how to use a jig

ok guys, im back for some more knowledge. i have 4 hart tackles justice jigs, 2 black and blue, 2 green pumpkin. only problem is i have little to no knowldge on how to use them o.O i went yesterday with one of each color, rigged with and without rattles, and with and without trailers craws. i did them slow hops, dragging, long pauses, short pauses, shaking rod tip, combinations of all those i mentioned no bites.

i have the standard weights and size of that brand from walmart. am i using jigs too big or doing the wrong presentation? any help will be appreciated. many thanks and happy holidays to all.

I always fish a jig with a trailer. If you can catch them on a texas rig, you can catch them on a jig.

Target rocks, wood, or some kind of structure. There are endless ways that you can "work" a jig, so once you know you're on fish, try different things until they tell you what they want.

I've never even gotten a bite on a jig. I'm starting to think it's an inside joke and everyone is laughing at me. Like Snipe hunting. Or the windmill on Ray Roberts.

There are times when bass jigs will rock and there are times when they won't touch them. Many times the more bulky profile of a jig is ignored and a slimmer profile t-rig bait will get bit. Sounds like you are fishing it reasonably well but don't try to force feed them with a jig if it's not getting any action.

+1

+1

I love throwing a jig because of the size of the fish that it will usually catch but that is if they are on a jig bite. Like he said above, you can't force feed it to them if they don't want it so don't get discouraged if you aren't getting bit. Sooner or later you will get bit on the jig and you will like the results. Always use a trailer on the jig. I like the Zoom ultra vibe speed craw, Grande Bass Mega claw, Xcite raptor craw jr, Strike King rage craws, and Netbait Baby Paca craws best.

I mostly fish on Lake Fork so I pitch a jig to a lot of timber and under boat docks.

There is no doubt about it. A jig gets fewer bites day in and day out. Although when you put that jig in front of a Big Bass and the jig is holding all the right senses that she is looking for then you better be ready. I want to know that there are fish there before using a jig. I will find these fish with other baits and also using the side scan to locate them before picking up the jig.

I want my custom jigs to have the following:
- Sight- It must have the right earth tone colors for the lake and weather conditions of that day; like stained water, clear water, cloudy day, sunny day and depth that you are fishing it. The deeper the water the more strands I put into the skirt material.
- Sound - My jigs have 1/2 inch dome eyes with a BB under each dome. My smaller jigs can carry the double spider rattle chambers.
- Smell - All my jig skirts are Crayfish or Craylic scented. I also keep putting the scent on every 20 minutes or so because I want it leaving a trail in the water.
- Vibration - My hand poured trailers are Crayfish or Craylic scented and give the vibration needed when I move it slightly.
- Movement - My Living Rubber Skirts provide that slight movement when the jig is at rest that silicone skirts do not give. Also silicone does not hold the scent very well.

I used to feel the same way. I finally took a guided trip and he had me throwing the jig. Now I love it. I always have one tied on but don't use it that much because you can sometimes just throw it all day and never get a bite. When I find a place that they work, I love it because once you hook them, they aren't coming off.

In colder water temps I use more of a mop style jig, also don't tend to match your trailer to the jig mix match it seems to work a lot better in colder water. Blk/Blu jig with a Green pumkin trailer is my go to in winter jig fishing. Your technique is all correct you just have to play with what the fish want. They will tell you everything.

I felt the same way back in the 80's. I had never caught a fish on a jig. Stanley Stanford was a heck of a jig fisherman. He gave me 5 jigs (3/8 oz blk/blue) and 10 blk/blue craw worms and 10 glass rattles. He told me to go to Palestine on a day they were biting. He then said, take two rods and tie a jig on each. Leave everything else at home except the jigs & craw worms. Fish from daylight to 3:00 and tell me what you think of a jig when you are done. I caught my first two jig fish that day. Stanley was also big on scent.

I'll have a video on jig fishing out the end of next week. Brandon can catch them on a jig so I would listen to his advice!! I also like a larger trailer in winter, when you add that larger trailer to a 3/8oz jig you get a really good fall rate when fishing 5-10FOW. Black and Blue is hard to beat for color also a green pumpkin with some orange as well as a black/brown amber color.

If you want to learn how to jig fish, jig fish. Go to the lake with your jig rod/reel and 3 or 4 jigs and a bag of trailers. Keep it simple. Leave everything else at home. You arent doing anything wrong, you can't fish them wrong. You just haven't been bit and don't have confidence in a jig yet. So, fish them, and get your confidence up! Once u get into it you'll learn more about the different types of jigs, their purpose, etc.

this is how i felt:



maybe like most said, it wasnt a jig day.

i put my rods up for the season, or maybe keep my baitcaster out for those warm days. im planning on doing some deep cleaning on all the rods and reels, even the kiddos rods and reels for next fishing season. im hoping to start again in feb 2017.

thanks everyone for your input

as with any fishing lure, you have to be throwing it in front of fish. there are just times when i jig might not be the best lure, but most often it will at least catch some bass if you just put it on and do not put it down. fish a jig pretty much any of the same manners tat you would a t-rig. there are times of the year that different retrieve types will produce much better over others. experiment until you find what is working for the day. choosing the correct weight is critical as this will affect the fall rate, and having the right speed is critical to triggering bites.

the right size and type of trailer is important for various times of the year and different water temps.

bo

thanks, i been up all night wondering about the jig, like you said fish it like a trig. i really felt comfy doing it that way. im honestly contemplating whether or not i should give the jigs a few more chances, maybe after the cold front, (not weather ready to fish in cold weather.)

