How to be a better jig fisherman

[Kyle S]

"If you want to be a better jig fisherman, leave the rest of your tackle at home and solely throw jigs."

 

I want to take this statement, and put it to the test. Where should I start? What should I do to maximize my success? What variations should I start with. Have 2 different jigs on the deck or have 10 different jigs on the deck?

 

I'm excited

 

I'm committed.

 

I want to report back with all of my results, including the 8hr days I spend throwing a jig and getting skunked. I also want to share the days where I catch a PB as a result of this test...

 

Good idea? or a bad idea?

 

Please, share your thoughts.

[slonezp]

You should be committed. LOL

I could throw a jig all day every day and not get sick of it. Pick 2 colors. Throw a standard jig with trailer and a mop jig with trailer in both colors. My 2 colors would be PB&J and Black&Blue

[DitchPanda]

Good idea. Jigs can truly be magic once you unlock its potential...the hype is true they seem to catch bigger fish more consistently than anything else I've thrown. But there is a learning curve so when you couple that with the fact that they don't normally get tons of bites to begin with you are gonna have some trying times...but the end result is worth it. Ill also say I'd start with 2 jigs...an arky style full size jig and a finesse style either ball head or bitsy bug\flip style.

[Big Rick]

Strongly recommend upping your skipping game. Jigs can skip like a rock and really get under those docks where the big mama's stay. 

[TcRoc]

This to for myself.. I really need to start throwing more jigs and I’m going too.

[papajoe222]

Keep it simple to begin. First decide what type of presentation you want to learn, be it flipping, pitching, casting, skipping.  Then pick two jigs of the same style, one on the heavy side and the other lighter. Start with the heavy one working a piece of structure, or cover and feel your way using the rod. Make a few casts, or whatever, to the same spot and work it the same way, again feeling your way back.

Now switch to the lighter jig and repeat. What you're attempting to accomplish is your ability to feel your way along. As you approach an irregularity you felt with the heavier jig, tell yourself; I should be feeling that rock, stump, or whatever right about now.  When you do, try to remember the difference in feel. If you're not feeling anything with the lighter jig, go back and do it all over again until you do.

[WRB]

1. Find a lake that has a good population of bass and crawdads.

2. Determine what species of bass you want to catch.

3. Pick a seasonal period like pre spawn when bass are feeding aggressively?

Do you have a boat? assume you do with number of outfits on the deck statement. Kayak or bass boat, any electronics? Do you know how to use them?

What type of tackle? Casting or spinning?

Tom

PS, read my jigs fishing threads in the tackle formum.

[Boomstick]

I made an effort to improve my jig fishing two years ago, but it really didn't take off until this year when I bought a kayak and could get offshore a whole lot more than I could in years prior which let me get into different scenarios where I'd fish a jig differently. Also my youngest son learned the jig along with me as well and he got a few too.

 

Let's make this simple. You only need a handful of jigs.

 

For colors, I keep it stupid simple. I largely buy primarily green pumpkin and brown jigs and keep a couple black or black and blues for dirtier water, which I don't have much of. If you have more dirtier water, adjust accordingly.

 

For jig styles, go with the following:

• 1/2oz football jig (I do use 3/8 to 3/4, but 1/2oz will work well with most MH/F rods nicely and stay on the bottom). Basically fish these on hard bottoms where there's not a lot of weeds or too much wood and to fish it, drag it horizontally so you're dragging it on the bottom.
• 3/8oz and 1/2oz arky head jig. You can cast these on a MH/F rod. You can gently lift these and let them sink back down to the bottom, which is an all around effective presentation and way to cover some water, which is how I would start. You can pitch them into or right alongside cover, skip them under docks, cast them and even dead stick them. There's so many options.
• 1/4oz and 3/8oz finesse jig. I like a M+/F rod (typially 8-17oz line rating) for these. Smaller sized jigs overall work very well and they go through grass well too, thus picking up less of it.

