how to use bass jig form the bank

I've been getting skunked for about the last week. This is not really a problem for me so far because the more obsessed I've became with bass fishing I see it as a challenge to figure out how to get them to bite and usually by the end of my 4 hours every other night (allotted time granted to me from the wife) I've caught at least one or two just by experimenting and its a great feeling when you get them to eat when you know they don't want to. So here is my question how the heck to you get them to hit a jig fishing from the bank. this is one thing that I have not even gotten a fish look at. I like to think im pretty good with other finesse baits but this one is killing me any tips would be great thanks boys

I used to jig a long time ago from the bank, I would walk the shores and look for thick pockets of grass, lilly pads, etc, and try to drop it in vertically, as softly as possible. Feeling a bite was hard because it was hard to tell if you were snagged or if a fish was striking. To be honest... the only reason I even tried a jig at the time was due to all the fishing shows using them to fish in thick cover or shooting them under docks, etc, etc. I DID catch a few bass on them. When I added a pork trailer I then started casting out further and reeling it in, but at that point I realized a spinner bait would be more productive since I could reel it in slower, keep it in the zone, etc, etc. Lots of hawgs caught on jigs....that's for sure.

"I've been getting skunked for about the last week."

Have you tried shallow running lures (manns baby 1 minus, etc) and cast out horizontally near shore? Good time of year for those kind of lures and presentation.

I've tried many of shallow lures and weightless plastics I stay as far from the water as possible stay very quite and the first spots I work are the shallows near the banks preferably were me or no one else has walked I know fish are like us and eat when there hungry so really they should always be biting but I also know that the times, amount and what there feeding on can vary a lot its just a matter of me and my fishing ability so you did catch fish on the jigs I think it probably has a lot to do with my lack of confidence in the jigs I think if I just stick with it and catch some on them ill gain confidence in them it took me a while fishing soft plastics before I caught my first fish on them I was hooked on plastics them the fish weighed 6.2 my pb at the time from then on I've been in love with the sport of bass fishing

hows that puncuation lol

Awful lol

Work the jig the same as a Texas rigged worm. Pitch to any cover.

I posted a related link about my luck with a jig on lake Grapevine this past Thursday:

Jig Fishing Post

Scott in Flower Mound

Get a frog and dance it across the top of the heavy weeds.
The bass will look at it.

Yep
Get a hollow body or ribbit and get ready for the most fun of your life.

jigs are not very effective form the shore in my opinion, save for maybe swim jig/bladed swim jig. Bladed swim jig is only one I've ever had produce well with from bank. The rest just get lost too easily and catch too few from the shore. You're better off tossing texas rigged plastics than jigs on the shore IMO

Texas rigged soft plastics and weightless texas rigged plastics account for more landed fish than anything else for me at any community lakes or ponds I have been to, and occasionally drop shot rigged plastics if the bottom vegetation is taller.

What kind of jigs are you fishing? How are you fishing them? And where?

The short answer to your problem is that there are probably a million ways to jig fish. It takes some practice, experimenting, and a lot of patience in most cases. I have to disagree w/ the earlier comment that they aren't effective from the shore. Keep at it, jig fishing pays off big sometimes!

I find the running a soft plastic or jig parallel with the shore 10 ft or less out get some strikes. Amazing how big fish can gravitate toward shallow water, especially with no cover. Then again alot of bait fish are there too.

I throw a whole lot of different soft plastics and parallel to the shore to I just always come back with a moss or weed covered jig that's why I throw soft plastics none of those issues

Jigs are SUPER EFFECTIVE from the bank if you know how to fish them. I caught a 6.5lb bass from Benbrook on the bank on a jig. A buddy of mine caught a double digit from Benbrook on the bank with a JIG. You are fooling yourself if you think they arent effective from the shore. They are my #1 go to bait when bank fishing. Can fish them anyywhere. I only use Fin Tech Title shot jigs though. Maybe you should give those a try!

I cant keep moss and weeds off mine not the hook but were my string ties to the jig am I doing something wrong?

I've been using a Strike King Bitsy Bug in Pumpkin Craw color with a crawfish color Paca Chunk trailer in a couple of local ponds. Cast and slowly drag it and I've been getting some nice hits.

I use a 1/4oz black jig with a black and blue skirt and put a black zoom grub on as a trailer. I fish mostly in my neighborhood water but the fish are picky and have plenty of places to go so they have to be hungry for it at the time. I cast to the opposite shore if I'm in a narrow part and hop it back. Not violently though. Lift the rod up 6-12 inches inches and drop it back to the bottom. I don't drop on slack line though. I probably drop my rod tip with a 1-1000 count to slowly float it back to the bottom. Let the tail do the action like it's swimming in little hops. I'll do that all the way back to me. I have a white jig and some swim jigs in those colors but that black 1/4oz seems to be the most productive. I even try swimming and dragging that guy but the soft hop has been the key for me. (sorry about the sideways pic)

The only time I like to use a jig is in heavy cover... either thick brush or grass, or under docks.

From the bank, cast parallel to the bank, and keep it in the weeds. Make it hop along the bottom 12-18" at a time.

I just don't get WHY you would jig fish instead of using a T-rig... they get hung up easier in cover, cost more, are less versatile imo, and offer no added benefit, save for a skirt which can be added with a keeper slip sinker and skirt of your choosing anyways (punch rig weights/skirts), and offer the disadvantage in my opinion of being easier for a fish to detect (heavier weight on pick up) during finicky bite conditions, easier to throw because the weight is all on the hook, and have a poorer hook up ratio in general as well.

Don't get me wrong, I am very open minded and truly curious, I just want to hear what reason you would choose one over the other possible presentations?

IMO, jigs tend to produce fewer but bigger fish. I rarely start with a jig, but will switch if there is heavy cover or if plastics are not working.

Like I said try a title shot jig. Almost never gets hung up in any type of cover, Hook up ratio is awesome becuase of the the way the skirt/trailer keeper is designed (this is NOT your typical jig, fishes very much like a texas rig) They offer super light jigs all the way up to 1 oz so you can fish any type of cover or structure with them. I agree in the fact that i would NOT use a TYPICAL jig in the same situations that I do my title shot. I can fish it with or without a skirt and pretty much ANY soft plastic out there I can put it on the title shot and fish it effectively. You should really give them a try. Im not even on their pro staff or anything I just catch ALOT of fish on them.

go to tackle warehouse and check out the Fin Tech Title shot jig. But to answer your question if there is alot of moss present I usually just go down in weight to the smallest I can get a way with. Keeps it from digging into and dragging in the moss.