Mar
bass fishing jig and pig
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »what is the best way to fish a pig-n-jig?
Not just techneque but up or down a slope or across it ect. I’m trying to learn how to fish for largemouths and trial and error has resulted in 7 trips and 0 fish. Moved to the south a while ago and what I’m used to isn’t working.
P.S. BASS and Tcat, your oppions would be apreciated, I’ve enjoyed your other answers and am trying everything I can.
OK, here you go,
Jigs are perhaps the most basic of bass lures. Because they can be fished in dense brush or weeds, jigs can be used when bass are inactive and holding tight to cover.
COMPONENTS OF A JIG: Jigs are simple lures made up of five basic components: 1. The head. This is made of lead or zinc and molded around a hook. Head weights normally used for bass fishing run from 1/4 to 5/8 oz. 2. The Hook. This can be either a light-wire hook or a very stout hook, depending on jig style. 3. The Weedguard. Not all jigs have weedguards; on those that do, the guard is usually made of multiple strands of stiff fiber or one or two strands of wire. 4. The Skirt. Jigs can have either a hair, rubber, soft plastic or synthetic skirts. Leadheads are plain jigs without skirts. 5. The Trailer. Jigs are normally fished with a pork or soft plastic trailer.
JIG STYLES: Four main types of jigs are used for bass: 1. Leadheads. These are plain, weighted jig hooks to which a soft plastic worm, crawfish, lizard or grub is attached. They’re normally used in clear lakes, especially for smallmouth and spotted bass. 2. Casting Jigs. These have a rubber or synthetic skirt and a light or medium strength hook. They’re used for casting in lakes that don’t have a great deal of dense cover. Spider jigs, soft plastic twin-tails with a squid like collar fished on a leadhead, are excellent casting jigs. 3. Flipping Jigs. These are rubber or synthetic skirted jigs with a heavy duty hook, designed to be fished with a pork or plastic trailer. Their weedless design allows them to be fished in dense cover. 4. Hair Jigs ( Bucktails ). These have a hair skirt and may or may not have a weedguard. They’re most often used for smallmouth bass. Hair jigs can be fished with or without a trailer.
WHERE TO USE JIGS: 1. In Cold Water. Jigs can be fished very slowly when bass are sluggish in cold water. Plus, their compact size matches the smaller forage bass prefer in winter and early spring. 2. In Heavy Cover. Jigs are the best of all bass lures for probing brushpiles, thick weedbeds, submerged trees and other dense cover in shallow water. In cover, they are effective in both cold and warm water. 3. On Sloping Banks. Jigs can be worked slowly down sloping banks and ledges. The rate of fall can be varied by changing the jig weight and/or size of trailer. 4. On Highly Pressured Lakes. Fishing pressure can make bass retreat to dense cover and slow to bite. However, a pressured bass can be coaxed into biting a jig presented right in its face.
JIG TACKLE: Vary your tackle according to water clarity and amount of cover where you’re fishing. In stained to muddy water with wood cover, use a stout flipping or pitching rod and 20 to 30 pound test mono or stronger high-tech lines. In clear water with weedbeds, use a pitching rod and 14 to 17 pound test mono. In deep, clear water, use a stiff 6 foot spinning rod and 6 to 8 pound test mono or a 6 1/2 foot medium action baitcasting rod and 10 to 12 pound test line.
JIG PRESENTATIONS AND RETRIEVES: Here are some pointers for working these lures in thick wood or weeds: 1. Rate Of Fall. As a rule of thumb, fish react better to a slower fall in cold/clear water and a faster fall in warm/murky water. To make a jig fall more slowly, you can either use a lighter jig, a bigger pork or plastic trailer, or larger diameter line. To make a jig fall faster, use a heavier jig, switch to a smaller trailer or fish the lure on smaller diameter line. 2. Color. Color is very important in jig fishing. Often fine tuning your color presentation shows immediate, positive results. In muddy water, try combinations of black, chartreuse or pumpkin. In stained water, try black and blue. In clear water, use smoke gray, watermelon or pumpkin. Flake colors also work best in clear water. Use pink in muddy water, white when bass are on a shallow shad bite. 3. Shake It. When working a jig through dense cover, gently shaking the rod tip will provide all the action the lure needs as well as help nudge it out of tight spots so it doesn’t hang up. Avoid tightening down on a jig that’s hung up in branches or grass; it’ll usually stay hung and you’ll have to go in and retrieve it, thereby spooking any fish in the area. Instead, shake the rod tip and the lure will free itself. Many strikes occur as a hung jig works free and scoots away from an object. 4. Focus. When working the jig in dense cover, try to focus on what the jig is doing. You must envision the lure hopping, crawling and nudging its way through and around branches, roots, weeds, etc. Losing this focus will mean missed bites. Set the hook immediately when a bite or and unusual resistance is detected. 5. To Rattle Or Not. The current trend is to use a rattling jig. However, many anglers believe bass can become conditioned to the noise and learn not to bite these lures. In theory, a rattle works best in low visibility water. When in doubt, a quiet jig is always a safe choice.
