Again

I guess the first part of jig fishing is understanding what each part of the jig does while in the water and how to take advantage of each component. Jigs are unique in the way that there are about a million different types, colors, and techniques of fishing them. Understanding the basics will build on itself over time and you'll learn to apply the jig in more and more areas of your bass fishing.

Before fishing your jig, you might want to take some time and tune each of these components. Here is what I do:

Fiberguard- Many trim the fiberguard even with the hook. Personally I like to just thin it out a little bit, trimming about 10-20% of the fibers to the hook point. I like keeping some pretty long to help the jig deflect off of snags.

Skirts- Most manufacturers tie their jigs with 30-45 strand skirts, but some will have less or more. Choose your jig skirts to an appropriate size. The more strands in the skirt, the thicker and more aggressive it will be in the water. If the jig is too thick, trim some of the skirt down some. I like to trim the entire skirt to about 1/8 of an inch past the bend in the hook.

Hooks- Occasionally a jig's hook will need to be tweaked for maximum performance. Bending the hook point UP will increase hookup ratios, but also make the jig prone to snags. Use this tweak wisely.

Trailers- All jigs need a trailer in my opinion. Personally, I like trailers that produce a lot of action like a Rage Tail Craw or Chunk, an * *, or a double tail grub. Pork trailers work well for me in clear, cold water, but for most of the year, I like action. Other good trailers to consider are beavers, chunks, and brush hogs, just to name a few. Any soft plastic can be used. Some are better than others. This will be an ongoing experiment for you.

Color Selection: I'd put money on black and blue as being the most popular jig color. I personally like green pumpkins and watermelons with lighter hues mixed in. I guess the proper term (or at least the one we will go with) are sunperch colors. A good starting rule of thumb for jig fishing is blacks- deep or dark water, greens/browns-clearer shallow water. Of course that doesn't mean that general rule of thumb will apply to every lake or river. Once again, some experimenting and trial and error will tell you the best colors for your stomping grounds.

Jig Weight: Probably just as important as your location, jig weight is CRUCIAL to catching fish. This is not and never will be an exact science. I pretty much use one of 3 weights 90% of the time. 1/4oz for 10ft of water or less, 1/2oz for 10ft+ and 3/4oz for deep, offshore structure fishing. For most people, 1/4 or 3/8oz weights will cover many of their needs.

Presentations: Casting, Pitching, and Flipping Accuracy along with location selection is probably a million times more important than jig color. If you cast at a tree and end up hitting the boat, missing your target completely, or have your jig land in the water like a depth charge, then chances are that you need a little bit of practice. There are articles on this site that can help. Once you have that down packed, here are a few things you can do with your jig that are effective for me:

1. flipping and pitching- is probably the most popular presentation for jigs...with good reason. It works. You can cover a ton of water flipping a jig to both shoreline and offshore cover/structure. Review flipping and pitching here if you need to: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/flipping_pitching.html

Anyway, once you flip/pitch the jig to a tree stump or whatever your target is, allow the jig to fall on a semi-slack line. That means keep a slight bow in the line and let the jig fall vertically. Too much slack and you won't be able to detect a strike. Too much and the jig will swing towards you, away from the target. Practicing in some really clear water (IE:swimming pool) will help. Once the jig hits the bottem, hop or shake it a few times, then wait a few seconds. Flipping and pitching is an in your face technique. There isn't much water to cover, so just hop the jig back to the boat or pull it on in and get ready for the next cast.

2. Short Accurate casts- This is my favorite technique, because I can cover a lot of cover in a short amount of time. I'll use an underhand rolling type cast to get the jig out there, but keep it close to the water. Once it hits near the target, I'll fish it exactly as described in the flipping and pitching section. On the retrieve, instead of pulling it up quickly, I'll swim or hop it along the bottem the rest of the way back to the boat. If I hit anything on the bottem, I'll kill the jig and let it sit there, occasionally shaking it. If that fails to produce a strike, I'll start reeling it in again.

3. Swimming Jigs- There are special designs, but any jig can be used like this. Basically, fish it just like a spinnerbait or crankbait to offer fish a different look. Boot-tail swimbaits (swimming senko), grubs, or trickworms are my favorite trailers when using the jig like this. I'll also cut most of the fiberguard off or at least thin it out more than normal. This technique works well with a white jig in the fall, when bass are chasing baitfish in coves.

4. Popping a jig- Mostly a deep water technique, this is exactly the same as flipping and pitching on crack. A medium-long cast to a point, hump, or underwater creek channel in deep water is made with a heavier jig. Using the rod to it's fullest, jerk the jig as high as possible off of the bottem and allow it to fall as vertically as possible. great for reaction strikes!!

There are more ways to fish a jig than this...about as many as you can think of...but these are my favorites.

