Fishing
With Jigs
While
jig’s are often considered to be the most difficult artificial
bait to fish due to the “strike” or absence of it.
Occasionally the fish is just there! A lot of times the fish will
lightly peck the bait or you will just see your lure move to the
side! The fact is the jig is many of the top anglers BEST hook-up
percentage is with the jig.
One
of these tougher to detect bites occurred this past weekend as
I had been working the Jig and my line just goes limp, when this
happens take up the slack and set the hook and hold on because
9 out of 10 times this will be a big fish. Usually the lighter
the strike the bigger the fish! There are three basic rules that
apply to Jig fishing. Concentration, Contact and most of all develop
confidence.
Concentration,
As anglers learn to fish jigs they will learn quickly that you
have to have 100% total concentration every second the Jig is
in the water. You really have to know where the Jig is at all
times and learn to be a lure/line watcher. The comment I hear
most often from people learning to fish the Jig is that they can’t
feel the strike. This is due partly to lack of concentration.
If you are not watching your lure your catching percentage will
go way down!
Contact
is the single most important factoring determining when you have
a strike. At all times maintain lure contact with your Jig. Many
times people just learning to Jig fish will tie on a Jig, make
a few cast and give up when they do not get a strike.
Sometimes
you might cast a jig into a good-looking location and let it settle
a few moments before starting the retrieve. A bass will sometimes
snatch up the bait from where it lies. Most bites occur when a
jig is falling, either on the initial pitch, or after a little
jigging. Again, working the jig slowly and maintaining contact
with the bottom is the key. 90% of the time casting and retrieving
jigs quickly, as you would other baits with other baits is non
productive. For the most part each cast should take a little time.
The strength of jigs is in their ability to be twitched and hopped
along slowly, tempting a bass into taking the bait.
Confidence,
the best way to build confidence on a Jig is to pick the most
favorite time for the fishing and leave all your other tackle
behind and solely fish the Jig. Once the strikes start coming
and you begin to catch fish, so will the confidence. It’s
important to learn what your jig feels like at all times, falling,
resting, picking up off the bottom or swimming it. As this confidence
grows so will your success.
As
far as trailers go for the Jig, when water is 65 degrees or better
put on soft plastic, below that it’s the pork trailer #11
or #1 black/blue or brown that will bring you the best results.
As far as size goes 1/2 to 7/16 for heavy cover or when the bass
are not that active 1/4 to 3/16 works best. When working the Jig
I picked a longer rod 7 ’ med/heavy action rod and bait-casting
reel rigged with 20 to 30 lb or of course the flippin stick. Trilene.
By using Trilene Sensation I can use a heavier line and still
have a small diameter. 20 lb is like most other 12 lb. test. Now
for colors, match up the Jig with the color of the water!
For
example, when fishing stained or muddy water black will work!
Clear water, black/blue/purple pork frog, brown/blue with brown
pork frog, then hold on! Don't be afraid to try Shad patterns
in the fall! My favorite bass jigs are the customs I have built
(Thanks Gary), but moving into a tie very fast are the Revenge
and Bobby D's Jigs. Finally, one of the best-kept secrets that
are gaining popularity especially here in the fall is the white
jigs with white pork. No matter where you fish, these will catch
fish.
Enjoy!
Dan
Mathisen
FishDelta.com
- All Species, All Delta
The
Ultimate Resource For California Delta Fishing
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