DRESSING JIGS AND TRAILERS: Jigs often require some dressing or on- location modification. 1. Skirts. The skirts on many jigs are too big. Many anglers trim the skirt to just behind the bend in the hook. Others thin the skirt by removing some of the strands. 2. Weedguards. Many fiber weedguards are too thick or long. Trim if necessary. The weedguard should be even with the hook point or no longer. Split a thick fiber weedguard with your finger so it forms a V with the hook point in the middle. 3. Pork Trailers. In warm water use a knife to trim the fat off the back of the head of a pork frog; this retains the trailer’s large profile but allows the lure to fall faster. Cutting ribs in the legs of a pork frog or split tail eel can make the trailer more flexible and lively.
Jigs are one of the most productive baits today, especially in water clarities from slightly murky to clear, in water temperatures below the sixty degree mark and when bass are in an inactive mood and buried in deep cover. Jigs are presentation lures and the key to fishing them is to make them look as much alive as possible. This is accomplished through a slow presentation.
A jig is a heavy, lead-headed bait with a single hook. An attracting skirt or trailer is added to the hook. With a good weedguard, they can be fished effectively in dense cover where big bass live. They are subtle and discrete and move into big-bass territory without making a lot of commotion, as would a live crawfish or baitfish. And once hooked, the bass has a harder time throwing the single-hook jig than it would a treble-hook lure. A pork or plastic trailer is often added to these baits.
A tremendous variety of jig weights are available. Learn the importance of jig sizes and how to fish each. For clear water, lighter weights that can be effectively combined with light line and spinning tackle are recommended, especially 1/8 and 1/4 ounce. For murky or deep water and dense cover, heavier jigs, 3/8 to 5/8 ounce, can be fished on stout baitcasting tackle with heavy line. When the wind is blowing a bow in your line, it’s hard to maintain contact with the jig to detect strikes. Go to a heavier jig.
As a general rule, fish the lightest jig weight you can get away with — that is, the lightest one that permits you to feel the bottom and any cover it contacts. Keep a supply of different weight jigs, ranging from 3/16th ounce to 3/4 ounce size for different water temperatures, water clarity and type of cover. Use the jig as a “drop bait.” Cast to the bank and engage the spool. Let the jig fall on tight line. When it hits bottom, drop the rod tip, reel up the slack and draw it back slightly to move the jig and cause it to start dropping again. A strike may be detected only as a line twitch. Set the hook immediately.
Jigs can be used as casting lures. Cast them around stumps, logs, grass or other cover and retrieve as you would a Texas-rigged plastic worm, allowing the bait to fall on a tight line. In open water, a weedguard may not be needed on a jig, but a weedguard is recommended in water with plenty of cover.
Jigs can also be fished by “swimming.” Simply cast out and begin a slow, steady retrieve with the rod at 10 o’clock. The jig will flow smoothly through the water like a swimming baitfish. This retrieve is especially effective on flats in the springtime. In clear water, light colors (white, chartreuse, green) tend to work best. Transparent jig skirts and transparent crawfish-type trailers cast less of a silhouette and are less threatening to spooky bass. In murky water, black, brown, purple and contrasting dark colors often produce best. The trailer (plastic or pork rind) color can be altered to change the appearance of the bait quickly and economically.
Remember that jig fishing demands lots of concentration.
Fish jigs slowly during all seasons, but extremely slow in cold water.
As a rule, smallmouth bass tend to prefer hair jigs while largemouths are more often taken on the bulkier rubber jugs.
To improve your feel and maintain your maximum pounds of hook setting pressure, use a fast action medium-heavy to heavy rod in the 6 1/2 foot or even longer lengths.
Jigs are excellent night-fishing lures. Many fishermen use a heavier jig at night, one that can be fished on stouter tackle, even in ultraclear water.
When bass aren’t hitting more attention-getting lures such as rattling crankbaits, a jig fished in or close to cover is often the answer to getting bass to strike.
Keep your hooks sharp. Sharp hooks penetrate more easily and they’re harder to dislodge.
Check your line and knot periodically.
When fishing a jig in a bush or submerged tree limbs, hang-ups may occur. Instead of violently pulling and shaking to dislodge the jig, give the line some slack and shake the rod tip gently. Often the jig will fall free and get struck by a bass.
When swimming or dropping a hair jig in clear water, you can make the hair “breath” by gently squeezing the handle of your rod (a slight wrist movement)while keeping the rod position still. This just barely moves the tip.
Stay alert, have patience, be motivated and think positively. And most importantly, tight lines.
Jig n Pig LargeMouth bass