10 hours ago, ak6388 said:

Recently made an account with the forum after reading for a year or so and I just wanted to say thanks to all the contributors on this thread. I’ve read through a couple times this year and it’s really helped my jig fishing game. 
 

I typically flip a lot of Texas rigged plastics. This year I’ve put a jig in my hand more and I will definitely say that my average fish is larger as well as a lot more catches than previous attempts with the jig. 
 

I’ve read through the whole thread multiple times, there’s a ton of great information. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone!

 

 

 

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone whom gave tips and advice on this thread. I was out this afternoon which is unusual for me but while practicing my baitcaster skillls I caught a largemouth bass with black and blue jig with a blue craw. Biggest fish I’ve caught thus far as well. I’m getting older, 49; and got into fishing just under 10 years ago and thanks to threads like this it’s helped me hook into a lot more fish successfully. So for what it’s worth, many thanks to you all, and when someone tells you black and blue, listen to them. It works! 

Great thread, thanks! I'm slowly working my way through it. Particularly interested in fishing a jig in winter, at least until it gets too cold and icy. Really just started fishing jigs this year. Caught a bass last week on a jig off of the bank, but expect they will be moving out deeper soon.

We tend to tell everyone that jigs replicate crawdads or baitfish but in all my Years jig fishing never witnessed a crawdad or baitfish hit the surface hard and fall fast straight down to the bottom. Yet this how we cast and present a jig, hit the surface and let fall to the bottom.

Try sometime casting on to the shore and dragging the jig into the water like a real crawdad enters the water.

Tom

On 12/24/2023 at 6:32 PM, WRB said:

We tend to tell everyone that jigs replicate crawdads or baitfish but in all my Years jig fishing never witnessed a crawdad or baitfish hit the surface hard and fall fast straight down to the bottom. Yet this how we cast and present a jig, hit the surface and let fall to the bottom.

Try sometime casting on to the shore and dragging the jig into the water like a real crawdad enters the water.

Tom

The last bass I caught on a jig I cast into a bunch of shad busting on top of the water. The bass smacked the jig almost as soon as it hit the water. Of course that was a reaction strike. My guess is jigs are probably either a reaction strike, or the bass eats it because its in the strike zone and perhaps irritating the fish. I wonder how many bass strikes are actually out of hunger rather than reaction strikes.

Good observation. 

Very active bass especially feeding school bass will strike nearly anything when the bass is feeding. The key is location active feeding bass. In the above situation the bass ate a jig hitting the surface in a school of baitfish, that bass would strike nearly any lure under that particular situation.

Right now I am debating with myself what jig to send to a friend who fishes bass that are not school feeding baitfish and  may not be focused on feeding on crawdads. The jig needs to appeal to a wider variety of prey types.

In this situation the jig needs to look like several different prey types to the bass and be able to have movements and coloration to fool the bass into striking.

A swim jig is the obvious choice until you consider the may not be willing to leave it’s ambush area to chase down a faster moving prey. So I want a jig that stays in the strike zone, has natural movements and doesn’t snag in cover.

In this situation a living rubber skirt jig with a double tail soft plastic that swims naturally in lieu of frantically looking like a small bluegill would be a good choice.

The presentation needs to be accurate target casting close to cover weed lines.

Tom

On 1/3/2024 at 11:28 PM, WRB said:

Good observation. 

Very active bass especially feeding school bass will strike nearly anything when the bass is feeding. The key is location active feeding bass. In the above situation the bass ate a jig hitting the surface in a school of baitfish, that bass would strike nearly any lure under that particular situation.

Right now I am debating with myself what jig to send to a friend who fishes bass that are not school feeding baitfish and  may not be focused on feeding on crawdads. The jig needs to appeal to a wider variety of prey types.

In this situation the jig needs to look like several different prey types to the bass and be able to have movements and coloration to fool the bass into striking.

A swim jig is the obvious choice until you consider the may not be willing to leave it’s ambush area to chase down a faster moving prey. So I want a jig that stays in the strike zone, has natural movements and doesn’t snag in cover.

In this situation a living rubber skirt jig with a double tail soft plastic that swims naturally in lieu of frantically looking like a small bluegill would be a good choice.

The presentation needs to be accurate target casting close to cover weed lines.

Tom

Who doesnt love a double tail grub.

And it sounds like something I could throw a bass streamer at. Flyrod or spinning gear if I can add a bit of lead.

