In the early 50's I discovered jig fishing. On a trip to San Diego I caught lots of yellows on Candy bar jigs, they seemed very expensive, all of $2.50 each. I kept losing "borrowed" jigs, much to my buddy's dismay. That's when I decided to make my own; thus the Jerry Jig was born. Old time skippers spoke of what was probably the first jig of the type we Californians made popular. Capt. Jim Putters of Santa Monica made it. Some of these old-timers said they would pay me $10.00 for a "Putters". Mind you in the 50's that was a lot of money. I decided "my" jig would be Capt. Putter's design. It sure worked too! No one gave me $10.00! Ed Reis of SCS "Looking Astern" knew of Capt. Putters and recently used a photo of him taken in the 40s with a fine catch.

Years later I met and fished with Don Manning who was the "Candy Bar" man along with a fellow named Starkey. Don told me that he boarded a boat; I think he said Dick Schafer (The Hornet?) was the skipper. When Dick saw the box Don had packed his "New" jigs in he said, "ahh candy bars" Don replied, "Candy Bars for yellowtail."

I hope this is accurate.

They are usually in waters of 25 fathoms (150 feet) or less, and that have substantial structures like kelp beds, rocky reefs, or shipwrecks. Calico Bass are a non-migratory species so after they hatch the closest structure is where they will likely make their home for the rest of their lives. Calicos will use this structure as protection from predators and for assistance in their ambush style of feeding. Calicos become very active in the spring and summer when they begin to spawn but can be caught year round.

Calicos are very slow growing fish and it has been documented that an average 12" Calico Bass is about 5-7 years old. Their slow growth rate and their homeguard behavior makes them extremely vulnerable to over-fishing.

Up until then the only jigs I had seen were the "Baldy" and imported "Bone Jigs", both were meant to be trolled Primarily for albacore. In the 50's Barney Killian of of Lincoln- Pico Sporting Goods made a honey of a jig called "Streamline Dodger". It came in 2 multiple sizes, chrome plated and decorated with a red stripe.The smaller Dodger was the only lure I ever had that was grabbed by a sea lion, needless to say, I cut my line quickly. The sea lion was a little guy, but was spooling me at a rapid rate. Mr. Killian also made more conventional jigs called the "Whammy and Rodger Dodger" The store still exists and is a favorite for ocean anglers and ably run by Paul killian.

I recall another jig popular in the Malibu area, called "Homicide" about the same time both Salas and Tady began to produce their own products. The Senior Mr. Tady called on Redondo Sport fishing while I was making a call too. He had what I thought was an unusual design, but it worked very well. Today Tady's son is producing the original as well as many more designs. Dal Salas came along at about the same time; Dal produced a big variety of lures too. A fireman named John Perkins made the "Spoofer"; it was a nifty barracuda jig. Some "pro" types looked down on this fine lure because it was sold at Thrifty drug stores. Don't ask me to explain this logic. John made a similar lure called the "Monster." It never did catch on.

The Hoodwink soon followed, Evelyn Fuller, who I am told was working with John Perkins, made it. The Hoodwink was unique, as was the Spoofer. The late great Ray Cannon said," the Hoodwink was the best roosterfish lure he had seen." I acquired the Hoodwink and made it for a few years; sadly the die shop changed hands a few times and the tooling is history.

There were many jigs that popped up and disappeared over the years, some were excellent. A whole series of jigs hit the market, they were named after space products like "Nike" and "Polaris". I even had one with the unlikely name of "Atomic Worm." I loved the action on that one. Al Wilson made the 3 in 1; it was very popular in San Diego.

In Ensenada I met a fellow who made one he called "Lucky David." He was Dave Rudin from the Los Angeles area. We both "knocked 'em dead that day and had a great time competing with each other. "Lucky David" soon vanished. Making jigs has a lot more to do with marketing than fish catching; any maker worth his salt will rigorously test his product. The disappearance of so many lures is rarely related to their fish catching abilities.

Langley Corp of San Diego made a nice one too, called "the "Matador" it too vanished. Another good one that was short lived was made by a die casting firm, I think it was meant for their own use. It was called The "Charmer" and charm fish it did. A jig called "Sara Deen" comes to mind too. It had a short life, but looked good and worked. Then there was Leonard Luisser; Leonard made the "Straggler", an effective lure that was popular for many years, as was a rival named Hacker, who made a jig bearing his name. These bit the dust too.

There was one called the "Bendo." It was a rubbery jig with a metal rod inside, the idea was that one could bend the metal and give the lure the shape you liked best. I always wondered how one would know if they got the same shape each time.

Clyde Goto who had a downtown LA tackle store made one called "Clyde's Clobber"; it had a fixed hook but was a bit light, very effective . I liked this one so much I recently refined it and made it much heavier. I call it the "Bada Bing." No you can't buy it. Not on the market at this time. Clyde also made a jig called "Schnable", it had a little red chevron insert that was meant to look like gill covers. It was very much like the Jerry Jig and was a good one. I went downtown after seeing Clyde talk about the "Reel Deal" transmission on Mac Mc lintock's "Fishing Flashes" This may have been the first TV fishing show. It was a 30-minute commercial for Pierpoint Landing, and we loved every minute of it. Clyde gave me 2 Schnabels when I bought the "Reel Deal"; I was too embarrassed to tell him I was making jigs also.

Most popular lures use similar colors or variations of them. I have been credited with being the first to use yellow and green. It's nonsense; I used those combinations because imported feathers from Japan used them and they worked well. My fishing' pals and I scored so often on big "bull" bass that the word got out that yellow and green "Jerry's" were the hot bull bass killer. I, of course, loved it, but was always aware that any good jig would have had similar success.

Here's an example of how the "word" can get out. I fished with the late Capt. Bill Hutchinson at Paradise Cove one nasty winter day. We had no luck at all. Capt. Bill pointed out a group of maybe 7 yellowtail following and harassing a shark. These winter yellows ignored live bait as well as jigs, not even the courtesy of a glance! The blue shark kept circling the "Betty-O"; in desperation I dropped a jig straight down below the route the yellows were taking, when the next came by I cranked like mad, lifted my rod and voila, I snagged a big yellow in the belly! Capt Bill, via marine radio, shared the fact that we picked up a big yellow on a green and yellow Jerry. As you can guess, we sold a lot of them!

I hope you readers can add to the information I've shared here. I welcome corrections and new information. All of the above is from memory, and most of the info here is "ancient".

If you would like to add some information or ask questions about jigs go to the West Coast Angler Fishing Forums.

Jerry Esten is an avid kayak fisherman & is known not only for his jigs but for his Kayak Fishing Derby he puts on every year.
Jerry can be contacted at: kayak@westcoastangler.com