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As a currently employee of Bass Pro, I have to say, seeing threads like these can be painful. This is a long winded post, and I mean no offense to anyone if you find it to be, but: I hate to see people saying "I went there once and this kid didn't know anything, I'll never go back!" Yes, they will hire younger people that might not be very experienced. They might really enjoy hunting and fishing or what have you, but may have only been taught to do it one way their family or friends have taught them to do it. Do you really want to talk down to a kid who may enjoy the sport, but might not know EVERYTHING about it? They are there to learn and get some work experience just like many of you with your first job. We have a new kid at my store as well. A highschooler, on the school Bass fishing team, who enjoys the sport and wants to work in the industry. Where else do you start? A customer recently, very angrily, called him a moron because he didn't know what backtrolling was. That is the kind of thing that makes retail very stressful when it definitely should not be. Not only that, but there are often employee's walking around the whole store that work in recieving, promotions, maintenance, or even just taking an item they found in their department back to where it goes. Even if they aren't in sales, they are told to try to be as helpful as possible. Many times they aren't going to try to pass a customer to a department associate, as some of us have witnessed, that this will annoy a customer just as much as them not knowing an answer. But I keep seeing people mention minimum wage, and the truth is, most of us make more than that. They really don't hire at minimum wage, besides MAYBE holiday seasonal workers. I hired in above and have continued to climb in the pay scale, because hard work and knowledge is rewarded. They also have a lot of full time employee's that get full benefits and can buy pretty cheap healthcare and insurance. BPS may now be a big box store, but Johnny Morris started it in a gas station in the 70's and grew because of a good reputation and good service. We might not always be cheaper than small shops and internet based companies who may have under 20 people working for them, but they now employ something like 14,000 people that are for the most part paid decently, and Johnny donates a LOT to conservation groups and charities. Whens the last time you seen any of these online stores giving a shopping spree to someone terminally ill or things of the like? This is just one example from the store I work at: http://tinyurl.com/pboe9gn But yes, there are downsides. Because we are such a large chain, product comes in slower than people would prefer. And because we may have thousands of customers a day, popular stuff sells faster than we can get it. And if the lures that don't sell well end up being removed from our stock, even if it was one of your best producers. Being mad at the people you see at the store is not going to make things any better. If you want to see things improve, talk to the store managers and the people in corporate, whether its good or bad. They decide what goes on at our stores. Believe me, we don't want to have lazy co-workers as much as you don't want them. And we can only carry what people buy. If you just come to us to look at things but buy online, things will only get worse. In my case, I'm always willing to do whatever I can to get you the lures, reels, rods, or line you need if we don't keep it in stock, as fast as I can. I had lures ordered and shipped in within days for quite a few guys fishing the BASS Open on St. Clair, and I would do the same for any customer if they just ask instead of getting mad at me for not having it on hand at all times. Edit: And I forgot to mention, NO ONE at Bass Pro works on commission. We're not asking you if you need help because we get a fatter paycheck, we're asking because its what we're known for and what most people expect. If you dont want help, just politely say, "I'm fine, thank you." Or something similar, and well be on our way.

Bright ones that rattle. I like "clown" in dirty water.

I have bridesmaid syndrome, lol. It feels good to win one once in a while. Had a slow, but quality day at the dump Saturday. Caught in many different cover, conditions, and locations. Frogs, spinnerbait, jig, swimbait...all provided. Best fish was a hair over 4. Sunday was a relaxing kayak trip up the creek with the gf. Caught a couple northerns to break up the paddle. Last night went out a quick trout trip in the kayak. Fish jumping all over the place, but one bite, no hookups. Did catch a great photo of the sunset, though.

There's no point to it. It actually interferes with there natural breathing process. Just hold them upright, under the belly, when they're ready, they'll swim off.

You say its 20+ trips on a spool but your spool is gonna get low very quick cutting off 15 yards every trip... Then you have to put on more backing and that's tedious. I use braid and it last forever and then some haha I just check the line for Knicks every so many cast

Rehab.

Smithwick Suspending Rattlin' Rogue

Well, 3' of visibility is what I would call "stained" and is suitable for fishing jerkbaits. Chocolate milk is what I consider unacceptable.

