Strike King Bitsy Bug

[airborne_angler]

So I wanted to give a jig a try (again) and figured since the lake I fish has lots of dinks,is try a small jig. Thinking because the dinks are pretty aggressive and easy to catch,this small offering may help me break into jig fishing,by giving me the chance to learn what a jig bite feels like.

I've got the jig paired with a 2 inch Berkley straight leg Power Frog chunk like trailer.

The real question I have is about the retrieve. It's such a small light offering,how do you keep it on the bottom? Or is it a matter of fishing it just like a larger jig,but the movements/action you impart on the jig,are just way less pronounced and more subtle. I feel if I hop this jig,its gonna come 4 feet off the bottom,sail over over all the fish,and then all I'm gonna be doing is swimming it.

What's everyone's approach to small jigs like this?

[Nitrofreak]

For me fishing a jig is all about SLOW bottom contact, no matter the size of the jig, it's always in contact with the bottom, if the circumstance should arise and I have to lift it, it's only a couple of inches, very quick but very small jerks will get you the action your looking for, I also use my finger under the line to make the bitsy jigs movements.

The only time it's not on the bottom is when I have a swimming jig tied on, which are great around boat docks and other types of cover.

Good luck and be safe !!!

[Marty]

You didn't state the weight of your lure. Bitsy Bugs come in sizes up to 1/4 oz., so there shouldn't be a problem keeping it down in moderate depths.

[airborne_angler]

I just looked at the packaging...its a 1/4 oz Bitsy Flip,not a Bitsy Bug...are there major differences?

[ww2farmer]

Bitsy Flips have a heavy wire hook and stiffer weed guard. They come in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 oz sizes, and are small heavy cover jig. Bitsy bugs have lighter wire hooks, softer weed guards with less bristles, and come in 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 oz sizes. They are more of a lighter cover/tackle jig. I like the bitsy flips, pretty good hook, cheap, and when you fish them where I put them you will lose jigs, so at less than $2 a pop it's not a big deal. Not a fan of the regular bitsy bugs, hook is cheap and rusts easy, there are much better light wire hook finesse jigs out there.

[Bankbeater]

I love the bitsy bugs in the 1/8 ounce size. I usually use a super chuck jr. and just let it drop to the bottom on its own. When its hits bottom I like to work it just like a 3/8 or 1/2 oz. jig.

They work great in heavy weeds also. That smaller size lets you pull through the weeds easier.

[iceintheveins]

I only fish the 1/8 ounce bitsy bug and I throw it on spin gear and 8 pound test. I just fish it the same way as a regular jig, with a lift fall, but I will swim this one a little bit more. I prefer a 3" zoom creepy crawler or a tiny paca chunk on them.

[BassinMD]

I very rarely throw 1/4 oz I generally stick to 3/8 or 1/2 if wind gets real bad, you can adjust the skirt and trailer to give you a much slower fall and still have the weight to not have to use spinning gear, and to be completely honest dinks don't usually produce the "jig bite" dinks will slam every lure like a shark on an injured seal.

[bobbyK]

I love the smaller weight Bitsy Bugs for pond fishing and small water kayak fishing around my place. I prefer the greens and the browns in the 1/16 and 1/8 sizes cause they fall slow and seldom get caught up in the trash (sunken limbs, leaves, and wood) on the bottom near the shoreline. I have been using the smaller 3" crazy leg chigger craws and the tiny brush hogs as trailers. With all those appendages, you get plenty of action and they become irresistable to the local largies. They are so light though that it is less like jig fishing and more like fishing a skirted texas rigged plastic since they tend to rise off the bottom with every move. My thinking is that alot of the water I am fishing has a pretty mucky and muddy bottom so I want to lift the bait up and out and have it fall and re-land rather than drag it thru the bottom slime where it tends to get lost.

YMMV

Bob K