Confidence And Help With Texas Rig & Jig??

[CC268]

I am new to bass fishing...I went out to Bartlett Lake here in Arizona to bass fish for the first time. I ended up catching a little 1 or 2 pound bass on an all chartreuse spinner bait, which was cool! I had one hooked on a jig I threw out but he got off.

 

Anyways...I tried a Texas Rigged Worm and a Football Jig with a brown and blue skirt with a Crawdad trailer. Like I said I did get one on the line with the jig, but ended up losing him. I have watched the T-rig and Jig videos from Glenn (bassresource on Youtube) half a dozen times, but I am just not confident in these rigs. I am confused as to how you will feel a bite when you have a slack line.

 

For the Texas Rigged worm I used a 1/8 oz bullet weight (I have 1/4 oz as well) and a 6" Green Pumpkin curly tail worm and would throw it out there and let it sink to the bottom. First issue was detecting whether or not it was on the bottom. I have watched Glenn's video on knowing when it hits the bottom, but it was still kind of tough, so I would just count to 8 or 10 seconds. At this point I would have a pretty slack line. I would then just sort of hop it while reeling slowly, basically trying to imitate Glenn on his videos. It just seems weird having a slack line and still being able to tell when they bite.

 

The jig I did much like the T-rigged worm but fished it slower. I did the double hop thing and would let it sit...then double hop....reel it in a little, double hop...etc. Like I said I actually ended up getting one on the line and it happened pretty much right when I threw it in the water and it got to the bottom. 

 

Anyways...sorry for the long post, but just looking for some suggestions, confidence boosters, etc and how the hell do I feel a bite on a slack line???

[roadwarrior]

There is a very subtle difference between slack and semi-slack line.

 

The only time I have "slack" line is when I allow a bait or lure to free-fall.

In this case you will not "feel" a bite, but might "see" one if your line jumps

or stops falling.

 

Semi-slack line is more the norm. This is how most guys fish bottom contact

baits, i.e., soft plastic and jigs. The bite is often subtle and it may take some

time to develope a "feel" for the light strike. If you keep after it, it will come to

you.

 

 

 

[CC268]

There is a very subtle difference between slack and semi-slack line.

 

The only time I have "slack" line is when I allow a bait or lure to free-fall.

In this case you will not "feel" a bite, but might "see" one if your line jumps

or stops falling.

 

Semi-slack line is more the norm. This is how most guys fish bottom contact

baits, i.e., soft plastic and jigs. The bite is often subtle and it may take some

time to develope a "feel" for the light strike. If you keep after it, it will come to

you.

 

 

 

 

Alright, I will just keep after it, thanks for the help!

[Paul Roberts]

If it's a fish, you'll know.

[PABASS]

I am a line watcher, I tend to fish a semi slack line and don't always "feel" the bite, by watching the line you will know if a fish is on, reel up the slack and set the hook.

[lmbfisherman]

I started bass fishing last season too and the funny thing is I started off jig fishing.  It just seemed comfortable/natural to me and it is the most confident way for me to bass fish.  Here are some tips that I found that helped me when I started.

 

1. Number 1 thing to do is relax and take a breath.  Sometimes I found myself over "thinking" in anticipation of a bite, your mind starts to second guess.  If you do this, you start doubting yourself and lose confidence.  Just calm down and enjoy the time on the water to fish.

2. Putting my finger on the line is another way that helped me to detect a bites, I found that placing my finger on the line helped me detect the vibration from a bass picking up the bait. 

3. Make sure you watch the line at all times.  You will eventually understand/learn how the line falls and acts when it is in the water.  Any tick or odd movement reel up the slack and you set the hook.  I sometimes will check to make sure when I reel up slack just a little and tug just a tad, when you feel pressure set the hook. 

 

I'm by no means an expert though and I'm still learning.  Just giving you my .02 cents on how I started. 

[senile1]

You will be amazed at what you can feel with today's rods and a semi-slack line.  Of course, there are times when the fish are not aggressive and even the most seasoned angler won't feel a bite.  That's where the suggestions for watching your line, keeping a finger on the line, and checking for pressure or heaviness on the line come into play.  All of us started where you are.  It's just a matter of spending time with the baits and experiencing a few bites before it will all click for you.

[HeavyDluxe]

Last summer, I was trying to learn to fish soft plastic Ikas while enjoying a week at Lake Bomoseen in central VT.  I was having a lot of trouble getting good hooksets (too early) in some cases while, in others cases, the fish were getting gut hooked (too late).

 

For the life of me, I can't find the link, but someone directed me to one of Glenn's jig fishing videos.  In the one I saw, he talked a fair bit about both how to 'handle' the semi-slack line techniques and what to watch for in the line's behavior.  

 

That video changed *everything* for me as an angler.  That evening, as it happened, the lake was dead calm and so I was able to work some relatively deep grass beds while having perfect conditions to see the line - both in terms of slack and how it 'moved' on the water.  I was much more consistent that night, especially in detecting strikes that I didn't really "feel" at the rod.  

 

Hopefully, someone will know which jig video it is and post a link for you... that said, the main takeaways are right in line with what RW said above.  Watching the line is crucial in all those semi-slack presentations, whether jigs or soft plastics.

