Help With Jig Fishing

[Muad Dib]

Hey fellas. I need some tips on how to fish jigs. I feel like the only way i get bit with a jig is flipping docks! And there are so many better ways to catch fish. With this cold front in the north east and the prespawn on its way in i figured a jig would be the way to go but i just dont have any confidence in it.

What are your favorite tips for jig fishing?

T

[Bluebasser86]

I love fishing a finesse jig around rocks and wood and just move it slowly along the bottom like a crawdad. A small jig with a plastic crawdad trailer is one of my go-to baits in cold water. Or you can go with a big jig fished the same way and swing for the fences!

[Mottfia]

I personally don't spend alot of time working my jig. I like to do what I call speed flipping. Basically I get a 1/2 oz jig trim it up and put a trailer with a sutle action and go to flipping everything in sight. Its a shallow water visible cover approach but when the fish are shallow you can define a pattern quickly. I make a pitch to the cover as close as I can. Let it sink straight down on semi slack line. Let it set for a second and give it a hop or two to make it dance close to the cover and then pull it back in real quick for the next pitch.

Mottfia

[WRB]

Think of a jig as a small compact lure than represents crawdads or smaller baitfish like sunfish/bluegill. Jigs come in many styles depending on how and where you fish them.

Casting a jig is often over looked, most angler cast T or C rigged worms, however jigs are faster and often far more effective when cast and retrieved horizontally. Football heads, dart heads and shaky heads all are good casting jigs. The plain painted 3/8 to 1/2 oz football jig with a 4" double or single tail Hula grub is a good choice to start with. Fish this like you would a t-rigged worm, except set the hook instantly if not sooner.

Flipping or pitching jigs is what most bass anglers think of when they say "jigs".

This is the classic pig & jig presentation. A painted Arkie style head with a skirt and trailer added. The Arkie head is designed to have a weed guard and heavy short shank wide gap hook and fished vertically or on the "fall" in cover.

The vertical jig is good when bass are in heavy cover. The horizontal jig is good when bass are active and hunting the edges or breaks. Strikes are all about line watching for the lure to stop on the fall and you must set the hook instantly before the jig is rejected. The pace you move the jig varies with what the bass want; try slow short hops and stop, small hop and shake, drag a foot or so and stop and hop, etc.

Instant hook sets is what set a jig fishing part from nearly every other lure.

Good luck.

Tom

[clayton86]

I only cast jigs as I fish from shore rarely do I get a chance for vert presentations bot jigging is one of my fav presentations. I like to bomb my football head with a paca chunk and slowly drag it back by twisting my body to drag the jig thenk reel the slack wait desired amount abd repeat. 9 outa 10 times when I start my drag ill feel the fish swiming away and get it 99% of the time. I also swim it back to me with the same trailer just kinda pumping it as I reel and its deadly on lmb and the drag is almost guaranteed to get me a smb every time on rocky points. Also if u feel a hang up let it sit and kinda wiggle it they tend to slam it then or as soon as u pop it free

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Jig Fishing Questions

Bass Jigs: What I've Learned

Videos on Jigs

If you do a forum search, you'll find tons of info on the subject here. Far more than you can read in one sitting.

[Fat-G]

Really good post Eric. You made a great post about the jig with a ton of good info, which is his second link down for people wondering what I'm talking about.

Jigs are my favorite. You can swim them, hop them, dead-stick them, crawl them and really any other way you can think of. I recently caught a 4.5 on a topwater jig. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting it.

[LuckyHandsINC.]

I only cast jigs as I fish from shore rarely do I get a chance for vert presentations bot jigging is one of my fav presentations. I like to bomb my football head with a paca chunk and slowly drag it back by twisting my body to drag the jig thenk reel the slack wait desired amount abd repeat. 9 outa 10 times when I start my drag ill feel the fish swiming away and get it 99% of the time. I also swim it back to me with the same trailer just kinda pumping it as I reel and its deadly on lmb and the drag is almost guaranteed to get me a smb every time on rocky points. Also if u feel a hang up let it sit and kinda wiggle it they tend to slam it then or as soon as u pop it free

[jignfule]

I love fishing a jig. I gave up many hours of senko fishing and instead learn jigs.Just something I had to practice a lot(and still do) to get better. If you have a chance to sight fish with one the learning curve is increased. They are every versatile. Well worth the effort to learn, but if you're like me,you have to put in the time. Good luck

[Bassin18]

Man, I was the same way with jigs I didn't really know alot about em, didn't really know how to fish em and I didn't have confidence in one, but I fished a cold front with a jig the first time I ever used one..a denny brauer flippin jig by strike king with a big bite baits yo momma as my trailer and caught 15 bass, granted they all weren't big but I gained confidence with a jig and keep in mind this was only 2 weeks ago, all I did was casted to the shore or flipped it around trees, I'd swim it and let it fall give it a few jerks and reel slack line, most of the bites off the shore were right as the weedline dropped off or as soon as it hit the water, don't just yank when you feel a fish, its like using a soft plastic let it, tick, tick, reel down and then set the hook

[SirSnookalot]

Try tipping your jig, sometimes if I have leftover shrimp or squid I'll stick in on a jig, salami will work too.

[kikstand454]

when i didnt have confidence in a jig.... and it wasnt that long ago.... i just made up my mind that was all i was going to throw in almost every situation umtil i caught some fish. it worked. truth is everyti,e you read an article about any technique it normally mentions a jig as an option. pros kill on them. they work. just throw it till it convinces you. youll be happy you did!

[Bigsby]

I would throw a heavy football jig with a craw as a trailer either in heavy brush or on the side were the most shade is. This works best when there is a slight current or warm water... they like their ambush points!

[Flipsk828]

To me its a spinnerbait with no blades. You can try different retreieves, you could swim it, which could be a good searchbait for this time of year, or you could fish it like a craw. You should try some different retrieves and see whats comfortable for you.

[slonezp]

I personally don't spend alot of time working my jig. I like to do what I call speed flipping. Basically I get a 1/2 oz jig trim it up and put a trailer with a sutle action and go to flipping everything in sight. Its a shallow water visible cover approach but when the fish are shallow you can define a pattern quickly. I make a pitch to the cover as close as I can. Let it sink straight down on semi slack line. Let it set for a second and give it a hop or two to make it dance close to the cover and then pull it back in real quick for the next pitch.

Mottfia

That's it. I pitch to every pier pylon twice(both sides), sea walls, rocks, reeds, whatever. I get into a rythem and it becomes effortless.

[bilgerat]

That's it. I pitch to every pier pylon twice(both sides), sea walls, rocks, reeds, whatever. I get into a rythem and it becomes effortless.

Pretty much the same for me. I realize many will stitch a jig an inch at a time, but I never got bit that way. Sometimes in deeper water I'll snap the rod tip to make it jump and it gets hit on the fall.