Trout Eye Jig Head Review (Pros, Cons, Colors, & When To Use Them)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on February 16, 2021
Have you tried the Trout Eye jig heads?
These are some of my favorite jig heads to use with paddletails and in this video, I’m breaking down everything you need to know about them.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- The top pros and cons of these jig heads
- Which colors I use
- When to not use these jig heads
- How to determine which size you should be using
- And more
Check out the review in the video below!
Trout Eye Jig Head Review [VIDEO]
Click here to join the Insider Club
Click here to get the Trout Eye Jig Heads
When To Use The Trout Eye Jig Head
Since these jig heads are narrow, they’re hydrodynamic and dive down quickly, so they’re great for swimming paddletails through the water column.
But since they’re so narrow, they’re not ideal for letting your bait sit on the bottom for long periods of time.
If you’re slowly dragging a Gulp shrimp along the bottom, then I recommend going with a boxing glove style jig head, like the Mission Fishin jig heads.
This is because the wide body of the Mission Fishin jig head lets it sit upright on the bottom, whereas the narrow Trout Eye jig head will just roll on its side.
Pros & Cons Of This Jig Head
Although this is one of my favorite jig heads, it’s not perfect.
Here are some of the pros and cons:
Pros:
- Two-spiked keeper works with every soft plastic
- They’re strong
- Great for fishing with paddletails
Cons:
- Spikes can be accidentally squeezed down with pliers (they’re made of lead)
- Not ideal for when you’re letting your bait or lure sit on the bottom
What You Need To Know About Eye Color
Many people debate about which jig head color is best, but here’s what I’ve found: the color doesn’t seem to affect how many fish I catch.
I’ve caught lots of fish with all of the colors.
So instead of deciding which jig head to use based on color, I use the colors to help stay organized.
One color represents one size, so I can quickly find which size I want to use in my tackle box.
We’ve set this up in our tackle store, too.
Using the right size jig head so you can get the lure in the strike zone is really important, so I recommend having a variety of sizes.
Here’s a rough rule of thumb I follow to decide which size jig head to use:
• 1/8th oz – great for depths of 2 to 4 ft
• 3/16th oz – great for depths of 2.5 to 5 ft
• 1/4th oz – great for depths of 4 to 8 ft
Conclusion
If you fish with paddletails on the flats, I definitely recommend giving these Trout Eye jig heads a try.
They’re strong and have a simple, yet effective design for keeping lures rigged on them properly.
Have you used them before?
Let me know what you thought in the comments below!
And if you want to grab a pack of these from our shop, click the link below:
Get the Trout Eye Jig Heads from our shop here.
Note: If they’re sold out by the time you see this, be sure to sign up for the notifications because we have more on the way!
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
If you could only use one type of jig head, would this be the one? Thanks
LUKE
ARE THE SLAM SHADY 3.5 GOOD FOR FRESH WATER TROUT
AS THEY LOOK LIKE A REAL MINNOW
Yes, they’ll work for catching pretty much any predator fish that feeds on 3 to 4 inch baitfish.
GREAT IDEA using the eye for defining weight identification. How about Colored Heads? I seem to do a bit better with Red Heads
I used to use red heads exclusively and thought that they were a necessity. After reading about the color red turning to black in the water as it falls, I started switching to other jig head colors and was surprised to see that my catching hardly changed at all… it actually had an uptick so I’ve now switched totally away from red and I now just go with silver or white.
Thanks, Luke! I love the idea of keeping the colors simple as a way to help organize the tackle box.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Larry!
I enjoyed this tutorial/review. Great idea on the color for identifying the weight as well. I will employ that in the future. I need to loose a few more jig heads before I can justify the purchase however. Please keep them in stock!!
Thanks,
Scott
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Scott!
I’ve even trolled with these jig heads and a paddle tail very successfully. Especially on slow days. A slow troll along the edges of a channel can save your day from being skunked. When I troll with them, I bump up the leader size since you don’t know what will bite and use a set up with 20lb or more braid in case you start dragging a fish while still on power. I also give it plenty of run to get deeper and past the wake. Caught everything from speckled trout to Spanish mackerel trolling with them and a slam shady or other paddle tail.
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Frank!
Is there a situation where you’d use the Redfish eye (longer hook)? I use it for the 5” ZMan paddlerz.
Correct… I only consider using the Redfish eye jigs for the longer soft plastics.
I’ve exclusively used the red eye jig heads and I seem to always catch something when using a paddletail.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Stuart!
Good jig head but the best are Death Grip Jig heads.
Trout eye jigs are 80% of my jig heads. I like their keeping ability with all plastics, and the only jig especially made for Zman products. I like the fact their hooks stay sharp, and the eye’s stay intact. I fish Matrix Shad plastics, and there plastics are great, but jig heads not so great. I do try to match the hatch per say. I will use a chartreuse color with a similar color bait or a pearl color with a clear bait. I just purchased some custom jig heads that are great looking and look forward to using them this spring. They are G-Eye Jigs, check them out. Great thread Luke!