So I have decided this next year to really concentrate on jig fishing.  The question that I have is what size jig ( weight wise ) should I start with. I am going to base colors about the same as I do with soft plastics. Also what trailers would one suggest to use for someone who has no experience fishing jigs?

Thanks in advance

Jeremy

Jeremy,

Keep it basic. Don't go wild with different baits. concentrate on the fishing portion of it and you'll do fine.

1/4 and 3/8 will handle your shallow stuff.

1/2 and 3/4 for your deeper stuff.

Football heads for rocks.

Blacks and brns for your colors.

Twin tail grubs for your trailers. Or paca chunks.

Hope this helps

Stock up on Strike King Bitsy Bugs and Netbait Tiny Paca Chunks.

I appreciate both of your replies and I will try and stick with the KISS method ( keep it simple stupid ). I think I have some paca craws that I bought earlier in the year. Hopefully by next years end I will have them figured out.

Hmm, well if your like me and your fishing small local ponds from the bank my advice should do you some real good.

First off, my two favorite jigs are Booyah Baby Boo's and Eakins Jewel Jig. I prefer both in 5/16oz. Color would be black/blue for stained - muddy water, or during overcast days/dusk/night. Any shade of green, or brown for clear - lightly stained water on sunny days.

Let me say there are two types of trailers. An action trailer. And a lethargic trailer. Majority of the time I'm using action trailers, but on the occasional days where everything seems to be dead calm and the fish are really sluggish, or when the fish's primary food sources are really lethargic, the "less action" trailer I find to be the best bet. But alot of the times I find the fish to prefer the action trailers, so thats what I tend to throw most.

For action trailers Paca chunks, and Ragetail chunks are king in my book. Both produce incredible action, and both catch extremely well. Although the only problem is the claws of the trailer tend to rip off after a good hit, or long usage. Paca chunks I find to rip a little easier then Ragetail chunks, but pacas are cheap, so no biggie. Both work incredibly well, so regardless of whether the claws break, I'll continue to use em.

For the lethargic trailer I like Yum Chunks, and Zoom Super Chunks. Not much to say about these other then they work.

Always match the color of the trailer to the color of the jig. So if your using a brown/green jig, a greenpumpkin or brown trailer would be ideal. If your using a black/blue jig, a black or black/blue trailer would be best suitable... simple.

I'd also buy a few 1/4 - 3/8 oz jigs, for flippin in lillypads, and thick weeds mats. You really want to make contact with the bottom, and in these thick situations sometimes a 5/16 oz has a little trouble. But again, you have to find out first, sometimes a 5/16 oz will do it without a problem.

Start out with Eakins Jigs. They're usually easy to find and catch a lot of bass. I like the 5/16 oz. Black and Blue the best.

Recently I bought some of these, and the quality is excellent:

http://talonlures.com/hardballfinessejig.aspx

I think they will become my new go-to jig.

Fishing the wrong jig in the right place can cause for a lot of frustation.  For example fishing a 3/4 oz football head jig in the weeds would not work as the jig would get covered with weeds each cast.  Same thing for using a pointed head jig in rocks or rip rap.  

You need to take a look at where you are planning to fish and get the right jig and trailer to do the job you want.  Deep ledges with rock and sparce cover a 3/4 oz football head with a double tail trailer would be good.  Blacks and browns with a little orange are good colors.

In weeds or thicker cover a pointed head jig like a 1/2 oz Booyah with a Chigger Craw trailer works well and does not get hung up all the time.  Green pumpkin and Watermelon great colors here.

For anything in between like pitching to docks, boathouses, wood, stumps, etc. a 1/4 oz arkie head jig with Zoom chunk trailer in black blue will work well for you.

You guys are awesome! I'm going to start jig fishing this coming year as well. How do you guys rig your trailers? For example a Zoom Chunk? Do you guys just stab the plastic right through the center of the large square? or do you thread the plastic on like threading a worm?

Pics would help a lot!

K.I.S.S.  

I thread on double tails and craws....with chunks I just hook them straight through about 1/4 of an inch from the end and let it dangle from the hook.

Excuse my ignorance Baron, but I'm new to jig fishing. . .

Earlier you  recommended using a pointed head jig like a 1/2 oz Booyah for weedy areas.  Exactly what kind of Booyah do you prefer?  I googled 1/2 oz Booyah and got a billion results: Flair Hair, Pig Skin, Swim'n, A, and Boo jigs.

The only jig fishing I've ever done was for walleye, and thats as simple as hooking a leech to a plain jig, and letting it drop straight down.  

Just to make sure I understand this right. . . Jigging for bass is as simple as adding a skirt and trailer, casting, letting it sink, and reel in slowly throwing in some twitches etc? I feel stupid asking these questions, but I want to make sure I understand this.  Thanks

I agree with Catt, but... I hear wapiti (hey bro -love that siren song too), it can be confusing. There are reasons for all those styles.

