First jig bass + questions

[fdbce91123]

Today I went fishing at my on campus pond because it was supposed to start raining at lunch so I fished from 9–11:30 and started with a weightless fluke because it’s the only thing I consistently have luck with here (it’s my 5th time fishing here) I got 4 bites within 30 minutes but only one was a real take the others were bites but before I could set the hook or feel if they were on they dropped it so I was discouraged and figured I was cursed to not catch anything so I switched to a strike king finesse jig with matching trailer I got on sale at Walmart. I did this because I’ve never had luck with a jig and this was a chance to force myself to use one. I was casting to cover and hopping it a few times then reeling it back steady on the bottom giving it hops through open water and the first fish came 10 years from the bank while straight retrieving it with twitches and the next cast I threw it a little too far and it landed on the edge of the bank in some reeds so I drug it into the water and felt a bite, I set the hook hard but I don’t think I had reeled down enough slack first because he jumped and spit the hook but he had to be at least 4 pounds. My questions are: was I not having luck because my splashes on the cast were spooking the fish? I never overhand cast with a jig but the only bites I’ve ever gotten on a jig were either soft entries or away from where I casted. Also I used to hop the jig all the way back and I think it may be wasting time to slowly jig it in open water so should I keep casting into cover as soft as possible and speeding up to bring it back? I also usually only fish around lunch or the evening and this was the first day I fished in the morning. Should I use a jig in the morning and something else later or was this coincidence? I had a good day and I ask because I want to make sure what I’m learning from this experience is actually what’s happening and I hope it can help someone else who was stuck on the jig like I have been. Thanks! The fish was 1.4 pounds btw if anyone’s curious 

[Hook2Jaw]

For your first question, I doubt that jig is spooking the fish.  My reasoning being it's a smaller jig with a softer entry than the half ounces I typically use, and I get bites after heavy plops all the time.  Plus, it's a campus pond and they're probably used to constant intrusion.

 

As for your second question, I find most of my pond bites come off shoreline cover and I'm a huge fan of tossing to cover, wiggling and jiggling it around and a bit past that cover, and reeling it back in.  You'll often get open water bites, but when I need a fish I send it to cover over and over again.

 

Use the jig any time.

 

You'll get many answers, and your mileage may vary.  The jig is an amazingly productive bait and you can use them at any time of the year, in almost any kind of cover, and in any portion of the water column.

 

Good luck!

[boostr]

I throw jigs year round and always to cover or structure. I don't throw them much in dense weeds or lilly pads though cause they tend to get caught up in them.

[Tennessee Boy]

I only use jigs when I'm near water.

[WRB]

If the bass are dropping a Senko they are bed fish. 

No set way to present a jig, keep experimenting until you figure it out. If you want to educate yourself read the long thread on jig questions.

Tom

[Catt]

18 hours ago, fdbce91123 said:

My questions are: was I not having luck because my splashes on the cast were spooking the fish?

 

Possibly yes & possibly no

 

Many anglers will argue quite enty is essential but the bass will argue it ain't. 

 

18 hours ago, fdbce91123 said:

Also I used to hop the jig all the way back and I think it may be wasting time to slowly jig it in open water so should I keep casting into cover as soft as possible and speeding up to bring it back?

 

Possibly yes & possibly no

 

How do you know for certain there are no bass between you & where you cast. From the bank I've caught em at my feet, from a boat directly under it, & everywhere in between.

 

18 hours ago, fdbce91123 said:

I also usually only fish around lunch or the evening and this was the first day I fished in the morning. Should I use a jig in the morning and something else later or was this coincidence? 

 

I have a Jig-n-Craw & Texas Rig tied on 24/7/365!

[plawren53202]

I'm going to be the contrarian and say that you may have been spooking the fish, depending on water clarity and especially if they are bedding. My subdivision pond is usually very clear water and, like your campus pond, highly pressured. Pressured both in the sense of fishing pressure and also foot traffic around the pond (the hiking trail around the pond goes right by the shallow end where many of them spawn).

 

When the fish are up in the skinny water spawning with their fins nearly sticking out of the water, they are catchable but I really have to closely manage lure entry into the water. There are many spots where I can reach the far bank casting. If I land the bait (most often either a weightless Senko or a weightless fluke) on the bank and drag it into the water, I can get lots of bites from the bedding fish. If however I plop it in the water where they are, I am usually met with a swirl and a departing fish.

 

There are some places where I can't reach casting to the opposite bank. There a good substitute is landing the bait on the weeds that grow along the bank in many places, and then dragging it into the water. The weeds deaden the impact and the "plop."

 

Between the clear water and the pressure, fishing the spawn in this pond reminds me more of my past days of trout fishing streams rather than bass fishing. Now in contrast, this past weekend I was fishing the ponds at our family's farm. Dirtier water and essentially no fishing pressure. Those fish couldn't have cared less about the plop. In fact it almost seemed to help, and rather than swirl and take off, many of them would swirl and attack my bait from 2 or 3 feet away.

 

On a different subject, on your question about whether to just reel fast once your jig gets out of the cover, perhaps....BUT there may be some kind of structure or cover you don't know about on the bottom along the way. For instance some ponds have a small dropoff of a foot or two a few feet out from the bank, or there could be a small "channel" or ditch running through the pond. If a pond doesn't have a lot of cover or structure, it only takes a very slight difference to give the fish something to relate to.

 

I would at least give the "middle" a try. If you're fishing the jig in more open water, you need to really relate your presentation to the bottom--either drag it slowly along the bottom, or short hops alternating with reeling up the slack. Especially as the fish finish spawning and may start to relate to deeper water, you might be surprised what's out there in the middle. This would go for other bottom baits like a shakey head or regular t-rigged soft plastic. Of course, if you give it a try and get no baits, and find that they are relating to the visible cover, then stick with that.

[Black Hawk Basser]

21 minutes ago, plawren53202 said:

When the fish are up in the skinny water spawning with their fins nearly sticking out of the water, they are catchable but I really have to closely manage lure entry into the water. There are many spots where I can reach the far bank casting. If I land the bait (most often either a weightless Senko or a weightless fluke) on the bank and drag it into the water, I can get lots of bites from the bedding fish. If however I plop it in the water where they are, I am usually met with a swirl and a departing fish.

This is exactly the scenario that I experience most of the time in the somewhat small pond that I regularly fish.  It really pays off to throw my jig or T-Rig into the grass on the bank and drag it into the water.  This method produces devastating strikes for me much more often than a big plop into the water.

 

To the original poster: Stick with the jig and you will eventually see that they are almost always a viable option, especially when they aren't sniffing your faster moving baits.  You will also eventually see that a slow hop, drag or shake along the bottom will be the highest percentage retrieve with a jig.  The only instance in which I don't at least try a jig is when vegetation makes a Texas rig the better option.