Can I Be Competitive Primarily Fishing Jigs?

[mram10us]

I love jigs and plastics.  I am not very confident with jerkbaits, crankbaits, etc.  It seems like all the BM or FLW tourneys are won by guys fishing crankbaits. Is it possible to be competitive in tournaments fishing mainly jigs, t-rigs and c-rigs?

[FlipnLimits]

In short, fraid not.  You will need some reaction baits.  Jigs are great quite often, but crainkbaits are just as good too.  Trick is to see what will catch bigger fish and when.  Versatility wins more often.  This is why you see some jig experts fall flat on their face when the bite is on cranks or something else.  The best anglers have mastered just a few baits but they are masters at them. 

 

FL

[Hi Salenity]

Nope, not all year long.

[slonezp]

I would say it depends on the water. I also would bet that more money has been won on jigs than any other bait.

[719BassFishing]

As a co-angler you can hold your own fishing plastics and jigs most of the time. Fishing something different than the guy in the front of the boat is what you need to be doing anyway. BUT, when the reaction bite is ON there is no beating a crankbait. The guys fishing reaction baits are simply just going to beat you. I had trouble getting confidence in those baits also, but trust me, once you do, youre not going to be able to put em down.

[hoosierbass07]

I have a book at home (I'm away from home at the moment) that says more tournaments have probably been won with plastic worms than any other lure.

[basscatcher8]

Depends if your on the front or back. front where your choosing water a reaction bait would be more effective but definitely a jig has its place. If your in the back you cant go wrong with dragging a jig or shakey head behind the boat while the boater has the tm on high and zooming.

[Bluebasser86]

Guys like Tommy Biffle and Denny Brauer rarely pick up anything other than a jig or plastics and they've done alright for themselves. If you plan on fishing tournaments though, I'd plan on getting proficient with some hard baits also or you're going to really bomb some tournaments. 

[J Francho]

Up here, tournaments don't start until the 3rd Saturday in June. Bass are usually post spawn or in summer mode by then. If it's a milfoil lake, a jig or creature will usually do well. Watch out for the froggers and the dock skipping senko dudes.

[BigBassBarry]

Guys like Tommy Biffle and Denny Brauer rarely pick up anything other than a jig or plastics and they've done alright for themselves. If you plan on fishing tournaments though, I'd plan on getting proficient with some hard baits also or you're going to really bomb some tournaments. 

besides a seldom spinnerbait, all Biffle and brauer use is jigs and plastics.  Tommy would burn a biffle bug or a swim jig to create a reaction strike.  I think you can and those two are proof in my opinion.

[mjseverson24]

I would say on a local level you could fish almost exclusively jigs and t-rigs and more often than not cash a check...(if your good at jig fishing that is). on a national scale it would be difficult to be 1 dimensional, but if you are good enough at it i think you could get away with it...

 

Mitch

[Sam]

There is a gentleman in Virginia who only throws jigs.

 

Half to one-ounce jigs he and a friend make.

 

He has been extremely successful.

 

My friend fished a tournament with him and told me that the guy only throws these large jigs on a Steez rod and reel setup with 20-pound test Big Game line.

 

The individual says he only needs five bites a day and this tactic has proven to be very successful.

 

With the above penned, I believe in using all types of weapons to try to entice a bite.

 

And I don't have the patience to throw a large jig all day long.

 

"Variety is the spice of life."

[starcraft1]

Being a jig man myself, I couldn't agree more about the crank bait. I've also got to learn more about the "cast and retrieve" bait. Not to worry, the jig and tube bite is really on right now on Oroville. Out here the reaction bite is (or use to be) mostly a winter or summer thing. Now it seems the swim bait has taken over that time slot, all thou Clear lake had a great crank bait bite this last winter and out shined both the swim bait & jig.

[nascar2428]

Go for it, let us know how you did.

[Trek]

  Like it's been said Tommy Biffle and Denny Brauer have done it for years. If all your fishing is local opens then pick and choose your tournaments. If your fishing a summer long tournament trail then you may take a few bumps but at least your fishing your strength. But I'm with ya. If you see me with a crank bait then I'm struggling. I'd much rather be flipping.

[frogflogger]

Don't be afraid to follow your strengths - jigs are versatile - you can cast, flip, swim. burn - add the bladed jigs and you've a good reaction bait. Back when I fished tournaments in the mid latitudes I won several going down the bank behind the crankers - straining the water with a jig. As the man said - to win a tournament you only need 5 bites - jigs and big topwaters are big bass baits.

[Blues19]

I would much rather fish a jig than a crankbait, but I know that there are days and times when its much more effective to fish the crankbait.  I think you can do well with a jig most times, but there will be those days that it wont produce much.  If you are strong with a jig and plastics, go for it, but I would suggest to always have a spinnerbait and a crankbait on just in case.

[Catt]

Down here you better good with a Texas Rig, then a Jig-N-Craw, then a Deep Diving Crank.

It also helps if you cast, flip, pitch, & punch with #s 1 & 2!

[ww2farmer]

Sure.............if that's what is on, if not...........thanks for donating. There are a couple of guys around here who do nothing but jig fish, 3 tournaments out of the ten they fish they do well, they tank the other 7, yet refuse to do anything else.  Same goes for the senko slingers.

[WRB]

Feed them what they don't want and It's a long day on the water.

You are better off being very good with a few lures and versitle enough with other lures to be competitive.

Tom