Having trouble fishing jigs

[scaleface]

I often hop the jig all the way back to the boat .

[J Francho]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

The only time I'll wait that long is casting a jig on deep water structure!

Yeah, I agree with that. Up here, dragging a football jig is the way, and that is a really slow presentation. Not really anything like the usual summer jigging in weeds and trees. 

[hawgenvy]

There are all these subtle bites we never even know about. Well, maybe some people do. But even they get fooled most of the time -- so say the experts that observe people bass fishing while scuba diving. Believe me, those guys must do a lot of underwater laughing -- at us. Anyway, these bites we never feel don't do us no harm nor no good. It's like they never even happened. My point is some things in life you just can't worry too much about.

Now, I've had some darn good luck jig fishing by feeling those bites that I can feel and settin' that hook hard into that tough jaw. Eventually you'll find a day or spot where they're suckin' down jigs and you'll feel them and catch those ones and you'll start to find it easy and very productive to fish a jig.  And you'll get your confidence, and then I'll bet you'll get better at it too. The other thing I want to say is that some people say you gotta set the jig hook immediately but I've pulled too many jigs out the mouth of babes that way and so I like to wait one short second and then slam it home. Maybe my jigs are just more delicious than everybody else's.

[Josh Smith]

23 hours ago, J Francho said:

Then you're missing bites when you aren't sight fishing.  I'd say more than half my bites come on the initial drop, if I'm fishing active fish.  Generally that's all I'm looking for.  I that fails, then I slow it down, and try to "finesse" a bite.  Also, by initial drop I just mean the moments after the jig hits the water and drops to the target.  It may be the first cast, or the 25th cast to that target.  Often times, you cant really hop a jig around in submerged timber, under a dock, or in heavy weeds.  I'm not even so sure I'm emulating a crayfish, though it looks like that to *me*.  Most of the time I think the bass just reacts to a vulnerable prey item.  I don't know if I'm that great a jig fisherman, but I use them a lot, and I don't overthink the fishing part nearly as much as the consideration I put into what type of jig I'm going to use.

I'm probably not, but only because I tend to start jigs off where the probability of there being a fish is low.  For example, if there's a tree in the water, I cast over that tree, drag the jig onto the tree, and let it fall into the water.  Then, I set the hook because I figure a fish will be on that second drop.  If there's no fish on, then it's just a hop.  I guess this could be considered the first drop, though, and if so, then I generally do not miss them because I assume a fish is on.

The lake where I largemouth fish is so danged overgrown, though, that when I do cast to a target where the bass are, it's unlikely a fish would see it during the first drop.

I have no doubt that you're correct on the majority of non-overgrown lakes, though.  This lake is not typical and I sometimes forget that.  It's thick salad.

Josh

[J Francho]

Not sure how you know there isn't a fish where you cast to, if you're not sight fishing.  I just cast to where I'm casting to.  Most of my lakes are overgrown just after spawn.  It doesn't really matter, but unless you're throwing them on the bank, and hopping them in the water (excellent technique for frogs and rats), I just don't assume there isn't a fish there.  My goal is to have the jig enter the water quietly (if possible) and glide down in front of a fish. Sometimes you have change jigs or trailers to adjust ROF and/profile that they prefer.  Sometimes you have to do this 20 times, and on the 21st drop, they bite.  I definitely use and recommend your idea to cast beyond the area you want to fish with moving baits, either letting them sink or dive to depth so they are in the bite zone when they go by the fish.  But "drop baits" like jigs and punch rigs and the like, are that - drop in their face baits.  A traditional Texas rigged worm, that's also where I'd go beyond where I wanted fish, but alas, many times that worm never makes it to the bottom before BOOM. 

I'm not gonna tell you you're wrong, but I'm gonna tell you try and think like this for a day or month, and see if it improves your bites.  I don't think I'm in the minority among successful jig fishers when I make these suggestions.  Try it with a different philosophy, see what happens.  Assume you're getting bit a second or two after the bait hits the water.  Be ready for the *tap* 'cause that's all it is on a slack line.

[Senko lover]

The first jig fish I ever caught, I didn't feel at it at all until my rod doubled over; thankfully it was an energetic little thing or else I never would have caught it. It got easier from then on.

One thing that really helps is keeping your thumb and pointer finger on the line at all times when dragging a jig or working it really slowly. I'm right handed and keep the fingers of my left hand on it while working it. Hopping and swimming a jig quickly, I don't usually do that. But it helps with an ultra-slow presentation.

Jigs are awesome, there's just some misconceptions about them.

[WRB]

90+% of my jig strikes occur within 10' of the spot it landed on the bottom, if it gets to the bottom. Unless I know some structure or cover lies between me outside of 10' or so it's retrieved and make another cast. It's more important to make more casts at different angles then soak a jig. I don't have the patients to let a jig sit still for 30 seconds, 10 to 15 and then I'am shaking it, not 30 unless I am working on a rare backlash.

Tom

 

[WRB]

On April 29, 2016 at 8:02 PM, BaitMonkey1984 said:

I like to power fish but my strength is really soft plastics. I am an alright stick with a senko or a chigger craw. And after years and 1000s of bites I can detect the bite on those baits and set the hook vis a vis muscle memory. Despite that, I still struggle with a Jig. I got a little better last year and I think two things helped. One is I made sure to trim the weed guard making it softer and used smaller trailers. Secondly, like others started I slowed down. Soaked a jig. Got me more bites, hope it helps you out too. 

I will share a secret with you but don't tell anyone.

Use your Chigger craw as a trailer on a spider jig.

Weld Yamamoto spider skirt; cut into 2 skirts and weld it onto the head end of your 3" or 4" Chigger craw. Use a plain 1/4 to 3/8 oz jig with the spider/Chigger craw.....killer combo!

