Jig heads will always have a place in my tackle box. And I’m betting they will show up in virtually every box you peek into…if other anglers let you look.

There are more different heads available in today’s fishing world than ever. Having too many choices can make people shy away out of pure anxiety. You know the old saying: “So many jigs, so little time.”

The original—the ball head jig—has been there through it all. Always have some with you: Small ones for crappie fishing, larger for gamefish. Deer hair works for smallmouths; Canadian Jig Flies in the original blue and white pattern for walleyes; and marabou jigs for crappies and walleyes. Weight mostly depends on how deep you’ll be fishing: Light for shallow, heavier for depth.

Plain, non-dressed heads catch a lot of fish, too. Try fluorescent orange or chartreuse, tipped with minnows, leeches or ‘crawlers, for walleyes. Plain heads also fill the bill for tipping with plastics, like Berkley’s Power Grubs.

A second head style doesn’t need to be painted as it is slipped inside a tube bait to get it down. Once the jig is inside the tube, pop the hook eye up through the plastic and tie it on your line. Go with teardrop-shaped heads for most bass fishing. Tubes can also be rigged Texas-style and dragged across bottom for bass. With open-hook heads, you’ll get a different result. Pop it up off bottom and it flutters back down like a dying baitfish.

Another winner is the Charlie Brewer Slider head. They have been around for years and come with the eye that extends out the front of the head, making them quite weedless. A Z-bend hook allows you to rig a plastic so it rests on the Z. Rig the plastic weedless and you can fish it in a lot of different cover, especially around weed beds. The crappie Spider Slider Head comes in 1/16- to 1/4-ounce weights. The weedless Slider Head uses a lighter hook, but still catches bass around weeds. The Spider Classic Ultra head is a beefed-up version, on a 3/0 premier hook and heavier wire. Go with a 1/4-ounce head on both this and the regular Slider and you have a really nice bass weapon on the end of your line.

This last one has taken hold more recently. Called the Swing Jig, the hook is molded on a wire behind the head, which allows the bait to move on its own rather than staying stationary, which can really trigger fish. There are sizes from 1/8-ounce up to over an ounce. There’s lots of versatility here as far as fish size and depth. I like these for fishing river rock for smallmouths.

The key is to reel them in such a way that they tick bottom (rocks) but don’t dive into them and cause a break off. They can be pretty snag-free once you get the hang of the retrieve.

Odds are that you already have some ball head jigs in your box. You may need to pick up more based on size preferences and how you want to rig them. If you don’t have the other head styles, you have a lot of time before spring to give the matter some serious thought. Once armed, you should be able to fish just about any situation that you encounter.

Take a look at the waters you fish. Then start comparing and shopping. Jigs can be used almost anywhere, at any time, during the open-water season. Make sure you have some, as the walleyes in your favorite rivers will soon be ready to start marching toward dams to spawn.

Get better results from the time you spend fishing. Use information from the pros found in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.