The black synthetic hair jig is once again a key to success for several anglers, just like it was in 2015. There are various theories as to what it imitates that makes it so attractive to smallmouth bass. A leech of some sort is the logical answer. But there’s another possibility: catfish fry.
If you recall, a 1/8th-ounce black synthetic hair jig was a key bait for Edwin Evers when he won here in 2015. Evers remembered that he had a package of them in his truck, jigs that had been given to him at a tackle show several years previously by Andy Vallombroso, owner of Andy’s Custom Bass Lures in Madison, Conn.
Vallombroso is a longtime, well-known lure-maker in the northeast. Roland Martin’s 1994 Bassmaster win on the Connecticut River came primarily on one of Andy’s jigs. Vallombroso has spent many hours underwater, studying crawfish, baitfish and anything else a bass might eat. Vallombroso has photos of catfish fry that closely resemble a black hair jig.
Last night after the tournament, as we were carp fishing on a small dock near our awsome “rent house” located just across the cove from the weigh-in site, our Bassmaster.com crew noticed a school of catfish fry swimming near the dock. Yes, the resemblance to a small black hair jig is remarkable. And it would explain why anglers simply swim the jig, rather than hop it or give it any other action, when fishing for smallmouth. Catfish fry casually swim; they don’t hop or dart.
The catfish fry theory is just that, a theory. But it’s plausible. And it really doesn’t matter what the synthetic hair jig is imitating, as long as smallmouth bass continue to gobble it.
One final note: It is a synthetic hair jig, not one made from marabou. Vallombroso tied his first ones after buying a gorilla suit from a costume shop and trimming the hair off it.