Northland Team Pro and hardworking guide Brian “Bro” Brosdahl comments: “I like the action of the new Northland Short-Shank Tungsten Jig. The flat head goes side to side when you jig it. It’s like a Fire-Ball but with the swinging pill-head action. It fishes fast. It jigs solid so you can tell bottom composition and feel those light bites. It jigs heavy for its size and gets down to the bottom quickly. The dual hook-keeper design is great for keeping expensive live bait or soft plastics pinned. It’s a killer on fast-current rivers, too.”
Bro adds: “I never just hook live bait in the lips. With minnows, I go into the mouth and come out behind their head, so they still look natural, but it’s hard to get them off. With leeches, I hook the leech right behind the sucker—a little farther back than you’d do live bait rigging—and then push it up on the live bait keeper. After dunking them, they stretch out and you can pitch the bait out there. The Tungsten Short-Shank Jig is great for vertical fishing or pitching. In heavy winds, the heavier tungsten keeps your line straighter.”
When it comes to rod, reel, and line set up to effectively fish the new Northland Tungsten Short-Shank Jig, Bro is never without a fluorocarbon. “When vertical fishing, fluoro helps keep the bait perfectly up and down below the boat. I use superline and a fluorocarbon leader for everything else—typically a 10-pound braid mainline and a three- to four-feet section of eight- or 10-pound fluorocarbon leader. To secure the bait, I use a Palomar knot or Improved Clinch. They tie faster when it’s windy in the boat. To attach the braid to the fluorocarbon leader, I use a Double-Uni over the Alberto knot because they’re easier to tie in the wind on the water.”
