Dion Hibdon, a former Wal-Mart FLW Tour champion and jig-fishing master, often casts jigs. He works them over chunk-rock points, pea-gravel bottoms and offshore structure. When bass demand a light touch, he opts for spinning tackle, 8- to 12-pound-test Trilene XT, and homemade Z,-ounce and Zv-ounce ball head jigs with bristle hook guards.

“I dress a ball head jig with a Dion’s Classic (a spider grub) or a Baby Guido Bug,” Hibdon said. “The skirt and tails of the Classic show bass a lot of movement. The Baby Guido Bug imitates a bass’s favorite food, the crawfish.”

The ball head jig is not a good design for cover. But the bristle guard allows it to climb over rocks, sparse brush and the occasional stump.

When he casts to smallmouth bass on deep, rocky structures, Hibdon prefers a football head jig that weighs as much as 1 ounce. He dresses the jig with a Dion’s Classic and casts it with a 7-foot-3-inch medium-heavy bait-casting rod made by American Rodsmiths. The new rod is named Hibdon’s Hammer. Hibdon matches the rod with 17- or 20-pound-test Trilene XT and fishes the jig aggressively with sharp jerks and hops.

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