Jig with lip

[Damon Taylor]

Hey everybody I'm new to the site. I came on here to look for an older specific lure that I found 12 years ago at the Nashville fishing expo. It looked like a chatterbait but it actually had a rounded metal lip molded into the jig head. When you threw it out it just had a very wide wobble. Didn't know if anyone knew the manufacturer or if anyone made them. Unfortunately I do not have a picture.

[basskat]

You have a picture?

[Apdriver]

I remember a thread on here about this very thing. It was a jig with what looked like a lip like a crank bait but someone had custom made the lip out of either an Indiana blade or Colorado blade and inserted that into a lead head. I searched for a pic which I thought I may have saved and searched for the thread but couldn’t find anything. Is that what you are looking for, Damon?

[psilvers]

Scrounger jig heads are similar. However, the lip is plastic. To be honest, I have tried tying hair and feathers on a Scrounger head and the action wasn’t that great.

pete

[Damon Taylor]

On 2/21/2022 at 8:20 PM, basskat said:

You have a picture?

No

[Damon Taylor]

On 2/21/2022 at 10:52 PM, Apdriver said:

I remember a thread on here about this very thing. It was a jig with what looked like a lip like a crank bait but someone had custom made the lip out of either an Indiana blade or Colorado blade and inserted that into a lead head. I searched for a pic which I thought I may have saved and searched for the thread but couldn’t find anything. Is that what you are looking for, Damon?

Yes that is exactly what I'm talking about. Like I said in my original post there was some guy that was actually making them and selling them and I purchased one but have since lost it. It didn't run very deep but it looks just like a ChatterBait but swam like a swimbait or glide bait

[Damon Taylor]

3 minutes ago, Damon Taylor said:

Yes that is exactly what I'm talking about. Like I said in my original post there was some guy that was actually making them and selling them and I purchased one but have since lost it. It didn't run very deep but it looks just like a ChatterBait but swam like a swimbait or glide bait

 

[Munkin]

Lot of 2 Pro Assassinator 1/2 oz Swim Jigs 12TE-GSF Gold Sun Fish | eBay

Are these what you are looking for?

Allen

 

[Damon Taylor]

Hey thank you. It is close to the same concept except the lip was just about straight out instead of pointed upwards and it wasn't as nearly as long but it is what I was talking about though. Thank you

[Crymdawg]

I remember buying a jig at a Sportsman's show 20 plus years ago that was called " The Dragon Jig" or something like that name. There was a Colorado Blade molded into the jig head and a tie point on the blade. I'd have to check some of my old tackle bags to see if I still have one to take a picture of. I remember an older gentleman sitting on a stool and casting the jig into a tank and the jig easily moved over submerged wood and rock without getting stuck. Does that sound like the product you are looking for ??

[MIbasscat73]

Could you be talking about “Carver’s Dragon Jig”?  When I saw this post, I remembered that I bought some at a sport show 25 years ago or so.  I knew I still had some, just had to dig them out of all my old tackle. I finally found them. They came with a straight rubber skirt that over time has gotten all sticky.  I do remember placing spinner bait skirts on them years ago after they wore out. So I put a some new skirts on a couple here in the picture and will try them out.  20 years ago they were killer for pike here in Michigan. 

[kakuip]

An older lure similar to this was the Lazy Ike Wiggly Crawler.  It used a bladed head with a worm trailer .  There is a discussion on this back on Aug 18, 2010.  I did own one, but I haven't been able to find it as it was either borrowed without my knowing or lost.  Hard to find now though.

[JD_mudbug]

Stanley Jigs also made some for a brief period probably around 20 years ago. They used a Colorado blade with a hole drilled in the wider end of the blade for a line tie. The skirt rotted away years ago.

At the New England Fishing Expo 2 months ago, I bought some nice looking lipped jigs from Rocky Ledge Tackle out of New Hampshire.

 

[Ogajiga]

Thanks for posting details and pics of blade jigs I never knew existed.

I'm guessing that being no longer available (?) is because they didn't work well enuf to continue production?

Anybody try them out?

[JD_mudbug]

The old lipped jigs worked. There were several around 20-25 years ago. When the Chatterbait came on the scene in 2003 and became the hot bait, the other styles with the molded in blade lost popularity. Some baits are discontinued because the company has more profitable baits, the bait isn't as popular as a 'new' bait and sales drop, or a component becomes too expensive. Sometimes a corporate merger causes a reduction in a brand's product line.  Sometimes it has nothing to do with how well a bait works. The Arbogast Mudbug is one of my favorite crankbaits. Works as good now as it did in the 80s. Other baits, like the modern square bills, became more popular, sales declined, there were numerous mergers, and it was discontinued.