On 12/4/2012 at 10:21 PM, WRB said:

Because big bass will reject a jig quickly, most anglers miss the strike a very high percentage of the time.

This is why how you hold your rod and reel becomes critical. With a bait casting reel you should be feeling the line at all times when the jig is in the water. I run the line under the thumb and over the tip of my index finger. With this method you can feel the slightest line movement and improve your strike detection and catch more big bass. Today's bass anglers have the belief their rods are so sensitive they can feel anything that touches their lures. I have heard this statement for over 30 years now and no rod will ever be more sensitive than your finger tip.

Tom

Excellent Yoda level advice. PRECISELY how I plan on holding my rod/reel/line in my LFT hand while fishing jigs and all soft plastics with a BC (for the 1st time ever) this year 

On 10/16/2023 at 9:16 PM, MrJosh said:

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone whom gave tips and advice on this thread. I was out this afternoon which is unusual for me but while practicing my baitcaster skillls I caught a largemouth bass with black and blue jig with a blue craw. Biggest fish I’ve caught thus far as well. I’m getting older, 49; and got into fishing just under 10 years ago and thanks to threads like this it’s helped me hook into a lot more fish successfully. So for what it’s worth, many thanks to you all, and when someone tells you black and blue, listen to them. It works! 

You have my sympathies having missed so many yeas of joyful-frustration. I started bass fishing when I was 6, but only started to know how to bass fish after I entered my 40's and started reading some good books on bass fishing and subscribing to The InFisherman back when it was still run by Al and Ron Linder. I caust A LOT of LM/SM, walleye and even northern pike following their advice. One Canada fishing trip in particular back in the late 1980's six of us went on, the walleye fishing was utterly abismal I recalled an article I read, while not recalling it all I do remember the article advising one tough fishing strategy when you do not have the luxury of electronics (we did not) of slowly back trolling past points ever farther out into the lake with 1/4oz lead head jigs tipped with minnows back parallel to shore until you found active feeding walleye then anchor and vertically jig for them. That strategy literally saved out trip. 

On 1/31/2024 at 4:54 PM, CDMTJager said:

You have my sympathies having missed so many yeas of joyful-frustration. I started bass fishing when I was 6, but only started to know how to bass fish after I entered my 40's and started reading some good books on bass fishing and subscribing to The InFisherman back when it was still run by Al and Ron Linder. I caust A LOT of LM/SM, walleye and even northern pike following their advice. One Canada fishing trip in particular back in the late 1980's six of us went on, the walleye fishing was utterly abismal I recalled an article I read, while not recalling it all I do remember the article advising one tough fishing strategy when you do not have the luxury of electronics (we did not) of slowly back trolling past points ever farther out into the lake with 1/4oz lead head jigs tipped with minnows back parallel to shore until you found active feeding walleye then anchor and vertically jig for them. That strategy literally saved out trip. 

I wrote 2 articles for the original In-Fisherman magazines “ A Rare Chance for a World Record” 1986 and “Horizontal Jigging” in 1995.  Enjoy the BR experience and community.

Any jig fishing questions you may have will be happy to help with.

Tom

I am late to the game as fishing jigs simply never produced for me except once in a blue moon. Until this year. And now I seem to catch multiple bass a trip on jigs. I think the main reason is that I pretty much worked a jig like a Texas rig, and it caught more algae than anything else. But once I started using a swim jig more often, and stepping down to a 1/4 oz. jig, it’s really starting to pay off. I’ve always liked working a Texas rig, but I think I’m starting to enjoy fishing jigs more. It’s not as active as working a crankbait or a spinnerbait, but it’s more active than slowly working a worm on the bottom. 
 

I have a feeling that when I finally hook my new PB, it’s going to be on a blue/black jig. 
 

@WRB I am in full agreement with your take on tossing a jig on the bank and pulling it into the water in imitation of how a crawfish enters a pond or lake. I’ve done that as well with a weightless TR but I get more strikes on a jig doing that. Either right off the bank or after I start to work it back. 

Rather than start a new thread, I'll just stick my question here...

 

I caught my first jig fish about three years ago. I am hooked on jig fishing now. But...my primary jig is a swim jig. I just use it for everything. Is there a noticeable advantage to using different types for each purpose? I can swim it, hop it, drag it....without having to tie/retie every time I want to change presentation.

