mnbassman23

That place screams Black and Blue jig, with rattles.

With Northstars spring sale coming up this Friday you are going to get one heck of a deal! Colors- There are a TON of colors that will work for you in NorthStars lineup. Anything that is darker in color or has bright contrasting colors should work well in your case. New Gill (my personal favorite), Alimony, Black/Blue, Junebug, Black/Brown, Flippin Blue, and Chaos are some that come to mind off hand. Swim jigs and/or Flip and Swim- These are both great for covering water. If your in heavy cover and want a jig that is equally good at swimming and pitching into heavy cover go with the Flip and Swim. If your working open water or very sparse cover go with a swim jig. OR get some of both Knockout/Black Series- Both of these jigs are what I mainly use for pitching into cover. Black series gives you a bigger profile and a mixture of both silicone/rubber skirting, which is very unique and looks great in the water. For me the Black Series has landed most of my big fish including my PB. With that said I always have Knockout's on board as well for when the fish don't want such a big profile. Football jig- If you want a jig that excels in rock cover pick up a few of their Football jigs. These are available in the Knockout series right now, but during the Spring sale starting Friday they are releasing the Black Series Football jig as well.

The biggest factor is finding out what the fish want on a particular day. I almost always start with a jig and then move to plastics if i'm not having luck. This is mostly a confidence thing, but also I find that the quality of fish increases when using a jig while the quantity increases when using plastics. Not to say you won't catch a few small ones on a jig or that you cannot catch big fish on plastics because that is far from the case, but in general this is what i have found. The only time I key in on plastics and keep the jig on the deck is if i'm punching grass mats or there is a lot of "clingy" weeds on the bottom. The t-rig plastic will slide through thick cover better than a jig and not get hung up as much.

I get lucky every now and then.. I'm in

Only one time that was serious. I was 8 years old and casting for muskies. At the time the only way I could cast bigger 9"-11" baits was with an overhead cast. I had a 9" Suick on and when I went to cast the lure went straight up in the air and came down on the top of my head. I felt a THUMP and really had no idea what happened. My dad looked over at me (trying not to panic) and grabbed the hook cutters. Luckily I only had one treble that went through my hat and only 1 hook off the treble went past the barb. Needless to say our day trip got cut a few hours short and we made a 30 minute trip to the ER and the doc shot me up with Novocain and ripped it out.

I yo-yo lipless cranks and jigs a fair amount. For both I let them sink to the bottom, once it makes contact with the bottom I give the rod a quick hard snap upwards so my lure comes off the bottom 2-4ft and then let it fall to the bottom, and repeat. Some days I let the lure sit on the bottom for a few seconds and other days I snap my rod as soon as the lure makes contact with the bottom. All depends on what the fish want on that particular day. Also you do not necessarily have to let your lure get to the bottom. You can use this technique in any part of the water column, I just tend to have my best luck letting it go to the bottom.

Thank you for the feedback guys I am going to contact my DNR just to make sure, but I wanted to see what others here thought. Snakehead Whisperer, thanks for the info. In this particular circumstance I am talking about a border water lake (MN/SD). MN and SD differ in their regulations and the border water regulations seem to somewhat meet in the middle. I am going to give the DNR a call or email tomorrow to sort this out.

I've never used the mop jig, but I do use the Hippy jig made by Northstar which is very similar. I love it's big profile and I almost always use a full 4" craw on it. It screams big fish.

**Anglers may use two lines with up to three hooks per line.** You read this in your fishing regulations book. Can you use up to 3 lures with single hooks per line OR only one lure with up to 3 hooks per lure (crankbiat with 3 trebles for example)? A buddy and I do not see eye to eye on this and your input is appreciated.

I fish both a lot, but as a general rule I always start with a jig and switch to a T-rig if i'm not having success. The only time I start with a t-rig is when it's super weedy or i'm punching matted vegitation. More times than not the jig will produce bigger fish and that's what i'm looking for.

I'm a fan of his show and would gladly spend a day in the boat with him. Some people don't like his personality, similar to Ike, but I do. I can be the same way at times so I can relate.

Like usual I agree with this guy .. the only thing i'd add is a big worm or lizard.

Watermelon red, Black Neon, Okee Craw.

