Guido Hibdon and I have something in common.
No, I’m not attempting to compare my stumbling angling antics with the expert skills of the bass-fishing icon from Gravois Mills, Mo. After all, here’s a guy who’s guided for bass on Lake of the Ozarks since a teenager, created lures used by anglers around the country, fished professionally on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and Bassmaster Tour, and has caught more bass than the average fisherman can comprehend. However, what we do share is respect for the simple hair jig. During a fishing outing with Hibdon on Beaver Lake, I had an opportunity to discuss hair jigs and watch the master at work.
Hair reasons
In the 1950s, hand-tied hair jigs were a standard in the tackle boxes of freshwater anglers. However, when soft-plastic, action-tail bodies began coming on strong in the 1970s, hair jigs slowly began to fade from sight.
But, just because the masses gave up hair in favor of plastic did not mean hair quit catching bass. A handful of knowledgeable anglers like Hibdon knew there was something special about hair that could not be duplicated by artificial material.
“It’s the undulation factor that gives a natural flow so representative of aquatic creatures,” Hibdon stated. “There is also the ‘puff’ factor; when you stop moving a quality hair jig, it puffs or flares. Besides, it’s a small package overall – just right for bass to engulf whether they have an appetite or a full belly. Read More |
|
|
Dion Hibdon’s casting jigs |
|
By Mark Hicks - Dion Hibdon, a former Wal-Mart FLW Tour champion and jig-fishing master, often casts jigs. He works them over chunk-rock points, pea-gravel bottoms and offshore structure. When bass demand a light touch, he opts for spinning tackle, 8- to 12-pound-test Trilene XT, and homemade Z\,-ounce and Z\v-ounce ball head jigs with bristle hook guards.
“I dress a ball head jig with a Dion’s Classic (a spider grub) or a Baby Guido Bug,” Hibdon said. “The skirt and tails of the Classic show bass a lot of movement. The Baby Guido Bug imitates a bass’s favorite food, the crawfish.”
The ball head jig is not a good design for cover. But the bristle guard allows it to climb over rocks, sparse brush and the occasional stump.
When he casts to smallmouth bass on deep, rocky structures, Hibdon prefers a football head jig that weighs as much as 1 ounce. He dresses the jig with a Dion’s Classic and casts it with a 7-foot-3-inch medium-heavy bait-casting rod made by American Rodsmiths. The new rod is named Hibdon’s Hammer. Hibdon matches the rod with 17- or 20-pound-test Trilene XT and fishes the jig aggressively with sharp jerks and hops.
|
|
|
|
|
|
