish Eagle rods allow me to feel every tick on the bottom and many of the grabs I miss. After sorting through some less expensive options, I feel confident that at approximately $200, this rod-reel-line combo will meet your expectations.
This article was featured in the March 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
