New to jigs.

[BassFeverJohn]

Hey guys. I am new to jigging. I have only had a few in the past and never caught anything, however I never really gave them a fair shot. The other day I bought a 3/16 oz Bitsy Bug Mini Jig from Strike King in black head with blue flake and a black & blue skirt. Man, that was a mouth full! I have a chanteuse twin tail grub with gold flake on it as a trailer.

All that being said; The lakes around here where I fish do not have a lot of heavy cover. They are mostly larger storm retention lakes. I take a lot of bass on worms and crankbaits, but I'd like to give jigs a try.

How would you jiggers suggest I fish my jig here in NE Florida? And are there any suggestions on other jigs you guys would suggest?

Thanks!

Here's my jig.

[carolina-rig-01]

As the owner of ThunderStruck Jigs I will say that if you find yourself wanting to buy more jigs give me a holler and I will fix you up. Also if you visit our site there are some videos on there that will help get you off on the right foot. In these videos I talk about things like where to use what jigs, different trailers and when I use them, and a lot of other information that might be useful to you.

[walkeraviator]

Im fairly new to the Jig game myself, but here is the information i have put to use.

I would switch trailers to somethig that matches teh Jig closer. Either Black/Blue Flake or straight Black. I would also consider some natural color Jigs if teh water is clear. I was lately told to go out around Full Moon and try to find a molting craw and see what color they are. This could determine whether Black/Blue is a good color or if you should go more toward purple.

My first JIg I ever bought is the only Jig I have yet to catch fish on (only been fishing em less than a year). It is a Jewel Spider Jig in Watermelon Green Flash with a green pumpkin Ekins Craw trailer. I fish it anywhere i would a T-rig worm and just about the same. I cast it to shallow water and slowly work it back to the boat. Try a straight drag, then small hops, then larger hops til teh fish tell you what they want...

Just keep in mind Size color and action same as wormin. Sometimes they want a 7" ribbontail, then sometimes tehy want a 4" finesse worm. Same with Jigs.. sometimes they want big flappy trailers like Paca Chunks on a Big Jig worked with big hops... other times they want a finesse jig (compact presentation) a simple craw trailer with little size and action and for it to be drug slow across teh bottom....

and last burt not least.. JIgs are meant to impersonate a crawdad... so work it more in places that are good craw habitat...

[gottafish]

Well when I started throwing jigs many years ago i read an article where it said leave all your other baits at home and just throw a jig if you want to learn how to use it so I did. Now whether you really have to do that or not i don't know but it worked for me.
Jigs have become a mainstay for me and really can work anywhere. I like to keep it simple when chossing colors and tend to stay in the darker range such as blue/blk or browns with blu/blk being my favorite. I also stay real simple with my trailors by using zoom chunks but that I believe is more a personal preference. As far as how to fish them i tend to stay with a hopping motion but also will drag them on the bottom too. I am still experimenting with swimming a jig so i really can't talk about that. I will fish them just about anywhere but if i see visible cover such as a boat dock/ramp, fishing pier, tree stump or a laydown the jig is my first choice. I also use rattles on all my jig fishing except in clear water but for me clear water is an exception not the rule for most of the local lakes I fish.
Now when it comes to hook sets with a jig make sure you swing for the fence. I have found that a halfhearted hook set will just not get the job done in jig fishing. I use a 7' MH power/fast action rod with either a 6.x:1 or 7.x:1 gear ratio baitcast reel. A lot people use a 7'6" rod for jig fishing but I fish in a smaller boat so I go with the 7'r.
As far as brands of jig i use several ones. My favorite being the Strictly bass invader jig with the Indian creek lure co. jig coming in second. When i want a bulky jig i use a Strike king pro jig and also use booyah jigs too. I usually trim the skirts and weed guard.

Here is a picture of some jigs I believe it's a strike king on the left then a booyah with the chunk on the hook in the center and a booyah with the hook threaded through the chunk up to the keeper. The last one is a great compact jig for when the fish are looking for that kind of presentation.

[CamG]

I don't remember that last time I didn't throw at least one jig while fishing.

IMO, jigs are the most versatile bass fishing lure ever invented. They can be fished fast to super slow, shallow to super deep, swam or deadstick - the possibilities are endless.

Once you learn how to fish a jig, you will realize the fish catching power.

Trailers - I use two styles - NetBait Paca Chunks most of the time, but opt for twin tail grubs in deep water, or if I swim it through grass.

[66KingFisher]

I caught more and bigger fish on jigs then anything else in my tackle box.....shy of a spinnerbait which is really nothing more then a jig with and extended blade....lol

[Jigger]

Originally Posted by 66KingFisher

I caught more and bigger fish on jigs then anything else in my tackle box

Ditto.

I won't fish anything but a hand-tied jig. The jig you show in the photo has a rubber band securing the skirt. Those rubber bands are junk. They get loose and break after a while, assuming they hold the skirt in the first place. If you get serious about jig fishing, hand-tied is the way to go.

[Bassboss]

I was new to jigs last year. But now I fish quite often and really like them! I find they're best around woody cover, jig pillions, and flipped down reeds, and lilly pad stalks. They can be a pain fishing them in Florida as I can attest to. Down here (At least in the southern part of Fl.) We've got a lot mossy junk that like it just caught up on the head of the jig. I personally like slow fall, and hardly ever used a jig over 3/8oz, even in water that's deeper than 15 feet or so. I like the slow fall down the cover because it lets the fish get a better look at it and eat it, you don't want to slow of a fall, other wise they'll get too good of a look, and won't hit it. I like to pitch it to the cover, and let it drift down - Watch the line, because most of the time you'll get hit than. So make sure you know how deep the water you're fishing is, and how long it takes it to hit the bottom. Once it hits the bottom, give it a few hops of the rod tip, 4 - 10" - Slow hops, once you get out of the cover, reel like mad and get it back to the boat/shore.

I also like a trailer that either floats (Strike King 3x chunk, the biggest one they have), or has a lot of vibration/water movement (rage tail chunk or craw). I'll opt for the 3x in colder water less than 60*. Try to match trailer color, to jig color.

Now I'm weird. I don't like the color back and blue. Never caught a thing on it. I like either plan black, or natural colors like camo, texas craw, green pump, and other greens. My favorite jig to date is a Strike King Denny Brauer Premier Pro Jig.

Line? Flouro is best, but a good copolymer is great as well - so far the best I've used is CXX - 12lb/17lb breaking strength.

As far as jig mods, I'll trim the weed guard level to the hook point, or just over it. I find I never need to trim the skirt my my SK's, so I don't!

This should pretty much get you started, good luck man.

Oh! Also check out Kevins videos on jig fishing, great vids, very, very informative!

[walkeraviator]

Originally Posted by Bassboss

Oh! Also check out Kevins videos on jig fishing, great vids, very, very informative!

Ditto on this... Helps a whoel bunch in selecting a Jig...

[BassFeverJohn]

Thanks for all the info guys! I am itchin' to get out and try it.