My feeling of elation was somewhat marred by the question "why did it take you so long"

Use a stick length that is comfortable for You. As long as your selection includes a system (rod, reel, line & terminal tackle) that allows you to make quiet, accurate presentations while possessing the overall strength to apply max winching pressure on big fish. A-Jay

I had one HUGE gripe I forgot to mention. The absolute WORST customer, at least for me, is the guy who comes in carrying a spit cup, or worse yet, a see through container already half full. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. If I saw you coming I would make every effort to avoid you. If you still approached me I would as quickly as possible, attempt to pass you off to another associate.I find that practice sickening and very inconsiderate to me and anyone else in the store. So guys, if you really have to do that, could you please leave it in the vehicle for the short time you are in the store. THANK YOU! Hootie

I try not to keep them out of the water any longer than I can hold my breath.

I had Sunday off with Nicole and my parents were nice enough to watch Lake and Chris was nice enough to loan me his boat so we went to Melvern Weather was beautiful, sunny and flat calm, wasn't so sure about how the fishing was going to be, I was pleasantly surprised. I sight fished a nice spot out from under the private dock by the ramp, then Nicole caught a small walleye on her first cast on the ramp with a Ned, her first walleye ever. No amount of pink gloves were getting her to touch that fish I threw a few different baits and caught fish on all of them, unfortunately I settled on a topwater walking bait as the best producer of better quality fish I was watching Nicole fight one of what seemed like hundreds of 8" smallmouth she caught when I heard my bait get blasted. Fish sure look like they're doing a lot better than last time I was out there. 18" on the nose, didn't weigh it. Nicole continued her multispecies day with her first flathead ever, watch out Curt! She got her share of bigger smallies too, including a BLACK 18 incher. I caught more largemouth than I've caught at Melvern in a single day too, including a few off the dam. Seems the states efforts to stock largemouth in that lake are working. Several times we had fish hooked and several others followed and I kept expecting to double up with my walking bait. When it finally happened wouldn't you know it would be 2 largemouth. Hopefully it will be that good Saturday.

For me, it isn't a cost, or size thing. It's a sensitivity thing. There is a world of difference between lead and tungsten when it comes to transmitting information back to me. The same goes for brass and steel. Drag a C-rig with a tungsten weight over a hump and you can immediately tell when the bottom composition changes, where the weeds, rocks, shell beds, or whatever are. I equate the difference to that of fluoro vs. braid. For sensitivity, I choose braid. The majority of my rods are in the $100 or less range and tungsten and braid give me the sensitivity I can't afford from more expensive equipment.

All I will say is Dwight, A-jay and speed bead have always been very helpful and repectful to myself and everyone on here! Quick thought though, I can't believe how warm the water is still! Went to my local lake and it was still 68-70! Thought the water would be cooler by now! I am thinking about going up to Erie at the end of October but we will see!

When I first started buying all my gear I was still I college so lead was the way to go just because I could get so many for little to nothing. I came across some tungsten on sale and bought them and I won't use anything else now, to me it seems like I can feel everything so much better it's worth the added cost.

Sept 2014 pair

Can't be any worse than going through a swarm of bugs at 80 mph.

When I have problems fishing senkos it's because I am too impatient and tend to do too much with them. For example ... imparting too much action or action too soon. I am supposed to wait for them to sink down and I prematurely move it, twitch it, jerk it etc. While I can get bit that way from time to time it's not ideal for catching fish on them consistently. As cheesy as this sounds I use a count method to slow myself down. I take a few casts and watch the line. I count to see how long it takes for the line to stop moving away from me. After that I begin my retrieve ... slow drag, hops, twitches. Each move I use that same count. It takes forever for the retrieve sometimes but that seems to work consistently for me. It takes a ton of patience.

As a former BPS employee, and being on the other side of the fence, I can tell you it ain't always a pleasant experience over here either. Try helping a customer who thinks he knows everything, when it's obvious that he is dumb as a sack of hair. I have dealt with customers who were rude and impolite. Not to mention the first ones of the day with morning breath...WHEW!!!. I had a customer come to the counter one time pointing at a particular baitcasting reel he wanted for the rod he had just picked out. I pointed out that the rod he had was a spinning rod, just assuming that he had inadvertently picked it up. This fellow came unglued and informed me "loudly" that he knew what he was doing. "WELL EXCUSE ME"!!..I was thinking. Granted, there were, and will be times when someone will ask you something that you really don't know. No one can be expected to know everything about everything. At our Cincinnati store we tried to have all the bases covered. Ask me something about striper fishing and I am clueless, but let me take you to see Erik. He is an avid striper fisherman. Then there are days when you can't have everything covered and someone gets angry or just disappointed. I guess that's just life. You win some, you lose some and some get rained out. Would be great if everyone could have a pleasant experience at all the stores, all the time, but it's probably not going to happen. Anyway, that is my view from "the other side". Hootie

