Jig fishing

[pig n jig]

It really bothers me that I can't help some members get a sucessful start with a pig n jig.I gave the best answers to my knowledge, however I did over look one thing that might help.A jig is a heavy compact lure with a big heavy wire hook.You have to set the hook harder than most baits on a fish. More often than not you will feel a fish and your first instinct is just to pull back on the rod and try to hold the fish from going in another direction. Most times when you pull back, all your doing is moving the fish,the jig is clamped tight in the fishes mouth and it didn't move in your effort to pull back at the fish as it tries to swim away with your jig. You have got to drop the rod tip and snap upward on the hookset in order to move the jig inside the fishes mouth and set the hook point instead of just playing a game of tug of war with the fish.I hope this helps. P N J

[JB]

pnj,
your jig insight is right on and memorable to past experiences I've had with
some great coaches(fishermen) that were masters at the jig and taught me thier techniques.
I think what henders some on the forum is that they fish a lot of mossy ponds that the jig gets buried in, and fails to produce, wheres gents like you and me learned it on big bodies of water where the presentation is more sutle.
hope this helps and if it doesnt please take two zookertabs and report in the morning rofl

[skeeter944]

roflmao at jb! thats funny! i think that you told me that ivan,i need to fish the jig in more lakes than ponds,becuase i fish ponds that are halfway covered in moss by summer. thanks ivan! you have been a real help,so has jb,liz,reb, and of course,old zooker and tom. thanks again guys!

[zooker]

it keeps you UP all night a will make you empty your wallet at the nearest tackle store..

zooker

[JB]

zooker,
gaurnteed no side effects too

[Rebbasser]

PnJ, great advice. That is also the reason I fish jigs on braid with a heavy action rod-to get that hard, solid hookset.

[zooker]

even though i have caught bass on jigs i have to say they do tend to work better in a rocky bottom area..

zooker

[weaverml34]

Originally Posted by pig n jig

It really bothers me that I can't help some members get a sucessful start with a pig n jig.I gave the best answers to my knowledge, however I did over look one thing that might help.A jig is a heavy compact lure with a big heavy wire hook.You have to set the hook harder than most baits on a fish. More often than not you will feel a fish and your first instinct is just to pull back on the rod and try to hold the fish from going in another direction. Most times when you pull back, all your doing is moving the fish,the jig is clamped tight in the fishes mouth and it didn't move in your effort to pull back at the fish as it tries to swim away with your jig. You have got to drop the rod tip and snap upward on the hookset in order to move the jig inside the fishes mouth and set the hook point instead of just playing a game of tug of war with the fish.I hope this helps. P N J

I just wanted to clarify one thing on PNJ's excellent post. Don't reel down when you drop the rod tip. A local guy here that I heard talk about fishing jigs keeps his rod tip in the 10:00-11:00 O'clock position so he can feel the weight of the jig. When he feels a bite he immediately drops it to 9:00 and snaps it right back to the 11:00 position.

[skeeter944]

i have my rod in the same position,but when i have a bite,i point the rod at the fish and set the hook pretty hard. but,use a heavy action rod and low stretch line like braid,and you will get more bass.

[3dkicker]

W34 - You better be reeling down if that hog picks up your pnj and is heading towards you. Or was that for when you are crawling the lure along the bottom???

[pig n jig]

Originally Posted by 3dkicker

W34 - You better be reeling down if that hog picks up your pnj and is heading towards you. Or was for when you are crawling the lure along the bottom???

Are fishing jigs on slack line ? The moment you feel the fish, you set the hook, no reeling down unless you fish with a really short rod, or fish on slack line.The rod tip can catch up to the fish in a hurry, unless you have the reflexes of a dead cow, or in Zookers case, there is a woman sunbathing near by. P N J

[3dkicker]

Sorry, my tournament partner has "hands of stone" and the fish is half way to the boat before he realizes he has a fish. I reel down to pick up slack due to current flow or the fish moving towards me.

