Jig Questions

[mudcatwilly]

I've been bass fishing now for about 2 1/2 years and although I know I have a lot to learn, one thing that I know right now is that confidence in a bait is a huge factor in successful fishing.  I have all kinds of baits it my growing box, but the one I keep going back to is the jig.  I'll throw it every time out no matter what.  I was fishing a jig almost exclusively a couple of days ago and I caught some bass in very different ways that led me to some questions.

The lake I was fishing (in California) has steep banks and clear water.  There is a variety of cover and structure.  The spots I was catching bass in consisted mainly of laydowns and rockslides.  The water temp was 55 to 56.  At this lake, we're pretty much in full prespawn mode.

In a couple of situations, I caught fish by hopping the jig down the face of the bank.  I would raise the rod tip from the 9:00 to about the 11:00 position, pause a couple of seconds, and then do it again.  The bass always hit it on the way down.  The bites came consistently on points.

Other times, I was catching fish by simply casting to a spot on the submerged bank, say 10 feet, and then slowly dragging the jig parallel to the bank, holding the rod steady and just dragging the jig using the lowest speed on my trolling motor.

I was curious to know what techniques you guys like to use when casting jigs on steep banks.  Is it more productive to hop the jig down the bank or drag it parallel to the bank or is it a matter of whatever is working that particular day?

I know that jigs will always be in my arsenal.  I just want to be the best that I can be at using them.

[basspro48]

You are not alone, I am also a jig fishing addict. When casting to steep rocky banks I prefer a football-head jig with a twintail grub or craw trailer. Cast parallel to the bank and after it has settled I shake it and then snap the rodtip up to make the jig jump. But, this time of year the fish are very aggressive so instead of a normal jigging presentation I like to take a 3/16oz jig, put a twintail grub trailer on it, and swim it parallel to the bank and any other cover. These two techniques usually produce for me but if they don't then just mix it up until the fish tell you what they want.