Just caught my First Largemouth Bass! New to the sport and have been fighting all summer long without any success. Went out hour before sunrise this morning and I threw rattletraps, top water frogs, senko, spinners, buzz bait and nothing. So I got in my bos and pulled out the new tube-x and rattles and t-rigged it. Fish on! buried me in the weeds! no biggie! threw it again same area. Hit 2. buried me again. getting upset. threw a few more times and got one and kept him above the weeds and he went airborne and lost the hook. Deep breath and remember all the forums on here and all the articles I read and Glenn videos I watched. All lost to my error. BAD Hook sets. Threw again. Fish on! reel down and set. Landed! Woo Hoo! Finally! only a cpl pounds but I was as happy as if it was a record size fish! Glad all the reading and video watching finally paid off. There was about 10 others around and a few of them came over and asked what I was using because nobody could get even a bite. I have a new found love for tubes.

This is a spot on response. People need to chill out and take it for what it is; I am certainly no expert in fishing and will ask questions when I don't know while at the store. It is the responsibility of the consumer to take in the information that is given and make informed decisions, if something smells fishy then take it with a grain of salt and do more research on your own, this is not Bass Pro Shops problem, it is yours. Don't put a kid down for now knowing or even one of the more "seasoned" guys working in the store. Everyone needs a job, but what they don't need is some ****** bag on his high horse cutting them down for insignificant bullcrap to make themselves feel good or because they didn't get the instant gratification they desired. *Edit - The above assumes that the employee is respectful and helpful in trying to assist you. One thing that I do get a little peeved about it are inattentive and rude sales associates. If they don't know the answer to a questions that fine, but I am sure that they are able to find someone who can better assist you. That relates to stock, inventory and product locations more than whats the best lure for X fishing.

Oh man, those look good!

I went back there today. I surely didn't set the world on fire but landed 15 largemouth and 3 smallmouth. Biggest 5 were 2-13, 2-15, 3-3, 4-13, 5-10. Oh and Shane... Remember that magic bush ? Got the 4-13 and 5-10 there.

Backing is when you go to the store and buy something like a bulk spool of really cheap mono that's junk and fill your spool halfway or more then tie that to your good line and fill the rest of your spool up. Thus saving you money by using less of the good line!

This weekend was pretty dang good. I fished Silver sat. afternoon, and caught my biggest fish of the year, a 6lb 4oz largemouth, and then piggy backed that with a 2nd place finish in a tournament on Conesus lake. The first all day/five fish tournament I have ever fished there out of my own boat, and the first one I have fished since 2008. I am happier with that than I am with the tournament I won, or the........literally.....five consecutive 2nd place finishes I have on Silver this year.

I have tons of underwater video from one of my private ponds in De. The go pro does a nice job and is supposedly safe to over 100ft. I normally don't film any deeper than 12ft or so even though it's 25ft deep. It's interesting to see what's going on down there.

Yeah, that was a blast! Had a great weekend of fishing with Mainebass. Just as suspected, the guys a great stick, a great host, and a great fishing partner. Yeah, the weather threw a curve ball at us, but we figured it out. It was awesome, and plan on doin' it again soon as possible. Here's a couple pics. (and yeah, it got hot!)

I normally fish it just under the surface, slow and steady retrieve. Make sure you have the hook centered or it will start twirling like no other. When the just under the surface presentation isnt working I fish it on top of the water like a buzzbait. Ive had the most luck just under the surface though.

Some days, I rotate between 4-7 rigs with different baits on each. Look up "junk fishing." Good stuff to know.

I have to agree with Hootie on this one. I had a good job making good money as a manager and when the economy headed south, the business closed. Work was scarce. Our current government leaders have totally destroyed the middle class. I could not find a similar job to save my life. Before I lost everything, I fell back on something I know and care about. So I am an associate at a retail sporting store. I work in a large outdoor sports area and one person covers that area by themselves at most times. My knowledge is mostly fishing, some other areas I know the basics. I do not know it all, or pretend to. I will go out of my way to help you if you just treat me decent. There are times I would love to grab a customer and beat the crap out of them for being rude. Please keep in mind, these jobs are part-time with no real benefits and no 401k. You make close to minimum wage and have to work mornings, nights, weekends, holidays, and overnights. Your pay is just barely above minimum wage. So why you are home with your family or watching your favorite show or game, or even out fishing, I am trying to help customers that many times treat me like dirt. Sorry about the rant, If I could find a better job I would. Take a walk in someone else's shoes before you pass judgement.

