Weedless Jig Heads

Picked up some weedless jig heads the other day in hopes of being able to sneak up into the lily pads w/o getting hung up.  Have never fished with them before, so I'm not sure exactly how they work.  Get the basic idea, but are the wires for the weed guard supposed to be right on top of the hook, or spread out away from it?  Seems like they would help from getting hung up, but how does it affect the ability to set the hook in a fish????