18 minutes ago, born2climb said:

Rather than start a new thread, I'll just stick my question here...

 

I caught my first jig fish about three years ago. I am hooked on jig fishing now. But...my primary jig is a swim jig. I just use it for everything. Is there a noticeable advantage to using different types for each purpose? I can swim it, hop it, drag it....without having to tie/retie every time I want to change presentation.

 

No.

 

Well.

 

Kinda.

 

If it's working for you then you don't need anything else really. But sometimes you might want a smaller profile and that might require a smaller bait which might require a smaller hook and that might require a different jig and the same might be true for a bigger piece of plastic/ profile/ hook etc. 

 

But in general, I think you're right on with your observation and bass fishing is 1000% a "If it ain't broke don't fix it" type deal.  Tackle sales are a solution in search of a problem. And the ambulance being chased in question is people's inability to catch fish.  If you're catching fish, you don't have a problem in need of solving. And even if you didn't catch fish - the real truth of it is - tackle isn't going to start catching your fish for you.

3 hours ago, born2climb said:

. Is there a noticeable advantage to using different types for each purpose?

 

You will notice less money in your wallet!

 

If I am specifically fishing "swim jigs", then I will will tie one on. But through out the day if I encounter targets of opportunity I will swim any jig, flip it, pitch it, or cast it. 

 

How you think we learned about swimming jigs?

Just a shout out to Siebert Outdoors for the fast shipping and EXCELLENT swim jig 5 pack in quarter ounce. Going to dedicate a rod to smaller swim jigs this year.
The colors are fantastic and the build quality is OUTSTANDING!

If your looking for jigs or spinnerblades you can’t beat the handmade quality.

 

THANKS MIKE, much appreciated.

Since this is the jig thread, I have been tying my own skirts and wanted to purchase some Jig Heads from @Siebert Outdoors and he has a bunch to chose from. I would like to know since I have not thrown many jigs and plan on doing more this season which ones are your favorite head types that he carries...https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/categories/tackle-making?page=1

 

The second question would be outside of black and blue what skirt color would be next? For most skirts I am really just trying to limit it to something whiteish, something bluegill and then black and blue but thought I would ask, thanks.

Sniper, Arky and Grass jig heads are my favorites. A Dock Rocker is viable also but for me the swim heads are the most used and preferred.

Colors, I think you have it narrowed down. I’d build colors that produce in your fishing habitat.

 

 Can’t go wrong with Siebert’s heads or colors.

8 hours ago, bishoptf said:

Since this is the jig thread, I have been tying my own skirts and wanted to purchase some Jig Heads from @Siebert Outdoors and he has a bunch to chose from. I would like to know since I have not thrown many jigs and plan on doing more this season which ones are your favorite head types that he carries...https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/categories/tackle-making?page=1

 

The second question would be outside of black and blue what skirt color would be next? For most skirts I am really just trying to limit it to something whiteish, something bluegill and then black and blue but thought I would ask, thanks.

 

Grass and sniper and Arky (although I wish I could get 3/4 and 1 oz arkys and snipers 🫣🤤 what can I say - I like it heavy.)

 

Subtle baitfish color skirts with greenish top and smokish belly are the deal.

Arky, G2, and Grass heads are

my favorites from Mike

 

Skirt colors I am no help if you are trying to keep it simple. I like brown, brown and orange, brown and purple, black, black and chartreuse, black and purple, red craw colors, blue craw colors, whites, white and chartreuse’s, one color I like to call ‘grasshopper’, etc. I’m fairly analytical with my jig fishing 

Really got to love jig fishing. Used to have zero confidence in it, now it’s my go to. Never a bad time of year to throw one. And a basic jig can do anything. You do not need special jigs for every occasion. A bass don’t know the difference between a flipping jig, a swim jig, or a skipping jig. 

I was just skimming thru this thread, lots of good experience in here.  Im still a GYCB Hula Grub guy typically 5" although i may switch to 4" on a stream.  I will either T Rig it on a 2.0 or 3.0 EWG hook with a 1/4" weight lately.  I just bought some Owner finesse ewg ball jigs im anxious to try these

Fishing a friend's pond last week. Twenty minutes all the new expensive lures......nothing. Tied on old reliable, lead jig with a grub. Eight bass and 40 plus crappies and about 50 casts. Yea, I lost the exact count but it was pretty close to being accurate.

When I think of the $ I spend and all I really need is a jig!