Jig Help

[steezy]

I fish a lot in ponds (and catch a lot of 2-3 lb bass).  The ponds have a lot of submerged grassy areas and I do very well with both top water and plastic worms.  I would really like to see if I could match my success with a jig but Im not exactly sure how to best fish the jig.  Should I just cast it into the submerged grass areas and work it along the bottom similar to a plastic worm?

Any help would be appreciated.

[jimmieO]

You'll probably get the full range of answers......here's mine

Rattleback jigs are my favorite. If I'm targeting cover in more shallow water, I'll pitch it and work it really, really slow. Up and down, very subtle. My favorite trailers are ultravibe speed craws in whatever color matches the jig.

Across a point, I cast as far as I can, pull slowly by turning my hips, reel the slack, let it sit for a few seconds, then repeat.

I am interested to see what other people do as well.

[Busy]

What exactly are you calling a jig?

[steezy]

Jig = lead-head with a silicone skirt and weed guard

[WRB]

I fish a lot in ponds (and catch a lot of 2-3 lb bass). The ponds have a lot of submerged grassy areas and I do very well with both top water and plastic worms. I would really like to see if I could match my success with a jig but Im not exactly sure how to best fish the jig. Should I just cast it into the submerged grass areas and work it along the bottom similar to a plastic worm?

Any help would be appreciated.

Fishing ponds you are more than likely fishing from shore. The traditional (pig & jig) is a poor choice, IMO, to be fishing from shore.

The plastic worm or soft plastic creature are far more versatile and effective small lake or pond lures. The reason is the bullet weight slides through the cover easier without loading up with weeds.

If you still want to try a jig, use a grass jig that has bullet shaped head like Owners Sled head with a soft plastic craw type of trailer.

If the reason to try jigs is to increase the size of the bass you are catching, then the plastic worm would be a better choice in a pond.

Big bass are more wary and you need to use darker colors, longer 7" to 10" worms and keep out of sight of the bass you are trying to catch.

Night, very early morning or late evening is a great time to fish ponds for larger size bass.

You can fish the jig and Texas rigged plastics with the same tackle and technique, when fishing a pond.

WRB

[J Francho]

There are exceptions to every "rule" or "guideline."

You are looking for weed pockets to toss your jig to. Try to hit the back edge of the pocket, and feed the jig line by stripping it from the reel so it falls vertically. Jiggle, pop, or even dead stick it, and then bring it back in. Clean the weeds off, and repeat.

Here is a pond bass from last year, caught on a jig, in the middle of the day:

Another pond/jig fish by a buddy of mine, though caught in the late afternoon:

[steezy]

I try to fish early before 6am when possible and there are some narrow areas where I can cast across to the oppsite shore.  I learned the hard way if I tried to stand on the shore the big ones saw me and the next thing I saw was big ripples and the top edge of several very large bass swiming away.  Almost made me cry.

I love my plastic worms (and so do the bass), Im just trying to fish a variety of tackel so I will have more experience when I fish larger and different areas.

[WRB]

Keep in mind that bass are a lot like a flock of sparrows, spook easily, but return when things quite down. The big bass more than likely returned to the exact same ambush site after you left. Next time, sit down and watch the pond for clues what the bass may have been feeding on. Give it maybe 10 minutes and cast back to the same spot.

It becomes a choice of how much tackle and weight you want to carry when shore fishing and what lures have the highest % to catch bass.

I consider myself a good jig fishermen, however when fishing ponds, plastic worms are my first choice because they are a lot easier to fish in a pond and will catch any size bass. If you are just practicing and want to learn jig fishing, go for it.

Start with a lighter weight jig, like a 3/16 oz sled head, paint it black. For the trailer use Yamamoto single tail 4" hula grub in dark green w/black and red flakes. This jig doesn't have a weed guard, you hook the grub like a worm. The color should work well as it looks like both bluegill and crawdad.

WRB

[DINK WHISPERER]

Remember a jig is suppose to imitate a crawfish. I have most success by hoping the jig on the bottom or swimming one to imitate a bluegill.

[WRB]

It always makes me smile when fishermen say a jig looks like a crayfish and hops off the bottom. A jig is about the same size as a crayfish or crawdad, but doesn't look or act like it. Try looking at a crawdad and a jig side by side in an aquarium, they don't look alike, act alike or move in the same manner. Bass may have a small brain, but they know exactly what a real crayfish looks and acts like.

Big bass hit artificial lures for reasons we may never understand fully or need to know. The lure looks right to the bass and they decide to strike it. The only way a bass can strike a lure is if we put the lure in the right place at the right time and the bass decides if it something of interest to eat.

I catch most of my bass on jigs that have landed on the bottom and started slowly moving naturally along the bottom with stops and stops, no hops. I'm not trying to trigger a small bass into striking and fishing for large adult bass that tend to eyeball whatever they eat very closely, if the jig jumps off the bottom, they leave.

WRB

[DINK WHISPERER]

Unless you are fishing ultra clear lakes i think you are looking into this way too much! What works on a fish in your area is not what will work in another!

[WRB]

Unless you are fishing ultra clear lakes i think you are looking into this way too much! What works on a fish in your area is not what will work in another!

True, what works in one lake doesn't work in another a mile away.

The reason I don't like to fish jigs in soft bottom ponds is because plastic worms work far better in weedy ponds, unless it's a deep rocky pond and even then a worm is less likely to hang up.

If the angler is fishing from a boat, he or she can flip or pitch the jig vertically into cover and lift the jig or hopefully a bass back out.

If you are fishing from shore and cast into a small open pocket of a weed matt that is 30' or farther away, you may not get a jig back out, let alone a bass, unless you plan to swim and dig it out.

Water clarity has nothing to do with fishing jigs or worms. Deep structure lakes are different than shallow flat bottom lakes, where ever they maybe located.

WRB

[ChazfromVA]

or... you could always use a swimmin jig that comes through the grass fairly easily... i have caught em pretty good in the slop with a swimmin jig in the past