Start practicing your pitching and get proficient at it if your not already. If you can pitch a jig with a soft entry and not make a splash while hitting target areas like logs and submergent clumps of weed you will be on your way to success. What I usually do is start off with a swim jig to cover water and once you find what structure the fish are relating to then I usually slow down with a grass jig. Also don't be afraid to let your jig "soak" or sit in a prime area for an extended period of time. Many guys pitch/cast into cover and bring it out right away. While this works and gets bites, sometimes it pays to let your lure sit in a good area for a while. Last but not least when pitching jigs 90% of your bites are going to happen on the initial fall. Watch your line, and make sure to pay great attention on that initial fall. Once you fish a jig for awhile you'll learn how it acts and feels, just like any bait. It gets to the point if your fishing 3ft of water it make take your jig 3 seconds to hit the bottom and you instinctively will realize this. Next pitch it may only take 2 seconds... Set the hook because one just ate it on the fall! Sometimes jig bites are really mushy and you may only feel weight at the end of your line. Again set the hook! Hook sets are free and until you really learn the feel of fishing a jig don't be afraid to swing on anything that feels "different". Good luck man jig fishing is addicting and a great way to put your new personal best in the boat.

Agreed with everyone else, use it.

These are the same hooks I carry as well. I have made the switch from EWG to straight shanks for flipping/pitching. About the only thing i use a EWG for is flukes.

Well if you are on Facebook you have the chance to be the first person to own NorthStar Custom Baits new Black Series Football Jig. FOR FREE http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=493443727379263&set=a.133218123401827.21020.132601386796834&type=1&theater For those of you who do not have Facebook stay tuned for when these go on sale. I for one use a lot of Black Series jigs and they became my big fish bait last year. The mix of silicone and rubber skirting make for a big profile jig that has a look very unique to other jigs on the market. I for one cannot wait for them to become available, I will be loading up on them.

The chigger craws are a great tailer and will work in colder water when the fish are a bit more active. With that said, I have had better luck with a zoom chunk in cold water. The more subtle the better in cold water for me. Having both on hand and trying both day to day is probably your best bet, but more often than not I would be throwing a zoom chunk in really cold water.

As Jig Meister said a jig is very versatile and can be worked in many different circumstances. I would try a jig in the areas you mentioned. It may not work every time, but usually I do very well in wood cover and around beds with jigs. I always have multiple rigs tied up with jigs and each year my biggest fish usually comes on a jig.

Yes sir, bite an 1" or so off and get after it. I use grass pigs on my NSCB swim jigs with great luck. Also as Rockchalk06 said the subwoofer is a great swim jig trailer.

Thanks for all the replies. I was not trying to say short rods are obsolete or do not have their place. I use them too for topwater, skipping docks, very tight pitching etc. I was just saying in general most of my rods have gotten longer. I also grew up casting for Muskies long before I ever grabbed a Bass rod so longer rods seemed natural for me from the get go. A 7'6"-8" bass rod is light to me lol were a lot of people complain about most being unbalanced or heavy it just doesn't effect me. Casting for muskies 10 hours a day with 10" lures and heavy long rods will make you appreciate any bass rod. Thanks again for all the replies, it's great to see everyones preferences and reasonings for using the length of rods they choose.

I jumped on this rod with their sale 2 weeks ago, 112$ to my door and it was worth every penny. Haven't gotten to fish it yet with the ice, but messing around with it in the house and outside I like it thus far.

Hey everyone, Just curious how many of you enjoy fishing longer rods. I for one am in that category. I've found that over the years my rods have gotten longer and longer for most applications. Not saying that it's a greater advantage in all circumstances, just personal preference is all. I have 2 rods 7ft and under and to me they almost seem short, were as 6 years ago I never use to fish a rod over 7ft. Now most of my rods are between 7'3"-7'10". What got me thinking about this is I have 2 rods laying around and one of them needs to go. This is going to be mostly a pitching jig rod and a deep football jig rod. Both are heavy action and one is 7'1" and the other is 7'9". I know the 7'1" will be a great fit for these applications, but i'm really considering keeping the longer one. Anyone else a long rod junkie??

I already have a few.. good to know i'm up to date with the latest and greatest lol. In all honesty I agree with a lot of people, i tend to fish my confidence baits slower. Also your throwing them more, more time in the water equals more bites, more bites equals more confidence.

St Croix Avid 68mxf with Revo S Powell Max 710MH with Lews Super Duty