Here are some basics (this is KISS too -just going in a little ahead of the game):

The basic controls are depth and speed how deep you need to fish and at what speed. You control these by jig weight, line diameter, and trailer bulk/buoyancy.

1). To choose jig weights, first start with proper line diam for the given situation (depth, clarity, and cover, mostly). Here's a basic table (depth vs line test) to give you a ballpark for a slow horizontal retrieve (line weight is across the top):

      4       8       12       15

3      1/32      1/16      1/8      3/16

6      1/16      1/8      3/16      ¼

9      1/8      3/16      ¼      5/16

12      3/16      ¼      5/16      3/8

15      ¼      5/16      3/8      ½

20      5/16      3/8      1/2      5/8

You won't need to have jigs in all these weights as, again, you can adjust body or trailer bulk. Having jigs of 1/8, ¼ 3/8 and ½ oz can cover a lot. You decide what you need based on line tests you use and water depths you commonly fish. Don't get too excited at the outset; your jig box will grow over time LOL.

Also, when you need to punch through dense cover, you will have to go heavier, much heavier -3/4 to 1-1/2 oz.

2). Choose a head style for the cover you are fishing: Cone-shape for weeds, bulbous (Arky) for wood, football for rock.

3). Choose a hook matched to your line strength. Don't go Flippin with 50# braid with a light wire hook. Don't try to stick a big bass with a heavy iron on 8# mono.

4). Choose trailers (think bulk or buoyancy) plastics, pork, or none at all.

5). Choose a color that mimics (imitation is impossible) prey, usually fish or crayfish. Or, just choose one you can't live without and fish it with confidence. Black, white (if you've got shad), and a muddy color will go along ways.

In general, pick your jigs in terms of component combinations heads, bodies, and trailers. All makers produce good stuff. Find something that floats your boat, choose appropriate components, and fish em. The fish will teach you the most.

booyah and strike king bitsey bugs

Thanks so much for the help Paul,

I've been fishing a a lake/pond, thats quite full of weeds.  Depth is anywhere from 1-7 feet, but the weeds complicate things.

I have always used 6 pound test for bass, throwing spinnerbaits and t-rigging worms.  For jigging this weedy lake, I'd like to have my lure right above the weeds, but that can't happen without snags and lots of hang ups.

What pound test (mono) would you guys recommend for jigging through weeds in 1-7 feet of water?  I'm thinking my 6 pound test is going to be too small?  

Thanks for the help

Stock up on Strike King Bitsy Bugs and Netbait Tiny Paca Chunks.

X2

these jigs are cheap so you can afford to lose some, small trailer will get you more bites. stick with natural colors (green pumpkin, pumpkin, watermelon) or dark colors for muddy water.

good luck

Here we go again overcomplicating a simple technique

As a newbie start out with just one style of jig applicable to most situations and that style would be an Arkie Head. A good Arkie Head is the Renegade Jig sold at Wal/Mart, they are very well made and inexpensive.

As a newbie start out with just two weights which is applicable to any water depth short of 30' and those weights would be 1/4 & 3/8 oz.

As a newbie start out with just one color and that would be the #1 most productive jig color in America Black-N-Blue.

As a newbie start out with two styles of trailer one being a craw worm of your choice and a chunk type like those made by Zoom.

Instead of concentrating on the wide menagerie of jigs concentrate instead on locations and feeling the bite. Once you have established these two then and only then move on to refining your own personal repertoire of complication.

For my Colorado ponds and small res (cover is mostly milfoil and coontail) I start the season with 8#. As weed beds develop I go to 12#. By midsummer, when weedbeds are densest, I am using 17#.

If you only had one rod, I suppose you could go KISS and go with 10#.

More seriously...

I'm not suggesting a menagerie of jigs, but to use the blanket info I offered to choose what you do buy based on the waters you fish (depth, cover primarily), and your tackle (line weights). I think this info is far more useful than off the cuff suggesting brands or colors. Something I know Catt can get behind.

I used Arky's at one time in weedy ponds, only to find that a cone head is SO much better. Better to know that up front I think.

When choosing a jig for YOUR water it helps to know what the important parts are, and choose accordingly.

Do we want to teach him how to fish a jig or how to buy tackle?  

Oh, your quick! Re-read my last post, I modified it.

Here we go again overcomplicating a simple technique

As a newbie start out with just one style of jig applicable to most situations and that style would be an Arkie Head. A good Arkie Head is the Renegade Jig sold at Wal/Mart, they are very well made and inexpensive.

As a newbie start out with just two weights which is applicable to any water depth short of 30' and those weights would be 1/4 & 3/8 oz.

As a newbie start out with just one color and that would be the #1 most productive jig color in America Black-N-Blue.

As a newbie start out with two styles of trailer one being a craw worm of your choice and a chunk type like those made by Zoom.

Instead of concentrating on the wide menagerie of jigs concentrate instead on locations and feeling the bite. Once you have established these two then and only then move on to refining your own personal repertoire of complication.

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

Thanks for all the information fellas, and that link pretty much covers everything.