Missed Jig Bites

[iceintheveins]

Jig fishing just takes a little getting used to, the bites aren't all that hard to detect. Generally it will be a small movement of the line (which means you have to be a line watcher). It can be just a little twitch. Ticks and taps are common too, as is a weightless feeling if the bass inhales the jig and moves toward you. Most jig bites will feel like this. If in doubt you can always set the hook. But with a sensitive rod and good line watching tactics, you will notice most jig bites, I promise. They aren't much different than a plastic bite when you are pitching or flipping.

[Bass_Fanatic]

I still say its the wrong tool for the job. Shallow fish will eat a jig dood. Deeper less active fish may not.

A football jig is one of the best deep water baits around...

[primetime]

I am not certain about the % of strikes we do not detect, but some fish can flare their gills and inhale a lure and exhale that same lure in one swift motion that may cause a slight jump in the line, but even if it did, you would never have time to swing. I mess around in a clear pond with all kinds of lures and baits and have seen fish do this but usually they will hold it for a bit longer if not just curious and looking to feed. Line watching is key and I will see my line jump before feeling anything and I just swing.....If my line starts swimming to the side then that is just a great feeling because that usually means a good hookset and not an empty one.

[iceintheveins]

Go out and tie your lure to something and have a person slightly tap the line about five feet above the lure with a pencil with your eyes closed. That helps as well and has been a good tip for me.

[Bankbeater]

Around here, in the winter, sometimes you will feel one single tap, and that is all.  I stop moving the bait, and if the bass is interested it will bite again in a few seconds.  If I don't get a second bite, I start working the jig again.

[Choporoz]

I've dedicated a lot of time on the water this year to improving my jig fishing.  However, much of my fishing has been on bigger, deeper water (than other waters I fish...lol).    Is it possible to successfully fish a jig in deep, windy conditions?  I'm not getting it done very well.  Moderate success with a swim jig, but I'm really struggling on the bottom.

[boostr]

I rarely see my line move or twitch when I'm jig fishing. I usually keep my index finger under the line, for some reason I can detect strikes so much better this way. I can feel the slytest taps, and caught some nice fish... but that's just me.

[Catt]

The jig bite where ya feel that classic tap or the one where ya see line movement are the ones y'all should not be missing!

 

The majority of my jigs bites when casting, flipping, pitching, & punching come with NO line movement or tap, nothing until I apply pressure & feel resistance, at this point I set hook, most anglers simply apply more pressure, at which time the bass spit your jig.

[deep]

Lots of great inputs. Thanks everyone.

A little bit about me. I have been fishing jigs for close to 4 years, caught lots and lots of fish on them, pitching and casting. More than I caught on plastics and hardbaits combined I think. So yes, I know how to detect the tell-tale signs of the jig bite. Most everyone is good with detecting the obvious bites. Those are the easy ones and are smaller fish.

There's one slight problem though. I target bigger fish, and inspite of fishing jigs a lot, only 2 of my top 10 (these are all 7#+ NLMBs, not giants, but biiig fish) are on jigs. (One came off a bed, the other 7 are on 8" hudds.)

Now, Tom tells me jigs and worms are more appealing than swimbaits for neutral bass. So I should be catching more big fish on jigs than swimbaits. (Worms are well, another can of worms. Never caught anything really big on them, maybe I'm missing worm bites too.) But I'm not.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Put some freakn goo on it

[boostr]

^ Good stuff right there

[camo]

I've dedicated a lot of time on the water this year to improving my jig fishing.  However, much of my fishing has been on bigger, deeper water (than other waters I fish...lol).    Is it possible to successfully fish a jig in deep, windy conditions?  I'm not getting it done very well.  Moderate success with a swim jig, but I'm really struggling on the bottom.

What depth are you mostly fishing and what size jig? The common thing to do while fishing a jig in the wind is to upsize so you can still feel your jig. Also fishing a jig very deep requires in my experience a different rod then pitching and flipping shallow waters.

[WRB]

There are jig lakes and swimbait lakes, sometimes it's a seasonal period where bass are feeding on crawdads instead of baitfish, it's important to recognize when and where to use what lure.

For example Casitas use to be a great pre spawn jig lake and winter swimbait lake, today it's more of a worm and crankbait lake. Why...the forage base has changed from planted trout to Threadfin shad and the crawdad population crashed.

I love to fish jigs and still try to force feed bass what I prefer fishing memories, then change tactics and start catching bass.

