Time to grow up and fish a jig

[NHBull]

Starting with light wire hooks helped me gain confidence and improve my technique.

i also do best with braid and FC leader on a relatively fast reel

[thinkingredneck]

Update:  went a couple hours yesterday and caught a 4 lb..  used an old fashioned Uncle Josh Pork trailer.  Black 1/2 oz jig, crawdad color trailer.  In rip rap.  Lost 3 jigs to hangups.  Fishing from shore.

time to get more jigs !  The bite seems more subtle than on anTexas rig.

[Paul Roberts]

Jigs are easy. Bass eat them. You'll become a jig lover, just like the rest of us.

[Steveo-1969]

On 11/25/2017 at 9:09 PM, Oklahoma Mike said:

Biggest thing for anglers to learn in fishing jigs is detecting bites.

 

Learn to watch your line and set the hook at the slightest deviance. Line jumps, set the hook. Line moves sideways, set the hook. Line stops falling at 6’ but you’re in 15’ of water, set the hook. 

 

As for feeling, over time you will begin to learn how bumping a rock or stump feels versus a bite... in the meantime, when you feel the slightest twitch, swing for the fences. You go to pick it up and feel any weight on it whatsoever, set the hook. 

 

A bass will not always hit it and run. Sometimes the fish will inhale and hold it in the same spot, and you will not even recognize it as a bite. Even anglers with decades of experience in fishing jigs miss a lot of bites, so don’t hesitate to swing away. 

Or the opposite.  You pick it up and it feels like your jig is gone, it's not there any more.  Set the hook!!!

[Turkey sandwich]

It sounds like you're off to a really good start, listening to good advice and building confidence. Cheers!  Like it's been repeated, fishing a jig most of the time is not that different than fishing a Texas Rig, just a different profile.  I think this is probably the easiest and healthiest way to learn one if you're familiar with the other. 

 

As you fish them more and more, you'll learn when to tweak trailers, profiles, size, etc, but the basic rules still hold.  For any kind of brush or vegetation, an Arky head is the way to go.  If you're dealing with small to medium sized rock bottoms, the football head is a better choice. 

 

As for presentations, learning how to flip, pitch and roll cast accurately to visible stuff are all important skills to have.  Also, basic presentations like dragging, stroking, and swinging in current are really important to master. 

 

Swim jigs are slightly different in that most of the time you aren't going to be soaking them on the bottom.  Swim jigs, (and I fish them far less frequently and with less confidence than the others mentioned) to me, are best thought of as a spinnerbait without the blades or thump.  I'll throw them and think about working them horizontally through the water column more than vertically and generally retrieve them along the tops of submerging vegetation, along break lines, etc not much differently than a spinnerbait or lipless crank.  

 

Hopefully this is some good, useful information.  Keep up the good work. Jig fishing rocks!

[Dorado]

As an active shore fisherman, I snag a football jig just about every  time I fish with one. It happens to me 9 out of 10 times it seems. Texas rig - none! if I was fishing with my kayak, could be a different story, but fishing from shore, a jig just gets donated more than catch fish for me. Any other shore fishermen share the same experience? 

[Spy]

44 minutes ago, Dorado said:

As an active shore fisherman, I snag a football jig just about every  time I fish with one. It happens to me 9 out of 10 times it seems. Texas rig - none! if I was fishing with my kayak, could be a different story, but fishing from shore, a jig just gets donated more than catch fish for me. Any other shore fishermen share the same experience? 

And here I thought it was just me! Lost four more over the long weekend and decided that I won't toss another till I have a outfit specifically tailored for the task rather than one of my MH rigs.

 

That's the the problem with shore fishing, you can only tote so much and in thick cover it becomes a nightmare! I generally carry two rods but looks like threes a charm if I want in on the jig game. 

[JustJames]

2 hours ago, Dorado said:

As an active shore fisherman, I snag a football jig just about every  time I fish with one. It happens to me 9 out of 10 times it seems. Texas rig - none! if I was fishing with my kayak, could be a different story, but fishing from shore, a jig just gets donated more than catch fish for me. Any other shore fishermen share the same experience? 

That could be a reason why I don't throw jig a lot since I'm a bank-beater even on kayak or boat. Another reason I remembered loosing a pretty good size fish after first jump. I blame my hookset where I used to with fishing drop shot.

[GoneFishingLTN]

On 11/25/2017 at 6:52 PM, slonezp said:

Tell that to Denny. He won't put it down even if he's not catching them. He has a few zeros that prove that. Only time I saw him throw something other than a jig was on an episode of Zonas show. His first fish was a double digit bass and he threw that whatever that same bait was for the entire episode.  

