Brian Schmidt Baits Hybrid Football Hair Jig Product Review

Lure Review

Brian Schmidt Bait's Version of the RPO : The Hybrid Football Jig

Date:	3/31/20
Tackle Type:	Lures
Manufacturer:	Brian Schmidt Baits
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 7.83 - GOOD

Introduction: Jigs are among the most basic and universal baits offered in today's fishing tackle world. There are countless jig offerings for any number of species anglers like to pursue. Many are applicable to multiple species, many more are species and cover specific. Of course, the award goes to black bass for the number of specialty jigs made to be fished around specific cover or via a specific retrieve. Yet with all these options, jigs are still highly personal to the angler with few agreeing upon the same factors that make a "good" jig. Brian Schmidt Baits recently introduced a twist on the classic football that's sure to get some attention. Let's take a look.

Brian Schmidt Baits Hybrid Football Hair Jig Specifications
Type	Football Jig
Skirt Material	Silicone and Buck Tail
Weight	3/8 & 1/2 oz
Colors/Patterns	6
Hook	Unspecified
Additional Features	Hand Tied
MSRP	$4.49

Hair or rubber skirts? How about both? Introducing Brian Schmidt's Hybrid Football Jig

Impressions: Football head jigs are characterized by big, beefy hooks, and of course, that prolate spheroid shape more commonly referred to as "football." These jigs are made to be fished on hard bottoms - usually rocks. The round cross section of the head in profile view allows the jig to be easily dragged or hopped along rocks because you can kind of roll over obstacles. If they catch on a small edge, the round profile allows it to rotate over and escape. The width of the head ensures the jig stays up straight and keeps it from falling over on its side so your trailer of choice can waive around and catch the attention of your prey.

The jigs come with a quality paint job on the heads

Brian Schmidt Baits twist on this very popular jig style is to use a mix of two different skirt materials. Several manufacturers offer this, but it's usually a mix of silicone and living rubber skirt material. B.Schmidt Baits is using silicone and the natural fibers of a buck tail. That's right, natural hair fibers. Skirts using the hair material from a variety of different game animals are very common in jigs used for other species but have for some reason gone by the wayside in those made for bass. The natural material really fluffs in the water presenting a large profile but also one that moves more naturally at the slightest hint of current.

Line tie is at a typical angle

By combining the natural pulsating action of hair fibers to the plethora of color options offered by silicone skirt material, B.Schmidt Baits is leveraging the best attributes of two different and very effective materials into their jig.

Always fun finding new and effective baits while poking around TackleWarehouse's site

Real World Tests: I discovered this jig while poking around TackleWarehouse and purchased it to fish on board my Megabass of America Orochi XX F5.5-75XX Braillist. I paired the rod with my Abu Garcia Revo4 IKE casting reel modified with the handle from my Revo4 Premier because I preferred the knobs on the Premier and the knob posts on each handle aren't the same. I spooled my Revo4 IKE with a fresh supply of Seaguar's 50lb Smackdown Braid in gray and tied on a topshot of 10lb Hi-Seas 100% Fluorocarbon for both abrasion resistance and less visibility.

The jig's baitkeeper is standard fare

B.Schmidt Baits uses a standard bait keeper on their Hybrid Football Jig so threading a trailer bait like Reaction Innovations's Spicy Beaver is a relatively simple task and as is the case with any jig it casts and pitches to target perfectly fine. One thing I found odd about the bait is the straight shank hook is from an unspecified brand. Jig manufacturers usually tout some extra strong, extra sharp hook du jour from a big name brand or at the very least state the hook's size, but none of this is specified on the bait's packaging, in TackleWarehouse's listing, or even on the manufacturer website. In fact, I couldn't even find this jig listed on Brian Schmidt Baits's website, but a quick message exchange on social media provide all the answers I needed. The Hybrid Football Jig is made with a Mustad Ultrapoint hook.

The baitkeeper does a good job holding onto your trailer

Design & Ergonomics: The lack of that information never stops me though. Either the hook sticks the fish or it doesn't and it only takes a couple of bites to determine its effectiveness. I threaded a Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver onto the hook shank and over the bait keeper to see how well that keeper worked. After a few bites, including one or two very subtle "something's different" type of hits, and a 100% hook up ratio, I'm happy to report, the Hybrid Football Jig's hook and keeper system work just fine.

Hooks are unspecified but sharp and stout

Perhaps what I really like about this bait though is the fact the skirts are held on with wire, not a band of rubber. The latter probably isn't feasible with a natural hair skirt anyway, but this aspect is always more important to me than what brand hook the jig is made with. Correct, or incorrect, to me this feature speaks to the care and concern for quality that goes into making this rather simple, no frills bait.

My number one tell on a skirted bait product - is it tied or not?

Price & Applications: Of course, when more care and attention to detail are put into a product, the more that end product is likely to cost you. Brian Schmidt Baits's Hybrid Football Jig retails for $4.49, so it's on the pricier side of the jig spectrum. It will no doubt be effective when hunting for smallies and spots, but it was rather effective when I used it in search for largemouth as well.

Brian Schmidt Baits's Hybrid Football Jig retails for $4.49

Ratings

Brian Schmidt Baits Hybrid Football Hair Jig Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	A carefully assembled bait with quality paint on the head	8.5
Performance	Good hook up ratio	8
Price	On the higher side of average for a jig	7.5
Features	Hand tied skirt, hybrid skirt material, Mustad Ultrapoint hook	8
Design (Ergonomics)	Available in 6 different color patterns	7
Application	Effective over rocky/hard surfaces	8
Total Score		7.83
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable! For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus	Minus
+ Hand tied skirt	- Somewhat limited colors
+ Hybrid skirt material is interesting
+ Quality paint on the head
+ Though the hook is of an unspecified brand, it performs well

If you're looking to change things up in your jig game, you might want to give this little jig a try

Conclusion: Jigs are tough deal. There are only a couple distinguishing characteristics from brand to brand. How is the skirt material fastened, and what's the story on the hook? Skirt material itself is usually a foregone conclusion so this jig really caught my attention and intrigued me when I noticed the hybrid nature of the skirt. A little detective work revealed the name brand hook and the entire package is slowly becoming one of my go-to jigs. So if you're looking to change things up in your jig game, you might want to give this little jig a try.

Looking for Brian Schmidt Baits Hybrid Football Hair Jigs?

Try TackleWarehouse