Finesse Jigging

[aumdb487]

I'm wanting to start focusing on finesse jig techniques and was hoping some of the experts on here could lend some helpful hints. I have read onlne a lot of information but a few things I'm struggling with are how light of line can you actually get away with in certain situations. Dragging a 1/4 ounce football head jig would 12 pound work or could I get away with 10? I know the standard answer of it depends on what I'm dragging it over or across. The main worry is setting the hook with 10 pound, I'm using a sweeping motion instead of the 'cross their eyes' but you can still sweep pretty hard and break 10 pound line.

Another thing I'm playing with is a spinning rod (MH) vs casting rod.... any comments from someone who might have played around with this idea would be appreciated as well.

I'm planning on using 1/4 ounces as my "heaviest" jig head for learning purposes.

Thanks.

[J Francho]

 

[roadwarrior]

I fish #6 Yo-Zuri Hybrid on spinning tackle. The only issue is getting

hung up while floating down the Tennessee River. I go through a lot of

jigs...

 

[quanjig]

Not sure if what I do is considered finess, but I go with a 3/16 bitsy bug with a 5" kuttail worm on 14lb floro with a good bit of success on bc equipment with a moderat action rod. Might drop down to 12lb because I'm starting to get the feeling that sometimes the fish feel me first!

[J Francho]

A lot of my "finesse" jigs are a little heavier than 3/16, so a medium/fast casting rig with 12# P-Line CXX works fine for me.

[.ghoti.]

As long as the jig has a light wire hook, you can easily get by with #12. I use #10 a lot for finesse jigs. Sharpness is critical when using lighter line, so pay attention to your hooks.

A heavy wire hook takes a lot more force to penetrate. You need heavier line and a stouter rod for heavy wire hooks.

[roadwarrior]

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/light_line.html

You might catch more and better fish, especially smallmouth, on lighter tackle.

[aumdb487]

roadwarrior... that one article is what started me along the lines of wanting to 'master' the finesse jig and light line. I've bought into the idea that catching more fish increases the odds of caughting bigger fish, it's all about the odds right . So I have been reading up on finesse jig and Charlie Brewers fishing system both I feel are in the same school of thought, i.e. small baits catch more fish and don't rule out catching the bigger fish.

I typically am fishing on Guntersville, so that is one reason I'm hestiate to go down to the 6 pound line. I'm just trying to figure out if anyone else has done these little test of how low you can go before it becomes an exercise in losing baits.

[JIGFISHERMAN.]

Keep in mind that YZ has a pretty high break strength. That 6lb RW uses is more like 10lb or more line from other companies.

BUT because the diameter is so small, it will be suceptable to abrasion.

[roadwarrior]

Hybrid #6 has a breaking strength of 11.9 lbs. You won't like it for ripping lipless cranks through grass,

frogs out of pads, flipping, jigging spoons or heavy lures. For most other techniques, the thinner line will

be an advantage.

[Brand0n]

im gonna use 12 pound p line fluoroclear on a baitcaster tomorrow with a 1/4oz or 3/8oz finesse jig. i hate the line but i have a whole spool figured id try it out for my finesse presentations

[Team9nine]

In most cases, I'd argue that you can get away with a lot lighter line than most guys would believe or try. Ten pound is pretty darn strong when you think of it, especially if it is an abrasion resistant line. Like J Francho said, no way you should be snapping fresh 10 pound line on the hookset unless your setup or your mechanics aren't right. Look at all the guys out deep cranking DD-22's, DT's and Fat Free Shads on ledges using 10# line and catching big bass on a large heavy bait with a pair of big trebles.

To me, finesse jigging is typically a lot lighter than a quarter ounce, and I regularly go down to 6# or 8# line all the time on spinning outfits to fish that way; usually going 8# to 10# on baitcasters. Try going light a time or two and see what happens. You might be surprised by the results.

-T9

[Hooligan]

I fish a lot of 1/8 and 3/16 ounce jigs throughout the year on both casting and spinning. It depends on what you're doing and how you're doing it. JF is dead on about your drag, if you're breaking off on the set, you're not setting your drag. For 1/8 ounce hair jigs with tiny trailers, I'm fishing a spinning rig. For a 3/16 or 5/16 finesse jig, I'm fishing casting- regardless of the trailer. The times I switch that up are when skipping docks. Also for those 3/16 and 5/16 jigs, I'm fishing on my regular light jig rod with 12lb Tatsu.

[aumdb487]

Thanks for all the advice... I think I'm going to run some 8 pound fluoro leader next time out and see what happens. Not sure I'm ready to drop down to 6 pound yet. by the way, when I was talking about breaking 10 pound line before, I haven't actually broken any on a hook set. It was breaking in my tackle room when I was playing around/testing it out. I was using last years Berkly 100% fluoro and snapped by hand, I also did snap it a few times last year while fishing lipless cranks getting hung up and breaking really easy. So maybe it's the line being old, faulty, or whatever versus the actually true strength of a 10 pound line.

[lmoore]

Thanks for all the advice... I think I'm going to run some 8 pound fluoro leader next time out and see what happens. Not sure I'm ready to drop down to 6 pound yet. by the way, when I was talking about breaking 10 pound line before, I haven't actually broken any on a hook set. It was breaking in my tackle room when I was playing around/testing it out. I was using last years Berkly 100% fluoro and snapped by hand, I also did snap it a few times last year while fishing lipless cranks getting hung up and breaking really easy. So maybe it's the line being old, faulty, or whatever versus the actually true strength of a 10 pound line.

I don't know this for sure, but from observation it seems like flouro breaks down fairly easily when exposed to sunlight and the elements. Seems especially true with smaller flouros, and it's the reason I change any under 15 lb test before every tournament.

[J Francho]

No, that's the exact opposite of both marketing claims and my own personal experience. I have two and half year old InvisX on one of my reels. My son caught a 23" steelhead with it last week, no issues. This particular reel is out on the deck of my boat 90% of the time, and gets a ton of exposure.

[lmoore]

No, that's the exact opposite of both marketing claims and my own personal experience. I have two and half year old InvisX on one of my reels. My son caught a 23" steelhead with it last week, no issues. This particular reel is out on the deck of my boat 90% of the time, and gets a ton of exposure.

I think it probably has a lot to do with the quality of line. I always noticed it when I used Berkley Vanish line in 8lb test. Last year, I finally made the switch to Trilene 100% and never had those problems. Like I said, I don't know for sure if exsposure is what caused it, but the line would definitely lose strength throughout the course of the year.

[J Francho]

A big pro for fluoro is it's resistance to UV damage.

[Jason Penn]

when i first started jig fishing i used a 3/16oz bitsy bug with the back half of a zoom lizard for a trailer, just because i didn't have anything else with me lol. i just used a 7' mh power rod and probably 12# pline. i caught lots of small fish, but it helped me learn how to fish a jig.

i still fish a finesse-type jig 75% of the time (although now i'm using either a 5/16 or 3/8oz mostly) because i just like catching fish and they seem to catch more fish for me. i'm not a tournament guy, so i'm not looking for hogs to win

i use a 7' mh rod and 15# fluorocarbon. a mh might possibly be a tad bit stiff for most folks for the smaller jigs, but i like a stiffer rod for jig fishing. i have a feel i'm looking for when working a jig and don't like the tip to load too much.