Northland’s new color-matched Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug sweeps up perch and panfish. 

Perfectly Paired

Northland’s new color-matched Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug sweeps up perch and panfish. 

BEMIDJI, Minn. (October 14, 2024) – Matching ice jigs to soft plastics is a welcomed assignment for some, while others prefer tearing open a package and knowing the right combination is in their hands. That’s Northland’s new Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug – perfectly paired tungsten jigs and soft plastics that jive in size, weight, and coloration.

Acutely buggy in appearance, the Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug emulates a larval stage insect, which are favored forage for jumbo perch, crappies, and bluegills.

WOODTICK

BASED ON THE TUNGSTEN FLAT FRY JIG

The details are noteworthy, too. “With the tungsten jig head and built-in eye sockets and oversized eye, Northland created incredible detail on a micro scale,” said Northland pro and hardwater sage, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl. The jig head Bro references is Northland’s original Tungsten Flat Fry Jig, which anchors the Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug.

The Tungsten Flat Fry Jig has a thin profile and falls even faster than rounded tungsten panfish jigs, so you can fish it super fast. It also features a flat head, which when combined with the hardness of tungsten, returns sonar signals with authority.

The hook is specialized as well. Its 90-degree bend causes the jig to rest horizontally, mimicking an aquatic insect in repose. Additionally, the hook is long to accommodate the full torso of the soft plastic body, putting the hook point perfectly in place for strikes.

HOW TO FISH IT

Like “There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s,” there’s no wrong way to fish a Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug. Meaning, make it your yours. Experiment. Let the fish tell you.

With that said, Bro has honed certain techniques that play well with the bait. “For perch, I like to drop it to the bottom and then swim it around about a foot up with short one- and two-inch jigging strokes.” He’ll also tap the bottom a couple times and freeze the bait a foot up. Typically, one of the two approaches scores.

For crappies and bluegills, Bro drops down and pauses a couple feet above the fish, letting them gather and rise, as surveyed on his electronics. Crappies and bluegills are famous for rising to greet a bait.

WHERE TO FISH IT

Like the “how to fish it,” the “where” is up to you. The Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug appeals to perch and panfish in wide ranging environments, from shallow weedbeds to deep basins. And those low roaming fish hit Bro’s sweet spot: “It’s simply lights-out for perch and panfish situated over deep and soft basins. Those fish are there to feed on larval insects, and that’s what the Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug aims to imitate.”

BRO’S THOUGHTS ON COLOR COMBOS

Northland’s color combos aren’t random. They’re based off years of time on the water with input from pro staff and customers. Here’s how Bro sees things:

GOLD: This is one of the more natural arrangements with its gold head and brownish body. Its subdued looks blend well with natural forage and appeal to slow grazing panfish and ones turned off by showy patterns.

GLO WHITE: It’s all about visibility. The phosphorescent treatment beams in darkness and pops by daytime. A particularly effective color for crappies.

FRUIT FLY: The pinkish-white body and bright pink/chartreuse head don’t represent anything native, but my-oh-my do panfish and perch go for it. Maybe it just pisses them off?

TIGER BEETLE: The chartreuse and fluorescent blend is a favorite of bluegills. Always has been, always will be.

WOODTICK: Another variation on the realistic looks theme. The two-tone brown and off-white body morph with a similarly patterned head. A great pick for choosy fish and ones in the weeds or wallowing over a deep basin.

TIGER BEETLE

FRUIT FLT

GLO WHITE

GOLD

Rigged Tungsten Broom Bug FEATURES:

  • Perfectly matched color combinations
  • Made from premium tungsten that is 70% more dense than lead
  • Fast falling tungsten jig head
  • Sensitive tungsten jig head
  • Flat head for exceptional sonar returns
  • Environmentally-friendly tungsten
  • 90-degree hook bend
  • Rests horizontally in the water like small forage
  • Insect-looking segmented body and side appendages

COLORS: Gold, Glo White, Fruit Fly, Tiger Beetle, and Woodtick

SIZES: 1/28-ounce (#12 hook) and 1/16-ounce (#10 hook) sizes

MSRP $8.49 (2 rigged and 3 extra bodies)

#NORTHLANDTACKLE

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ABOUT Northland® Fishing Tackle

In 1975, a young Northwoods fishing guide named John Peterson started pouring jigs and tying tackle for his clients in a small remote cabin in northern Minnesota. The lures were innovative, made with high quality components, and most importantly, were catching fish when no other baits were working! Word spread like wildfire, the phone started ringing… and the Northland Fishing Tackle® brand was in hot demand! For 40 years now, John and the Northland® team have been designing, testing and perfecting an exclusive line of products that catch fish like no other brand on the market today. Manufactured in the heart of Minnesota’s finest fishing waters, Northland® is one of the country’s leading producers of premium quality jigs, live bait rigs, spinnerbaits and spoons for crappies, bluegills, perch, walleyes, bass, trout, northern pike and muskies.

ABOUT Bagley Bait Company

The personality of any company comes from its founder. Jim Bagley was an inventive, fun-loving, passionate fisherman who became one the most respected legends in the fishing tackle industry. In late 2010, Jarmo Rapala and a group of investors bought Bagley Bait Company. As an admirer of Jim Bagley for his attention to quality and of his product ingenuity and innovation, Jarmo initiated significant changes in operations, enhanced production processes and quality control. Now in 2020, Northland® Fishing Tackle, along with Jarmo as its Chief Lure Designer, maintain the legacy of creating premium balsa crankbaits and topwater lures, as well as jigs and spoons for both freshwater and saltwater anglers.