Updated: October 2026. Red Ball Jig sizes, colors and prices checked on the live product page Oct 14, 2026.

How to fish a Red Ball jig, the short answer: drop a Gapen Red Ball Jig to the perch, lift and twitch it a few times to draw them in, then hold it completely still for up to 30 seconds. Most bites come during that pause. If nothing hits, twitch two or three times and wait again. Start with 1/32 oz for perch and panfish. From $2.95.

Below: size and color picks, the lift-twitch-hold cadence step by step, open water vs ice, and when to use something else.

What is a Gapen Red Ball Jig?

The Red Ball Jig is a flashing tin jig, plated in nickel or gold, with anise-scented red egg tippers on the hook. The flash brings fish in. The red ball looks, smells, and is colored like a fish egg, and that is what gets the bite. The product page says it works because nearly every gamefish eats eggs. Each jig comes with three extra scented tippers. It is Made in the USA.

Most jigs have to keep moving to get bit. This one is meant to sit still. That is why it catches perch that follow a moving jig and won't commit.

Which Red Ball Jig size and color should you buy?

Three sizes and five colors, from the live product page on Oct 14, 2026.

Size	Listed price	Use (shop judgment)
1/32 oz	$2.95	Perch, bluegill, crappie; shallow water to about 15 ft
1/8 oz	from $2.95	Jumbo perch deeper than 15 ft, walleye, wind
1/4 oz	from $2.95	Walleye, lake trout, deep basins, current

The product page's price table lists 1/8 oz at $3.50 and 1/4 oz at $3.75. Some colors ring up lower, so check the price in your cart when you pick a color.

Colors: Chartreuse (Glow), Fire Tiger (Glow), White (Glow), Gold, and Silver. Shop judgment: use Silver or Gold in clear water and bright sun. Use the glow colors in stained water, at dawn and dusk, and under the ice.

How do you fish the lift-twitch-hold cadence?

The product page sums it up as "still." Here is how we fish it:

1. Find bottom. Drop the jig down, reel up a turn or two so it hangs just off bottom. Perch usually sit within a foot of it.
2. Call them in. Lift the rod tip 6 to 12 inches with two or three sharp twitches. The tin body flashes.
3. Hold still. Stop the rod completely and hold it there for up to 30 seconds. Keep the rod still and the line just tight enough to see it.
4. Watch for the bite. A perch eating a still bait often barely moves the line. The line goes slack, ticks, or the rod tip dips a little. Set the hook on anything odd.
5. Repeat. No bite after 30 seconds? Twitch two or three times and hold again.
6. Move. Shop judgment: after five or six rounds with no bite, move 20 to 30 feet. Perch roam in schools.

Customer Joe Miller of Lakeville, MN wrote on the product page that the Red Ball "out performed the line set 9 fish to one" and that he loves "the control of this lure when using spider line." That is the payoff for holding still on a thin, tight line.

How do you fish it for fall perch in open water?

Fall perch school on weed edges, sand-to-mud transitions, and the first break off shore. Look for them in 8 to 20 feet (shop judgment). Anchor or spot-lock over them and fish straight down. On a calm day you can also cast it out, let it fall to bottom, and work it back with short hops and long pauses.

Situation	What to change
Calm, clear water	1/32 oz, Silver or Gold, longer holds
Wind or boat drift	1/8 oz so you can keep it under the boat
Stained water	Chartreuse (Glow) or Fire Tiger (Glow)
Fish chasing, not eating	Shorter holds, more twitches
Fish sitting, not chasing	Longer holds, barely move it

How do you fish a Red Ball Jig through the ice?

It is the same cadence, and it may work even better. Ice is steady, so you can hold the jig still without waves moving it. Charge the glow colors with a light before each drop. Use the 1/32 oz for panfish and the 1/8 oz for jumbo perch in deeper water. The product page lists the Red Ball Jig for summer and winter, through the ice and in open water.

Shop judgment: use a short, soft ice rod with a spring bobber or a light tip. Many bites on a still jig only show as the tip lifting a little when the fish takes the weight.

Should you add a minnow or wax worm?

Usually not at first. The scented egg tippers are the bait. Use the three extra tippers to replace a torn one before you add live bait. If the bite is very slow, add a spike or a small piece of minnow head to the hook. Shop judgment: keep it small, or you lose the egg look.

Need more tippers? Gapen Red Ball egg tippers come in packs of 24 in Small, Large, or Mixed. The product page says to use the Small size on ice jigs and for panfish.

Which fish will hit it besides perch?

The product page lists panfish, perch, rock bass, walleye, bass, trout, pike, and lake trout. In fall, walleye on the same breaks as the perch will hit a 1/8 or 1/4 oz Red Ball. Bluegill and crappie will take the 1/32 oz. For bluegill near the bank, our Panfish Float guide covers fishing a small jig under a float.

When should you not use a Red Ball Jig?

• When you need to cover water. It is made to hold still. To find scattered fish, use a spinner jig or crankbait first, then come back with the Red Ball.
• In heavy weeds. The exposed hook snags. Fish the weed edge, not inside the weeds.
• When crappie are high in the water. Suspended crappie are easier to catch on a jig under a float. See our slip bobber crappie guide, or a TTS Papa Jig under a bobber.
• Rough water you can't hold the boat in. The cadence stops working once the boat drift moves your jig.

Red Ball Jig vs a plain ice jig with a wax worm

	Red Ball Jig	Plain ice jig and wax worm
Attraction	Tin flash plus an egg shape, color, and anise scent	Bait scent; glow paint on some
Bait needed	None; includes three extra tippers	Live bait every few fish
Cadence	Twitch, then hold still for 30 seconds	Constant small jiggle
Best for	Fish that follow but won't bite	Active fish
Price	from $2.95	varies

Shop the Gapen Red Ball Jig

Gapen Red Ball Jig, from $2.95. 1/32, 1/8 and 1/4 oz; Chartreuse (Glow), Fire Tiger (Glow), White (Glow), Gold, and Silver; three extra anise-scented tippers. Made in the USA.

Gapen Tackle, a family shop in State Center, Iowa. Related reading: Gapen heritage jigs.

FAQ

How long do you hold a Red Ball Jig still? Up to 30 seconds, as the product page says. If nothing bites, twitch two or three times and hold again.

What size Red Ball Jig for perch? Start with 1/32 oz. Use 1/8 oz for jumbo perch in deeper water or wind.

Does the Red Ball Jig work for ice fishing? Yes. The product page lists it for summer and winter, through the ice and in open water. Glow colors are a good choice under the ice.

Do you need live bait on a Red Ball Jig? Usually not. The anise-scented egg tippers do the job, and three extra tippers come with each jig. Add a spike only if the bite is very slow.

Will walleye hit a Red Ball Jig? Yes. Walleye are on the product page's species list. Use 1/8 or 1/4 oz on the breaks where fall perch gather.

Can I buy replacement red balls? Yes. Red Ball tippers come 24 to a pack in Small, Large, or Mixed. Small fits ice jigs and panfish.