Its all a marketing scam like Amway. First you buy the jigs, then you buy the trailers, then the rattles. Next its more boxes of swim jigs or football jigs or bladed jigs. Scam all the way around to make money for the jig mfg.

wait the windmill on ray bob isn't real?

You're quitting during the best time to catch jig fish. RIGHT NOW is when it gets good, I usually can catch some fish all year long on a jig, but Dec-Feb is the best for numbers on a jig, for me anyways.



When did fishing become a "seasonal" activity?

I agreee with Doug this is best jig fishing fishing time now until water gets 60 degrees 48-56 is perfect temps

Everyone has pretty much covered it all with one exception. Sometimes a slimmer profile jig will catch Fish when the bulkier one won't. I have caught fish using 1/2 of a curly tail worm for a trailer. It more resembles a bait fish than a Crawdad. Also experiment with different colors trailers than the jig. Many of the elite pros will use a different trailer color. Caught my personal best on a swim jig in Jan of this year. 48 deg. temp and she was in 2 ft. of water

Snipe hunting!! Hadn't thought about that in far too many years. Thanks for the memory.

My two cents on catching bass with jigs -- which you will do LONG BEFORE you bag a snipe ...

Since moving to Cedar Creek in August, and focusing on bass over crappie starting about a month ago, I've always had a jig tied on -- even though my success with them over the years has been limited. I've caught a lot more bass last few weeks with drop shots, shaky heads and T-rigs. They seem to produce better around these docks. But like a lot of y'all, I'm determined to get better with jigs.

Because by FAR the BIGGEST bass I've hooked here was on a jig just outside a dock a couple weeks ago in 8 FOW. Had to be 6 or better.

I say 'hooked' not 'caught' because after a furious 20-30 second fight, he spit it -- under water. So whoever said bass don't get off on jigs ... I wish!

Still wondering what I could've done differently -- like sharpen hook? Trim weed guard? Go to church??

Just may not have been where the fish are...

I remember back in the days on Fork..Rattleback jig with a Larew Hawg Craw trailer would get you some big bites at night.

A jig is my confidence lure. When it's an off bite it's one of the few things I have enough faith in to slow down with. Keep throwing one man. It will happen, and when it does there will be 2 of ya hooked on jigs at the same time.

1/2 oz black and blue jig with a #11 black and blue uncle Josh pork frog. Pitch it around timber on a creek channel. Bend the hook out slightly and trim the weed guard. Nuff sake

Jigs are tools. You need to use the right tool to get the job done. Like they said you can't force a bass to eat a jig. They either will or they won't. The last three trips I've been to Fork I have thrown a jig at least two hours of each trip. I've had one bite in three trips on a jig and I think it was a sandbass or barfish because all it did was rip off my chartreuse pincher.

However I have had a great deal of success on jigs in the past. Enough to keep me trying one every trip I go because I know the potential that a jig has to attract a big bite.

There are several ways to fish a jig. Since it seems like you are putting a lot of thought into this I thought I would give you some good bathroom reading material.

Target Fishing:

I will select a good flipping style jig 3/8 or 1/2 oz depending on water depth with a stout hook and use either heavy braid or heavy fluoro. Normally it is 65# braid. I am pitching the jig at the biggest stumps on the edge of a creek. I will pitch the jig as close to the stump as possible and allow it to fall vertically as possible, stripping off line as it falls and watching the line very closely until I know the jig is on bottom. Most strikes on a jig presented in this manner will come on the fall. If my jig makes it to the bottom with no bite, I will hop it a couple times off the bottom maybe 3-4 feet up and let it fall. If you haven't had a bite by now you most likely won't get one. Hit another stump. The name of this game is to hit as many high potential targets as possible.

Deep Structure Dragging:

A 3/4 or 1 oz football style head excels at this type of fishing because you are mostly dragging the jig slowly across the bottom allowing the structure on the bottom to give the jig the action. The Strike King Structure jig is also very good for this style of fishing. The key to this type of jig is its ability to wobble back & forth as you drag it. The heavier jig keeps it pinned to the bottom and also allows you to feel what type of structure is down there such as rock, shell beds, or mud. Sometimes I use fluoro for this and sometimes I use braid. It just depends on the amount of bottom cover and the size of fish I believe I am targeting.

