Jig strike detection

[WRB]

We have covered this topic before but I can't fish because my lake is closed, getting old and my fishing partners have all passed on and thought I put some thoughts together on this topic.

Where I fish we have Florida and Northern strain LMB, Smallmouth, Northern (Kentucy)  and Southern (Alabama) Spotted bass.

Each bass sspecies strike jigs differently with pure Florida strain being difficult to detect,  Smallmouth and Spotted bass the easiest. Northern strain LMB somewhere inbetween. Today SoCal doesn't have pure FLMB populations they have all intergraded into F1's to F3 and beyond a slightly more aggressive bass.

If you are jig fishing and don't feel strikes on the fall after casting you are missing strikes. 

If you are jig fishing and waiting to detect the solid thump strike you are missing strikes.

The vast majority of jig strikes are similar to worm strikes on the fall or after starting the retrieve with a loss of contact compression spongy or nothing feeling. The second highest percentage strike is line moving or jumping slack.

If you want to feel that solid thump strike fish jigs at night.

The bigger the bass is the lighter the strike becomes. The old "hammered it" strike is usually a small bass.

Smallmouth and Spotted bass often grab a jig by the trailer and shake it, easy to confuse this strike being a bluegill pecking the jig trailer. Timing Smallies and Spots takes some practice. I just add some slight line tension waiting to feel some weight then set the hook. If you wait with LMB you miss most strikes so it's good to know which bass is striking.

FLMB have the habit of engulfing the jig and not moving, the nothing bite.

NLMB are very agressive jig strikers and often engulf the jig and keep moving, the line being knocked slack or moving off strike. 

This isn't any way to know how a bass will strike on any given trip, but the type of strike tends to last throughout that day or night.

The key to jig fishing success is staying focused and in contact with the lure evey second. Jig fishing takes a lot of concentration and it's tiring. If you know the depth the bass are at it's a lot easier to be focused when the jig is in the strike zone.

Feel your line, watch where the line enters the water for any signs a strike has occurred.

Tom

[DitchPanda]

I agree with touching the line that really helps me. Line watching is also critical..can't say how many bites I've had where all I've seen was a light jump in the line then it's swimming off slowly. I fish for northern strain largemouth and the bites are usually a moderate thump. I also have a few smallmouth in a lake I fish constantly near my house and they usually massacre the thing..just straight up almost yank the rod away from you.

[PourMyOwn]

Good information in this post. One addition, especially if you are using braid, move your finger off the line when you set the hook. Braid burns are not fun.

[RoLo]

 

Was all set to respond, but WRB has it covered...never mind.   

 

Roger

[Michigander]

I wish I could download your brain. 

[Mobasser]

Good post Tom. Thank you! 

[Catt]

Excellent @WRB

 

I will add pay attention to your depth, if you're fishing 15' & your jig stops at 10'...set hook.

 

If you're fishing 10' & you feed out 15' of line...ya may have been bit.

[Fishin Dad]

For those with way more time on the water than me, I have a question on line tension on a falling jig.  I mostly fish jigs (1/4 - 1/2 oz.) in water 6’ or less.   I often get bit on the fall.  I think I have heard and assume I should fish jigs on a Semi-slack line?   I feel if I have pressure on the jig, it will pendulum back towards me and not fall where I placed it (ie- next to cover or structure).   If I let it fall on a slack line, I am certain I am missing bites.  Can someone help describe this to try to get me something to practice correctly.  I always have a jig tied on, and have been successful with it and have some confidence, but have a long way to go.  I know there is no substitute for time on the water, but I want my time on the water practicing the correct method.  
 

Thanks a lot everyone!!

[Derek1]

Great post, and thoughtfully written. Your experience on the water and more then general knowledge on all things gear related is really something. It shows the true  passion you had for your sport. On a side note you must be grinding your teeth reading the some of The stuff, some us right. 

[GreenPig]

Thank you WRB. I've had the Spotted Bass bite and think it was bluegill. I switched from a 1/4 oz finesse jig/trailer to a 1/16 oz Missle Bait micro jig with a 1& 1/4" tail end of a trick worm and greatly improved my hit/catch ratio.

[Catt]

@Fishin Dad

 

Maintain contact with your lure at all times, allow the lure to free-fall unrestricted, but without letting slack form in the line; follow your lures down with your rod tip.