This is what consumers asked for - lower price, more inventory. In almost every segment, the local, small retail business was edged out by a huge chain. Now we want some minimum wage employee to possess the same knowledge and personal customer service skills that those small retailers had. Do your own research. go prepared. If you can't find something, then hopefully someone will know where it is. If not, I guess you'll have to search all 5 fishing aisles for that one piece of terminal tackle you need. I rarely speak to anyone working the stores I shop, unless it's someone I know, or to pay for what I am buying. It's sad, but it's just a fact. Some places will figure out that having a few well compensated employees that actually add value beyond facing and stocking the shelves will put them ahead of the competition. Bass Pro seems to get, most of their guys are pretty good. Gander? Uh, not really. DSG? hit or miss. Usually I get asked if I need help by employees less interested in helping me, than they were told to greet every customer. Seems like this aspect doesn't matter to management, so long as internet sales and in store sales support their bottom line.

In fishing matters pertaining to technique or strategy, I don't count on BPS or Cabelas employees to be much help. In matters of inventory, I kind of expect them to know what they've got and where it is. I mean, they walk past all that stuff all the time, over time, how could they not get a knowledge of what is where, unless they really don't care. For instance, when I go into BPS and say, " I'm experimenting, trying to create a strike indicator for my Bubba drop shot rig. Where are your tiny foam floats?" I don't expect them to know what a strike indicator or a bubba drop shot rig is. I do expect them to know where their tiny foam floats are. In the clothes departments, I do expect them to know what is and what ain't correct fit. I do expect them to know what waist size in inches corresponds to large, extra large, etc. I do know that number is different for different manufacturers. Taking measurements isn't hard. I do expect them to have a tape measure handy and know how to use it.. Maybe I'm just an unreasonable geezer, I don't know. I know years ago when I worked in a hardware store, I knew the difference between common and uncommon o-ring sizes. I knew the difference between coarse and fine thread on bolts & nuts. I knew where the dozens of different chemicals were located on the paint and maintenance and lawn & garden aisles. I knew the difference between pesticide and herbicide. Just saying, I knew the environment I worked in. I don't think that is asking too much, even from a slightly above minimum wage worker. I guess I am a geezer, I just re-read my post and it kind of turned into a rant. Sorry, but not sorry enough to change anything or delete it.

Breath and a t-shirt.

I would expect them to have basic knowledge but not be an expert when it comes to the gear being sold. To be honest at what they are being paid I couldnt expect them to be much more knowledgable than I when it comes to products or gear I am looking to purchase. I've already done my homework and read up on the stuff I'm looking to get. So normally I wouldnt have too many questions or issues I would need for them to assist me with.

LMAO! Spelling is important kids.

Two 70 something-year-old men had been friends all of their lives. When it was clear that Frank was dying, Leonard visited him every day. One day Leonard said, "Frank, we both loved playing golf all our lives, and we started playing soon after high school. Please do me one favor: when you get to heaven, somehow you must let me know if there's golf there." Frank looked up at Leonard from his deathbed and said, "Leonard, you've been my best friend for many years. If it's at all possible, I'll do this favor for you." Shortly after that, Frank died. A few weeks later, Leonard was awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to him, "Leonard!" "Who is it?" asked Leonard, sitting up suddenly. "Who is it?" "Leonard -- it's me, Frank." "You're not Frank. Frank just died." "I'm telling you, it's me, Frank," insisted the voice. "Frank! Where are you?" "In heaven," replied Frank. "I have some really good news and a little bad news." "Tell me the good news first," said Leonard "The good news," Frank said with joy and enthusiasm, "is that there is golf in heaven. Better yet, all of our old buddies who died before me are here too. Even better than that, we're all young again. Better still, it's always Summertime and it never rains. And best of all, we can play golf all we want, and we never get tired. And we get to play with all the Greats of the past." "That's fantastic," said Leonard. "It's beyond my wildest dreams! So what's the bad news?" "You're in my foursome this Saturday." Life is uncertain - Eat dessert first !!!

Go to their website. Most of their products have free ship to store so you can just go in and pick it up.