Where can this be found I looked and no luck 

[r83srock]

On 2017-11-25 at 8:52 AM, Catt said:

Reality Check ?

 

The Jig is one of the most productive lures for fishing heavy cover of any type known to anglers.

 

The Jig is one of the most productive lures for catching larger than average bass.

 

But despite its pure awesomeness the angler must keep in mind there will be days when the bass simply do not want a jig.

 

So to all the young anglers (not chronological but experientially) struggling when casting, flipping, pitching, or punching with the Awesome Jig keep in mind there will be times when the Jig aint gonna be that AWESOME.

Lots of great advice. I learned to fish a plastic worm years ago, its my dads all time favorite bait. My uncle who has become a very successful tournament fisherman taught us both how to fish a jig. I learned early on that fishing a jig different than fishing a worm, but not that much different. You can use your worm tackle, but when the bite happens, often times it can be a slightly different feel. You typically catch larger bass with it, and those fish will often times bite without you knowing it, so paying attention to subtle changes in the bait is huge. I totally agree with picking a couple weights and colors. The Arkie style jigs you purchased are what I learned with, and they are really all you need. I would stay with those baits and learn them well. Fish it where you would a worm and you will get good results in time. Swim it, hop it, drag it, let it sit, fish it like a frog on top of slop, there’s no limit.

[slonezp]

1 hour ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Where can this be found I looked and no luck 

Zona and Brauer were on Falcon Lake. Guess I was wrong. It was on a black and blue jig

 

 

[Catt]

Denny Brauer won the 1998 Bassmaster Classic at High Rock Lake, N.C. flipping a Texas Rigged tube bait.

 

[Turkey sandwich]

7 hours ago, Dorado said:

As an active shore fisherman, I snag a football jig just about every  time I fish with one. It happens to me 9 out of 10 times it seems. Texas rig - none! if I was fishing with my kayak, could be a different story, but fishing from shore, a jig just gets donated more than catch fish for me. Any other shore fishermen share the same experience? 

This is super common early on, but it's easy to fix so long as you just put in a little time.  

 

- Know your tools and when to use them.  Football heads are great in pebbles to medium sized rock. Once we start talking boulders or rip rap, it might be time to swap them out for a drop shot. I will rarely fish them in wood unless I'm just way too lazy to tie on an Arkie jig.  Similarly, Arkie heads fish great in most cover, but also have limitations around certain kinds of rock.  Accept that fishing in cover may mean lost tackle (especially from shore where you can't troll or paddle over to free yourself), but using the right jig will minimize this.

- From shore especially, learn using the lightest jig you can while still allowing you to feel the bottom.  It'll give you a slower rate of fall, allow you to cast without dropping a bomb on the water, and give you more forgiveness when you're learning to to feel your way through cover/snags.  Small jigs like Bitsy Bugs have caught me both, smallmouth and largemouth over 19".

- As you're working the jig, try to visualize it moving through the cover as opposed to blindly reeling or dragging.  Think about every movement having a purpose.  I've also heard BASS Elites refer to this as trying to sneak the lure through the cover so that fish won't notice it, and think it's a good way to visualize it. In most instances, if you're moving the jig slowly with your rod and not your reel while emphasizing feeling everything on a tight/semi-tight line, you'll find that you're snagging a lot less.

- Lastly, consider the immediate offshore structure when you're fishing a jig and realize that you're always going to be pulling it "up hill".  If you're fishing steep banks with rip-rap or other super snaggy snags keep in mind that you're dragging a piece of lead up hill through it and that most bottom contact baits may not be the most ideal for that scenario and you may be better served fishing a crankbait.  

 

Once you get the basics down, you'll be shocked what kinds of crazy water you can work a jig through without snagging.  

[scaleface]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

Denny Brauer won the 1998 Bassmaster Classic at High Rock Lake, N.C. flipping a Texas Rigged tube bait.

 

He also won a BASS event on a crankbait.

[Dorado]

8 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

 

- As you're working the jig, try to visualize it moving through the cover as opposed to blindly reeling or dragging.  Think about every movement having a purpose.  I've also heard BASS Elites refer to this as trying to sneak the lure through the cover so that fish won't notice it, and think it's a good way to visualize it. In most instances, if you're moving the jig slowly with your rod and not your reel while emphasizing feeling everything on a tight/semi-tight line, you'll find that you're snagging a lot less.

 

Good response. I think I do fish a jig from shore with too much slack. When I move my rod to move the jig I'm using a side sweeping action. pause. then two quick short pops. repeat cadence. 

