Jig Bite...question

[Ima Bass Ninja]

This video will tell ya alot. When a bass grabs a crawfish it first grabs it , Then spits it out in order to position itself to grab it from the rear so that the pinchers can't do any harm. notice at .15 when he gets it away from the other bass . I always felt a tap, set the hook and reeled in empty line until i seen this video.

heres another with a smallmouth same thing, spits it out the eats it.

[WRB]

Double tap jig bite; tap 1 the bass spitting out the jig, tap 2 your partner tapping you on the shoulder and telling you to swing.

Tom

[Bankbeater]

After the first thump did you take up the slack and wait to see if the fish would come back? Around here, especially in the spring, they will hit the jig once and come back for it a few seconds later. The tight line lets you see when they start to carry it off.

[gobig]

I agree with Tom (WRB). One thing about fishing in ultra clear water is.. if you pay attention you will see alot. Bass, especially big bass will inhale a jig and spit it out in a split second. For this reason I do not waste any time setting the hook with a jig. I think the difference between a good jig fisherman and a great one is the ability to detect the strike and react to it. If I had to guess, I would say that a fairly high percentage of bites are never even detected by the average fisherman using a jig. The video IMA Bass Ninja posted really shows alot. Look at the initial strike. The craw was inhaled and spit with in about one second. Now this is a real crawdad. Imagine it was a jig. Does the fish come back after spitting it like it did for the crawdad? or would the jig feel wrong causing the fish to abandon pursuit leaving the window of opportunity to one second? I think there are times bass will hold a jig for a long time and there are times when they don't. I just want to be prepared for the latter.

[crankbait]

Cliff,

I just have some questions to help give you a more concise answer...here they are?

How deep were you fishing...? What type of jig were you throwing...style---weight---colors...? What type of cover was on the point...rocky--grass---sand---pea gravel---...? What gear were you using...line, rod, reel...?

These answers can help with results on hooking these fish.

[Red]

Cliff,

I just have some questions to help give you a more concise answer...here they are?

How deep were you fishing...? What type of jig were you throwing...style---weight---colors...? What type of cover was on the point...rocky--grass---sand---pea gravel---...? What gear were you using...line, rod, reel...?

These answers can help with results on hooking these fish.

10-12 feet. 3/8 seibert outdoors brush jig/rage craw, greens and browns. Chunk rock, probably nothing bigger than a basketball. 7'11' flippin stick, revo S, 20lb Invizx.

[crankbait]

10-12 feet. 3/8 seibert outdoors brush jig/rage craw, greens and browns. Chunk rock, probably nothing bigger than a basketball. 7'11' flippin stick, revo S, 20lb Invizx.

So I think I found what the problem might have been...a brush jig is designed to have a thick weed guard to protect it from hanging up in the brush...The weed guard might have caused the jig to twist side ways in the fishes mouth and not causing the hook to lock into the upper part of the fishes mouth when you set the hook...to fix this you can spread the jigs weed guard and not affect its weedless qualities but increase the chances of the jig not deflecting side ways which is causing the jig to slide straight through the fishes mouth and out its lips without hooking the fish...this is a common cause of not hooking fish on jigs and is well known...

After spreading out the weed guard you should see the hook set in the sides and in the upper part of the roof of the mouth where the jig will remain hooked up best.

Another choice is to fish a football style head which is harder for the jig to spin or deflect in the fishes mouth. Remember you are fishing deeper and have less power from rod to jig to strike the fish also...which can cause a problem and can be fixed by waiting to see if the line moves off when you detect a strike and then reeling up slack with the high speed reel you are using and hammering home the jig on a hook set to the opposite direction the fish is moving...best of luck and hope this helps.

[Red]

So I think I found what the problem might have been...a brush jig is designed to have a thick weed guard to protect it from hanging up in the brush...The weed guard might have caused the jig to twist side ways in the fishes mouth and not causing the hook to lock into the upper part of the fishes mouth when you set the hook...to fix this you can spread the jigs weed guard and not affect its weedless qualities but increase the chances of the jig not deflecting side ways which is causing the jig to slide straight through the fishes mouth and out its lips without hooking the fish...this is a common cause of not hooking fish on jigs and is well known...

