Vertical Lures JigX Jig

Lure Review

A New Take On An Old, Reliable Bait: The Vertical Lures JigX (continued)

Weedlessness: There's no denying the hidden line tie on this jig is pretty unique and high on the "why didn't I think of that" scale. Of course, the entire reasoning behind this design is to reduce the tendency to get hung up at the knot or on the baits line tie eyelet. Indeed, the JigX's design works well in vegetation, but I found in rocky environments, the tendency to snag is still very high. In fact, I lost two jigs in a row on successive pitches into the rip rap levee walls on the California Delta. These just so happened to be my very first two casts as well. After that experience, each time I came to a rocky point or levee wall, I put down my JigX and picked up a different product.

A look at the back end of the JigX head

After you finish your knot, pull the line back through the head and you're ready to go!

Durability: The JigX features three layers of powder coating on their heads and the results hold up quite well. The silicone skirts, are held on by a thick elastic band that doubles as a rattle holder. None of the jigs in our test batch suffered from broken bands and unraveled skirts. The JigX product had a very good durability record during our tests.

The JigX features a bait keeper along the shank of the hook

The silicone skirt is held in place by this thick rubber band that doubles as the rattle holder

Application: As alluded to earlier, my recommendation would be to not fish this jig around rocks. My early results in this area were too conclusive for me to risk a third jig in this type of cover. In open water and thick vegetation, it does fine and I think its strength actually lies in being crawled or swam through grass beds.

A look at our JigX at rest on the bottom

The skirt flares better under movement

Features: Aside from the afore mentioned, unique line tie solution and powder coated head, the JigX comes equipped with custom bent Mustad Ultra Point hooks and is available with optional rattles. It also features a bait keeper along the shank of the hook so you can secure your favorite trailer more easily.

One last look...

Availability: Distribution of Vertical Lures's products is primarily in the Eastern and Southern United States but this is changing slowly. If all else fails, you can also order direct from their website.

Ratings (We've re-calibrated our ratings standard for 2008 and have included a key at the bottom of the following matrix as a guide):

Vertical Lures JigX Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	Quality on these jigs is very good though the skirt could be a bit tighter	7
Performance	Marketed as a flipping and pitching jig, we felt it was better as a cast and swim type jig in grassy environments. It snags too easily in rocks	6
Price	On the high side for a jig but still not bad	7
Features	Loaded with all the extras you could want	8
Design (Ergonomics)	Points for innovation	8
Application	Not quite as versatile as we had hoped	5
Total Score		6.83
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus Minus
J Innovative head design	L Not very good in rocks
J Powder coated head	L Skirt doesn't flare as nicely as some other products
J Quality Hook
J Bait keeper and option of rattles

The JigX is a nice jig for heavy vegetation

Conclusion: We like what we see so far from Vertical Lures. This is a forward thinking bait company with lots of innovative ideas. Hopefully they do not rest on their laurels and continue to bring innovative designs and twists to old, reliable baits. Hopefully the JigX will evolve into a more all around jig or maybe Vertical Lures will come out with some more traditionally shaped heads with the same, innovative line tie application. For now, if your jig game includes a lot of heavy vegetation, you may want to give the Vertical Lures JigX a try!

Vertical Lure's Jig X is available at Tackle Warehouse.