Our story
Jigs designed by fishermen, for fishermen
The story of the White River Zig Jig, in founder Richard Cross’s own words.
Who we are
Hooked below Beaver Dam
My name is Richard Cross. In 1994, I started jig fishing for trout on the White and North Fork Rivers of the Ozark Mountains of north-central Arkansas. I graduated high school in the small town of Norfork, Arkansas, trout fishing all through school. Before I moved to Arkansas, my family would come over on vacation from Memphis and spend a couple of weeks every year fishing and boating.
I had caught trout in many different ways through the years. I was tired of using corn, worms, power eggs and other traditional forms of bait. I made up my mind to concentrate efforts on learning how to fly fish. My parents owned a restaurant in Salesville, AR, and one of the regular customers gave me some flies. Through his generosity, I learned to catch fish on them with a fly rod. However, at that time of my life, I didn’t have a chance to spend the time and put in the effort to become proficient.
About 1995, I decided to take up fly fishing again. I had a conversation with a business associate and friend of mine about trout fishing. He asked me if I had ever used jigs to catch trout; I said that I had not. After giving me a handful of jigs and a pointer or two on how to fish them, he said to let him know how I did the next time I got a chance to go fishing. I took those jigs to the White River below Beaver Dam, in northwest Arkansas, east of Rogers. I was wading that day. What happened was incredible. I caught more and bigger trout than typical. Like any proud fisherman, I had to have a picture, so I stopped at the Beaver Dam Store and had them take a picture of my nice limit of rainbows. That picture was on the wall in the store for a long time.
Finding the right action
Nobody wanted to make lure molds
From that point on, I was hooked on jig fishing. As time went by, good-quality jigs with the right action were hard to find. In early 1996, I started doing some research on molds to try to find out how to produce great action. There was nothing out there that met my desire. I spoke with local machine shops about making a set of molds for jigs, and by the conversations I had, you could tell that nobody wanted to mess with making lure molds.
One of the vendors I used in my regular business was located next to War Eagle Custom Lures, a custom lure maker in Rogers, AR. One day I stopped in and talked to the guys, asking them a bunch of questions on how they got started in the spinnerbait business. They had similar stories about local machine shops, and after we swapped stories, I asked them what they were doing for molds now. They gave me the name of a lure manufacturing company in Mountain Home, AR. I told them that I used to live in that area and would be trout fishing there. They gave me the phone number, and I called to make an appointment to discuss molds and jigs.
The rest is history. The folks at KG Enterprise in Mountain Home worked with me, and we kept modifying the jig head until we got just the right action. From that point forward, every jig was manufactured the same. They weigh what they’re supposed to. The heads are powder-coated, not just dipped in paint or baked in an oven. The powder coating gives better durability and lasts longer under real fishing conditions. The most important part of any jig is the hook, so we use only the best: Mustad Ultra Point black nickel hooks are sharp when they’re new and stay sharper longer. As a fisherman myself, I would rather lose a few jigs than have a big fish straighten out a hook.
So there you have it. Jigs designed by fishermen, for fishermen! As you can see from the pictures and testimonials, there are people all over the country who successfully use White River Zig Jigs to catch more and bigger fish than they’ve caught in their lives.
Good fishing! — Richard Cross
The story, continued
Passing on the tradition
As 2025 starts, it’s time to reflect back to the year 2000, when I started selling White River Zig Jigs. That is hard for me to believe, and I’m sure for many of my customers as well!
I’ve made many great friends across the USA and in a few other countries because of Zig Jigs. I have received so many phone calls and been sent so many thousands of fish pictures over the last 24 years that it’s hard to believe. I have loved every one of the calls and pictures.
Many of you know that Zig Jigs was not my main business all those years. My wife Jennifer and I also owned another business, which we sold in August of 2023. Many of you also know or have spoken to Jennifer on the phone about jigs over the years. She has been the jig queen!
In May of 2024, we made the decision to sell White River Zig Jigs as well. It was not an easy decision, but one that needed to be made. The decision was made easier by who we sold the jig business to. Johnny and Brandi Bates have been great customers, friends and fishing buddies since I met them. They love these jigs just like I do and all of you do! As crazy as this seems, Zig Jigs are kind of my legacy in the fishing world, for what that’s worth. I know Brandi and Johnny will do business the right way and carry on the great customer service we have always strived to provide.
We sold the Zig Jig business to them at the end of June 2024. I have gladly agreed to help Johnny promote, educate and give him any assistance I can with White River Zig Jigs. I would like to thank all of you for your business and loyalty to a great product that I created 24 years ago. Anyone who wants to call or send fish pictures to me is still welcome to do so. I love seeing the pictures for sure!
Tight lines!
Richard & Jennifer Cross
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