Starting jig fishing

[pondbassin101]

So I've been wanting to finally pick up a jig and don't know where to start

 

 

I basically don't know where to start, what kind of jigs do I get?

[gardnerjigman]

What kind of water are you fishing? Depth, structure, bottom composition etc. Football, casting or finesse is where I would start. Finesse will give you the general idea of things and works in most structure just fine.

[pondbassin101]

Mostly fairly shallow residential ponds for now with limited structure, some rocks, and soft bottom with a good amount of vegetation

[MIbassyaker]

To be honest, I have never been entirely sure what is vs. is not a "casting jig"... I'd just start with a 3/8oz arky head -- you can swim, flip, cast, skip do whatever with it.

[WRB]

My suggestion is Sieberts EnRaged series jigs on sale under $3 and is site sponsor offering member discounts.

3/8 oz in this series jig would be ideal for you.

Tom

[Bruce424]

Try a finesse jig on the lighter side. 5/16 or 3/8. Finesse jig might help ya get a feel for the jig bite...maybe.

[pondbassin101]

14 minutes ago, WRB said:

My suggestion is Sieberts EnRaged series jigs on sale under $3 and is site sponsor offering member discounts.

3/8 oz in this series jig would be ideal for you.

Tom

 

They have like literally 40 skirt colors,what would be the most all around color? I know it depends but at least something

[HeavyDluxe]

Jigs have become my go-to lure... I fish Siebert Outdoors 3/8oz brush jigs (with various hooks, depending on what's on sale) exclusively.  They're just about as close to an all-terrain jig as you can get.

 

I'm sure Mike at Siebert will help you with color recommendations, if you want.  Or ask here.

[pondbassin101]

1 minute ago, HeavyDluxe said:

Jigs have become my go-to lure... I fish Siebert Outdoors 3/8oz brush jigs (with various hooks, depending on what's on sale) exclusively.  They're just about as close to an all-terrain jig as you can get.

 

I'm sure Mike at Siebert will help you with color recommendations, if you want.  Or ask here.

 

There are many types of jigs and about 50 different skirt colors, most of which are pretty similar. It's gonna take some thinking and narrowing down, I'm on a limited budget and I don't want to go out and spend $50 trying to figure out what jig works best for me

[HeavyDluxe]

Let me offer this as a way to start... I buy these colors, and only these colors, every time.  Every. Time.

 

 

[pondbassin101]

Would colors cover pretty much most fishing situations?

[WRB]

Siebert offers a color called 24/7, he obviously thinks that is a everyday color. Sunfish or bluegill would also be good pond colors, all ponds have them. Trailers I suggest Rage bug or Berkley 3" Chigger craw in green pumpkin.

Tom

[pondbassin101]

1 minute ago, WRB said:

Sunfish or bluegill would also be good pond colors, all ponds have them.

 

It's pretty much the main forage in ponds. And how is that a 24/7 color? It's pretty much black/blue/purple, I don't think that would work in clearer water. More natural all around color?

[HeavyDluxe]

I think we worry way too much about color... Sure, there are times when hot-pink-and-almond-butter lures are catching while someone with lowly green pumpkin isn't.  But those times are exceedingly rare.

 

Think of what the fish in your ponds likely eat:  Sunfish, craws, maybe some shad?  If you have colors that approximate some/all of those (with maybe lighter or darker variants for clear/muddy water), you should be all set.  I have black-n-blue, a dark craw color, a lighter craw color (that also is 'perch-y'), and then a bluegill color.  That seems to just about cover it for me.  

 

I think someone with just black-n-blue or green pumpkin is going to do just fine, too.

[MIbassyaker]

There aren't any bad colors -- a black, brown, or green jig with or without one or more highlight colors (orange, chartreuse, purple, blue) will do just fine most of the time.  I am partial to the Bluegill, Bream, and Green Pumpkin/purple patterns from Siebert.

[pondbassin101]

I think a black and blue for dirtier ponds, bluegill, and a brownish color would pretty much cover it

[MIbassyaker]

5 minutes ago, pondbassin101 said:

I think a black and blue for dirtier ponds, bluegill, and a brownish color would pretty much cover it

 

Bam. There you go. The Black/Brown/Amber is a great all-around brown. Or PBJ.

[jr231]

Bitsy bug and rage chunk... So fool proof my gf landed 4 bass with it last time we went... And I was catching them on a 1/4 oz SK bluegill swim jig with a menace trailer... Cast and reel slowly was all we were doing. And we were getting hammered .

 

I'm giving credit to the active fish and rage products 

[wet_dream]

I fairly new to jig fishing and freshwater bass fishing in general. I grabbed a bunch of Strike King's bitsy bugs when they were a $1 each at Walmart to start. I've had the most success on the green pumpkin/brown jig.

 

It can get overwhelming with all the color combos, but stick to the basic colors that a few have already mentioned:

 

-Green Pumpkin/(Brown/Purple)

-Black/Blue

 

Once you have those base colors, you can experiment with different trailers to add colors. Much cheaper way to try different color combos is to buy different color plastics at about $3-$5 a bag, than to order jigs in different colors and sizes.

[Munkin]

36 minutes ago, pondbassin101 said:

 

There are many types of jigs and about 50 different skirt colors, most of which are pretty similar. It's gonna take some thinking and narrowing down, I'm on a limited budget and I don't want to go out and spend $50 trying to figure out what jig works best for me

 

Use the same color jig as you do soft plastics to start then expand from there.

 

Allen

[frosty]

21 minutes ago, HeavyDluxe said:

 

I think we worry way too much about color...

 

I think you're correct. I've heard to always use natural colors in clear water, but I've been catching them like crazy on a yellow and purple jerkbait. I'm almost certain there's no yellow and purple fish in Indiana unless they are in an aquarium somewhere!

[pondbassin101]

What type of jig head is all around? Should I get swim jigs, finnesse jigs, or football jigs?

[ThePolkFolk]

http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Extreme-Arky-Jig-1000.htm

Black and blue + Green Pumpkin are good starter colors.

Arky is a good all around head but you may want to look into more of his products.

I personally like the Dredge Brush series.

[WRB]

1 hour ago, pondbassin101 said:

 

It's pretty much the main forage in ponds. And how is that a 24/7 color? It's pretty much black/blue/purple, I don't think that would work in clearer water. More natural all around color?

24/7 has bluegill colors and crawdad colors, it's similar to June bug a good choice for both clear and off colored water. Trailers with combinations of brown and blue, black and blue or purple with greens all work with it. It will catch bass in several different types of ponds and lakes.

Tom

 

[pondbassin101]

20 minutes ago, WRB said:

24/7 has bluegill colors and crawdad colors, it's similar to June bug a good choice for both clear and off colored water. Trailers with combinations of brown and blue, black and blue or purple with greens all work with it. It will catch bass in several different types of ponds and lakes.

Tom

 

 

Do 24/7, black and blue, bluegill, and craw color/brownish would have me covered on colors pretty much anywhere?