Break-Off Less With Jig X
By Brian Cox | Feb 4, 2008


Vertical Lures’ design of the Jig X head and line tie gives the angler a more weed-less presentation and a completely protected knot. In turn, you, the angler will have less wasted casts due to weed snags and zero knot abrasion, keeping your knot just as strong as it was when you first tied it. Seasoned tournament fishermen note that this means more fish in the boat. For me, that was reason enough to give away all my old jigs and never look back. What I did not realize when I made the switch to Jig X was the reduced amount of break-offs I would gain from the unique design. A break-off can really hurt you from the loss of a lure or valuable fishing time lost due to re-tying. Also, breaking your lure off in cover will likely spook the fish in the area, therefore, slowing the next bite. Furthermore, in pressured water such as a tournament setting, a line break could shut the fish down in the immediate area for a long period of time.

So how do you utilize the Jig X’s unique features to reduce your break-offs? The slick design of the jig goes deeper than the surface. Imagine your jig wedged against the edge of a rock. With the line tie under the belly of the weight, slight forward pressure of the line will cause the Jig X head to rock back or pivot. Try utilizing these simple steps the next time you are X-ing them out of the cover.

Setting the hook into cover or jerking frantically with your rod is the best way to loose your Jig X. This also applies to any lure. When your bait becomes snagged, the first thing you should do is shake your rod tip with a very short up and down motion like you were shaking someone’s hand violently. In order for this to work, your line must be semi-slack, but not tight. I can’t stress enough how detrimental it is to pull hard with your rod, this will only increase the state of the snag.

If this technique does not work, the next step is to disengage your reel and let out three to four feet of line. Pull your rod back or put it down and grab the slack line at the point that it comes out of the tip of the rod. It is very important that your line is still slack before performing the next step. After you grab the slack line, pull straight back applying slight pressure. See picture: I have highlighted the line in red. This should free your Jig X. If moderate pressure does not free the lure, pull harder. Eighty or ninety percent of the time, this will free your snag.
If your Jig X is still hung up, troll over to the snag and pull in the opposite direction of your previous retrieve. If the snag is shallow enough, you can reel down to the lure with your rod down in the water and back it out with the rod. These tips should help you to get more fish out of each area you fish and you will likely be going home with more jigs than you are used to. Do not be afraid to put your Jig X into the nastiest, thickest cover on the lake. These guidelines will not free every snag, but you will definitely be spending less time re-tying and more time X-ing them out of the cover.



Brian Cox