Castaic has a different problem, few trout plants, lots of strip bass and a decent crawdad population along with a threadfin shad. Jigs still catch bass at Castaic consistently.

Need a good crawdad population to have a consistent jig bite!

Fishing jigs for over 50 years you develop a 7th sense for strike detection, it helps if you stay focused, can't be talking and looking around at nature, bass know to bite when you lookin the other way!

Tom

[deep]

There are jig lakes and swimbait lakes, sometimes it's a seasonal period where bass are feeding on crawdads instead of baitfish, it's important to recognize when and where to use what lure.

..

Need a good crawdad population to have a consistent jig bite!

 

Tom, short of talking with a fisheries biologist, is there a way to determine if a reservoir has a good crawdad population?

Maybe I can use a crawfish trap (I don't even know if that's legal here- need to find that out).

 

Thanks,

[Hattrick7]

In my limited experience if you're familiar with a trig bite I find it to be the closest thing. Sometimes it's a very subtle tick to a good thump. Sometimes hitting a rock, stump or other bottom contour May kinda feel like a bite. In those instances I will reel in slack to feel the bass weight. You can tell pretty quickly if it's a bass or maybe just stuck on something.

I agree the hooksets are free thought but that can lose you a lot of jigs if you swing away on everything. I would not cast as far if you can do that so you can get the feel for bites.

If you're dragging it I would say it's pretty similar to a trig bite. If you're casting/pitching to targets and they hit it on the fall it'll usually feel like a subtle tick. If you feel that tick before you know it hits bottom swing for it I'd say it's in the bass mouth at that point.

[Bluebasser86]

Tom, short of talking with a fisheries biologist, is there a way to determine if a reservoir has a good crawdad population?

Maybe I can use a crawfish trap (I don't even know if that's legal here- need to find that out).

 

Thanks,

Put a tub of chicken livers in a nylon stocking and set it out in a rocky area along the shoreline with a line tied to the bank. Make sure it has a couple hours to soak and come back and check it after dark. If there's a good crawdad population the bag and surrounding area will be covered with them. 

[ChrisD46]

Jig fishing can produce many nice bass but here is some input for you to consider:

1.  Bluegills and small bass can drive you nuts by hitting your jig.

2.  Bottom structure can fool you.

3.  As you are doing, always keep your finger on the line.

4.  As stated above, hook sets are free so "give 'em a whack."

5.  Know the crawfish colors in your neck of the woods and if they change during the year. Mimic them as best you can.

6.  Sometime you need a large profile in warm water and a compact profile in cold water. Your "pig" will control this profile.

7.  Place a short piece of a finesse worm the color of the skirt on the hook close to the jig's head. Then add the trailer. The finesse worm will keep the pig from twisting.

8.  Concentrate. Jig fishing can be slow and you can lose your concentration.  Step back; look all around; take a deep breath; shake any cobwebs out of your head; and hit the water again.

9.  Call your game and fisheries and ask for the "crawfish expert."  Ask the individual how the crawfish act in the water. Do they scoot fast when approached? Do they like to hide in wood?  Are they the burrowing species?  Are they in the grass?  Then mimic both the color and how they move.

 

Good luck and posts some pics of those giants you will catch with your jigs.

Regarding tip #7 - can you provide more detail - as to how long the piece of finesse worm should be ? Should it be touching the trailer ? Still trying to understand how this will set up will keep the pig from twisting ?

[Senko lover]

I am by no means a tenured jig fisher, but I'll pass along some advice by someone who is.

Rick Clunn said that the problem with most average anglers is that they lack the power of total concentration.

I've found that to be really true with both worms and jigs. Focus on your line. So many little pulls and bites go undetected by people who wait for the bite to reach their rod.

[Fishes in trees]

My first chunk of advice would be to lighten up.  Primarily, fishing is supposed to be fun.  I don't know about you, but I don't find super concentrating and focusing on each jig movement to be a lot of fun.

Just chill out and maybe you'll catch a few more fish.   Taking a different approach, I found over the last couple of years that my jig fishing improved after I switched to a home made jika rig ( which is just a way to fish a soft plastic kind of like a jig)  compared to fishing a more traditional jig.

[J Francho]

For some of us, analyzing and discriminating subtle issues is actually fun.  Solving them can be even more exciting. 

[Siebert Outdoors]

The greatest instructional tool available to the anglers wanting to learn "feel" bites is night time!