Here are some articles that can help you out:

http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/bass_fishing_jigs_overview.html

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

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

Here is one of the best threads out there:  http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1189609782

Here is another notable post by Joe S. :

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1189609782

8-)

Here are some color basics that I use:

Most of the time, I'm fishing water 5ft-15ft deep (when I have a choice in the matter)  For these depths, I really prefer watermelons and green pumpkins.  If there is some orange or chartruse in there, even better.  

When I'm fishing deeper, black and blue gets the thumbs up.  These colors seem to really shine for me in dingy water or in really deep water.  

Of course, there are thousands upon thousands of color combinations, and any one of them could out produce my little simple formula.  Closely matching the colors of existing forage in your lakes and rivers is a safe bet to start with.

When fishing unknown water, I really like a solid black jig with a thin skirt.  I tie these myself.  I'll use the soft plastic trailer to give it color and definition.  This gives me a good starting place that has worked from very muddy to very clear water.  Mixing the black skirt with a green, brown, red, or blue trailer will help you build a basis on how to choose jigs in the future for that area.  It's an ugly jig, but someone's gotta use it.

As far as rattles go, I don't use them unless it's night time or in muddy water.  I prefer the jig sneaking up on the fish and either scaring it away or ticking it off enough to bite.  I feel that rattles give the fish a warning, which could be a breaker in pressured water.  Others will probably disagree though.

That's about it for now.  If I type anymore my hands will fall off lol.  

Here is another notable post by Joe S. :

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1189609782

8-)

Yeah, I included that one in my first post.  I think you posted yours before I modded mine though.  I had to go in and find it.  His post is probably better than anything I've written.  It could be an article all in itself.

Brian,

Thank you for taking the time to write all this indepth, I am sure it took some time to write,  I am going to make what has been said about jigs, and print it and put it in my tackle box.... next 4 trips I take will be jig only,, I am bound and determined to master this.  I may be asking more questions, but I am going to catch a fish on a jig.

Thanks again, this really helps.

On a side note, to the Mods, can we make this a sticky, like the Senko and Crig Stickys???????  

Excellent as usual Brain but and you knew there was a but coming  

About jig weights don't get hung up on certain weights for certain depths, the key with any technique involving bottom lures like the Jigs, Texas Rigs or Wacky Rigs is rate of fall. The bass may want a fast rate of fall even in shallow water at which time I'll throw a ½ oz in 10' or less. On the opposite side bass in deep water may want a slow rate of fall in which case I'll throw a ¼ oz in 20' of water. There are also different ways to change the rate of fall of a heavy (3/8 oz & larger) some include using a thicker plastic trailer, adding double skirts ect.  

Now keep in mind that you need to use the appropriate sized trailer that is proportionate to the size of the jig's hook. Someone wrote a review of a Rattlehead jig saying the hook was too small when in reality they had simply placed disproportionate size trailer on the hook. Think of how a 6 Gene Larew Hawg Craw would fit a ¼ oz jig!

You missed style of head and how they work.

Garnet

Yeah, that's the booger about jig fishing.  You really can't go out and say "I'm gonna catch all of my jig fish on a 1/4oz jig in 10ft of water and that jig is going to be green with chartruse accents."  That will be the day that the fish want a 1/2oz black and blue moster with a brush hog for a trailer.  Experimentation is always key.  Don't go exclusively by what I posted.  It's just a rough set of guidelines that work for me (most of the time.)  Don't get frusterated.  Even the pros get skunked from time to time.

You missed style of head and how they work.

Garnet

What style?

Brian- Thanks for the info in that post. I am starting to experiment more with jigs and your post will definately help.

I think he means football/flipping jigs.

Thanks for a great article. This really helps and im sure everyone really appreciates you taking the time.

Ahh...football jigs.  I just use the heavy ones (1/2, 3/4, and 1oz...mainly 3/4) for fishing deep structure like humps or river channels.  i really don't like them around brush and timber.

Anyway, I pop them off of the bottem or drag them like a carolina rig.  I'm just now getting the hang of deep water jigging, so there is much more info out there than I can offer, but that is what works for me with them.   I choose colors and trailers the same way that I do other jigs.

What about the bite the hit, that's my number 1 problem when fishing a jig .

Some jig bites are very, very subtle. I'd be willing to bet that no angler feels all of them. But some are pretty aggressive.

If you fish senkos, flukes, or other weightless lures then you already know about line watching. You'll see the line bump or move off to one side or another. Sometimes a fish just sits there with it. Knowing how fast your jig falls will help you tremendously. Go to 10ft at a swimming pool or go to a 10ft flat on your lake and flip/pitch it out there. Count about how long it takes to get to the bottem a few times. keep that count in your head when you're fishing. Eventually it becomes second nature.

