Deep Grass Jigging!

[Catt]

OK! This is just a little insight on Deep Grass Jigging!

During the early 70s on Toledo Bend the Hydrilla started really getting thick and numerous anglers (me included) were basically fishing the matted grass with weightless Texas Rigs & Johnson Weed less spoons, there wasn't many other baits that would work in this thick stuff. At the time I belonged to the Hemphill Bass Club out of the Harbor Light Marina and one of our members started wining back to back tournaments, not just ours but every ones. He was killing us with 15 fish stringers averaging 3 1/2 to 4 lbs. a fish. No one could figure out how he was doing it, we had all seen him on the main lake flats fishing the grass flats like us or so we thought. Finally at a club meeting he revealed what he was doing. Being a diver he had went out to the grass flats & dove under to see what was there, what he found was tunnels, caverns, & caves under the surface matted grass. In of these areas he could see crawfish clinging to the grass stems, they were also filled with schools of bass, mostly large bass. The next question was what bait could get to the bass, the answer was provided by Lonnie Stanley with a ¾ oz. Jig! Who is this angler that jigged his was too many a tournament win as well to the top of B.A.S.S.  Texas Bass Fishing Legend Tommy Martin!

Tommy's approach to this technique is different from what you've seen, read, or heard. With most techniques you are actually fishing the densest areas of the matted Hydrilla. The focus of Tommy's technique is the outer 15 to 25 yards of the mat; in this area the grass is a little sparser, his simply pitches or flips the jigs to a near vertical presentation. His main objective is to keep the jig in contact with the bottom at all times, something most anglers fishing grass fail to do. When the jig stops falling many anglers believe they have reached bottom, but from an underwater view with scuba gear the jig has only settled on the thick base stems of the Hydrilla. After making a pitch Tommy will strip about 3 or 4 arms lengths of line letting the jig fall near straight down. Then he will shake the jig to make sure it has not stop on the grass stems. With the jig now resting on the bottom, pause several seconds, the shake the jig once or twice with pauses between each. If no strike is detected simply reel up & pitch again moving locations about 20 ft from the previous. Once you get bite quickly kick or toss a buoy marker over board, fish in grass flats tend to school up so when you catch one there is usually more. Circle the buoy in increasing diameters & depths working the jig slowly (I once caught nine 6 lb + bass in an area the size of your living room). You may work 70 yards or 700 yards to locate the fish but when you do hang on!

Thirty years later Tommy is still living in Hemphill Texas, still guiding on Toledo Bend, & still fishing the B.A.S.S. tour. The deep grass technique is still catching huge stringers of quality bass with most Toledo tournament wins averaging 5 lbs. So if you've got the patience to work a jig for sometimes hours with out a bump or if you aint afraid of hanging several hawgs back to back give deep grass jigging a try.

[docav]

that is a great story. very well done. doug

[roadwarrior]

Excellent!

Thank you Catt.

[Guest Texas_Bass_Pro]

Great job!!!  I enjoyed that.

[Catt]

No applause just throw money  ;D

[Siebert Outdoors]

great topic Catt