For trailers, get some NetBait Paca Chunks and Strike King Rage bugs or beavers to match your jig colors. Experiment with eac. Craw trailers is what I use most of the time and the arms will flap and give a lot of action, which can drive the bass crazy. A Rage Bug or Beaver will add some profile and tone down the action a bit. Sometimes they work better. For a smaller sized finesse jigs, the Net Bait Paca Chunks will still work, but my favorite is the SK Rage Ned bug, usually trim the end off just a little but and it fits.

[Michigander]

Throwing a finesse jig was what helped me. Regular jigs used the same technique, just bigger rods, line, and lures. The advantage of the finesse jig is that you will get more bites and the light bulb will go off sooner. After it clicked with finesse jigs, I was able to jump up to regular sized jigs really easily.

[Bluebasser86]

I learned to fish a jig by taking 1 rod out in my 2 man, the few jigs that I owned and some jig trailers. I did it over and over again for pretty much an entire year. I started with a Denny Brauer Pro Model Flipping jig and Lunkerlure Triple Rattleback back when they were some of the premo jigs out there. I caught fish, missed a lot of bites when I realized too late that they were bites, lost a lot of jigs, but I learned a lot. My equipment was terrible, an old black Shimano baitcaster I don't remember the name of loaded with 17lb Trilene XT and a Shimano Bullwhip rod that was a 5.5 or 6 foot pistol grip rod and about as big as pool cue above the reel and tapered quickly to the tip. I made it work and now I'd rather fish a jig than any other bait in my box.

[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.

 

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.

[Kyle S]

Thank you all for your suggestions! 

 

2 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.

 

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.

You hit it on the head @Catt. This simple fact is why I know that I'll have days where I don't catch a thing. Skunk days albeit frustrating, have the potential to teach me that much more about my jig fishing pursuit and bass fishing as a whole. I'll try to embrace that mindset on the days where I come back empty handed.

 

To elaborate and share some background....Throughout my relatively short time fishing of 7ish years, I've fished jigs a fair amount, and am familiar with its qualities both good and bad as a productive lure. Like many of you have, I've had days where all they want is a jig, I've also had the days where they don't want anything to do with it, and I've had many days in between. I've acquired quite a few jigs, capable rods and accessories for jig fishing over the past handful of years.

 

My 'goal' with this endeavor is to further educate myself and strengthen my jig fishing as a whole. I want to work on having the intuition with jigs as @WRB mentioned in his most recent thread. 

 

After work today, i'll have to post some pics of a few jig catches and gear that I use for jig fishing.

 

Now, to answer some questions, and ask some of my own...

7 hours ago, WRB said:

1. Find a lake that has a good population of bass and crawdads.

2. Determine what species of bass you want to catch.

3. Pick a seasonal period like pre spawn when bass are feeding aggressively?

Do you have a boat? assume you do with number of outfits on the deck statement. Kayak or bass boat, any electronics? Do you know how to use them?

What type of tackle? Casting or spinning?

Tom

PS, read my jigs fishing threads in the tackle formum.

1. Most of my fishing is done on the tidal Pamunkey, Rappahannock and Chickahominy rivers here in Virginia. How can I find out about crawdad population in these rivers?? is there a specific resource you recommend?

2. Largemouth bass are the more plentiful species in my waters. Smallmouth and Spotted bass are available, just further up river than I typically go on an average trip. Largemouth will be the primary target.

3. I'll certainly be sure to focus heavily and try to capitalize on the heavy feeding periods when they occur in my waters.

 

I do indeed have a boat. A tracker grizzly 1648 all-weld with a 40hp 4 stroke. 

I purchased a Lowrance elite 9 Ti2 when I bought the boat this past spring. Admittedly, I haven't used many of its features other than the gps. It has side scan and downscale capabilities. So the answer is no, I don't know how to use my unit to its full potential. I have both casting and spinning tackle, and am confident in using both.

 

I'll surely read more of your posts Tom. I was looking forward to your comments.

 

Thanks again to everyone. 

 

6 hours ago, Michigander said:

Throwing a finesse jig was what helped me. Regular jigs used the same technique, just bigger rods, line, and lures. The advantage of the finesse jig is that you will get more bites and the light bulb will go off sooner. After it clicked with finesse jigs, I was able to jump up to regular sized jigs really easily.

