Football Jig Secret Formula?

[Bass_Fanatic]

I use Jewel baits 3/4 oz fb jigs on Toledo Bend and have caught 1000's of fish one me with no hookup problems...

[martintheduck]

I personally lose fish on those deep throat hooks. I think they're a gimmick. Try a regular football jig with a standard 3/0 hook. And I do a sweeping hook set. Deep footballs on structure is my go to summer routine.

 

 

Ever since I changed to a deep throat hook for my flipping jig, I have never had a fish spit a hook. **knocking on wood**

[martintheduck]

X2 on what Bluebasser and GoBig penned.

 

You have to understand the physics of jig fishing, especially in Louisiana where the bass are larger and meaner than the rest of the world, other than for Florida and Texas.

 

The line problem can magnify the hook set problem as noted. You want to start cranking in the line as you set the hook. and keep the line tight.

 

You are using braid, right? So there is no or very little line stretch.

 

Depending on how the bass takes the jig the jig's hook may penetrate the bass' mouth on the top, which you want. Or, it can just be easily slipped out of the bass' mouth due to the angle it entered the flesh and the place the hook finally ended up in the bass' mouth. And with braid you can actually pull the hook out of the bass' mouth.

 

The distance to the jig, the depth, structure, grass/rocks/wood/sand/clay bottoms, the direction the bass swims off with the jig, the way the bass takes the jig in her mouth, the rod power, the time it takes for you to figure out that something is amiss and to set the hook - take in line - and start to reel all play a factor in your hook set.

 

That is part of jig fishing that no one has figured out how to master.

 

So what do you do to solve this problem?  It is actually simple.

 

Wear purple and gold clothes and yell "Geaux Tigers!" on every jig hook set. You will never loose a fish!!!!

 

 

I use fluro right now and am going to swap to braid with a 30lb leader if needed. 

[Smokinal]

swap to braid with a 30lb leader.

That's your fix

[martintheduck]

That's your fix

 

 

I imagine it's going to help. 

[WRB]

I agree with Catt and will add the majority of jig anglers don't detect the majority of jig strikes from big bass.

Proof is in the catching. Anyone can detect a strike when a bass eats the jig and swims off with it and that doesn't happen very often. Strike detection is what separates jig anglers who catch big bass consistantly from those who don't.

Tom

[Catt]

No Tom it can not be operator error!

It has to be the tackle

[martintheduck]

I agree with Catt and will add the majority of jig anglers don't detect the majority of jig strikes from big bass.

Proof is in the catching. Anyone can detect a strike when a bass eats the jig and swims off with it and that doesn't happen very often. Strike detection is what separates jig anglers who catch big bass consistantly from those who don't.

Tom

 

 

What advice would you give for improving strike detection?

[WRB]

To start with ask yourself if you could detect strikes using tackle 40 years old or 70's vintage.

During the 70's we caught 100's of big bass by using inferior tackle because we didn't rely on rod sensitivity, braid or FC line, we used our skills to detect strikes. Total concentration visualizing what the jig is doing and knowing when it feels different to set the hook.

Can't speak for Catt, my guess he has developed similar skills, knows what it shouldn't feel like or taking too long to recontact structure. I am a line watcher and feeler, running the line over my index finger to feel what is going on with the jig. Today's tackle helps, but no substitute for total concentration, keeping in touch with the jig at all times, extremely sharp hooks, perfect knots and solid hook sets and keeping big bass under control every second. Lapse of concentration misses strikes.

Tom

[Catt]

Feeling a jig bite or Texas rig is not just about sensitivity of your line or rod, even though those two are important. It's about interpretation; you have to ask yourself, what did I just feel?

Denny Brauer was asked what a jig bite feels like, his reply was "I don't know but I can tell you what it does not feel like!"

How do you improve your strike detection, Night Fishing!

I do not mean going out once or twice a year but fish for an entire year at night. You will have a completely new understanding of Texas Rigs, Jigs, & Carolina Rigs.

For 40+ years & 9 months out of the year I've night fished.

On a fairly calm night when casting into 15-20' of water I can feel the thump of a 1/4 oz jig as it hits bottom. Many guys can feel their jig slipping up & over a limb, I feel my line rubbing on the limb before my jig even gets to the limb.

[martintheduck]

Feeling a jig bite or Texas rig is not just about sensitivity of your line or rod, even though those two are important. It's about interpretation; you have to ask yourself, what did I just feel?

Denny Brauer was asked what a jig bite feels like, his reply was "I don't know but I can tell you what it does not feel like!"

How do you improve your strike detection, Night Fishing!

I do not mean going out once or twice a year but fish for an entire year at night. You will have a completely new understanding of Texas Rigs, Jigs, & Carolina Rigs.

For 40+ years & 9 months out of the year I've night fished.

On a fairly calm night when casting into 15-20' of water I can feel the thump of a 1/4 oz jig as it hits bottom. Many guys can feel their jig slipping up & over a limb, I feel my line rubbing on the limb before my jig even gets to the limb.

 

 

I like that. I do a lot of night fishing already but I guess ive never really had much intention of leaning anything about "feel" when i go out there. Will keep this nugget of gold for the coming trips. I also like the tips about concentrating. I know, like many of us, i am sometimes the victim of just being oblivious to whats REALLY going on - I'm just chucking and winding. STAY FOCUSED! Like it!

[Catt]

When I read answers to problems that include lure, line, rod, or reel it pretty much tells me how good they are at jigs & t-rigs.

When I miss a fish it is operator error 99.95% of the time.

Most guys throw a jig/t-rig out there & they drag it, hop it, bump it, or crawl it back while remaining oblivious to what is actually taking place.

Texas rigged plastics & a jig-n-craw are the #1 & #2 most productive lures for both quality/quantity. Yet most anglers refuse to learn how to use them to their full potential.

[WRB]

Have ever watched your jig in the water?

The 1st thing I do whenever using something new to me is watch how it works, how long it takes to fall to the bottom at known depths, etc. Every jig trailer changes how the jig falls and what the action is of that trailer while it's falling, hits the bottom and stops, starts, swims and what the skirt is doing while all this going.

Does your jig stand up without line tension or roll over and lay flat on the bottom. How does it crawl over rocks, through brush over limbs, etc.

You can't visualize what a lure is doing if you haven't studied what it does the way you fish it.

Tom

[Shanes7614]

I agree with Catt and will add the majority of jig anglers don't detect the majority of jig strikes from big bass.

Proof is in the catching. Anyone can detect a strike when a bass eats the jig and swims off with it and that doesn't happen very often. Strike detection is what separates jig anglers who catch big bass consistantly from those who don't.

Tom

How do you fish a jig so well if bass don't eat off the bottom?!?!?

[Catt]

How do you fish a jig so well if bass don't eat off the bottom?!?!?

That's cold

[Shanes7614]

That's cold

I hear the eat exclusively top water when it's cold... Lol