The Stanley lipped jig had a too stiff weed guard and a poor hook by today's standard. I don't think they even need a weed guard. You miss a lot of fish on it. Berkley made one called the Blade Dancer. It didn't have a skirt and had a grub-tail minnow designed for it. There was the Wobblehead that was typically fished with a Creme Scoundrel or other straight worm. They also could have benefitted from a better hook.

The ones made now with the better hooks of today can be very effective. I have been using this one and really like it:

https://www.rockyledgetackle.com/products/swimbait-jig

I use a slow to medium steady retrieve. They have a certain range of retrieve speed where the action is great. I watch the jig coming in to find it. I use a trailer that has little resistance like a grub, half a trick worm, split tail spinnerbait trailer, or ribbon-tail worm with the head cutoff. Paddletails and craws have too much action on their own and can kill the action of the jig. It doesn't vibrate like a Chatterbait. It come in with a side to side sashay. They seem to work better in clearer water or less windy days when you need a more subdued presentation than a true vibrating bladed jig. I also think I have had good luck with them in pressured waters because everyone else is throwing a Chatterbait. I like them because they have very little retrieve pressure and the molded in blade helps them scoots over objects. They're great to fish if you hands are sore at the end of long day or multi-day trip.

Edited May 1, 2023 by JD_mudbug
typo

[Ogajiga]

Thank you JD for the comprehensive details on why lures fade away from popularity despite their effective attributes.  Guessing you are or were an industry insider?

I liked your observation that tail action might be counter productive to a head design.

Since I'm a 100% jigger had to look up the Mudbug.  Never would have guessed that the seemingly awkward reverse retrieve design could be anyones favorite.

 

[JD_mudbug]

I used to get to meet a lot of people in the industry. Over the past 20 plus years, I have met less and less people as the internet has taken over. Most of the local tackle shops disappeared in my area. There was less contact with the manufacturers because everything was switching to online and through large stores. A lot of people I knew have retired or went to different fields as the industry consolidated with mergers. I still work 3-5 regional fishing expos early in the year before ice out. The regional shows of today are nothing compared to the shows of the 80s and even the 90s. Back then all the manufacturers went all out to generate sales because they had to.

My first fish caught on a lure was on the Mud-bug in the 70s when I was around 7. It has a square aluminum lip with rounded lobes on the leading edge and a bulbous butt. It sits close to a 45 degree angle in the water the lip down because of the reverse design. It is a hard wobbling squarebill that deflects well. If you stop the bait or pause it when it gets wedged on something on the bottom, it will float up going slightly away from you due to way it sits in the water. The backwards float often triggers hits and allows you to back out of some snags. The Seein's Believin' crawfish paint schemes still hold up against todays lures.  Back in the 80s, it came in at least 7 sizes ranging from single treble flyrod/ultralight size to a trench digging 1-1/4 oz striper size. Fortunately, I was able to get a stockpile of discontinued baits from the various Ebsco (Pradco) brands that were sitting in a warehouse at the end the 90s . It's interesting fishing old baits like the Mud-bugs, Heddon Clatter Tapollys, Heddon Rivers Runts, and Creek Chub Wiggle Fish along with the modern stuff. I would love to see these lures comeback with updated hardware like the Jitterbug 2.0. 

[Ogajiga]

Thanks for the concise history of commercial tackle.   Yup, sellouts & mergers.

Do the vintage paint schemes work as well as modern holographic flash ?

As for jig paints, I'd like to mention that my preference for raw metal jig heads was influenced by walleye jigging expert Doug Stange who also was also a pioneer adherent of boot tail soft plastics for that application.

[JD_mudbug]

I think the vintage schemes will work as well as the new ones except in a few situations. I think the action plus overall color scheme is more important in most situations than the detail. I paint some of the baits I make all white or all black. Sometimes I will add just a bit of red, orange or chartreuse to the throat. Those baits catch plenty of  fish.

Now if you are fishing in clear water using a jerkbait with pauses, I think the new realistic schemes will help as the fish can get a good look at the bait.

[I Swallowed The Hook]

Well if you don't wanna buy it and you're up for adventure you can do it yourself...

 

 

[Crymdawg]

Mlbasscat73, You are absolutely correct. CARVER'S DRAGON JIG is the name. I found one of mine at the bottom of a Plano 3000 series box. 

Upon doing a GOOGLE search I got a post on the Ohio Game Fishing.com site. A post from 10/05/2006 gave the company address as follows: Carver's Spinners Inc, 5301 Old Smith Valley Rd., Greenwood IN 46143. Another post listed a phone number for Customer Service which is also the FAX number. It's 317-881-8547. Since the post is OVER 20 yrs old I have no idea if it's still correct. The same post gave an email of Dragonjig@access4less.com , so that's also 20+ yrs old.