Just keep this in mind as you are wondering about jig fishing:

There are No Rules to bass fishing. This is by no means all the ways to fish a jig. It is just the two ways I go about it. Jigs are tools just like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, spoons, or any other tool in your box. Like some have said on here, the best time to fish a jig is when the water temps are cooler. While I do agree winter is a great time to fish a jig, I have caught some of my biggest fish on a jig in 100 degree weather at Fork.

Remember No Rules.

Get you a 3/8 black/blue/purple jig and put a green pumpkin/purple Zoom speed vibe craw on it and pitch it to stumps, laydowns, docks, and to the edge of grass, any visible targets on your lake. Another good color choice if the water is a bit dirty or muddy is a 3/8 black/brown/amber with a zoom black neon speed vibe craw. If the water is real cold I will use the same jigs but with a Zoom big chunk or a Lake Fork Tackle pig claw to slow the fall and give the jig a big profile. In February and March I will also throw a green pumpkin/orange jig with a matching trailer and that seems to work well for me during that time.

I personally like the V&M and Santone jigs in those colors. My two other favorite jigs are the Viper XP and MPack jigs and specifically the Viper XP Lake Fork Special, and the MPack in Peanut butter N Strawberry.

Exactly. Thats how I have learned to fish all new techniques. Force myself to devote the time to them otherwise you'll never learn.

I would not just take jigs to the lake to try and learn how to fish them. If you get out there with only jigs and they are not biting them you will just get frustrated and have even less interest in throwing a jig on your next outing. Take a tx.rig or a shaky head or whatever soft plastic you have confidence in and find some fish that will bite then throw the jig in the same areas. You know that fish are in the area and you know they are biting, so now see if they will bite a jig..That is the approach that I would take to learn the jig.

+1--A jig is and has been my go-to bait for more than 25 years. There are times when fish just won't eat (Recent trip to Lake Austin is a prime example). At one time, I too had no confidence in them. A friend told me to make a couple trips to the lake and take nothing but jigs. I quickly gained confidence and started catching fish in ways and places I never had before and the size of my catches greatly increased as well.

Jig is often a grind of a bite... just need more time... January isn't the BEST time for smashing numbers.

the way you fish a jig is you put it in the water with fish. then try stuff until they tell you whats up. I have done everythign from literally count the rocks I bump over going slow to reeling it in like a wake bait... they will eat it.

watch this

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjsrsjj4KvRAhVkh1QKHQCoCUkQtwIILzAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3HLXVfo4YSM&usg=AFQjCNFzwfXrmgCqUjAandLXUbm_Mlo6Sg

I'm also having trouble with jig fishing, It's a new technique I'm trying to learn as well. I fish a lot of T-rig or weight less senko worms, so I'm sure if I keep throw the jig out it should only be a matter of time.

When you are catching fish on your confidence baits set them down and throw the jig and see if they will bite it. You know the fish are there and they are biting so throw the jig and see what happens.

Lighter jigs are sometimes harder to throw/pitch, but sometimes a 3/16 - 1/4 oz. finesse jig with trailer will catch numbers and size, which could help raise confidence. Just sayin'.

Next week once its warmer ill throw out a senko to locate some fish than start throwing jigs to finally get reassurance to learn it.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_Ki...age-SKTGSR.html

Try this with your favorite plastic. It works just like a jig and is even more weedless. Once you catch a couple fish using it, you will gain confidence in a jig. Many years ago there was a local guy named Donny Morris that painted and sold bullet weights. He started putting skirts on them and I bought a few and started using them in the same areas where I was getting bit on a regular T-rig. They would almost always attract a bigger bite than just a T-rigged bait.

That is how I gained confidence in a jig before I ever used a jig.

Lots of good info, only thing I would add is,if u think your working it too slow, slow down

I would say you are correct in the winter but in the summer, I fish them pretty fast. I will rip a heavy white jig up off the bottom and as soon as it hits bottom rip it again. Swim jigs in post spawn I am normally burning them just under the surface.

All good info.
My only input is don't be afraid to cast that sucker. Some people think jigs are only for 15 feet from the boat pitching or deep straight under their boat-lol!
My biggest jig fish have come from pretty long casts.(big ones are often spooky). Make it hit stuff then wait- oh yeah. Remember to set hook hard then have fun!

This is the best way to gain a little confidence and knowledge about a bait. You know they are there and you know they will bite so you can see what triggers those bites and what doesn't. You only need really 2 colors but I like 3, green pumpkin, black & blue, peanut butter and jelly. Those will catch fish anywhere, anytime

Back in the late 80's that was very correct...

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I agree. Those are 3 good colors that will get you bit.

This is kind of how I felt earlier this year. I was able to catch bass on pretty much anything at Medina but couldn't get one to hit a jig. I started reading up on different methods and after a few trips of only using a jig I've finally gotten the hang of it.

I will say that I don't catch as many using a jig as I do using plastic worms. I also can't tell a difference in the size of the fish but it is a different option to try on those slow days when I need to be a little deeper.