Jig Fishing

[Bass fisherman 707]

Fairly new to jigs. Any tips on fishing one? Thanks!

[Bluebasser86]

Tons of good jig fishing info here

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/12403-jig-fishing-questions/

[smalljaw67]

Jigs are the easiest lures to fish but also one of the harest to learn because it isn't a bait that is going to get numbers of fish and you have to catch fish in order to gain confidence. For anglers wanting to learn the jig, like my grandson, I would get them started with either a 1/4oz arky jig or a 3/16oz finesse jig and both would have either a small craw or chunk type trailer. Fish visible cover that you know holds fish in order to get a bite, this will help gain confidence and you'll understand how a bite feels but the confidence is more important. If you have an area that you know has a rock bottom I suggest making a few cast and just close your eyes and feel the vibrations in the rod as you slowly drag the jig across the bottom, learning what the jig feels like is a big deal as strikes will sometimes just be a loss of contact with the bottom or it can feel as just weight on your line as if you snagged some weeds, so learn what it feels like. The reason I say to start with a 3/16oz and 1/4oz jigs is the smaller size appeals to more fish, a large jig will often get ignored by small fish so it may take time to get a bite and to learn a jig you need to catch fish so a jig that will appeal to even small fish is a better choice.

[deep]

Re: trimming skirts. This is something I learnt from Matt Allen, and found to work well for me. Do NOT trim bucktails, by the way.

 

I like the longest strands to be no longer than 3/4" past the hook. Get yourself a pair of thinning scissors (very cheap)- works good on silicone; rubber, not so much. (But I doubt you're thinking about rubber or hair jigs.) Separate the two skirt layers. For the outer layer, I do a three stage cut. One-third of the strand gets the finesse cut (pretty close to the head so that they stand out), one-third gets cut short, but not as short. Half of the inner layer gets cut short too, maybe just around the length of the hook shank. The idea is to get the different strands to have different lengths and give the bait a non-uniform look.

 

Oh, and in case you didn't know, out of the pack jigs catch fish too.

[Catt]

K.I.S.S.

Of all the lures in an anglers arsenal the jig is the simplest and the most completed by anglers.

Denny Brauer and Gary Klien are two of the top jig fishermen on planet earth; their jig boxs are simple with both selecting black/blue #1 and a 3/8 oz. #1.

I would select one manufacture for your jigs and one for you trailers. Stick with them for now and then later add your own personal repertoire of confusion.

[Rhino68W]

Siebert Outdoors. Make an order. Top quality jigs at a price that can't be beat!

[KritterGitter]

In my experience, which is limited, you gotta figure out what type of area(depth, bottom composition, vegatation etc.) your gonna be fishing and that's gonna define your jig head choice. From there color, most popular choices, including myself, are black n blue variations and green/pumpkin variations. Now trailers are going to be a personal choice, brands along with opinions vary greatly, I would say whichever you go with match the color jig, not a standard but a good starting point. I personally use Netbait paca craws, blue and green variations, normally with their claws dipped in some kinda scent.

 

Jigs are IMO the most versatile lure out there and can be fished in a variety of situations, styles and across the seasons, I normally pitch them into cover or structure and it would be a safe bet 95% of my bites come on the fall.

 

If your having trouble deciding which ones to get started with, Mike over at Seibert outdoors (link on r/h side of this page) can help you get started. I pm'ed him about my location and what type of area Ill be fishing and he directed me to the correct jig style best suited for my fishing. I placed my first order with him shortly after that and within a few weeks I was catching bass left and right on his jigs. Now once again IMO for the money they are the best jigs out there.

 

Jigs are tough to learn and it may take awhile to get decent at but once you get the hang of it youll always have one tied on.

[CDMeyer]

When I first started in jig fishing it was crazy over wheeling.....

So I just had to get over the mental hump

 

I always match the color of my trailers to the color of my jig, unless I see the need to add some color (for instance a neon trailer)

I am not big on trimming the skirt of the jig until I put the trailer on.  If the skirt obstructs the trailer I then will trim the skirt around the trailer

[NAbassman]

If I was you I would buy jigs in black and blue and brown,they work anywhere across the country. I would suggest looking at knockoutjigs.com, those are some great jigs and cheaper than most. The guy that owns it fishes alot of tourneys on lake guntersville and he does it on side,but his company is blowing up and will be a big name one day.