Jig fishing in wind or rain

[scaleface]

3 hours ago, Smokinal said:

I used to palm the reel until I read about the hold that Gary Klein uses; which is to hold the rod just above the reel and have the line run over the top of your index finger. This has made a big difference for me fishing jigs and worms. I feel the bite better and have a better hookset with it too; you have a little better leverage with your hand just an inch or two higher than it is at the reel and being able to feel the line is a great bonus. It's an odd feel at first but once you get used to it, palming the reel on a worm or jig just doesn't feel right now.

Thats the way I always done it . learned with the old fiberglass Lews Speed sticks . If its windy , keep tyhe tip closer to the water not allowing as much bow in your line , use a heavier weight and run the line through the fingers . Lift and drop , weigh the line , if the line feels heavy  , set the hook .

[Catt]

If we have wind &/or rain we have a weather event, most generally a cold or warm front.

We could be experiencing pre-frontal, frontal, or post frontal conditions. 

If it is winter or summer we a talking deep water jigging & if its spring or fall we a talking shallow water jigging.

.All can be a factor!

[Bankbeater]

You just can't watch the line, or feel the bite. You've got to use them together. A lot of times I will feel a thud and have no line movement at all. Other times I don't feel a thing and the line is moving.

[Catt]

2 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

You just can't watch the line, or feel the bite. You've got to use them together. A lot of times I will feel a thud and have no line movement at all. Other times I don't feel a thing and the line is moving.

Guess what y'all?

Everything written here in this thread applies to everyday jig fishing!

[Raul]

2 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

You just can't watch the line, or feel the bite. You've got to use them together. A lot of times I will feel a thud and have no line movement at all. Other times I don't feel a thing and the line is moving.

Yes you are feeling something, when you don't feel anything, the lack of the presence of the bait at the end of your line. 

So what you "feel" or "don't feel" are parts of feel.

[Catt]

3 hours ago, Raul said:

Yes you are feeling something, when you don't feel anything, the lack of the presence of the bait at the end of your line. 

So what you "feel" or "don't feel" are parts of feel.

Denny Brauer was asked what a jig bite felt like, he answered "I don't know but I know what it doesn't feel like!" Went on to say he sets hook on everything that doesn't feel right!

[primetime]

Sometimes on a windy day the fish are more aggressive so if your lucky the strikes will be more violent and easier to detect...I feel like a learn something new and get better with a jig or texas rig every time I go fishing. I can say for certain that somewhere on every lake or pond fish will bite a jig, it usually is on the fall this time of year, sometimes after it soaks, but be prepared at all times to swing...Especially after it starts to fall, I would agree most of my strikes come on the drop, not always the first one but one of the 3 before I get it out and pitch again...I find the easiest strikes to detect are when I pin the jig to the top of the cover and shake it or bang it a few inches...Those strikes are easy to feel, one tick is always good, two ticks is often good but if you come up empty the second tick was the jig being spit back out, and that means a fish is still there. If you feel 2 taps and come up empty, toss it back in and if it will not hit the jig, try a different look like a soft bait etc...Sometimes they are better fish...I like to keep my finger on the line and also watch it, but usually you can feel that something is different, and swings are free...

In the wind sometimes I do better swimming a jig along the edges or if I can find a T shaped area where the weeds block the wind blowing bait against the weeds..Sometimes you can do really well working the edge instead of going deep in the cover when windy...If you can catch them easier that way it is always worth trying. Some Jigs now are great for pitching and swimming so you can kind of do both, same with a pegged texas rig which I lump in the Jig category...