Is it wierd to like skirted jigs even though I've never caught a fish with one?

[detroithiker]

I have loved them for the entire 2 years I have been fishing for some reason I just can't understand.

I may never catch a fish with one, I have tried for hours and hours and not a single fish yet, but they seem like a great lure any way.

Am I crazy for liking a lure I can't catch fish with?

I am only posting this because I thought it make people laugh a little.

[Fish4bigfish]

Definitely made me laugh! Probably not putting that jig in the right place. I thought I was fishing "heavy cover" until a friend took me out. He was casting his jig way back in the pennywort in places that looked so overgrown I figured there was no way a bass could live back there. I was wrong! 

[Wayne P.]

Guys do seem to like to look at skirts. 

[S. Sass]

40 minutes ago, Wayne P. said:

Guys do seem to like to look at skirts. 

Only the experienced ones know to look past the skirt. 

[Tracker22]

I'm with ya. I've got a plano full of them and I never use them. I'm always too busy trying to catch fish on my confidence baits.

[Fish4bigfish]

3 minutes ago, Tracker22 said:

I'm with ya. I've got a plano full of them and I never use them. I'm always too busy trying to catch fish on my confidence baits.

Maybe a poor choice on confidence baits lol how does one consistently catch big bass and NOT use jigs....

[beardown34]

i saw a beauty in a skirt and was about to fall in love until i looked underneath and found a big hook.

 

[MassYak85]

I haven't caught a ton of fish on them myself, but I think a jig+trailer is one of the only lures I could throw all day, catching nothing, and still have confidence in for that day. 

[Tracker22]

3 hours ago, Fish4bigfish said:

Maybe a poor choice on confidence baits lol how does one consistently catch big bass and NOT use jigs....

Yeah, it's hard to try new baits when your already catching fish.

[Preytorien]

Some of the replies to this thread are cracking me up....

But yes. I have a whole box of Mike Sieberts jigs....daggum works of art is what they are I tell ya' - but no matter when, what, or how I throw em' I never do any good. But sometimes I just like to try one, and I figure I should throw the best jigs out there

[hawgenvy]

Are you getting bit and missing the fish, or not getting bit?

[everythingthatswims]

You're doing it wrong

[Molay1292]

6 hours ago, Preytorien said:

Some of the replies to this thread are cracking me up....

But yes. I have a whole box of Mike Sieberts jigs....daggum works of art is what they are I tell ya' - but no matter when, what, or how I throw em' I never do any good. But sometimes I just like to try one, and I figure I should throw the best jigs out there

Most fish will eat even an ugly crawdad...

[lakeannaangler]

Probably not putting them in the right spot.

[Catt]

One mistake anglers make is believing jigs are only for flipping/pitching heavy cover.

They are highly productive in sparse, scattered, & isolated cover.

Keep chunking em..it will all come together!

[WRB]

A good friend of mine fished jigs a year without catching anything. One day he was eating lunch and made cast set the rod down to eat then picked it up to move the jig and his line started to move, set the hook on his 1st jig bass. Without moving his  boat and using a long pause stop & go retrieve he caught a 5 bass limit. Learn to not only slow down, change pace,  be quite and saturate a good location with casts.

Good luck.

Tom

[riverbasser]

A jig was the first purchase I made as a kid to cabelas out the magazine. Maybe 10 yrs old and never caught a fish. Once I got bit on bass fishing I got some more and I read about them and fish many times without any fish. Then one day someone told me that some bites feel as you move the rod like a leaf stuck on the hook. I caught a bass not long after that and for the next few weeks set the hook into dozens of stumps and dozens of bass before I could tell the difference. It is now the bait I throw 95% of the time. 

I'm willing to bet your getting bites without even knowing it.

[Turtle135]

21 hours ago, detroithiker said:

Am I crazy for liking a lure I can't catch fish with?

short answer: yes

however, when you finally catch a bass on a jig it will cement your affection for life! 

[WRB]

Strike detection is what separates a good bass angler from the rest and it ain't easy. Most bass angers miss a very high percentage of jig strikes, we all detect the aggressive strikes.

Every trip on the water is different trying to determine what the bass want, what depth, what pace or how fast or slow they it to move and that comes after we figure where they are located.

Jigs IMO are the most difficult lure to detect strikes with and the easiest lure to use. Jigs cast easily, don't get snagged as easy as most other lures and bass like bottom bumping lures that icome into their strike zone. The only other lure that is close is a plastic wormor craw on a sliding bullet sinker T-rigged and little more forgiving with strike detection. You should be using both jigs and T-rigged soft plastics and give bass a choice.

Tom

[yonyonson]

Up until last night I had never caught a bass on a jig, I always threw one, but never got lucky. Then last night I landed 3 largies. Now Ill be even more sucked into using jigs.  

[Airman4754]

22 hours ago, Tracker22 said:

I'm with ya. I've got a plano full of them and I never use them. I'm always too busy trying to catch fish on my confidence baits.

Same. I really only use them when I'm trying to cull in a tournament. They are so much less productive than all the other bottom contacts things I use. 

[Fish4bigfish]

20 minutes ago, Mosster47 said:

Same. I really only use them when I'm trying to cull in a tournament. They are so much less productive than all the other bottom contacts things I use. 

What other bottom contact baits are you using that are way more productive than jigs?

[Airman4754]

18 minutes ago, Fish4bigfish said:

What other bottom contact baits are you using that are way more productive than jigs?

Drop shot, shaky heads, jig rig, keitech (I fish mine on bottom), and C-rig.

My drop shot to jig ratio is about 20:1. I used to hate drop shotting but since I've modified it to the way I fish with gear and terminal tackle it is ridiculously effective now.

If I'm on a point I'd rather drag a 10" lizard over it. If I'm spot fishing in winter I'll catch ten times as many on a shaky head. During the pre-spawn a jig rig with a Rage anything or Crazy Flapper is insanely productive. If you need to grind out some fish a Keitech will get you there. 

I get it, jigs catch good fish and they do. I've caught quite a few picture worthy fish on them. If I'm out to have fun and catch as many as I can a jig will never be part of that plan. 

[the reel ess]

23 hours ago, Fish4bigfish said:

Maybe a poor choice on confidence baits lol how does one consistently catch big bass and NOT use jigs....

One starts by fishing where there are big bass. If the average is good, you'll catch big ones. My buddy sent me a pic this morning of a 6.2 lb he caught on a 4" do-nothing worm.

My PB came on the frog in my avatar and I've caught a lot over 5 lb. on Trick Worms, Rat L Traps and T rigged craws.

[riverbasser]

4 minutes ago, Mosster47 said:

Drop shot, shaky heads, jig rig, keitech (I fish mine on bottom), and C-rig.

My drop shot to jig ratio is about 20:1. I used to hate drop shotting but since I've modified it to the way I fish with gear and terminal tackle it is ridiculously effective now.

If I'm on a point I'd rather drag a 10" lizard over it. If I'm spot fishing in winter I'll catch ten times as many on a shaky head. During the pre-spawn a jig rig with a Rage anything or Crazy Flapper is insanely productive. If you need to grind out some fish a Keitech will get you there. 

I get it, jigs catch good fish and they do. I've caught quite a few picture worthy fish on them. If I'm out to have fun and catch as many as I can a jig will never be part of that plan. 

I believe that and it just proves to me that the guy behind the bait is what catches the fish since my opinion is almost the opposite when it comes to jigs. There are no magic lures or presentations that catch all bass. The guy in the boat might tho