Finesse jigs have also given me most of my confidence in jig fishing. Absolutely right about them getting more bits. Looking forward to that finesse jig to regular sized jig transition.

8 hours ago, TcRoc said:

This to for myself.. I really need to start throwing more jigs and I’m going too.

DO IT!!!

8 hours ago, Big Rick said:

Strongly recommend upping your skipping game. Jigs can skip like a rock and really get under those docks where the big mama's stay. 

Ahhhh yes! Skipping a jig is one the most attractive qualities that draws me to jigs. By no means am a Gerald Swindle jig skipper, but I'm learning. one backlash at a time?

7 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Keep it simple to begin. First decide what type of presentation you want to learn, be it flipping, pitching, casting, skipping.  Then pick two jigs of the same style, one on the heavy side and the other lighter. Start with the heavy one working a piece of structure, or cover and feel your way using the rod. Make a few casts, or whatever, to the same spot and work it the same way, again feeling your way back.

Now switch to the lighter jig and repeat. What you're attempting to accomplish is your ability to feel your way along. As you approach an irregularity you felt with the heavier jig, tell yourself; I should be feeling that rock, stump, or whatever right about now.  When you do, try to remember the difference in feel. If you're not feeling anything with the lighter jig, go back and do it all over again until you do.

10-4! thanks

[NoShoes]

8 hours ago, WRB said:

1. Find a lake that has a good population of bass and crawdads.

2. Determine what species of bass you want to catch.

3. Pick a seasonal period like pre spawn when bass are feeding aggressively?

Do you have a boat? assume you do with number of outfits on the deck statement. Kayak or bass boat, any electronics? Do you know how to use them?

What type of tackle? Casting or spinning?

Tom

PS, read my jigs fishing threads in the tackle formum.

I promise I’ve read just about everything you, Catt, or any other prominent poster has put up that I can find. Y’all are a wealth of knowledge and I try to suck it up the best I can and I truely appreciate it. 
 

I mostly fish a large mill pond cypress swamp that’s fairly featureless. There’s some deep (10 ft ha ha) around the dam but 90 % of this place is less than 5 ft or less. I don’t believe there to be a big population of bass, but there is definitely a population of big bass up into teens. 
 

I’ve had good luck pitching around the cypress trees near deeper water, but have been trying to fish the structure itself as you all preach trying to throw lures on the ledge between the shallow and deep water. As there is a population of bigger bass I’ve been working on a jig here as it should appeal to them. 

9 hours ago, Big Rick said:

Strongly recommend upping your skipping game. Jigs can skip like a rock and really get under those docks where the big mama's stay. 

It’s funny you mention this. I was having trouble learning to skip my Texas rig but turned into a skipping machine on a 3/8 jig or chatter bait. 

[Catt]

@NoShoes

 

 

[NoShoes]

39 minutes ago, Catt said:

@NoShoes

 

 

god y’all are the best. Thanks!

[Mr. Aquarium]

Pitch a jig to every piece of cover.  I usually cast out to Cover and crawl back to the boat.  Jig Fishing is awesome! It gets chewed by giants 

[Fastbee]

12 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Keep it simple to begin. First decide what type of presentation you want to learn, be it flipping, pitching, casting, skipping.  Then pick two jigs of the same style, one on the heavy side and the other lighter. Start with the heavy one working a piece of structure, or cover and feel your way using the rod. Make a few casts, or whatever, to the same spot and work it the same way, again feeling your way back.

Now switch to the lighter jig and repeat. What you're attempting to accomplish is your ability to feel your way along. As you approach an irregularity you felt with the heavier jig, tell yourself; I should be feeling that rock, stump, or whatever right about now.  When you do, try to remember the difference in feel. If you're not feeling anything with the lighter jig, go back and do it all over again until you do.

This is some solid advice right here.  The man who taught me how to jig fish used this same method with me.  My equipment wasn't the best, but understanding how things normally feel makes a huge difference in detecting strikes and objects you can't see.

