Venom Lures - Loc R Up Football Jig
In this review we will be looking at one great lure… The Venom Loc-R-Up Football Jig.
The jig is an age old fishing lure which has been staple in even our granddaddy’s tackle boxes, even though they were lead heads with skirts home made out of reaps of bicycle tube, thread or buck hair. As for football jigs there is some debate to whom the credit belongs to as groups from the US east coast and also the south coast lays claim to the first use rights so we might never know who really started it. Personally I don’t really care, I’m just happy they did!
Thankfully technology has not forgotten about this lure and these days there are hundreds to choose from. The Loc-R-Up however has an extra advantage with the additional deflectors to help deflect even more junk away from the eagle claw EWG laser sharp hook. This means you can throw this guy in even thicker stuff than you would normally!
I would say roughly 80% of my jig takes are in dark holes where pitching even a weightless senco would give you angst. I pair my Jig’s with 15-20lbs BWG Roho Kamba Fluorocarbon and I have to say its epic line for this application. Only in real dirty water will I use braid like the 8 Core braid that the folks at BWG has available.
The magic trick with jigs is that you have to be open to the idea of risk/reward. You WILL lose some jigs but the rewards are worth every lost soldier you just have to keep pitching! This is a big fish lure and they sure love a good old jig. Many times you will get snagged, and many times it will make you slightly pissed but the possible reward is momentous!
Venom Lures Africa has a great line of colours available in the Loc R Up namely peanut butter & jelly, blue craw, black/blue and good old green pumpkin. Pairing these jigs up with a Dream Craw, also available from Venom Lures makes for the perfect match in jig and trailer. I have done a review on them earlier the year; make sure to read up on that too!
These Jigs are hand assembled in the US and then imported by George from Venom Lures Africa. They also stock my all-time favourite, the True Image Jig.
A Good tip I can give you is to raid your wife’s cutex (nail polish) drawer and liberate the clear coat or hardener bottle. Place a drop or two on the root of the weed guard then air dry (You can also use Super Glue for this). This helps with making the bristle foundation a bit sturdier and keeps single bristles from falling out. Considering where you throw these this comes in very handy as your weed guard is definitely going to have a work out.
In the video mentioned below, you can see how to cut your guard to an optimal length as well as the skirt. Another thing to do is clean out the eye nicely. The non-chip paint can sometimes close it up a little bit, it doesn’t bother but I prefer a clean eye as I’m finicky with my jigs!
It’s perfectly fishable out of the packet but I found better success and longevity when applying the tips above.
There is also a video that I made about a year ago about the Loc R Up, True Image (My Favourite) and Venom’s swim jig which I will embed below. If you would like to learn about jigs, preparing them and also some general info please watch it.
Let’s take a look at some of the fish that fell prey to the Loc R Up and the True Image jig paired with a Dream Craw.
Looking at these it’s easy to see why I love these lures so much! It has delivered multiple 2kg+ fish over the span of a year. I love my Venom Jigs and wouldn’t trade them for anything. It’s not always easy fishing and as stated earlier, it is a risk/reward style which can make you or break you. Looking at Jig fishing as a tournament pattern it is entirely possible to get lucky and land that monster but you might also end up not putting a fish in the boat within the limited time given, it’s a dangerous gamble. I believe the bass will tell you if they are in the mood to eat chunky jigs and you can make your call accordingly…