Tom

[Choporoz]

Since I saw underwater footage videos of bass staring at lures for up to a minute before taking them, I was able to leave a lure in one place for about 3 seconds....no patience whatsoever....now I can wiggle a drop shot or shakey head for at least 6 or 7 seconds at a time.

 

Check out Lake Fork Guy's smallie drop shot video....gives you new appreciation for what's going on with the fish down there

[Catt]

If y'all are talking casting a jig then yes I'll pause for 15-30 seconds between each time I move it. 

When fishing deep water structure I let my jig settle to the bottom, wait 15-30 seconds, short stroke 3 times in rapid succession (Like a crawfish), pause, repeat all the way back to the boat. This is the same way I fish a Texas Rig on structure!

I've caught em straight under the boat with this technique!

[Josh Smith]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Not sure how you know there isn't a fish where you cast to, if you're not sight fishing.  I just cast to where I'm casting to.  Most of my lakes are overgrown just after spawn.  It doesn't really matter, but unless you're throwing them on the bank, and hopping them in the water (excellent technique for frogs and rats), I just don't assume there isn't a fish there.  My goal is to have the jig enter the water quietly (if possible) and glide down in front of a fish. Sometimes you have change jigs or trailers to adjust ROF and/profile that they prefer.  Sometimes you have to do this 20 times, and on the 21st drop, they bite.  I definitely use and recommend your idea to cast beyond the area you want to fish with moving baits, either letting them sink or dive to depth so they are in the bite zone when they go by the fish.  But "drop baits" like jigs and punch rigs and the like, are that - drop in their face baits.  A traditional Texas rigged worm, that's also where I'd go beyond where I wanted fish, but alas, many times that worm never makes it to the bottom before BOOM. 

I'm not gonna tell you you're wrong, but I'm gonna tell you try and think like this for a day or month, and see if it improves your bites.  I don't think I'm in the minority among successful jig fishers when I make these suggestions.  Try it with a different philosophy, see what happens.  Assume you're getting bit a second or two after the bait hits the water.  Be ready for the *tap* 'cause that's all it is on a slack line.

Yessir; I generally try to cast onto the bank, or onto a log, and sometimes, when using strong braid, I cast over a low branch and let it drop quietly into the water.

A year or two back I was looking for jigs that had floating trailers that I could tailor to a very slow rate of fall because I figured they should be hit on the drop.  I found these jigs and trailers, but haven't really used them.  The trailers are very hook resistant and hard to put on.

You know, I have a lot of violent strikes on with topwater on that lake, just before or just after the first twitch.  I agree with you that I should have strikes on falling jigs.  This is why I believe that the underwater foliage is just too thick.  The 2007 lake report states that the bass have trouble growing because they can't effectively hunt baitfish in this grass in this particular lake.

I will do as you suggest, however, and try this again for a while.  Conditions may have changed.

Regards,

Josh

[TxHawgs]

I love these jig threads, reading everyone's advice and techniques. After moving to Tx and fishing Fork I was introduced to a guide who is known to be very proficient at catching LM on Fork with jigs, and this is what he taught me. Position the boat in the creek channel and cast the jig up onto the flats, which are just covered with stumps and slowly drag stop drag the jig across the flat and down the creek bank. He said the bass will be sitting there and the jig will sneak up on them come over a root and fall next to them out of nowhere and bam reaction strike.

[Josh Smith]

2 hours ago, TxHawgs said:

I love these jig threads, reading everyone's advice and techniques. After moving to Tx and fishing Fork I was introduced to a guide who is known to be very proficient at catching LM on Fork with jigs, and this is what he taught me. Position the boat in the creek channel and cast the jig up onto the flats, which are just covered with stumps and slowly drag stop drag the jig across the flat and down the creek bank. He said the bass will be sitting there and the jig will sneak up on them come over a root and fall next to them out of nowhere and bam reaction strike.

This is why I consider a jig to be a lure I move with the reel and not the rod.  Dragging looks like a foraging crawdad, while popping it looks like a crawdad trying to get away.

Josh 

[Catt]

39 minutes ago, Josh Smith said:

This is why I consider a jig to be a lure I move with the reel and not the rod.  Dragging looks like a foraging crawdad, while popping it looks like a crawdad trying to get away.

Josh 

Ever watch a bass attack a crawfish?

The second that crawfish flips its tail leaving the bottom bam! Its go bass all over it!

[Turkey sandwich]

There's some really good jig fishing info on here.  The one piece of advice that I haven't seen posted that every beginner jig/T-rig fisherman I've ever fished with has made has to do with mechanics.  Jigs (with exceptions of swim jigs) are not movement baits like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc.  To feel the bottom, maintain a natural presentation, feel bites, etc, you need to get used to using your rod tip to move the jig, impart action, etc.  The reel only really exists to pick up line 90% of the time.  If you're using your reel for the majority of your movement, you're not creating strikes, learning to feel, or letting your rod do its job. 

[Josh Smith]

Ever watch a bass attack a crawfish?

The second that crawfish flips its tail leaving the bottom bam! Its go bass all over it!

Yes, Sir, that's why I do it! ?

Josh

[Catt]

29 minutes ago, Josh Smith said:

Yes, Sir, that's why I do it! ?

Josh

When a crawfish feel threatened it flip its tail which propels itself forward (well actually backwards), it does this 3-4 times really fast, then stops, & goes into a fighting stance.

This fleeing reaction is irritating to the bass which is why I short stroke a jig or T-rig off the bottom.

When casting a jig or T-rig two ways of moving them that are highly productive are stroking (hopping) or dragging.

Best ways to learn feeling a jig/t-rig bite is to fish em & fish em at night!