 

I think I'm fishing too fast and not reeling up that slack line fast enough. Also throwing a 3/8 oz from shore which might be too heavy.  Dumb question..but should I be slowly lifting my rod UP as opposed to that side sweep? Would I snag less?

[GoneFishingLTN]

13 hours ago, slonezp said:

Zona and Brauer were on Falcon Lake. Guess I was wrong. It was on a black and blue jig

 

 

Sorry I’m not good at finding this apparently but where is the full video? Thank you for helping

[slonezp]

7 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Sorry I’m not good at finding this apparently but where is the full video? Thank you for helping

Looks like you have to pay for it

https://markzona.com/zafs-zonas-awesome-fishing-show/

[Turkey sandwich]

15 hours ago, Dorado said:

Good response. I think I do fish a jig from shore with too much slack. When I move my rod to move the jig I'm using a side sweeping action. pause. then two quick short pops. repeat cadence. 

 

I think I'm fishing too fast and not reeling up that slack line fast enough. Also throwing a 3/8 oz from shore which might be too heavy.  Dumb question..but should I be slowly lifting my rod UP as opposed to that side sweep? Would I snag less?

None of what you're bringing up is dumb, at all.  

 

Generally, when I'm fishing something slowly my rod tip is up and I'm dragging it towards me, more or less in a straight line, unless I'm deliberately trying to move my jig/T-rig/etc around something or to move my presentation to a specific place.  Generally, this doesn't change much if I'm in a boat, standing on a kayak, on shore, or wading.  By learning to feel and crawl the jig this way, you're going to learn to feel the snags and work over them as opposed to setting the hook into them.  This also ties into the line tension thing.  There's always a place for letting a jig fall on a slack line, and that's an important thing to learn, too.  However, I think it's a lot easier (at first, at least) to learn how to feel with a semi slack line because you aren't moving the bait quickly or allowing it to fall out of control and wrap brush/trees or settle into weird crevasses as easily.  This will also teach you how to feel different types of bottoms, different types of cover, and the absence of weight (generally this is the soft bite that a lot of us miss). 

 

A sweeping presentation still has it's place, but I think around heavy cover, it's much more prone to hanging up because you're driving the bait horizontally into things instead of lifting it over and through them.

 

As for speed/reeling - you should get in the habit of moving the bait with the rod and not the reel for just about all of your bottom presentations.  The reel only collects the line you're recovered after moving the bait with the rod. It won't take long until you can do this confidently super fast (often calls for a heavier jig) or super slow.

 

If you're learning this with casting gear, I think 3/8oz is a pretty good starting point.  

 

 

 

[Catt]

To add to @Turkey sandwich

 

Fishing a worm/jig requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

 

Most anglers try forcing a jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the jig through grass!

When you feel the jig starting to load up in the grass...stop. Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the jig breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

[Dorado]

7 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

 

A sweeping presentation still has it's place, but I think around heavy cover, it's much more prone to hanging up because you're driving the bait horizontally into things instead of lifting it over and through them.

 

As for speed/reeling - you should get in the habit of moving the bait with the rod and not the reel for just about all of your bottom presentations.  The reel only collects the line you're recovered after moving the bait with the rod. It won't take long until you can do this confidently super fast (often calls for a heavier jig) or super slow.

 

Your responses have been enlightening and restored my faith in putting in more time with the jig. Love this site! 

[Turkey sandwich]

1 hour ago, Dorado said:

Your responses have been enlightening and restored my faith in putting in more time with the jig. Love this site! 

no problem, man.  Embrace the. jig!

[Lincoln]

I just thought I would take the time to say that this thread caused me to go out and catch my very first jig fish yesterday. It wasn’t much but I caught it dragging a brown football head with a green pumpkin menace after I had located some active fish with a jerkbait 

[WRB]

Fishing a jig uphill in snag prone structure or cover isn't easy for anyone because the line tends to go inbetween rocks and wedges in tree or brush branches, the jig follows the line and gets hung up.

You have a few choices, use a lighter jig with a head design to reduce snags and don't try to force the jig loose by pulling harder. Try casting at a angle so the jig comes more across or side hill instead of directly uphill. When you feel the line or jig starting to snag stop and try holding the rod high shaking the rod tip into slightly slack line to jiggle it loose. Anyone who claims they don't snag jigs working them uphill must be fishing in a swimming pool.

Tom

PS, rocks don't move.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

I always fish uphill!

 

If ya aint occasionally loosing a jig ya throwing where the bass aint!

[thinkingredneck]

Thanks.  So far I seem to lose a jig or two every time I use them.  But they are working for me.  I really do think the average fish is bigger than I otherwise catch.