So me and jigs dont like each other at all, i have 0 confidence in them but i really want to learn to use them with success. Recently ive been throwing a 3/8 oz light brown/dark brown with some orange jig with a Rage tail craw as the trailer with no bites or anything. I've tried dragging it on the bottom and jumping it but no bueno. What advice do you have for me, i know most of you are very good at jigs

And one more thing, from what ive been reading, as fall is right around the corner, should i switch to maybe a white jig with a trailer and swim it now or what colors are best for dragging and jumping it off the bottom.

Ive usually found that when jigs dont do it, not much else will either. for myself, when theyre not biting, I will try something new to me. So, when the new bait isnt working either I tend to title it as a bait that sucks. Jigs are one of the most universal, consistent baits out there, for me. Make sure youre matching the forage size and forage color the best you can.
as far as fall time goes, it never hurts to switch to a more of a "shad" color but Ive actually found it works better for me to stick with matching the water. White jigs are not my confidence color. My main fishing bud is deadly with a white jig and its irritating cause Im not. White chatterbait, you betcha.

The color you are using is what I would have tied on in the spring, but thats just me. Another favorite spring color for me is greenpumpkin/orange.
Right now I have either a jig in watermelon or green pumpkin colors with a few strands of black and chartruce mixed in with a green pumpkin or watermelon red trailer or a PB & J jig with a green punmpkin/purple trailer.
I pitch to timber, lay down logs holes in grass, under and around docks. Throw it anywhere you would throw a tx. rig.
You can swim a jig. You can use a heavy jig and make long casts and then rip it off the bottom, drag a football jig on bottom.
Stick with it until you catch someting on it. As you catch more fish on it your confidence level will go up.


Add a green/pumpkin trailer to your jig and see what happens.

color depends on the lake and water clarity.
normally if i'm pitching a dock, laydown, brush, etc. with a flipping jig i'll let it fall and sit for a few seconds. after that i'll shake the rod tip to give the skirt some action. if i don't get a strike i'll bring it up out of the cover and pause it on my retrieve for a few seconds to give the fish one last chance to hit itthen i'll pitch it again and repeat.
jig fishing takes alot of practice to build confidence. it's all about knowing the "weight of your line" to know when you get bit. if your jig feels like its floating in space, you'll normally have a fish on. watch your line and know the depth that your jig is falling.
don't be afraid to loose jigs because it will happen. if you don't loose jigs you're not fishing them in enough cover. one of the best ways to learn how to fish a jig is to cut off the weed guards. you'll loose alot but will learn how to work them through cover. this is what i did and it took some time but was well worth it.
just experiment and your practice will pay off

start with the finess jigs 7/16 spider jigs fist, then work your way up with the big stuff, my 2 cents

Fall is a great time to learn just about any technique..its a great time to pitch finesse jigs around docks.I like the smaller profile of a finesse jig in the fall because ithe fish are keyed in on shad,which I feel smaller profile baits mimic better.IMO,profile is more important than color iin the fall.however,if I'm fishing a jig around grass,ill switch to a full skirt swimjig with a big trailer that moves a lot of water.geared more towards a reaction bite.as far as colors go,if your trying to build confidence,use a color that you use a lot of soft plastics in.

Thanks for all the help, im gonna stop by Bass Pro today after school and pick up some new jigs in different colors and new trailers and hopefully ill get to try them out this saturday morning.

It also helps to know where the fish are in the water column. If they are on the bottom, then drag it slowly with a few pauses. If no bites, then hop it a few times and pause in between. Try to mimic the natural movement of the crawfish. If the fish are suspended, then you need to count the jig down and slow roll it back, maybe with a few short pauses now and then. I would match the color of the baitfish in this scenario. Get ready because sometimes the strikes can be bone jarring! Remember that sometimes the fish don't want a jig so give them what they want.
Good luck!

http://www.oldhamjigs.com/ you need to know about jig fishing

What are you fishing? Grass? Rocks? Wood? Deep? Shallow?

I felt as you do when I first started fishing jigs. I wasn't having any luck with them, and my confidence was really low.

What saved me were swim jigs. I know working a swim jig is different than pitching/flipping a football head...but it helped my confidence a ton. Once I started to catch fish on swim jigs, I branched out to the other styles and did much better.

thanks for all the help i really appreciate it, i went to bass pro today and picked a good amount of jigs and thanks for the tip hotsauce, when i go this saturday im going to use the swim jigs i got first and see how i do, and faith, ive been fishing mainly grass with ALOT of lilly pads, really thick bunches of them on lake houston back in the creeks.

One thing I do with my jig is trim the skirt a little past the bend in the hook (round bend). Then I fan out the weed guard slightly. I do not trim the weed guard, been there done that and it just caused my jig to hang up more.