Can’t get any bites on jigs

[Catt]

Look at the hook eye in relationship to the hook point, it almost like a Texas Rig, straight in line.

 

The head is wider than it is tall so it doesn't fall over when sitting on the bottom.

 

Terry Oldham's Eye Max or Trailer Hitch 

Hackney's Flourcarbon Jig 

Seibert's Supreme Grass Jig

[Ryan N]

FINALLY got a bite after 2 hours out here. I was twitching it across the bottom (side snapping rod low) the same technique I’d use on a glidebait.

[Ryan N]

Caught a bigger one but it escaped when I tried to unhook it. Yeah man, the bites are big! 

This one caught me two, I tried the black and blue one but no luck, it could be the hook is just too big

[LrgmouthShad]

 

15 hours ago, ardeact said:

but I never fished with any red

One lake I fish has crawfish that look like this. Yours may or may not look the same. For example, on a pond in NC that I frequently fished, some crawfish could be described by the color “green pumpkin red” while others looked similar to “blue craw” or “green pumpkin blue.”

[Catt]

Black Neon (red flake) 

 

[MIbassyaker]

1 hour ago, ardeact said:

FINALLY got a bite after 2 hours out here. I was twitching it across the bottom (side snapping rod low) the same technique I’d use on a glidebait.

 

Well there you go. 

 

It's mostly about Time-on-Task: You don't catch any......until you do.

[scaleface]

I use to catch lots of bass on jigs but the last couple of years I just cant get bit. Its stupid but it is what it is. I dont force it , just throw what the fish are willing to bite.

[Ryan N]

So, concluding my fishing trip, I landed 4 bass and almost a monster 5th bass, on that jig alone. Here's what I've found:

 

Lake floor type - The bottom of the new lake I visited had a solid bottom and was sandy. This aided in dragging and improved the visibility of the lure. The lake that I always go to has a silt bottom full of weeds and debris, so the lure would camouflage. Because of the silt floor, my dragging technique was rendered ineffective as it would get caught in weeds easily and ruin the presentation. Hopping is the only technique here.

 

Technique - I tried many techniques before the bass could become interested and nibble at it. The new lake was clear enough that I could see how the bass were reacting to the lure. Hopping and dragging, the bass didn't care. But erratically jerking the lure across the lake floor was pretty consistent with generating nibbles, leading into bites. When a bass is nibbling, it's important not to just sit there and "let it eat", you want to make the lure run like a real baitfish, that's what triggers them to eat the lure whole.

 

I think the black and blue one did get a bite, but its hook is noticeably thicker than the green one, so I did get bites, but my rod is too weak to set the hook. I'm going to have to experiment with different colors to see what works best, but that green pumpkin with red speckle worked wonders today.

[Captain Phil]

12 hours ago, ardeact said:

So, concluding my fishing trip, I landed 4 bass and almost a monster 5th bass, on that jig alone. Here's what I've found:

 

Lake floor type - The bottom of the new lake I visited had a solid bottom and was sandy. This aided in dragging and improved the visibility of the lure. The lake that I always go to has a silt bottom full of weeds and debris, so the lure would camouflage. Because of the silt floor, my dragging technique was rendered ineffective as it would get caught in weeds easily and ruin the presentation. Hopping is the only technique here.

 

Technique - I tried many techniques before the bass could become interested and nibble at it. The new lake was clear enough that I could see how the bass were reacting to the lure. Hopping and dragging, the bass didn't care. But erratically jerking the lure across the lake floor was pretty consistent with generating nibbles, leading into bites. When a bass is nibbling, it's important not to just sit there and "let it eat", you want to make the lure run like a real baitfish, that's what triggers them to eat the lure whole.

 

I think the black and blue one did get a bite, but its hook is noticeably thicker than the green one, so I did get bites, but my rod is too weak to set the hook. I'm going to have to experiment with different colors to see what works best, but that green pumpkin with red speckle worked wonders today.

 

I applaud your willingness to experiment.  It's the only way you are going to discover anything new.  Sounds like you need a stiffer rod for this type of fishing.  Braid will help you as well, use a fluorocarbon leader.  The biggest problem I have with jigs is they don't fall through Florida cover as easily as pure plastics.  I can't speak for others, but it's the fall that triggers a strike here in Florida.  With a soft plastic bait, the weight is where these adjustments are made.  When fishing underwater weeds, the thinner the cover, the less weight you can use. Here on the Harris Chain, we can get away with 5/16 oz.  when flipping shoreline cover.  Thick hydrilla requires much heavier weights.  Don't get too heavy.  You will get more bites with a lighter weight.  If the water where you are fishing is clear, you need to make longer pitches and keep noise to a minimum.  Try to use your trolling motor sparingly and never let the prop hit anything hard.  If the water is murky, you can stand right over the fish.  Good luck!

[FishTax]

13 hours ago, ardeact said:

So, concluding my fishing trip, I landed 4 bass and almost a monster 5th bass, on that jig alone. Here's what I've found:

 

Lake floor type - The bottom of the new lake I visited had a solid bottom and was sandy. This aided in dragging and improved the visibility of the lure. The lake that I always go to has a silt bottom full of weeds and debris, so the lure would camouflage. Because of the silt floor, my dragging technique was rendered ineffective as it would get caught in weeds easily and ruin the presentation. Hopping is the only technique here.

 

Technique - I tried many techniques before the bass could become interested and nibble at it. The new lake was clear enough that I could see how the bass were reacting to the lure. Hopping and dragging, the bass didn't care. But erratically jerking the lure across the lake floor was pretty consistent with generating nibbles, leading into bites. When a bass is nibbling, it's important not to just sit there and "let it eat", you want to make the lure run like a real baitfish, that's what triggers them to eat the lure whole.

