What kind of area would you work a jig from shore?

[snapper G]

I fish from shore, and have used jigs but neaver caught anything? I think is because I don't know were i should fish them? What water bepth, etc?

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[Branuss04]

Don't fish jigs from shore much, but I remember the last time I did was during a major cold front.  Fished them in open areas around weed lines, didn't really matter what depth.  Stuck fish.  Hopefully some guys will chime in with some good answers.

[Paul Roberts]

You can adapt to just about any situation with jigs. There are a million possible permutations of head weight and style, body material, and trailer type.

Think of jigs in terms of components, rather than a complete out-of-the-package lure.

[BassFishingMachine]

I fish from shore 99% of the time. And jigs are one of my most productive baits. Especially for catching quality fish. The areas you want to target with jigs from the shore would be as listed.

1. Rivers/Feeder Creeks - Anywhere the lake branches off into a river, or simply a river itself. These areas often have mud/rock bottoms, and you can crawl/hop the jig around without getting caught up in weeds/leafs every single cast.

2. Anywhere there are stick piles, especially the large stickpiles, or what you could even call "tree limb piles" . Just hop/crawl the jig through those big sunken branches, this is where I find the jig shines most, simply because the weedguard allows it to be almost entirely snagproof, allowing you to work the jig slowly through the branches without gettin caught up much at all. Even if the stickpile is in a area that has a weedy/leafed up bottom, it is worth casting and working that stickpile.

3. Light weeds or Duckweeds. When duckweeds pile up in a section of the lake, quietly pitching/flipping a jig through them is one of my go-to tactics when coming across this type of cover. Bass use the light weeds mats/duckweed as shade, so when that jig quietly falls through the mat, they are quick to suck it up.

4. Water Pipes man made holes. Alot of the lakes I fish have a pipe built into a side of the lake, I find there always to be a bass or two sitting in the pipes, and quietly flipping/pitching a jig into the pipe is a deadly weapon. Crawling that jig on a cement bottom can't be any easier as theres rarely anything to gunk up your jig. And those bass in them pipes are quick to suck up that jig.

5. Rocks/structure. Any big boulder, or any sort of cover in the water, wether it be a sunken chair, a bike, or a trashcan, what ever it may be it doesn't matter, as long as its cover its worth flipping/pitching a jig to. Now remember, there is no rush when fishing a jig, and you want that jig to remain in the "hot spot" the entire time, so take your time when fishing that jig around that peice of cover because thats where the bass will most likely be, if you work it to quick you can pull it right away from them, and we all know a big bass can be too lazy to chase. So theres nothing wrong with taking a solid 3mins to work that jig around each individual peice of cover..although I usually give it 2mins ;D. Sometimes the bass will hit it quickly, and you don't need to fish it that slow, the fish should tell you the speed they want. But I find its mostly always slow.

Remember, a jig can also be fished with a "swim" type tactic. Basiclly retrieving the jig as you would a spinnerbait. I find trailers with alot of action are best for this, such as Hulagrubs or Ragetail Chunks. Although the advantage to this, is you can always stop and let the jig fall into any peice of cover you come across and begin slowly workin that peice of cover with the jig, if nothing hits, just retrieve it again bringing it to a swim tactic. Obviously you could not do this with a spinnerbait :.

Good luck, and trust me, don't let anyone tell you a jig I'snt a good shore angler bait. I've caught many big bass with jigs and I fish from shore pretty much always. My pb came off a jig, it is the best bait in my opinion for fishing individual peices of cover. Definetly a bait worth having in your arsenal wether you be a boat angler, or a bank fisherman.

[tyrius.]

Where?

Anywhere except heavy weed cover.  Since you can't fish the jig vertically in the weeds, it's difficult to fish effectively.  But, other than that jigs will work if that is what the fish are looking for at that time.

[J Francho]

I think you need to define the structure and cover the shore spots you want to fish.  A jig is merely a hook with a weight attached, and there are literally dozens of different jig styles, each suited to solving a particular problem with fishing specific cover and structure.  A bare hook stand up jig will do you no good in a weedy, mud bottom pond.  Just as a 1/2 oz. grass jig is not appropriate for a rocky dropoff.  A weedless Arkie jig will always be a great choice when fishing timber, regardless what you're fishing from.  Catch my drift?  Define the water, and your jig choice will be made for you.  Knowing what jig to fish in that water is where we can help.

[J Francho]

Where?

Anywhere except heavy weed cover.  Since you can't fish the jig vertically in the weeds, it's difficult to fish effectively.  But, other than that jigs will work if that is what the fish are looking for at that time.

