If you’ve spent any time shopping for fishing tackle, you already know there are cheap jig heads everywhere. Walk into a tackle shop or search online and you can find packs of jig heads for a few bucks. Some of them will absolutely catch fish.
So when someone finds Ebb N Flow Outdoors and sees The Upgrade jig heads, hover hooks and weedless systems, there’s a fair question: why do these cost more?
The short answer is simple. Because we aren’t trying to make the cheapest version of something that already exists. We’re trying to make a better tool.
And sometimes that means adding features, using more complicated manufacturing processes and spending more on components that don’t necessarily show up in a product photo — but absolutely matter when you’re fishing.
Here’s what you’re actually paying for.
We Started With Problems, Not Products
The Upgrade didn’t begin because I thought the world needed another jig head company. There are already thousands of jig heads.
It started because after decades of fishing, working in the fishing industry, studying fisheries, guiding and spending an unreasonable amount of time experimenting with tackle, I kept running into little problems.
Plastics sliding down.
Soft plastics tearing.
TPE-style plastics that don’t play nicely with traditional keepers.
Hooks that were too light for one application and unnecessarily heavy for another.
Jig heads designed to do one thing really well but becoming limiting when you wanted to fish differently.
And then there were all the little modifications anglers make themselves.
Glue.
Wire.
Different keepers.
Trimming lead.
Adding bucktail.
Changing hooks.
We started asking a different question: what if some of those modifications were designed into the jig head from the beginning?
That’s where The Upgrade started.
The Difference Is in the Details
At first glance, a jig head looks pretty simple. Lead. Hook. Eye.
But small changes to that design can dramatically change what you’re able to do with it. That’s why our products have features that may look unnecessary until you understand why they’re there.
The Belly-Weight Keeper
One of the most recognizable features across The Upgrade family is our belly-weighted bait keeper. It wasn’t added because it looked different. It was designed to solve a problem.
Instead of relying solely on a traditional collar behind the jig head, the keeper helps secure the bait farther down its body. That can help keep plastics pinned in place while maintaining the profile and action we’re trying to achieve. It becomes particularly useful when working with soft plastics and modern TPE-style materials that don’t always behave well with traditional jig head designs.
It’s a small piece of metal. But it’s one of the features that changes what the product can do.
The Bucktail Flange
This might be my favorite example of how we think about product design. There are plenty of anglers who still tie bucktail. I’m one of them. So why shouldn’t a modern jig head make it easier?
The flange incorporated into our Upgrade Multi-Purpose Jighead gives anglers a dedicated area to tie bucktail, synthetic material or other dressing directly onto the jig.
You can fish it with a plastic.
You can tie it.
You can combine the two.
You can experiment.
That’s the point. We’d rather give anglers more options than tell them there’s only one correct way to fish our products.
One Jig Head Shouldn’t Have One Job
The name Multi-Purpose Jighead was intentional. I don’t want someone buying a jig head from us and thinking, “this is only a redfish jig,” or, “this is only for bass.”
We’ve used these products across freshwater and saltwater applications.
Bass.
Redfish.
Speckled trout.
Flounder.
Snook.
Walleye.
Stripers.
Sheepshead.
And plenty of other situations.
Change the weight. Change the hook size. Change the plastic. Add bucktail. Change the presentation. The same fundamental platform can become a completely different fishing tool.
That versatility has value.
The Upgrade Is Becoming a Family, Not Just One Jig Head
As Ebb N Flow has grown, so has The Upgrade. Today, we’re building different versions around different presentations and fishing situations.
The Upgrade Multi-Purpose Jighead is the foundation.
The Upgrade Hover Hook was developed for lighter, more subtle presentations.
The Upgrade A.T.V. Weedless Hover Hook adds weedless capability for fishing around cover.
The Upgrade A.T.V. Weedless Swing Head gives anglers another way to present plastics while maintaining a weedless design.
And we’re continuing to develop new weights, hook sizes and applications.