[CC268]

Alright thanks guys...I will just keep working with it and see how it goes

[Sun Fish]

If it's windy and the waters moving go with a heavier weight to maintain bottom contact and to get down there faster.  Watching your line is a must, when the line goes slack after your cast you've hit bottom.  I usually just lift my rod a bit every now and then or drag the bait along the bottom.  For a jig I like to add in a double pump lift.  If your lines slack all of a sudden picks up or you see your line move to the left, right or outward you most likly have a fish on even if you didnt feel the bite so set the hook.  Hook sets are free

[keith71]

I like an 1/8 oz bullet weight for t rigging shallow but when you first start out a 3/16 or the 1/4 oz you have might be a little better for "feel". A bite might feel like your holding a guitar with your eyes closed and someone picked your string.

[WRB]

Go to a 3/16 oz bullet weight.

If it's windy it is very difficult to learn to watch slack line. The deal is "controlled" slack line. Here is how I fish a Texas rigged worm; Don Iovino products Brass n Glass, go to his site. Don has a line of Top Brass weights custom painted, tempered glass faceted beads in a wide range of colors. Find Don a call and ask him what is working at Bartlett.

Rigging; Weight first, bead second and hook is tied on. Brass weights will slide on the line with vert low resistance, the glass bead makes a clicking sound as the weight hits it, attracts bass.

Cast out and watch the line, it will jump slack when ithe weight hits bottom. You can also watch the V the line cuts in the water and it will stop when the line hits bottom. Let the rig sit on the bottom for a few seconds. Lower your rod tip down towards the water pointed at the worm, reel the in the slack, then raise the rod until it is at 10 o'clock and stop and let the rig sink and stop and rest on the bottom again. A strike will feel will usually feel like a tick on the line....lower your tip down, reel up the slack and set the hook.

Tom

PS; read the pinned jig fishing on the top of this forum page.

[The Young Gun]

I know when I started to T-rig 6" ribbiontail worms my problem was I fished them WAY to fast without realizing it. I learned to compensate this with using spinning gear and watching line more instead of reeling in to feel the line before I set the hook if that makes sense.

[Blues19]

I agree with Young Gun, its very easy to go too fast without really realizing it. Just practice practice practice, the more time you spend fishing the better you will get. If you get a chance to go night fishing this spring/summer, that should help you develop more skills in your fishing as well. Good luck and keep practicing

[CC268]

Thanks for all the tips guys...I will go to the 1/4 oz bullet weight...I think that will help a lot and I may try a bead between the weight and the hook...

 

I have 12lb on my baitcasiter...should I be using my Ugly Stick Lite with a Shimano Soltace 2500 reel - 8lb line for texas rigging and split shotting...or can I still use my baitcaster for Texas Rigging?

[Bankbeater]

Just keep fishing with it and practice.  When I started using a jig, it was 6 months before I finally caught a bass using it.

[CC268]

I am going to pick up a bps extreme spinning rod for dropshotting if they have any left.. That will be my spinning rod for bass fishing

[PABASS]

Thanks for all the tips guys...I will go to the 1/4 oz bullet weight...I think that will help a lot and I may try a bead between the weight and the hook...

 

I have 12lb on my baitcasiter...should I be using my Ugly Stick Lite with a Shimano Soltace 2500 reel - 8lb line for texas rigging and split shotting...or can I still use my baitcaster for Texas Rigging?

Something I didn't mention was try learning jig fishing in a pond, it helped gain a ton of confidence in them.

[CC268]

Alright guys I got a BPS Extreme ML 6'8" and some cheap 8lb mono backing and 8lb Seguar Invizx (that line wasn't cheap lol). Sound good??? I am going to try the drop shot and split shot rig on this setup out at the lake today

[Todd2]

 Lower your rod tip down towards the water pointed at the worm, reel the in the slack, then raise the rod until it is at 10 o'clock and stop and let the rig sink and stop and rest on the bottom again. Tom

PS; read the pinned jig fishing on the top of this forum page.

I noticed reading your jig notes that you keep rod low and use the reel to move the jig, but with plastics you lift the rod and drop. I am trying different retrieves with both and just wanted to get your insight. Thanks Todd

[Catt]

The art of feeling a worm/jig bite is a fine combination of watching your line and feeling for unnatural sensations of what your bait should feel like. Sometimes you will feel that classic Tap, sometimes you'll only see line movement, sometimes your line will simply go slack, but sometimes there will only be a feeling of heaviness that is almost like your line will not move. The bites where the bass moves after inhaling you bait are the easy ones to feel because there is line movement, the bites where the bass simply inhales your bait and just sits there are the hardest to feel. Feeling a worm/jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

Tommy T (Catt)

[WRB]

The art of feeling a worm/jig bite is a fine combination of watching your line and feeling for unnatural sensations of what your bait should feel like. Sometimes you will feel that classic Tap, sometimes you'll only see line movement, sometimes your line will simply go slack, but sometimes there will only be a feeling of heaviness that is almost like your line will not move. The bites where the bass moves after inhaling you bait are the easy ones to feel because there is line movement, the bites where the bass simply inhales your bait and just sits there are the hardest to feel. Feeling a worm/jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

Tommy T (Catt)

+1

Tom

[WRB]

I noticed reading your jig notes that you keep rod low and use the reel to move the jig, but with plastics you lift the rod and drop. I am trying different retrieves with both and just wanted to get your insight. Thanks Todd

Making a long cast and retrieving a jig requires keeping in touch with a jig because big bass tend to spit out a jig quickly. T-rigged plastic worm, the weight isn't attached to the worm and hook and bass tend to bite and hold onto longer, giving you a little more time to react.

When my line is closer to the boat, the line at steeper angle down in the water, then I use the rod more like a T-rig. Usually I don't retrieve a long cast jig all the way back to the boat, just through the zone I believe where the bass should be located or high percentage strike zones.

Tom