Winter jig fishing.

[ptomacbass]

Has anyone else found jigs to be bad winter baits?  It seems that I will be using a jig and catch none and then come back to the spots I was fishing the jigs with and catch them on suspending jerkbaits spoons and lipless cranks.  The water temperature here during the winter ranges from 35 to 45 degrees.

[Catt]

Wintertime Jig Fishing

Believe it or not, winter provides some of the better months for jig fishing. The reason is that the water temperature is cold, the bass don't normally bite well, and they aren't aggressive. So slower, more precise presentations are usually the best ways to catch them.

Jigging spoons or the jig-n-pig (pork frog) are probably the two most popular methods. If you want to get into the finesse end of things, fishing a small grub can also be good. But my favorite, naturally, is the jig-n-pig (or craw).

Vertical Fishing

On most bodies of water in winter we're looking at a vertical situation as far as cover types go. To explain: Bass usually move deeper during the winter months. On some lakes that may mean they pull into creek channel for the winter.

On other lakes, where everything is pretty well shoreline-related, they might move to steeper banks, 45-degree banks or bluffs, which are the areas where they're probably going to spend the winter.

One thing you can just about bet on is that wintertime bass are going to be close to deep water. I'm not saying you can't catch them shallow because if you get a few nice days during the winter some of the fish will move up. They may also get on shallow targets next to deep water.

Keep deep water and a slow retrieve in mind, and you'll be a little better off during winter months.

Fish on the Bottom

When I'm fishing during the wintertime, I usually relate to the bottom. That's where I'm trying to find the bass I'm not looking for suspended winter fish. I'm looking primarily for fish that are relating to some type of structure, whether it is a brush pile or a treetop that has been put on the bottom. For some reason, rock cover is very attractive to bass in the colder water situations. Some of my best winter fishing has been on steep rocky banks.

Remember that deep is relative to the part of the country you're fishing. Five feet may be deep on some Florida lakes while in the Midwest you could be looking at a 25- to 30- foot zone.

The weight of the jig you fish should change with depth. If I'm looking at the 5-foot zone, a heavy jig could be 3/8 ounce. If I', looking at 25 feet, I'm probably going to be looking at a ½ to ¾ ounce bait.

Fish Slowly

I want to get that bait down to the fish. I want to maintain contact with the bottom. Try to crawl the bait along the bottom in short spurts, basically dragging it. You don't want to sweep it off the bottom like you would during the summer.

To repeat: winter jig fishing means a slow, tedious retrieve with pauses between movements of the bait. Often that's what it takes to get some of the sluggish wintertime bass to bite.

Keep in mind that the bass are well grouped this time of year. It can be a long time between bites, but when you get a fish to hit, there are probably a bunch of them down there. So stick with it.

Feeling the Bite

With these baits the bass will simply flare its gills causing a vacuum which moves water and your bait into their mouth. With this bite there is very little if any line movement thereby not much is transmitted to your rod tip.

The art of feeling a jig bite is a fine combination of watching your line and feeling for unnatural sensations of what your bait shouldn't feel like. Some times you will feel that classic Tap, some times you'll only see line movement, some times your line will simply go slack, but some times there will only be a feeling of heaviness that is almost like your line will not move. The bites where the bass moves after inhaling you bait are the easy ones to feel because there is line movement, the bites where the bass simply inhales your bait and just sits there are the hardest to feel. Feeling a jig bite requires keeping a certain amount of tension on your line while at the same time keeping a certain amount of slackness in your line. To the average angler this makes no sense at all but the worm/jig angler it makes total sense.

Maintain contact with your lure at all times, allow the lure to free-fall unrestricted, but without letting slack form in the line; follow your lures down with your rod tip.

Pay close attention to the depth you're fishing, any sudden change in the amount of line you're using could mean you've been bit. For instance, if you're fishing 6 feet of water and the lure suddenly stops at the 3 depth, it's possible a bass has taken the bait. If you're fishing 3 feet of water and 6 feet of line sinks beneath the mat, chances are good a bass is traveling with the bait. This is extremely true on the initial drop and no line movement maybe noticed.

Strikes will sometimes so subtle with no line movement that they can go unnoticed if you feel is a spongy sensation, as if the line suddenly got heavy set the hook.

The hook set is the only part of this sport that is still free so when in doubt drop the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook.

[FishingPirate]

Great post Catt.

[ptomacbass]

Sorry guys, I meant Jigs like flipping jigs or football jigs.  Jigging spoons are one of the baits that I can catch bass on during the winter.

[Mottfia]

awesome post Catt! You can put together a great post like no other  ;D

Mottfia

[Jig Thrower]

jigs are always my fall backs no matter what especially in cold water

[Bankbeater]

Great post, Catt.

[Catt]

Sorry guys, I meant Jigs like flipping jigs or football jigs. Jigging spoons are one of the baits that I can catch bass on during the winter.

If that isn't enough information on jigs I give up

[ptomacbass]

I was talking to Brent.

[CoreyD]

Hey everyone I just wanted to ask .... is a moss covered jig after almost every cast normal? or am I doing something wrong?..... same happens to me for texas rigged plastic worms.... I dont get snagged I just get covered with weeds, seems impossible for me to fish slowly,  the only way I can avoid weeds is by casting and reeling constantly.  

[Catt]

First off if you're talking matted vegetation then you do not want to be fishing horizontally but vertically. If you talking sparse vegetation then you have to slowly shake that jig or Texas rig & make it come cleanly through