We watched the Classic closely and quickly went right to what won it? Mike Iaconelli took this jig and Manns Dragin Series Swim Worm straight to the championship. We needed an up-close look at these jigs.
Initially, most bass fishermen will say they already fish with something like this. What is important to note is that this jig is different. You can see that the ridges on the side are almost like a gill plate on a fish. The unique color Mike used was the Delta color (shown). It would be a good-looking jig out of the box, but would it perform in regular and tournament conditions.
The jig comes out of the package with super sharp hooks and an excellent paint finish. A three-coat, two-tone finish gives it lifelike quality from the start. The 40+ strand skirt is a big plus. Overall packaging and quality were excellent.
Evaluation on the water: the staff fished this jig for over a month in twenty different situations. One member swam the jig on weedlines and noted that the ¼-ounce bait was too light for any weedline swimming deeper than 10 feet. The bait performed well in 6 feet or less, or around docks and skipping into the brush. It was tipped with a Chunk. The bait quickly found the most remote corners of trees and docks. The Delta color showed an excellent craw color and drove the bass to come out from skinny brush haunts.
The staff had no problem catching fish with the colors that Mann's offers. The jig is designed to reach and sneak into specific areas. We teamed the jig up with a 6'6" medium action rod and spinning reel to extend and reach the telescoped areas.
Overall, the winning bait from Mann's is a new twist on fishing a jig into cover and back in hard-to-reach places. When you need to pull out those pigs tucked in little nooks, it comes into place. This jig applies well to this situation. The jig is effective and can call out bass.
Drawbacks: Since we are hitting tough cover and nooks, the bait hits branches, posts on docks, rocks, and the head's paint took a real beating. The jig chipped easily and took away from the two-tone color.
When used in the cover, it did catch fish!