[Catt]

26 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

 I usually cast out to Cover and crawl back to the boat.

 

What most anglers mistakenly over look is casting a Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. They'll flip, pitch, or punch but seldom cast either one.

 

The majority of my big bass came on a casted Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. I ain't talking just deep water structure but shallow water cover as well.

 

As I approach vegetation, brush, boat docks. Standing timber, or laydowns. I start at casting distance away, then move to pitching distance, & then flipping distance.

[Mr. Aquarium]

51 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

What most anglers mistakenly over look is casting a Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. They'll flip, pitch, or punch but seldom cast either one.

 

The majority of my big bass came on a casted Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. I ain't talking just deep water structure but shallow water cover as well.

 

As I approach vegetation, brush, boat docks. Standing timber, or laydowns. I start at casting distance away, then move to pitching distance, & then flipping distance.

Yep bingo. You don’t know if there’s a log under water you can’t see.   I’m trying to imitate a craw. Crawl that jig on bottom.  
 The jig will puff up  sand muck and other stuff on bottom that will get the attention of a near by bass. 

[ajschn06]

16 hours ago, Kyle S said:

"If you want to be a better jig fisherman, leave the rest of your tackle at home and solely throw jigs."

 

I want to take this statement, and put it to the test. Where should I start? What should I do to maximize my success? What variations should I start with. Have 2 different jigs on the deck or have 10 different jigs on the deck?

 

I'm excited

 

I'm committed.

 

I want to report back with all of my results, including the 8hr days I spend throwing a jig and getting skunked. I also want to share the days where I catch a PB as a result of this test...

 

Good idea? or a bad idea?

 

Please, share your thoughts.

I didn't go quite to the extreme you did, but midway through last season I started fishing a jig almost exclusively.  I kept a frog nearby, and a bladed jig when I wanted some noise, but they started to see very little use.

 

What changed for me?  I thought back to a lot of my early season catches- I caught fish just as consistently on jigs as I did anything else, but they were always bigger.  Another big plus for me- with the right jig I don't need to carry a finesse bait, a flippin bait, a moving bait, etc- the jig does it all.  I consistently caught fish pitching in cover, swimming everytwhere in the water column, and crawling along the bottom and oftentimes all 3 in the same spot.

[river-rat]

9 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.

 

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.

 

 

As much confidence I have in using a jig, I have to agree with this 100%.

 

[Mobasser]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

What most anglers mistakenly over look is casting a Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. They'll flip, pitch, or punch but seldom cast either one.

 

The majority of my big bass came on a casted Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. I ain't talking just deep water structure but shallow water cover as well.

 

As I approach vegetation, brush, boat docks. Standing timber, or laydowns. I start at casting distance away, then move to pitching distance, & then flipping distance.

Catt, I agree here also. With pitching and punching so popular these days, casting your jigs is almost a lost art. But, it still works very well. Sometimes it's better to stay back a bit and make accurate cast, before you get closer for a pitch or flip.

[Fastbee]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

What most anglers mistakenly over look is casting a Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. They'll flip, pitch, or punch but seldom cast either one.

 

The majority of my big bass came on a casted Jig-n-Craw or Texas Rig. I ain't talking just deep water structure but shallow water cover as well.

 

As I approach vegetation, brush, boat docks. Standing timber, or laydowns. I start at casting distance away, then move to pitching distance, & then flipping distance.

100% agree, especially when it's overcast or low light.  Fish aren't always as predictable as we'd like, I've caught some really good fish several feet away from the cover.  Make those casts and stay ready!

[GTN-NY]

18 hours ago, slonezp said:

You should be committed. LOL

I could throw a jig all day every day and not get sick of it. Pick 2 colors. Throw a standard jig with trailer and a mop jig with trailer in both colors. My 2 colors would be PB&J and Black&Blue

what’s a “Mop Jig”?

[MN Fisher]

10 minutes ago, GTN said:

what’s a “Mop Jig”?

It has an extra long skirt - pretty much it.