FYI, I'm a retail associate in both the fishing and firearms section of an outdoor retailer. I know a little bit about a little bit. I know what you mean though. This time of year is the ramp up for holiday sales. There are a ton of "warm bodies" that get hired on. Maybe you get lucky and get someone who knows what they're talking about, maybe not. Usually you can tell from the first couple minutes of interaction.

Hmmm, the only BPS I've been too is the one in Tallahassee and the people there seemed decently knowledgeable and helped me out

So true. I cringe sometimes while I hear a customer ask a question about something and an associate tells a load of crap just for a sale. But there's always that sucker customer that believes it all anyway.

There's no such thing as Medium ACTION, there's Medium POWER, but not action. Action is slow, moderate, moderate-fast, fast and extra fast.

Horn Pond today finally catching them on crankbaits and jigs, tubes did well also. Most fish between 2-3 lbs so the fall bite is turning on here. Most fish were in the shade areas of the structures I caught them on in 6-12ft range. Glad I did not fish the lunker tourney on Little Ossipee in Maine, some one brought in a 8lb LM

Although I like the company at times depending on who I am fishing with I prefer to fish alone. Seems like I am spending to much time helping the other person get their lines unstuck from weeds, trees, etc. Then they usually bring a huge tackle box with them that gets in the way.

So can looking up at a billboard...

Chartreuse black back is a must have!

I try to keep an open mind about lures - every year something different works best, and I'm always eager to learn how to work new stuff. That said, if I could catch them on a Super Spook Jr. all the time, I'd never fish anything else.

You are more knowledgeable than your brother. I'd say 30 to 40 yards is average for most on bait casting equipment. No proof but just an observation that I see from most people.

