jigs and bank fishing ?

[Red]

do you generally work the jig all the way back to the bank?  or just pitch it to your target, give it a pop or two then reel it in? all the fish i have caught ona jig came on the initial fall or just after it hits bottom....just wondering if i am missing out by reeling it in and not covering all that water between target and bank... kinda new to the jig thing...thanks guys

Cliff

[grimlin]

I've caught quite a few 2#'ers  3 to 5 feets away from the me & bank tossing a lure 20-30 feets and working it in.I fish them really slow(most of the time anyways)...even deadsticking i get bites.There are times where i have the jig in the water for a good five minutes working it and get bites.That jig has to go pass timber,weed beds,rocks and structures of whatever they may be provides a housing for a fish.You are capable of getting a bite till that lure is out of the water...that's my motto.I've seen fish strike a lure 1 foot away from the bank in shallow stain water(scared the crap outta me).  

[Catt]

I'm of the same mind set even when fishing out of a boat; rarely do I not fish a bait all the way back. When you're target fishing the bass are not always holding exactly on the target, they might be within a certain radius of said target, some times they will simply follow your bait.

[slomoe]

do bass suck it up off the bottom? Maybe the reason I can't catch fish on a jig is because I think It has to be off the bottom for them to hit it.?

[roadwarrior]

Last weekend I had a great deal of success fishing deep structure on long casts. To an outside observer it would appear that I was just casting into open water in the middle of the pond! I fished the jig off a drop, along a ledge and up a mud point. I continued to fish the lure back to within 25% of the cast, 10-15 yards from the bank. Generally the bass struck on transition, but I caught a few relatively close which may have followed the bait.

I suggest continuing to fish your jig, or any lure for that matter, until you feel you are "out of the zone."

[Garnet]

As RW said fish the jig until you believe it's out of the strikes zone.

Then make 2-3 quick turns and stop and then 2-3 quick turns and stop and continue this until the jig is resting under the boat or near shore and no fish are present.

This is very productive for largies and a must for smallies.

It really doesn't matter the bait I do this on every cast.

Garnet

[islandbass]

Thanks for this great information! I suck with jigs and I have got to stop being a Jig N Pig virgin!

[Mass_Bass]

I loaded up on Jigs at the begining of the summer, and haven't caught a thing on them.

[Catt]

I loaded up on Jigs at the begining of the summer, and haven't caught a thing on them.

Ah but when you do they got ya  

[Red]

well went out again tonight, met up with my buddy and told him i was going hawg huntin...i only brought jigs and my spook for after the sun went down...i fished jigs the whole time...i caught one dink and one went 1.3lbs....then i threw my spook for a few and lost it on a tree...back to the jig and nothing for the rest of the evening.....oh well was fun, i will stick to it and get that pig!!

BTW the fish i did catch hit the bait about half way back to shore

Cliff

[Wolf1111]

I'm going with grimlin's theory - "You are capable of getting a bite till that lure is out of the water...that's my motto.I've seen fish strike a lure 1 foot away from the bank in shallow stain water" I don't believe my strikes followed the lure in, they ambushed it with lightning speed from a 90 degree angle to my retrieve. I saw them coming from about 4-5 ft away running parallel to the shore about 2 ft out...

Scared the hell out of me how fast they hit!!!  

[Davis]

Only have caught a couple of fish this year on a jig from shore.

Its one of those lures where I have a ton of them and some trailers but yet I don't put in enough time with them. But I'll get there. Patience is the key.