 

I think the black and blue one did get a bite, but its hook is noticeably thicker than the green one, so I did get bites, but my rod is too weak to set the hook. I'm going to have to experiment with different colors to see what works best, but that green pumpkin with red speckle worked wonders today.

Sounds like you learned a lot, which is super important. I have found I learn way more on clear water than dirty just because I can watch the fish react and learn so much from that. Keep it up, you're on the path! 

I don't think colors are the most important thing, profile and presentation first, but regarding color I highly recommend catching it at least looking at some crawfish in your area to match color to. We've compared here before but the colors of them vary greatly between regions and even bodies of water. Where I fish they are green pumpkin blue, but look black and blue under water when crawling around rocks. 

[33oldtimer]

Tyler Berger on his Youtube channel says he always recommends those new to jig fishing start with Bitsy Bug jigs to build their confidence in jig fishing. Seems like a good idea to me. I noticed my local Walmart now sells a pack Bitsy Bug jig paired up with 3 Baby Rage Craws. Doesn't get much easier than that.

[Bass Rutten]

16 hours ago, 33oldtimer said:

Tyler Berger on his Youtube channel says he always recommends those new to jig fishing start with Bitsy Bug jigs to build their confidence in jig fishing. Seems like a good idea to me. I noticed my local Walmart now sells a pack Bitsy Bug jig paired up with 3 Baby Rage Craws. Doesn't get much easier than that.

This. Finesse jigs = more bites = more confidence. My first year of fishing I stumbled upon a jig bite while throwing a 1/8oz bitsy bug in a back channel where I set the hook on 25+ bass inside a 25ft stretch of bank within about 20 minutes, it was crazy, practically every cast, although I haven't had a jig bite like that in the almost 30 years since it built up confidence in jigs I have to this day.

[Ryan N]

BRO I caught my PB bass again with the jig! Crazy fight, got a medium heavy rod this time around so he wasn’t as impossible strong like last time.

And I still didn’t order a scale! 🤯

[Texas Flood]

Fishing with a jig is awesome. Just make sure you're trying to find high percentage areas where you think the bass are.

[Bird]

You went from not catching them on jigs to putting on a clinic 😂

[Pat Brown]

It's funny how when your really commit to something you see results.  Congratulations on the toad and the new found confidence in the best bass fishing lure ever created!

[Ryan N]

@Pat Brown I only put jigs in my lure box to force myself to learn it. Even if the bass aren’t biting, I’m learning how it feels when it drags across the bottom, through cover, snags and of course, nibbles and bites.

[MediumMouthBass]

@ardeact now that you know what to do, try a finesse jig or swim jig. They are even more fun to fish. Learn how to fish those and youll be able to catch a bass on a jig most of the year, even when the bite slows down.

[Cranketybait0315]

It took me awhile to get used to fishing a jig.  I generally have the best luck with trying to match the colors of the crawfish in the lake and just slowly drag it on the bottom and every now and then give the rod I little jerk to “pop” the jig up just a little with pauses in between.  I may let it sit for 10 to 20 seconds sometimes all the while I’m “feeling” the Rod for that slight little tick that means a fish is picking it up off the bottom.  Then I real down to feel pressure and if I do, I set the hook. 
 

I’ve tried the more “yo yo” type retrieves and have caught a few that way but where I fish, the bottom is muddy and the fish love the “mud trail” left behind from dragging the jig.  
 

Some anglers like to use finesse jigs.  For me, I’m those situations where a finesse jig is better, I use a tube jig but work the body of a craw trailer down in the tube with the claws and head sticking out the back.(it takes time to do so I usually pre rig several ahead of time).  This I have found is one of the best ways to mimic a crawfish molting and at certain times produces more fish than any other lure I use.  I generally make the “craw” part either slightly lighter or darker than the “tube” part.  The way a tube moves when you “pop it” is just deadly.

[RenzokukenFisher]

Wow man congrats on the new PB! And on a jig at that! I remember my first "big fish", probably a 3.5lber at the time, came on a jig and since it has given me great confidence, many fish in the 5lb - 8lb range caught on it over the years. Honestly just keep fishing the darn thing! Youre starting to catch em, just keep going with it. If you find they are biting it, throw it until the bite dies and dont put it down. You'll just get better. Take little notes where your bites come from and eventually you'll cast to those areas like muscle memory. My biggest tip, and something that makes the jig such a powerful lure, is it can get in the nastiest stuff imaginable. Throw it the densest laydown, the thickest clump of weeds, an isolated rockpile, and let the lure work. Bump it up against cover and cause a racket!! But dont over do it, keep it realistic. Bump it against cover, feel it get slightly hung up, then pop it free, you'll normall get smacked as it pops free. Sometimes they just nail it on the fall if you pitch to an isolated weed clump for example. Its a lure made to bump around and draw some attention but its also veryyy alive looking in the water. The other bonus is fish seem to rarely get unglued qhen you hook em with a jig, that big heavy hook just sticks em and the weed guard pins it in place. Very rarely with they pop off so it has good insurance 😂

[Bankbeater]

The jig bite has been slow around here.  I'm catching bass on plastic worms and stickbaits in the places that I usually catch them using jigs.  Hopefully as the temps warm up they will start going after some 1/8 ounce jigs.

[Ryan N]

@Bankbeater 1/8 May be too light. 1/4 I think is a good middle ground of presence, speed of descent. 3/8 Is a good for awfully thick cover and grass beds

grass beds as in grassy lake floor