Zach,
How exactly are you "Popping" the jig out of the males mouth without hooking it? I'm assuming not setting the hook...with the weed guard?

One thing that always helps is a big bait, if you toss thin worms or jigs in there the female will almost always ignore. Throw say a Matt gilly, super sized tube, or even a 1oz jig and that mini male may hesitate thus resulting in the females attention.