After spreading out the weed guard you should see the hook set in the sides and in the upper part of the roof of the mouth where the jig will remain hooked up best.

Another choice is to fish a football style head which is harder for the jig to spin or deflect in the fishes mouth. Remember you are fishing deeper and have less power from rod to jig to strike the fish also...which can cause a problem and can be fixed by waiting to see if the line moves off when you detect a strike and then reeling up slack with the high speed reel you are using and hammering home the jig on a hook set to the opposite direction the fish is moving...best of luck and hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. I always spread the weed guard so I got that covered. I know I should be using a football jig in this situation but I don't have any. They are certainly on my wish list.

Cliff

[Fat-G]

Thanks for the info. I always spread the weed guard so I got that covered. I know I should be using a football jig in this situation but I don't have any. They are certainly on my wish list.

Cliff

Cliff, I have a couple. I'll send you a PM in a little bit.

[WRB]

You will miss about 90% of the strikes on a jig if you react to a strike as you did.

Largemouth bass strike a jig that acts like a crawdad by engulfing it, quickly opening it's mouth and vacumning in onto the back of it's mouth where there is a set of crunchers.

If the jig doesn't feel right the bass rejects it quickly.

The tap you felt was the jig hitting the crunchers and you had about a heart beat to set the hook. When you lowered the rod the jig was spit out. Unlike a soft plastic worm that feels right to a bass, the hard jig doesn't and bigger the bass is the faster it will reject a jig.

Learn to watch your line where the enters enters the water; line movement indicates what the jig is doing.

Smallmouth and spotted bass will sometimes peck at a jig to remove the claws before engulfing it, so with these bass you can sometimes hesitate until you feel slight pressure before hook setting. Takes practice to develop the right timing.

Try setting the hook setting a jig by cranking the line tight before sweeping the rod back, it's faster and moves more line.

Tom

Now that we know (I should have asked in the first place) you dragging a "brush" jig using basically a pitching rod and 3/8 oz jig, what I initially posted is still good advice.

Brush jigs; arkie style jig head with weed guard is a compact jig designed to be fished vertically or falling down through the water column. The hook point is close to the lead head because the head is molded back of the hook eye to accommodate the weed guard. When a bass strike this jig hook setting can be done by lifting rod upwards, the hook is driven upwards.

when you cast a jig away from you horizontally or drag it along the bottom a distance away from the boat, the arkie style compact jig becomes very difficult to get a good hook set, due to it's compact shape and head deign.

A football jig by design puts the lead head under the hook eye, the hook point is set back about 1/2". Football heads snag in brush because the hook is back further. However, this is a big advantage when casting or dragging along the bottom. The hook point being further back in the basses mouth helps to set the hook.

Take a look at Yamamoto's football jig heads, both the wire type weedless and standard without weed guards for fishing chunk rock. A bag of 5 plain football heads with Gamakatsu hook are about $4. Paint thead and add whatever trailer you prefer.

Tom

PS; your 7 1/2' jig rod is longer and heavier than need for casting a 3/8- 3/4oz jigs. 7', 4 to 5 power or heavy worm/jig rod would be lot easier to fish with if you have one.

[Red]

Thanks. I am going to switch rods....I have a 7'3" 5 power I will be using while casting a jig from now on. I know I should be using a football jig but don't currently have any. Will be getting some soon as this type of jig fishing will be a more frequent thing for me now. Thanks again for all the help.

[JIGFISHERMAN.]

Thanks. I am going to switch rods....I have a 7'3" 5 power I will be using while casting a jig from now on. I know I should be using a football jig but don't currently have any. Will be getting some soon as this type of jig fishing will be a more frequent thing for me now. Thanks again for all the help.

IMO your OK staying with a long rod. As long as the package is light enough to get a quick hook set. I use one rod for all my jig fishing. A 7'6 MH, XF, in a light sensitive rod is perfect for all my jig fishing.

More important than length though, is that a sensitive rod is going to help you detect bites better, and that means more fish on those days when it seems like they are spitting it right out.

For jigs, instead of forking out big bucks make your own. I've been using unpainted heads from Poor Boy's, and painting them myself, and hand tie-ing the skirts using braid in place of a rubber collar. I won't go back to pre-built jigs.