Jig Eyes

Should one put eyes on jigs or not? Do the fish care if the Jig has eyes?

I paint my own jigs, use powder paint,I have never put eyes on them.I seam to get bit well,never put the two side by side to see. I could be missing out on a better bite ?

I have often heard about fish biting a jig with eyes better than one without…. but thats one thing I can say Ive never actually noted myself… Ive noticed a preference for color or weight… but have not been able to convince myself that eyes are a big deal….. and yet… most of my jigs have them….!

Eyes vs. no eyes is a pretty hard thing to prove or disprove on our own. However I have read about a few studies done that say baits with eyes are the way to go….one of the study’s results is what prompted cabelas to come out with their livin’ eye series of baits. I myself put eyes on all of my jig heads….to me it is just one less varible in the equation.

Rigger,

I pour some of my own jigs with oversize hooks for plastics and have never painted eyes on them and I seem to do ok with out them. Do I think eyes help? If your confidence level is higher because you have them on then I would have to say yes it does. For me it’s no big deal.

Try some with and without and let us know what you find for results. I’m always looking for another leg-up when it comes to a tough bite.

I did an entirely unscientific study on Big Chetac a few years ago, while fishing for crappies. The fish would come up into the shallow reeds, so it made the study easier. I threw a 1/32 chartruese jig with black/red eyes, same jig with no eye, and a similar jig with a black eye only. The multi-colored eye jig outfished the others at a phenominal rate, for two weeks. Now, I only use jigs with red around the black eye. Additionally, when fishing leeches or crickets for bluegills, I use a cricket hook with a red bead at the top of it. The red bead set up outfishes my partners that don’t use it, every time.

Yes, eyes, eyes and more eyes. Two eyes are better than none are my findings. Thanks, Bill

I personally have never seen a difference when fishing with jigs with or without eyes. I do pour a few jigs myself every year and never take the time to put eyes on the jigs. This is just a personal preference and I too think that if you have some confidence in this, then I think it may be worth your time and effort!

I have never used eyes, but I would assume that they could be better under certain circumstances. I have really fallen in love w/ river fishing because there seems to be more fish, they seem more aggressive and they will slow down but rarely shut off.

I could see eyes working lake fishing when fish are turned off and more likely to take a look at bait without hitting. When the bite is on, I dont think that the fish care.