[roadwarrior]

13 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

Was all set to respond, but WRB has it covered...never mind.   

 

Roger

 

[Dens228]

7 hours ago, Fishin Dad said:

For those with way more time on the water than me, I have a question on line tension on a falling jig.  I mostly fish jigs (1/4 - 1/2 oz.) in water 6’ or less.   I often get bit on the fall.  I think I have heard and assume I should fish jigs on a Semi-slack line?   I feel if I have pressure on the jig, it will pendulum back towards me and not fall where I placed it (ie- next to cover or structure).   If I let it fall on a slack line, I am certain I am missing bites.  Can someone help describe this to try to get me something to practice correctly.  I always have a jig tied on, and have been successful with it and have some confidence, but have a long way to go.  I know there is no substitute for time on the water, but I want my time on the water practicing the correct method.  
 

Thanks a lot everyone!!

I'm not near the expert as many here but I have a certain spot on a quarry I fish that due to the way the drop off and shoreline are shaped, as well as summer tree and brush growth it's pretty much impossible to cast into a corner that I know holds pretty big bass on a regular basis.  It's an inside corner where the rock it cut, a small corner actually that is more like a squared off "U".   I know bass hang in there when it gets hot and the water is in the 80's, what I don't know is what depth they will be sitting at.  I get within about 10 feet of the back corner in my kayak, pitch the jig to the corner and then peel line off with my hand to let it fall straight down.  I concentrate on watch the line, even with a bit of slack in there as it's falling I notice the twitch in the line when the jig is taken.  It's not a ton of slack but there is slack. 

[JediAmoeba]

I always felt I was a competent jig fisherman but after reading all the posts here I have really started to question my ability to fish a jig.  

 

I don't catch too many fish with a jig but I do catch some - nothing huge either and a jig sure isn't my first lure to grab.  I am relatively decent at bouncing them over rocks and snags but ultimately lose one to a snag here and there.  If I am in my yak I can usually get them back but fishing from shore you are obviously going to lose a bunch.  I haven't found that any style of jig had any more ability to snag less than others except for the true swim jigs snag an awful lot.

 

In the past 2 weeks I have spent about 20 hours fishing a jig and caught 4 bass.  Fishing large swimbaits I have caught 5 bass in 8 hours of fishing.  Fishing other baits I have caught 20 bass in 3 hours of fishing.  I have been fishing different kinds of bottoms and for me jig fishing is just a bummer. I don't THINK I am missing bites but maybe I am...

[Teal]

  I hate would hate to know the number of fish I miss on the fall fishing straight braid. But with the vegetation heavy on one of my lakes, I just save the leader and go without it. 

[Russ E]

Excellent info. 

I would like to add one thing, that you mentioned in other posts.

In my opinion,Flourocarbon and mono lines  have much  more sensitivity on a semi slack line than braid.

I always have a finger on my line with worms and jigs. As mentioned by others, that is a bad idea with braid.

There was a short period that I fished worms and jigs on braid. After switching back to flourocarbon line, It was amazing how many more bites I felt.

Braid is now reserved for topwater.

[Manifestgtr]

The very first jig strike I ever had was a “moving line” strike...it was also the first time I ever threw a jig. Sometimes I still think about how strange that is...

 

But that definitely started me off on the right foot because it was an immediate “ooo, this is gonna be a little different than I’m used to sometimes”. 

 

One weakness I know that I have with jigs is the “mushy” strike. Even being 90% sure that I have something on, I almost always hesitate for fear of setting my jig into a huge clump of grass or an old log. I’m missing fish for sure. It’ll get better with time...it’s just one of those little frustrations I have at the moment. 

[Hammer 4]

17 minutes ago, Manifestgtr said:

The very first jig strike I ever had was a “moving line” strike...it was also the first time I ever threw a jig. Sometimes I still think about how strange that is...

 

But that definitely started me off on the right foot because it was an immediate “ooo, this is gonna be a little different than I’m used to sometimes”. 

 

One weakness I know that I have with jigs is the “mushy” strike. Even being 90% sure that I have something on, I almost always hesitate for fear of setting my jig into a huge clump of grass or an old log. I’m missing fish for sure. It’ll get better with time...it’s just one of those little frustrations I have at the moment. 

Remember, hook sets are Free...