Stealth for Coldwater Bass

The hair that Headrick and Coan use in their jigs has great action once it hits the water. With every twitch, the craft hair dances and sways. Most of the time, however, that’s simply too much action.

“As you fish, keep reminding yourself that baitfish in cold water are lethargic and move very slowly,” Coan warns. “In fact, when they swim, they barely move at all. We often further subdue the action of craft hair by putting Punisher Fish Dope on it.”

Fish Dope is a petroleum-jelly-based paste that Headrick offers in three scents—garlic, shad, and crawfish. When the stuff is smeared across the craft hair, you can mold the jig into a baitfish profile. It mutes the action of the jig and masks human scent. Unlike conventional spray-on scents, Fish Dope sticks with a bait, lasting for hours in cold water. Headrick and Coan prefer the garlic and shad scents for their float-and-fly fishing.

Not only does Fish Dope mute the jig’s action and provide a cover scent, but Headrick makes sure it has visual appeal, too. “We put glitter in the Fish Dope,” he says. “It gradually falls off the jig, looking like scales falling from an injured baitfish.”

Of course, there are times when Headrick and Coan don’t use Fish Dope to subdue the craft hair, but these times are fairly rare. “When the water’s stained and I can’t see any deeper than about 3 feet, I only apply the Dope to the head and collar of the jig,” Headrick notes. “That way, the craft hair can breathe and move more freely, which should make it more visible to the fish.”

Just Ducky

Although these experts are strong believers in craft hair, there are times when hair is not the answer. That’s when they use what they call “the duck.”

“The duck is made with a couple of feathers from the underside of a drake mallard’s wing,” explains Headrick, “and nothing looks more like a small baitfish than one of these jigs.”

He may be right. The duck’s spare dressing looks remarkably like a small shad or other baitfish, because the feather’s markings show the same kind of barring that small fish often display. When bass are finicky or in extremely clear water, the duck’s hard to beat. A little Fish Dope on the head, jig collar, and feathers of the duck complete the package.

Bob’s Bobbers

With so much attention being paid to the “fly,” casual anglers might make the mistake of ignoring the importance of the float, but not Bob Coan. He’s created a system of floats—Bob’s Bobbers—that adds a different dimension to the technique.

Coan’s floats aren’t just bits of Styrofoam that suspend his jigs; they’re sophisticated strike indicators. Coan couldn’t find a commercially available bobber that did what he needed it to do, so—not surprisingly—he began making his own. They’re now manufactured by Punisher Jigs.