 

I don't mean a couple hours here & there, that will only teach you frustration

 

Start with the spawn & fish the entire year until the next spawn, I promise your bite detection & hookup ratio will increase two fold!

 

Exactly.  I think years ago Catt and I talked about this before in a topic.  Night fishing will teach you how to feel and fish a lure especially jigs.  Eliminating your sight makes you hone in on feel and concentration.

[WRB]

Exactly.  I think years ago Catt and I talked about this before in a topic.  Night fishing will teach you how to feel and fish a lure especially jigs.  Eliminating your sight makes you hone in on feel and concentration.

Couldn't agree more with the exception the OP is a bank fisherman, easy to night fish from a boat, not so easy or safe at night for the bank anglers.

Tom

[Team9nine]

 

I recall Tom posting that (I'm paraphrasing): A. Over 90% of jig strikes go undetected by the average angler, and that, B. He (Tom) can detect at least some of the missed strikes and can try to catch those particular missed bass.

 

My problem is that I'm feeling only two or three half-bites or might-have-been-bites for every jig fish I catch (I'm not even sure these are bites to begin with). I almost always fish the same weight jig, and fish jigs a fair percentage of time on the water. I'm pretty familiar with the bottom I'm fishing. I'm watching and feeling the line, which is a premium fluorocarbon.

 

So, obviously I'm missing bites. How can I improve my strike detection ratio?

 

 

 

 

Now, Tom tells me jigs and worms are more appealing than swimbaits for neutral bass. So I should be catching more big fish on jigs than swimbaits. (Worms are well, another can of worms. Never caught anything really big on them, maybe I'm missing worm bites too.) But I'm not.

 

No offense here, but there are 4 pages of replies and a whole lot of worry over what is nothing but assumptions on your part at this point. You have no way of knowing if you're missing any jig bites at all, outside of the possible flubbed hookset now and then on what you were certain was a bite. Even if you did, there's not much you can do about it. Even the pros couldn't detect some bites when scuba divers went underwater and watched them fish (we've all seen the videos and read the stories). You only have so much control over the situation. If you're using good equipment and are comfortable with your skills and awareness in this regard, don't worry so much about what may not even be taking place underwater. 

 

Similarly, the concern over a lack of big "neutral" jig bass is again, based on an assumption. A "bass is a bass" to a certain degree, but local waters, forage, weather, etc. trump that. In every environment, bass have to adapt to the situation they're in. You live 2500 miles away from Tom on opposite ends of the country. The expectation that your big fish percentages on a given bait should match his, or follow some prescribed formula, seems a bit silly. Some lakes are simply not good jig lakes. Maybe your bass suspend much of the year. Maybe they're highly baitfish oriented. Maybe because you bank fish, the areas you can reach aren't conducive to a good jig bite.

 

You are obviously doing something right if you're catching multiple bass over 7 lbs. for your area of the country. I'd be focusing more on what IS working and how I might be able to expand on or better capitalize it, than trying to figure out why something is not working as well as you think it should, IMHO.

 

-T9

[deep]

Hey T9, thanks for your input, and I really mean it. About being shorebound, it's by choice. First off, I really only fish two reservoirs, both under 50 acres (smaller than Dixon for you Cali guys). One is closed to ANY kind of watercraft. The other doesn't have a boat ramp, but you can carry your boat into the water. Which is exactly what I did for about two years, when I had a kayak. I sold it, because I found I was catching as least as many fish from the banks, and definitely much bigger fish. (Both reservoirs have very good shoreline access all around.)

Now that I know a little more about fishing, I'm tempted to own a kayak once again, just to have different casting angles, and the help of a fishfinder. Won't help me any with the first lake though.

Almost all reservoirs round here are closed after dark, except one or two. I'll try there (next year) once the weather warms up a little.

[WRB]

Most of the time for me a jig bite is intuitive, meaning I am anticipating a strike where I know the bass are located during the retrieve. Catt mentioned a slight pressure difference or resistance to the line and you better be focused to set the hook instantly. Big worms give you more time than a jig, lots of soft plastic for the bass to chew on, same with soft swimbaits. When a bass eats a jig and keeps it in it's mouth, you shouldn't miss that strike. Bass are very aggressive at night and eat jigs most of the time without spitting them out quickly, lot easier to detect a strike when the bass really wants the jig, in lieu of striking it and rejecting it.

Tom