Here's a little piece I put together, The jig is my favorite lure to fish because of it's versatlity. Representation, First let's start with what a jig represents underwater, I believe the most Popular use of it is to imitate a Crayfish but they also can imitate baitfish as well. Jigs come in many different shapes, sizes and colors etc. The most popular crayfish imitators seem to be the good old skirted jig usually tipped with some sort of plastic or pork trailer. Speaking of sizes, shapes, colors, I'm only going to really get into the skirted jig with a plastic or pork trailer as this is the bait I primarily use, and use it as a crayfish imitator only. Sizes, There is a very large size range available, I mainly use 3 sizes of Jigs in my arsenal or depending on manufacturer the closest weight to these sizes 3/8 oz , ½ oz and ¾ oz. I will mainly use a 3/8oz when fishing really shallow. The presentation has more time to be subtle because of the lighter weight than just crashing on the bottom in the shallow water. 1/2 oz. Jig This is my go to, if there was only one jig weight aloud in my box, this would be it. I guess you could say the happy medium. I fish this 99 percent of the time from a regular bank down to 15 ft and anything in between. The only time I go to a 3/4 oz. Is if I need to get through some thick weeds, the wind is really blowing or I am fishing dep but want to fish it faster than normal. Colors, I don't get crazy on colors when it comes to jigs. I have 3 colors that I have a ton of confidence in and those are Browns, Greens, and Black. It seems the jig has excepted rules on what colors for what conditions were faced with, green or brown, natural colors for clearer water and black or darker colors for murkier water or night time. I do follow that to a point but not because of the rule but because I have confidence in throwing those baits in those conditions. Ive caught fish in clear water with a black jig and fish in murky water and at night with a green jig so what's that tell us. Color is confidence in my book. Trailers/Chunks These come in many shapes and sizes, Most of them are made to represent the pincher end of the crayfish which are either threaded or simply hooked on to the jig. I go rather simple in this area as far as selection. I mainly use 3 colors in 2 sizes, Green, Brown and Black in 2 or 3 sizes I always match the color of the trailer with the jig, (just a confidence thing) I will normally start off fishing with a 2 trailer in tournaments, I feel the smaller size may get me more bites in order to get my limit then I may upgrade trailer size to go after larger fish, but there is no rule here either, as I have caught fish over 6lbs. on 2 trailers and fish less than 12 on 3 trailers. As far as the many styles and brands of trailers, my selection is simple I use my own, I feel they give me the best chances of catching fish and here is why: When a bass hits a jig they will normally engulf the whole lure, Jig and trailer. It only takes a split second for that fish to reject the bait if it notices anything artificial about it. When I make my trailers I add a lot of crayfish oil to the plastic prior to cooking then once poured they go through a 2 stage salting process. Once you get a fish to bite them they are hard pressed to let it go because there is so much taste for them. Because there is so much craw oil in the plastic it makes the baits very soft which helps release the oils and salt when the bait is bitten. (Shameless Plug I know, but the truth as well) The Bite! I have been fishing a jig predominantly for the last few years and have probably experienced every type of bite possible, but then again maybe not, sometimes you don't feel anything at all, then sometimes they almost rip the rod out of your hand, and then you have everything in between, you must always be ready to set the hook. It is a must to be a line watcher when fishing a jig because you may not always be in direct contact with the lure, and the little twitch in the line that you didn't see could have been a 10 fish or the fish of a lifetime. One thing I really like to do is know the depth of the water I'm casting to, I feel this is very important, a ½ oz jig on 15lb mono sinks at about 1ft per second. So I know if I'm casting it into 12ft of water and the line stops sinking when I count to 6, something sucked it in, reel in any slack and set the hook. This is where I believe salts and scents are very handy, normally when I'm fishing a jig I'm fishing some type of structure, rocks, wood, grass, etc. with the equipment on the market you can pretty much feel everything the lure bumps into, when first getting into jig fishing I might have questioned myself was that a fish or a rock, don't know for sure. But now using my own baits and good equipment as well as a lot of time fishing the jig, I have the confidence in them to know that when I feel that little bump, I can pause and wait a second or two to see if there is any activity or lack there of on the end of the line before ramming the hook into a nice bass, or a stump. Equipment: For fishing these type and size of jigs, I use a 7' Heavy action bait casting rod, I feel this is very important and will not use a Jig on anything lighter, for a few reasons, 1.) These jigs normally have stout hooks that require a decent amount of force to get good penetration. I don't want to take the chance of losing a big fish because my rod didn't have enough power to drive the hook home, 2.) You have the weed guard to deal with as well when setting the hook. 3.) A lot of times the bass will really clamp down on a jig to crush it making it harder to move the jig on the set to get a good hook set, I noticed this especially with small mouth bass. As for the brand of rod that is personal preference but I think you should get the best you can afford in this area or the added sensitivity. For a reel, I prefer High speed reels 6.1:1 or 6.3:1 and a decent amount of line retrieval per handle turn. I like this because I can pick up any slack really fast as well as keep up with the fish if it is charging towards me. This is another brand preference issue, I prefer smaller profile reels so I can palm the reel and rest the line going into the reel on my pointer finger for extra sensitivity. Line I mainly use 15 lb test mono line for most jig fishing, I don't really go any lighter than that, I will go heavier for certain situations depending on a few factors, structure or cover that I'm fishing, or even the size of the fish I have a chance at catching will dictate the size. In really clear water I will use fluorocarbon line for reduced visibility. And if I need to go above 20 lb mono for any reason I will switch to a braid for line diameter purposes. You can use any of the three all the time, these are just my preferences and how I utilize each for certain situations. This is not intended to be a know all of Jig fishing document, these are the ways and equipment I personally like to use and have confidence in for the situations I face,(Notice the title) there are so many variables in fishing that could call for a different tactic from the lure type and size, to the tackle and line, it would be impossible to list them all. Some techniques I use... When I make a cast I let the bait sink, you must always watch your line, a lot of times they will hit it on the initial fall and your line will either twitch, stop before it should, or start going sideways, when this happens reel up the slack and set the hook. If the bait makes it to the bottom I will wait about 3 or 4 seconds and then drag it about 6-8 inches (Right now he's just cruising on the bottom), then pause, after 3-4 seconds drag again, and repeat this. Once I feel any obstruction, I pause then shake without dragging, I feel this simulates the crayfish trying to burrow under whatever obstacle it just bumped into. Then I give it 2 quick very short snaps, this would simulate the crayfish fleeing from a predator, then let it hit bottom and repeat the whole process. A lot of times right after the pause when you go to drag again it will feel heavy, set the hook. Hook sets are free, If you haven't fished a jig a lot , it takes time before you can get a really good handle on determining fish bites from obstructions. Practice makes perfect and when in doubt set the hook. That's for mostly open water hump style fishing and beating a bank. In cover I like to throw it in the nastiest stuff possible and shake it around then repeat casting to it (pretty much pick it to pieces.) Don't ever think there is such a thing as to shallow, I use to cast to about a foot off shore till a guy on the back of my boat beat me bad, the fish were in that spot right on the bank, now I cast to were I'm pretty much hitting the shoreline.