Mission Slip Bobber Jig

The Slip Bobber Jig-Simplicity in Action

The Slip Bobber Jig really became about from listening to requests from a group of Northern Minnesota Guides that requested a 1/16 oz Jighead with a larger 1/0 hook.  This sounds simple enough to make, but when you put the larger hook onto the smaller head, you have the issue of having the eye sticking up further out of the jighead than it should.  We were able to source a Mustad hook that has a shorter stem, and fits perfectly with the 1/16 oz size jig; so the Slip Bobber Jig was born.  The name is really a misnomer, as this jig is not only a great bobber jig, but an excellent shallow water jig for many types of presentations.  The 1/0 hook has a larger gap,and offers better hookups whether used under a bobber or casting presentations.  Most 1/16 oz jigs have a panfish hook, and hookups are greatly reduced on walleyes when using them, as they don’t have the gap necessary to provide consistent hookups.

Some of you may be asking, why the 1/16 oz jig head to begin with?  Many anglers know as a general rule to use the lightest jig head they can get away with, but really don’t know why that is the case.  The reason a lighter jig is more productive in many situations has to do with the way walleyes feed.  Most anglers assume a walleye feeds with a slashing attack at there prey, but many times this isn’t the case.  They actually create a vacuum by sucking water through there gills and inhaling the prey.  A lighter jig is more productive in this case as it is more easily “vacuumed” in.  A lighter jig head also has a slower fall than a heavier one, allowing it to remain in the strike zone for a walleye longer. 

When the jig is used below a bobber, the lighter weight allows live bait to move more naturally.  This is especially true when using leeches.  A bobber allows the bait to remain where it should be, which is the main reason a slip bobber is such a deadly presentation. 

No, the Slip Bobber Jig isn’t super fancy, and is really a simplistic concept that wasn’t really being offered.  But then I guess, most of the best fish catching ideas are pretty simple after all.  We forget, a walleye doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking, they just want to eat and survive.