Rabbit Hair Jigs!
By: Tim Callahan

It is no secret that hair jigs catch fish.  Take for example the buck tail jig, one of the earliest baits used for taking fish still yields the same results hundreds of years later.  The secret is in the life like, pulsating action that natural furs and feathers produce unlike that of rubber, plastic and metal baits.  Rabbit fur and marabou breathe even when the bait is not moving tempting bass to strike when other baits simply do not work.  The difference between buck tail and rabbit jigs is in the action of the bait.  There are an incomparable amount of hair fibers in a rabbit jig compared to that of a buck tail or bear hair jig giving it a far more superior breathing effect.  Rabbit fur also holds more scent than any other material so it is recommended that you always apply it to your baits.

How to fish rabbit hair jigs in cold water

In the early spring after the ice melts bass will usually stage in large numbers.  They will however still be sluggish due to the long winter.  The best technique to use during this time of the year is to simply hop the jig off of the bottom using small pops.  Lifting the rod from 9:00 to about 11:00 will bounce the bait to about three feet off of the bottom where many of the bass lay.  It is crucial that you mend your line after each cast in order to keep the line tight since the bass will not hit the bait hard but rather slurp it slowly.  A fast action rod with a fairly decent backbone is also recommended as well as fluorocarbon line which will increase sensitivity to those light strikes.  Often the strike will feel like weeds since the bass are not darting away with the bait.

As the water temperatures begin to rise I like to target rocks which will heat up in the sun and often attract sluggish bass looking to warm themselves.  I still use the same techniques as I do for ice out but may increase the speed of retrieve.  Often popping the jig off of the bottom a bit faster and making it dart about will entice bass to strike.  It is this time of the year that they will hit hard and run with the bait.  Strikes often occur as the rabbit jig falls as well as when the bait is lifted off of the bottom.  Never let your guard down since they will also slurp the bait right off of the bottom due to the awesome breathing effect of the rabbit fur. 

When pre spawn begins and the bass are gorging themselves several techniques can be used.  Working the bait off of the bottom will target those bass in search of craw dads. You can also use a straight retrieve popping the rabbit jig as you swim it to target the bass higher in the water column that are chasing bait fish.  In these situations I will usually throw a rabbit swim jig which is tied with rabbit, hackle, flash material and sometimes marabou to represent a bait fish.  This is the time of the year that the fish will dictate which presentation is most effective.

Rabbit hair jigs are also deadly when sight fishing for bass on beds.  I use a 1/8oz in this situation since it will fall slower in front of the bass’s nose.  Many of the bass during the spawn have seen countless artificial baits and the larger smarter ones are often hard to fool with a tube jig or a worm.  The benefit of the rabbit jig is that it will pulsate when stationary due to thousands of ultra lightweight hair fibers.  This gives off that life like effect.  The bass in turn detects it as a real threat and will remove it off of its bed. 

Later in the summer as water temperatures rise rabbit jigs are very effective on steep drop offs.  I will use a bait caster during this time.  I recommend that you cast the jig just in front of the drop where you can see shallow water.  I than allow the jig to fall off of the drop with a thumb lightly on the spool because strikes often occur while the jig is falling.  Keeping a thumb on the spool will allow you to detect hits.  When the bait stops its decent you want to lift the rod straight up to until the bait begins to fall again.  When you have reached flat ground do not real it back to the boat quickly.  Instead work it back slowly popping and jerking all the way up to the boat.  Often the bass are following it all the way down its decent and reeling it up quickly will deter strikes.  I will also swim hair jigs in the summer months over flats where a faster presentation is called for.  I prefer a leech or a baitfish imitation.

There is no incorrect way to fish rabbit hair jigs.  If one does not work try another presentation until the fish tell you what they want.  All of our jigs are tied on lead free jig heads.  bleedingbaits.com

Feel Free to visit Tim's website: www.bleedingbaits.com for all your hand tied lures.