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Jigs
by Chris Stevens
Jigs are without a doubt the best big fish
lure and one of the most versatile lures made today. Anglers
have begun to rely on jigs year round and jigs have been the
key to many tournament wins by professional and amateur anglers.
On today's market there are several styles of jigs available
and selecting the right one can be the difference in catching
fish and catching stumps. There are five popular head styles
used on today's jigs. Round or ball-shaped heads are best for
casting and vertical jigging. Football-shaped heads are designed
to be compact so they won't get wedged between rocks and timber
as often. Bullet-shaped heads are designed to penetrate vegetation
without getting hung-up and they fall slower than other heads.
Oval heads work best when fishing in current and they stand up
better than others on the bottom. A head that fairly new and
has quickly gained popularity is the fish-shaped head. These
heads resemble the profile of fish. These heads tend to swim
better than other heads.
The next thing to consider when selecting a jig is the hook.
One the to look at is the eyelet. Jigs that have an eyelet in-line
with the hook swim better and they are easier to fish in vegetation.
Eyelet's that are at an angle to the hook stand up better on
the bottom and they provide better hook-ups. Another thing to
consider is the hook angle. Most flipping jigs have an angle
that is from 45 to 60 degrees, and swimming jigs are usually
straighter. The most important thing is to use a fairly wide
gaped hook that is strong, but not to big to cause problems when
setting the hook.
The key to getting the jig in and out of those tight spots is
the weedguard. Like all other components of the jig there are
a few things you'll have to look at. They're two main types of
weedguards, fiber and wire. I prefer to use Bass Browser Jigs
because of their innovative wire weedguard. I think it gives
you better hook-sets, and it's still strong enough to keep you
from getting hung up. Wire weedguards require less preparation
than fiber. When using fiber you should trim and pull out strands
for different types of structure. When fishing grass a short,
thin weedguard works best. When fishing brush you need to go
to a thicker weedguard to help you from getting hung-up. The
thinner you can get the weedguard without snagging, the better
your chances of getting a good hook-set will be. Most people
prefer to cut the weedguard at an angle, and it helps if you
crush the weedguard with your pliers to make the fiber more pliable
so you'll get better hook-sets.
The most important thing when selecting a jig is the skirt and
the color. Most people like to use silicone or rubber skirts.
Silicone has more action and it pulsates more. Most anglers use
silicone throughout most of the year. In the winter and other
times of the year when fish aren't as active I use a short rubber
skirt. This gives the jig a sluggish look like a crippled fish
or crawfish. Next you have to select the color. The traditional
jig colors are black/blue, black/chartreuse, black/brown, black/orange,
and pumpkinseed. These color mimic crawfish and many anglers
forget that jigs can mimic baitfish so they stick to them. Colors
like white, white/silver, white/black, silver/black, silver/blue,
and silver are popular baitfish imitation colors.
You can also add rattles and trailers to help you entice the
bass. When selecting trailers you need to look at the temperature,
conditions, and figure out what type of food you'll be mimicking
to help you select the right one. Long, narrow trailers help
give the give the appearance of a baitfish. Short, double-tail
trailers give it the appearance of a frog or crawfish. Next you
have to decide if you need pork or plastic. Pork is more buoyant
than plastic and it has more action, but they tend to dry out
in the summer. Plastic stays fresher in the summer, and plastics
have a wider range of colors and sizes, but plastics get stiff
in the colder months. Rattles on jigs is a frenzy that started
a few years ago. They're several rattle manufactures today and
rattles come in all shapes and sizes. The brand I prefer is H&H
Plastic Rattles. They have single and double barrel rattles that
easily snap on the jigs. H&H's rattles are the loudest rattles
made and they don't chip or crack after use. Rattles are mainly
used when bass are kind of finicky and they just need that one
little thing to turn them on.
You've got to have the right equipment to be a successful jig
fisherman. For flipping and pitching jigs you need a good Medium
Heavy or Heavy 6 ½- to 7 ½-foot rod. For the reel
you just need a quality baitcast reel with a good drag system.
When selecting line, think big. Use a good 20- to 30-lb. test,
heavy abrasion resistant line when fishing cover and in open
water use 14- to 17-lb. test.
Once you get all that stuff figured out its time to fish. First
lets talk about casting, when fishing jigs most anglers flip
or pitch a jig when they have to get the jig into a tight spot,
and when they fishing in open water they cast it regular. Pitching
is when you put your reel in free-spool and let out about a rod's
length of line. Then put the jig in your free hand and hold it
even with the reel, now dip the rod down towards the water and
quickly snap it up while letting go of the lure. The lure should
go straight while you feather the spool with your thumb until
it hits the water. The object of pitching is to gently put the
lure in tight spots. Flipping is when you let out twice the length
of the rod, put the reel in free-spool and pull the line in front
of the reel to the side with your free hand until the lure hangs
just being even with the reel. Now pull the line through the
guides as you lift the rod and let the lure swing back to you,
then put the rod down and lift again and let the lure swing forward,
while letting the line slide out of your free hand. As the jig
gets close to the target lower the rod and continue letting out
the line in your hand until it hits the target. The object of
flipping is to place the jig gently in the water accurately at
short distances.
Almost everyone has his or her own retrieves for jigs. When
I have to flip or pitch jigs in tight spots I usually just bounce
the jig around a few times so I want to bring it through a lot
of cover. My other retrieves are swimming, hopping, and dragging.
I prefer the hopping retrieve because it mimics crawfish because
when crawfish move they take a few quick hops. During the Spawn
if you hop a jig around a bed you're sure to get a bite. In late
spring through most of fall I swim jigs. This is done by holding
the rod tip high and keeping the jig just under the surface.
This retrieve works exceptionally well around boat docks in the
summer. Dragging a jig is really simple, all you have to do is
drag it along the bottom and try to make it dig up the silt to
help entice the bass.
The retrieves were easy, now we get to the hard part, detecting
strikes. The key to detecting strikes is watching your line.
It's important to keep a controlled amount slack on your line.
Bass usually take a jig when it is falling and if there is pressure
on the line the jig won't feel right to the bass and it'll spit
it out. Basically there are two kinds of strikes "mushy
strikes" and "pulverizing strikes". A "mushy
strike" feels like you have grass on your jig. If it feels
odd go ahead and set the hook because it might be a "mushy
strike". "Pulverizing strikes" are when bass crush
a jig. On this kind of strike bass often crush the jig, then
spit it out, and then it sucks it back in. When you have this
kind of strike you to reel in the slack and feel for pressure
before you set the hook. If you don't feel for pressure you might
set the hook when the fish has spit it out.
Jig fishing is like baseball, if you practice you'll eventually
hit a homerun.
Good Luck and Tight Lines!!!
Chris Stevens
Pro-Staff |