To increase your chances of feeling the bite, there are a few things that you can do. One is keeping your fingers on either the line itself or on the rod blank. Cork will deaden the graphite's sensitivity, so keep that in mind. One of the things to look for in a jigging rod is an exposed blank on the reel seat.

Another thing you can do is upgrade to flouro or braided line. This is probably the most helpful thing you can do. Braid is the most sensitive, but it's harder to use in gin clear water. You can either run a flouro leader or use all flouro in place of braided line without giving up too much sensitivity. Line weights for me run between 20 and 65lbs, depending on where I'm fishing. 35 is a good average I suppose. I prefer braided line over flouro 10 to 1.

Also, casting distance and depth will affect the sensitivity...especially with mono lines. The bites will be most sensitive with the shortest line possible. Of course you don't want to be 3ft away from your target in most cases, but you shouldn't be casting 60ft away either. Gin clear water is tough for jigs because of this and a million other factors. But for most clear to muddy situations, a good pitch or solid short cast is a good bet. You'll feel tons more when using braided line on a pitch than a mono line on a long cast. Casting distance with jigs is really not important, as long as you can flip/pitch it or at least get it a little ways away from the boat (for clear water situations)

The best practice for feeling the jig bite is by flipping a lure that is going to get a TON of bites is a shakey head with a zoom critter craw or finesse worm, a 4 inch senko, or a fat ika. These are clearer water applications. If your fishing dingier water, try a * from * in your favorite color. Put them on a jighead with an exposed hook if you can get away with it.

One last thing. Trim your fiberguard for the situation. If you're fishing heavy brush with lots of snags, keep it thick. You'll get less hookups, but you'll keep more jigs, which is good. If it's sparse cover, take a few jigs and really thin that bad boy out. Once you do feel the hit, you'll have a better chance of connecting if there is less between hookpoint and fish mouth.

Using Action trailers like the Rage craw or double tail grubs (I prefer the Rage Craw) will get more aggressive strikes more often.  At least they do for me.  most straight tailed chunks don't produce very aggressive strikes for me.  They hit that rage craw/jig combo like a freight train pretty often.  I HIGHLY recommend them.  I wouldn't be affiliated with Rage Tail if I didn't firmly believe in their products.

I was using copolymer line as me and my dad were in seperate boat i gave him the good stuff i couldn't feel much. Only  the weeds and whenever i felt something out of the ordinary i set the hook no dice.

Thanks for the advice though i will strengthen my jig fishing

Just keep at it and keep experimenting with weights, trailers, and colors.  it took me a year to catch my first fish on a jig...and that was when i was fishing about 200 days a year.  I would use it every day in hotspots and eventually it paid off.  When it finally did, things started to click.

Brian,

Keep this up and you may just have to write your own ebook on jig fishing ....lol....

Thank you for all the info,

John

I'd love to write a book on fishing, but I doubt I have the credentials to be taken seriously right now.  But one day...maybe.

I actually enjoy writing fiction books, so I guess it wouldn't be that far of a stretch to write a non-fiction fishing book.  But it would have to be REALLY good before I let someone else read it.  I'd hate for the review  to be "This book sucks butt!!!" ;D

Now, you know that everyone here would be cheering you on to a #1 bestseller..  Maybe not on the NY times best read list,,, but on BassResource.com's must read list.

Who knows?  Maybe I'll give it a shot if I can get the time.  I probably wouldn't even sell it though.  I'd probably put up a link in my signature line or something.  I enjoy helping people.  I don't know how I'd feel selling information on two things that I'm passionate about.  I like helping and I like fishing.  To me that's not a market, it's one heck of a hobby.

Most of what I've learned about bass fishing comes from LBH, Catt, Roadwarrior, CJ, Fourbizz, Mattlures, Earthworm77, Raul and quite a few other honorable mentions.  I forget how long I've been a member here, but when I signed up, all I knew how to fish was texas rigs and redfish/speck lures.  Thanks to this site and the members of this forum, I can apply a multitude of lures with an understanding of why and when.

With good teachers, a passion to learn and apply, and a genuine love of passing around information, I guess that's where I get the energy to make posts like this.  If you look at my past jig posts, they change each time as I pick up new techniques or tactics.  Experimentation in the futile quest for perfection...but it is sure fun!

if there is anything else that I can help with, lemme know.  If I can't answer it, there are many, many other dynamite fishermen here who can.

A little bit about the style of head

Triple rattle Back jig has a blunt nose for rolling around wood and rock.

Football is a pure rock jig.

Stanley/Arkie Head combo weed and rock/wood.

Weed pitch'n jig is very pointy JawTech Big bite was a back in the day good one.

Then theres all the mini jigs.

Garnet

Edit:  you already have it covered.  Good call about adding head style in.