Traveling light? Stock up on jigs

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is a secret lure.
Look in the tackle selections of all the best anglers and you'll see this lure. They no doubt have a wide assortment of all the proven producers, but they often ignore them in favor of the time-tested and extremely versatile secret bait.
It shines in all seasons. It's the venerable jig.
More specifically, it's the plain and simple 1/8-ounce lead head jig. Nothing fancy, just a round ball of heavy metal on the front of a straight-shank hook.
What you'll get
Ball-head jigs catch fish of all species -- walleyes, crappies, bass, muskies, pike, perch, bluegills, catfish, carp, trout, white bass and drum. It's equally productive in freshwater and salt.
If you were limited to just one lure, you could do no better than to pack the jigs.
And it's a safe bet that an accomplished jig fisher will catch more, day in and day out, than otherwise average anglers outfitted with all the latest, fanciest lures.
Learn to fish a jig well and you'll be on your way to a lifetime of angling success.
Jigs are easy to learn. You can hardly fish them wrong.
Anglers can swim a jig through the water column for suspended fish. They can hop them off the bottom in big, lurching bumps. Or they can dabble them in weed-bed holes or crawl them slowly over the rocks and gravel for fish that are sniffing out easy pickings.
Jigs can be made to resemble minnows, shad, crawfish and just about anything else that looks like dinner to a hungry predator. They can be tipped with any of a huge assortment of plastic teasers or spiked with a live minnow, a tasty piece of nightcrawler or a slithery leech.
Jigs are great in the spring. They are perfect for shorebound anglers who prowl the rip-rap on causeways and breakwalls for whatever species has moved up within casting range. They also are the go-to bait for boaters drifting the sand bars for cold-water walleyes.
Why it succeeds
Our secret lure succeeds because it's just about perfect at imitating whatever the angler wants it to be. It exudes the essence of vulnerability to opportunistic predators. Its very secret rests in the fact that it is not gaudy, noisy or fast.
If the fish you are seeking are active and chasing food, any number of spinners, crankbaits and other flashy baits will produce. But knowledgeable anglers know the fish are more often than not in a resting mood, content to sit still and wait for something interesting to swim into range.
And what could be more tempting than a jig as it scoots and skitters like a carefree baitfish? It's like handing a grape to a person stuffed full of Thanksgiving turkey; chances are that person will pop the sweet treat into his mouth.
Most jig experts would say the 1/8-ounce ball-heads are the best all-around choice under the widest array of conditions. They sink quickly, but not too fast, and stay near the bottom on slow retrieves with lines testing in the 6- to 10-pound range.
So if you're looking to catch a few walleyes or crappies this spring and you want to travel light, stock up on jigs.
You'll be in tune with the experts - at least in terms of their secret weapon - and soon will learn how much magic such a simple lure can produce.