Put me on that bikini pattern any day!!!

[pig n jig]

Do you fish braid, or mono ?

[zooker]

Originally Posted by 3dkicker

Put me on that bikini pattern any day!!!

hell yeah thats what i am talking about


zooker

[weaverml34]

Originally Posted by 3dkicker

W34 - You better be reeling down if that hog picks up your pnj and is heading towards you. Or was that for when you are crawling the lure along the bottom???

Good point 3dkicker. This is probably more of a pitchin' and flippin' hook setting technique where your relatively close to the bass. If your casting a jig and working a big area and you don't reel down when a fish picks it up and heads towards you, you might fall out of the boat with a hard hook set.

[mont_lunker_hunter]

Guys, I've stopped fishing braid in woody brush with a jig. I think it makes noise when sliding over the limbs and logs (just as it does coming through the line guides). I switched to flouro to maintain the low stretch, it seems to have helped me alot. What are yalls thoughts on this?

[3dkicker]

PNJ - I've used braided but I like 17lb flouro better. I found that once I got hung up with braided line it wouldn't break free and I'd lose a lot of line.

I had a partner set the hook once using braided line (on a rock or stump) and the rod vibrated out of his hands and into the water. Never got the rod back but picked up a 3lb fish on a 1/2oz Silver Buddy dredging the bottom trying to snag the rod.

Zooker - I like orange best, lime green next, and then black!!!

Current can really affect the amount of slack in the line and when you fish tidal water you have big changes in current flow in a short period of time. I've found that I do better with longer rods, reels that pick up 28" per turn, and line with less stretch.

[basser425]

Jig N Pig has a REALLY good point with his comment about playing tug of war with a fish and never actually setting the hook. I tend to fish jigs pretty close to the boat, especially if there are rocks and rip rap around, and I can feel the fish pick up...it usually catches me off guard and I wind up "pulling" the bass for a few feet or so...but what I do then is lower the rod tip and set the hook hard a few times as I reel him toward me. If I am fishing heavy structure, trees, etc... the whole motion tends to be more vertical but I still set the hook again on the way up. It still amazes me how easily the hook falls out sometimes.
Andy

[zooker]

Originally Posted by 3dkicker

Zooker - I like orange best, lime green next, and then black!!!

well not color particular on said bases but the smaller the better imo...



zooker

[dodgeguy]

Originally Posted by mont_lunker_hunter

Guys, I've stopped fishing braid in woody brush with a jig. I think it makes noise when sliding over the limbs and logs (just as it does coming through the line guides). I switched to flouro to maintain the low stretch, it seems to have helped me alot. What are yalls thoughts on this?

my thoughts on that are that all the line stretch test results i've reaserched and read say flouro has NO less stretch than mono.it's a complete falsehood.do a google or yahoo search on it.

[mont_lunker_hunter]

thanks for the reply dodgeguy. It may just be a confidence thing. But the main reason i switched from braid was due to the noise that is makes when rubbing over limbs and brush. As I said, it may be a confidence thing, but i catch more fish, in woody cover, using line other than braid. And yes, i break off a few fish, but the increase in total bites more than make up for the lost fish. It may also be due to the fact that everyone at my lake uses braid...except me.

[dodgeguy]

flouro is brittle and imho stinks.i would use a line like trilene big game or cajun red cast for your apllication.both of them will not break like flouro does.trilene big game had less stretch than almost every flouro i have seen in stretch tests.

[mont_lunker_hunter]

Maybe so, but I've fished flouro for a long time now, and love it. I appreciate the advice though. I guess i'm just going by the ole saying "if ain't broke don't fix it" and so far flouro is doin the trick for me.

[dodgeguy]

cool!!!what brand do you use?a lot of guys say seaguar is the best.

[mont_lunker_hunter]

believe it or not I use XPS. I've landed several double digit fish with it (out of brush too!) and I use it exclusively except for top water. Check it out on basspro.com