They’re different tools. But the philosophy behind them is the same: take something anglers already use and find meaningful ways to make it more versatile, functional or easier to fish.
Why Hook Selection Matters
The hook is one of the most important components of any jig head, but we don’t believe Ebb N Flow Outdoors should ever be permanently tied to one hook manufacturer.
Today, many products in The Upgrade family are built around Mustad hooks. Mustad is an established global manufacturer with hook designs that fit what we’re building, products we can source reliably and the ability to support us as Ebb N Flow grows. Right now, that makes them a strong fit.
But our commitment is to the performance of the finished product — not the name stamped on the hook box. As Ebb N Flow grows, our sourcing may evolve with it. If quality changes, availability becomes an issue, a better hook becomes available, or future domestic or overseas manufacturing requires a different solution across our expanding number of SKUs, we’re completely open to working with other manufacturers.
What won’t change is the standard. The hook still has to provide the right combination of strength, sharpness, wire diameter, geometry, availability and cost for the application we’re designing around.
We aren’t designing products around a supplier. We’re choosing suppliers around the products we’re trying to build.
Why Not Just Make Them Cheaper?
Because there’s a difference between reducing cost and removing value. As we grow, I absolutely want Ebb N Flow to become more efficient.
Larger production runs can reduce costs.
Better purchasing can reduce costs.
Improved packaging can reduce costs.
Manufacturing efficiencies can reduce costs.
And eventually, some of our manufacturing may change as the company reaches a scale where different options make sense.
But there’s a line I don’t want to cross. I don’t want to remove something that makes a product better simply because eliminating it saves a few cents. That’s backwards.
The goal isn’t: how cheaply can we make this? The question is: how good can we make it while still selling it at a price that makes sense? Those are two very different ways to build a fishing company.
You’re Also Paying for a Small Company
This is something I think consumers sometimes forget — and frankly, small businesses probably don’t explain it enough. We’re not producing millions of identical jig heads.
We’re growing.
We’re ordering components.
We’re developing new molds.
We’re testing prototypes.
We’re carrying multiple weights, hook sizes and colors.
We’re packaging products.
We’re paying excise taxes.
We’re dealing with manufacturing mistakes.
We’re replacing products when something isn’t right.
We’re answering customers ourselves.
We’re constantly testing new ideas.
There aren’t enormous economies of scale behind Ebb N Flow yet. That means our costs are higher.
I could hide that. I’d rather explain it.
You’re Not Paying for Perfection
This is important. I’m never going to tell someone that an Ebb N Flow jig head is magically going to catch fish when everything else fails. Fishing doesn’t work that way.
We’re also a growing company. We’ll make mistakes. Manufacturers will make mistakes. I’ll design things that need another revision. There will probably be products we develop that ultimately aren’t good enough to sell. That’s part of building something.
What I can promise is that we’ll keep paying attention. We’ll listen when anglers tell us something could be better. We’ll test it. We’ll change it when it makes sense. And we’ll continue trying to improve.
That’s what The Upgrade is supposed to mean. It isn’t a declaration that we’ve built the perfect jig head. It’s a commitment to the process of making fishing tackle better.
So, Are Ebb N Flow Jig Heads Worth the Price?
That depends on the angler. If your only priority is buying the cheapest jig head possible, we’re probably not going to be the right company for you. And that’s okay.
But if you care about versatility, thoughtful design, strong components, different rigging options and buying from a company actively trying to improve the tools anglers use, then I think you’ll understand where the additional cost goes.
We’re not interested in winning the race to the bottom. We’re interested in building products people fish, trust, recommend and eventually come back to buy again.
That’s a much harder business to build. I also think it’s a much more interesting one.
Keep Communicating
One of the biggest advantages we have as a small company is that there aren’t ten layers between the person using the product and the person helping decide what we make next.
Some of the best ideas don’t come from sitting in a conference room. They come from conversations between anglers.
Keep Communicating.
— Dave Erdly
Founder, Ebb N Flow Outdoors