I've decided: I'm tying on a jig, and not taking it off until I'm confident in it. Any tips?

[JFlynn97]

Basically the title, I'm looking for any tips to help me find success in jigs in the coming year! The rod I'll be using is a Dobyns Fury, 7'3" heavy/fast paired with a daiwa fuego 8.1:1 and 30 lb power pro. Another bit of information, I typically fish smaller ponds and only from the bank (though I recently joined a bass fishing club at my university so I may get some experience fishing out on a boat). A general theme in my area is that ponds have scattered vegetation, occasionally rocks and hard structure along banks, and stained to muddy water.

 

Any and all tips, tricks, and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Glenn]

Congratulations on your new goal!  Jigs are a great way to catch fish.  I hope these tips, and the ones to follow by our members, will help you.

 

 

[Turkey sandwich]

Just get used to feeling the bottom and identifying what you're dragging over and through.  Remember that the rod moves your bait and that the reel only collects line.   There are tons of other posts on this subject, use the search feature and you'll find hours of reading.

[CroakHunter]

Read every post of the "jig" thread pinned at the top of one of the forum pages. Be a line feeler and watcher. Don't be scared to drag, hop, swim, yo-yo, twitch, and dead stick the same jig on the same piece of cover. Different fish want different retrieves

 

 

[MassYak85]

Try everything, and bring different style trailers. The nice thing about a jog is that it is so versatile. Put a paddle tail on and swim it, put a beaver on and hop it, drag it. I'll definitely echo the above comments and say try to get a feel for what the jig feels like coming through all types of cover. Then once you familiarize yourself with that it will be more able to say "hey that's not a stick, that's a fish!", and stick em. 

[WI_Angler1989]

 

Great thread that's pinned to the top of the Lures forum page. You be probably seen it, but there's a fantastic post near the top to help you understand ALL aspects of jig fishing.

[Chris at Tech]

Go to some spots you already know the bottom composition of: grass, rock, wood, etc.  Throw the jig in there so you can understand how the jig is "supposed to feel" under normal circumstances.

 

I'd say to keep it simple with colors and trailers so you don't overwhelm yourself.  If I was starting a jig box from scratch, I'd get 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 oz weights in a green pumpkin variation, and black/blue, a couple packs of matching craw trailers and go.

[kingmotorboat]

3/8 is my go to in green pumpkin and brown. I keep the jig at those colors and change my trailer based on water clarity

[scottyboy]

31 minutes ago, kingmotorboat said:

3/8 is my go to in green pumpkin and brown. I keep the jig at those colors and change my trailer based on water clarity

Me too, and I still believe the ole Uncle Josh pork frog is pretty hard to beat. I love to fish a 3/8 brown jig with a black #11 pork frog. 

[kingmotorboat]

I use pork in clear water when I can actually find them around here. Actually my number one marsh bass producer is Johnson spoon and pork chunk usually in frog

[scaleface]

If you know how to fish a texas rig then you know how to fish a jig .

[Scarborough817]

Throw it on braid to a leader

[A-Jay]

I'm tying on a jig, and not taking it off until I'm confident in it. Any tips?

 

Plenty of Fantastic advice offered here already and on any given day, almost any of the suggestions given work.

 My version includes looking at it from the stand point of the Predator & Prey relationship.

Most anything a bass eats is probably trying really hard to avoid that scenario. 

 So for 'the prey', doing anything that would draw attention to itself is undesirable and could lead to its demise.   

 Rather than hopping & popping the bait, instead there is a time & place where sneaking a jig along every so gingerly works well.   Try to move it while imagining that you’re actually attempting to toss your bait out there and get it back  completely undetected - meaning without getting bit.  Sounds kind of backwards I know but the jig is in the bass's world, and she knows it's there; without any extra action.

 

You'll find yourself fishing spots slower and more thoroughly while at the same time affording your jig the time it needs to work it's magic.

 

A-Jay

 

[Catt]

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!

[Deleted account]

8 hours ago, Catt said:

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!

This^.  

[Todd2]

I remember the day I started fishing jigs..around 15 years ago. I was with a buddy and we were both going to "learn jigs that day".  We stuck with them all day until I'm guessing around 2 or 3. He had a few in the boat, maybe a keeper or two, but nothing big. I was skunked and had enough. I put it down and picked up my crankbait and caught one very quickly. With the skunk off my back, I picked up the jig and on that same rip rap bank, I caught one about 4.5 lbs, our biggest of the day. Just one fish on it that first day but I was still hooked...lol

 

 

Drag it,  hop it, slow roll it, pitch it...very versatile but like said above, some days other lures will work better.  The more contact it makes with stuff (bottom, brush piles, rocks, lay downs, standing timber) the better.

[tim_kovar]

Start off with a smaller sized jig and trailer.  You will get more bites and gain confidence faster.  Go on a calm day so you can watch your line easier and have a better feel for whats going on.  Like others have said it is basically the exact same thing as fishing a texas rig.

[bagofdonuts]

Put it in the thickest stuff you can find let it soak and watch your line. Don't be in too big a hurry to make your next cast. It is a lot like a texas rig except you don't get that tap,tap bite as often. Most of the time you see the line jump or move. if it feels weird set the hook.

 As you improve try to make the softest entry you can. My best fish seem to always come on a nice soft/splashless entry. It also helps if you can give it a little slack so it falls straight down in the cover. I'm concentrating on those two things when presenting a jig.

 

[ClackerBuzz]

@A-Jay advice above is spot on.  i always tell guys if ur not catching bass with a jig it's b/c ur moving it too much/fast.  slow drag, don't hop (although hopping works a small percentage of time. also sometimes a bass will crush it while ur reeling it back in after a cast.  this is a long pause followed by rapid fleeing bite).

 

-most hits come on the fall (while pitching at cover--docks, lily pads, timber etc).  this is definitely more effective from a boat/kayak.

 

-the remainder of hits come from slow dragging like a real crawl.  the trick is finding the right locations.  however ponds are small so it seems like every inch of real estate is prime.

 

to be honest I wouldn't focus too much on jig fishing b/c ur bank fishing ponds with mucky bottom.  if you have too much bottom sediment and/or weeds you can be just as deadly slow dragging a weightless senko.  or with a drop shot the weight collects the sediment while ur worm is clean 12" above...but still work it slow like a jig.  if you have a ton of weeds peg a bead in front of ur weightless senko.  it will slip thru weeds like butter.  it's really going to come down to the bottom content of ur pond.  i'd base my lure selection on it.

[Bent]

15 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I'm tying on a jig, and not taking it off until I'm confident in it. Any tips?

 

Plenty of Fantastic advice offered here already and on any given day, almost any of the suggestions given work.

 My version includes looking at it from the stand point of the Predator & Prey relationship.

Most anything a bass eats is probably trying really hard to avoid that scenario. 

 So for 'the prey', doing anything that would draw attention to itself is undesirable and could lead to its demise.   

 Rather than hopping & popping the bait, instead there is a time & place where sneaking a jig along every so gingerly works well.   Try to move it while imagining that you’re actually attempting to toss your bait out there and get it back  completely undetected - meaning without getting bit.  Sounds kind of backwards I know but the jig is in the bass's world, and she knows it's there; without any extra action.

 

You'll find yourself fishing spots slower and more thoroughly while at the same time affording your jig the time it needs to work it's magic.

 

A-Jay

 

Serious food for thought here!  I've heard others emphasize that natural movement is important and say things like "visualize what your bait is doing at all times" - I think they're getting at the same thing, but that idea of sneaking a bait back to the boat undetected is a really intuitive way to describe it.