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Lake Fork
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Lake Fork
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This article is a good one to rewrite as I have had many readers asking questions about the JIG. I don’t get to use a jig as much as I like as many fishermen are intimidated when the Jig is mentioned. The jig is no harder to fish than any other bait. You have to fish it and gain confidence in it. I have always said the best way to learn to fish a bait is tie it on and don’t take it off. The jig can be fished just like a worm. I have swam them out on humps just a spinner bait are a crank bait. The hardest part is learning to pitch or flip it. Get out in the back yard and practice. Put you several targets about ten feet away and practice hitting them This article is on the ever popular jig and pig. The jig is known in the
bass fishing circle as the big fish bait. During most of my guide trips I
have someone ask how to and when do you fish a jig. Let me begin with a
little background on the jig. The jig can be fished year-round in all
seasons and all depths. January and February is a prime time to fish a jig.
As I said earlier the jig is a big fish bait. Most of the fish I catch on a
jig are bigger in comparison to any other bait. There are days in the spring
when the big females will eat a jig in a heart beat. During January and
February I normally fish a half ounce jig with a big Daddy Pork frog. The
winter months are prime times to use pork over plastic trailers. Because the
water is cold the plastic has less movement than pork. Pork will have a
fluid movement in all conditions. The big Daddy pork frog has a lot of bulk
causing the jig to fall slowly. Pork can be used year round, but in the
summer months when it is extremely hot, or the sun is out, pork has a
tendency to dry out and become hard. Once this happens you can cut it off
your hook and throw it away. That is why pork is primarily used in the
winter. So remember to keep the pork wet at all times. During January and
February I like to pitch a jig around tree trunks and stumps in eight to
fifteen foot of water. You can work the outside edges of feeder creeks that
are going back into major coves. I will pitch the jig several times at each
target because the big females are very finicky at this time. As cold
front's move in and out and the water temperature goes up and down the big
females will do the same. As I said earlier my favorite way to fish a jig is
to pitch rather than cast like a worm. When the hydrilla was very thick I
would take a three-quarter oz. jig with a grub trailer and pitch it along
the wall grass were there are openings, or some type of wood structure. I
let the jig fall through the openings, or tear an opening and once the jig
hit the bottom I lift it up slowly and let it fall back to the bottom. You
need to watch your line very carefully as it is falling back to the bottom.
Sometimes as the jig penetrates the grass the fish will pick it up on the
fall and as you are peeling lined off so the as the jig goes to the bottom
the fish will be swimming off with the line. Some of the strikes will be
very subtle and sometimes it will be like a baseball bat has hit it.
Sometimes the fish want the jig hopped. I let the fish tell me what retrieve
they want. I find a likely spot to pitch the jig, let it go to the bottom
then I lift it off the bottom two or three times and let it sit for a couple
of seconds, then hop it a couple of times. The fish will let you know what
type of retrieve they want. If you can find some good hydrilla that is
growing in about eight to ten foot of water and you and your fishing partner
work these edges slowly you can catch some very large fish. When fishing a
jig you will not catch the numbers of fish you would with a Carolina rig but
normally they will be a lot larger in size. When working on the outside
edges of taper grass or wall grass you need to work this area slowly. Two or
three people can fish these areas out of the same boat but normally it is a
lot easier with two people. When pitching the jig you and your buddy can
work along tree lines, fence rows, old road beds and Creek channels. One
person can take one side and the other person can take the other side when
pitching Creek's and roadbeds. It is very hard for a guide to have two
people in the boat with him and fish a jig. On most of my guide trips I'll
have one good fishermen and the other person is a beginner. The best way to
learn to fish a jig is go to your favorite worm hole and work the area with
a worm. Once you have started catching fish switch over to a jig and see if
you can get the fish to hit the jig. You can fish a jig as you do a worm but
normally the short hops will be the ticket. You will have to choose what
Style of jig works best for your type of cover. When I am pitching timber I
like to use a half oz. jig. The half ounce does not hang up as much as some
of the heavier jigs do. The colors that I like to throw are a black and blue
combination, white, and green pumpkin. In the summer I like to fish the jig
in deep water. I get out in 25 to 30 ft. of water over submerged Creek's and
take a three-quarter oz. jig and cast it out and swim it through the
branches of the submerged timber and bounce it through the limbs. Most of
these fish will be suspended around the tops of these trees. The reason I
use a three-quarter oz. jig for this style fishing is because of the depth
of the water. Also the three-quarter oz. jig will make a little more
commotion in the tops of the trees. A key factor in fishing a jig is the
type of rod that you are using. I fish with a six-foot six inch heavy action
Falcon Graphite rod. I use the "FC 7 -166 in the silver series. The reason
you need a heavy action rod it will help eliminate a lot of hang-ups and
when you are fishing the grass it will help you pull the big hogs out of the
grass. As I said earlier the best way to learn to fish a jig is to tie it on
and keep it handy. Go to your favorite worm hole and use a worm, as soon as
you start to catch fish you will have confidence that there are fish there.
Now switch over to your jig rod and cast the jig where you are catching the
fish on the worm and see if you can start catching them on a jig. This will
help you to get the feel of the bite on a jig. Once you gain the confidence
of fishing the jig now you can go out and experiment in different kinds of
water. Before you hit the water take a couple of magazines and lay them out
in the yard about ten to twelve feet from you and practice pitching around
the sides of the books. You can also practice pitching on top of the books,
this will help you when pitching the openings in the grass and in the
timber. If you would like some first-hand experience book a trip by yourself
so that you and I can spend the whole day fishing a jig. Until next time, Thanks and good fishing, Jim Back to tips & techniques index |
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