Use a good grass jig and appropriate tackle, and this would be an excellent place to shore fish since most shore anglers will be thinking like you, and avoid this water.  Big mistake if you're looking for a big fish.

[tyrius.]

Use a good grass jig and appropriate tackle, and this would be an excellent place to shore fish since most shore anglers will be thinking like you, and avoid this water. Big mistake if you're looking for a big fish.

I'm talking full weed growth, ie nothing is coming through it, or moss covered areas.  Swimming a jig through scattered weeds is good, but they don't work so well coming through a complete wall of vegetation or through the moss.  I turn to weightless plastics to fish those areas.  I try not to avoid any area that holds water as some of the nastiest places hold the best fish.  

[Bankbeater]

I'll throw a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce jig around brush and timber if there is not a lot of weeds. If the growth is very heavy I'll throw a 1/8 ounce jig out as far as I can and swim it back.

[J Francho]

Use a good grass jig and appropriate tackle, and this would be an excellent place to shore fish since most shore anglers will be thinking like you, and avoid this water. Big mistake if you're looking for a big fish.

I'm talking full weed growth, ie nothing is coming through it, or moss covered areas. Swimming a jig through scattered weeds is good, but they don't work so well coming through a complete wall of vegetation or through the moss. I turn to weightless plastics to fish those areas. I try not to avoid any area that holds water as some of the nastiest places hold the best fish.

WHo said you need to swim it through to get bit?  All those weed are growing leaves at the surface to harness energy from the sunlight.  It is actually fairly open just a few inches below the slop canopy, which is like a jungle habitat.  This is what long and heavy power rods are for.  If you can punch your bait through the mat, you'll be in for a treat.  Go ahead and use your unweighted plastics where there are holes - this is an awesome technique.  But where there is no hole, make one.  Its just as awesome.

[Cory20]

I fish from shore 99% of the time. And jigs are one of my most productive baits. Especially for catching quality fish. The areas you want to target with jigs from the shore would be as listed.

1. Rivers/Feeder Creeks - Anywhere the lake branches off into a river, or simply a river itself. These areas often have mud/rock bottoms, and you can crawl/hop the jig around without getting caught up in weeds/leafs every single cast.

2. Anywhere there are stick piles, especially the large stickpiles, or what you could even call "tree limb piles" . Just hop/crawl the jig through those big sunken branches, this is where I find the jig shines most, simply because the weedguard allows it to be almost entirely snagproof, allowing you to work the jig slowly through the branches without gettin caught up much at all. Even if the stickpile is in a area that has a weedy/leafed up bottom, it is worth casting and working that stickpile.

3. Light weeds or Duckweeds. When duckweeds pile up in a section of the lake, quietly pitching/flipping a jig through them is one of my go-to tactics when coming across this type of cover. Bass use the light weeds mats/duckweed as shade, so when that jig quietly falls through the mat, they are quick to suck it up.

4. Water Pipes man made holes. Alot of the lakes I fish have a pipe built into a side of the lake, I find there always to be a bass or two sitting in the pipes, and quietly flipping/pitching a jig into the pipe is a deadly weapon. Crawling that jig on a cement bottom can't be any easier as theres rarely anything to gunk up your jig. And those bass in them pipes are quick to suck up that jig.

5. Rocks/structure. Any big boulder, or any sort of cover in the water, wether it be a sunken chair, a bike, or a trashcan, what ever it may be it doesn't matter, as long as its cover its worth flipping/pitching a jig to. Now remember, there is no rush when fishing a jig, and you want that jig to remain in the "hot spot" the entire time, so take your time when fishing that jig around that peice of cover because thats where the bass will most likely be, if you work it to quick you can pull it right away from them, and we all know a big bass can be too lazy to chase. So theres nothing wrong with taking a solid 3mins to work that jig around each individual peice of cover..although I usually give it 2mins ;D. Sometimes the bass will hit it quickly, and you don't need to fish it that slow, the fish should tell you the speed they want. But I find its mostly always slow.

Remember, a jig can also be fished with a "swim" type tactic. Basiclly retrieving the jig as you would a spinnerbait. I find trailers with alot of action are best for this, such as Hulagrubs or Ragetail Chunks. Although the advantage to this, is you can always stop and let the jig fall into any peice of cover you come across and begin slowly workin that peice of cover with the jig, if nothing hits, just retrieve it again bringing it to a swim tactic. Obviously you could not do this with a spinnerbait :.

Good luck, and trust me, don't let anyone tell you a jig I'snt a good shore angler bait. I've caught many big bass with jigs and I fish from shore pretty much always. My pb came off a jig, it is the best bait in my opinion for fishing individual peices of cover. Definetly a bait worth having in your arsenal wether you be a boat angler, or a bank fisherman.

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