The Marabou Jig Strikes Again

I have this giant tackle box full of more crankbaits, soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and more “must have” lures than I should admit to. I have enough rod/reel combos to handle all of the above as designed depending on lure weight, line size, and specific application. But even with all of that, more often than not, I find myself sometime on every outing throwing a marabou hair jig on an ultralight spinning combo. But today, I only had about 1 hour to play with, so all I brought with me to a local neighborhood pond was a handful of marabou jigs.

I arrived to find a few other fisherman at various points around the lake. A young boy was fishing with minnows, another guy dunking a worm under a bobber, and a third guy who, judging by his gear and attire, looked like he must be passing through town while on the BASSMasters tournament trail, was using a full arsenal of baits as he worked the shoreline. A whole lot of fishing but not any catching as far as I could tell.

Things started slowly for me while I worked the black and yellow jig fairly quickly around the lake, getting a few bumps and catching only a small largemouth bass in the early going.

I kept working the bank, sharing the lake with some Blue-winged Teal, Shovelers, Mallards, and 3 different pairs of nesting Canada Geese.  With temperatures in the upper 50’s, a clear sky, and only a slight warm breeze I was content just taking a walk around the lake.  But the fish kept biting, beginning with a decent bluegill, and followed by 15+ small largemouth bass and a mess of white crappie.

All of these fish were caught on the same marabou jig, worked without a bobber or minnow.  I didn’t have much time, sneaking in a quick outing before baseball practice and while everyone else was at soccer, track, or work. So once again, the go-to marabou jig came through in the clutch.  This simple jig has saved many a fishing outing for me, and today was no different.  I am thankful for another great day in the MO-Outdoors.