Jig Size Bass

[jooleyen]

People often talk about being discouraged when they pick up a rod with a jig.

I live in the northern part of the United States, and the bass obviously aren't as big as they are down south. I have caught a four pound bass on jig before, and now I feel like only a four plus pounder will bite on a jig. What is the average size of bass caught on a jig. (not down south) I kind of get discouraged when I use a jig. I want to catch quality fish, but I also want to catch a decent number of fish. I don't want to just catch one four pounder a day and nothing else. You know what I'm saying?

What is the minimum size of fish I can expect to catch on a small/medium size jig?

Thanks

[JB]

I've seen days on the water when any size will hit a jig, we always hope its 16 inches or more, but the reality of the matter is many a 11 or 12 inch bass will hit the jig..the pnj is still a good tool to use when the bite is tough, or you have a lot of wood and timbers or trash to flip it in.

[Rebbasser]

Jools, I've caught bigger fish on finesse jigs and dinks on big flipping jigs. Like any other bait, there is no real rhyme or reason as to what the fish will hit.

[jooleyen]

Cool. So I should just pick up the jig and not give up on it? Also, every lake I fish is LOADED with weeds. Jigs don't seem to come through weeds well.

[Raul]

Maybe the head type you are using for fishing that weedy lake isn´t the appropiate one ?

Jigs have different style heads for different applications. The BPS enticer jig has an arrowhead style of head and the eye is placed longitudinally so it can slice through vegetation.

[jooleyen]

I'll try one of those. I'm a little afraid because even a bullet weight doesn't come through this grass well. The only thing I can do it throw a weedless frog or sight fish on this lake.

[dodgeguy]

fishing anything through weeds takes PATIENCE!!!no matter what head you have it will get weeded up.the grass jigs and bullet weights just work better.with a bullet weight you may need a 1 ounce weght.same with the jig.this let's it penetrate and get through to the more open environment underneath.

[zooker]

jigs.. well they tend to catch any fish they come by.. i use alot of 1/4-1/2 oz jigs i rarely use heavier ones.. i caught 7 bass today on a 1/4oz jig. 2 of them were 8-10" one was 6 pounds.. all came off the same rock err... boulder..i fish alot of rocky bottoms -no weeds- so a football shaped head works for me..

zooker

[lizardsrule]

Make sure you are using plenty of scent. Even GFarlic flavored cooking spray works well. It not only helps with the bites, but also helps with getting through(sliding) the vegetation. You also might want to consider using a heavier jig, to punch through the vegetation especially alon weed edges, and points on deeper water. You can get some nice bass, and sometimes more than one. Summertime is the best time for this to work IMO. Some folks call it "Welding". When you get a big fiash in the weeds, it feels like your stuck on the bottom. A stout rod and line are required for this howere, and braid is almost a neccesity for thwe feel, and no stretch needed. This can work with any plastic, justy need heavier weights.

Lizards

[Rebbasser]

Welding? Dang, Lizards, you are up on the latest terms. Well done, Grasshopper!

[hackattack]

Originally Posted by jooleyen

I want to catch quality fish, but I also want to catch a decent number of fish. I don't want to just catch one four pounder a day and nothing else.

first of all, you are crazy. I would take a four pounder over a couple dinks any day.
BTW,jigs CAN catch dinks...thats all my friend ever catches on it rofl.

[jooleyen]

Yeah well there is a big difference between three and four pounds (one pound) A three pounder ain't a dink.

[Raul]

Originally Posted by jooleyen

A three pounder ain't a dink.

Nope, in Wisconsin it ain´t, down here ........

[keithdog]

Hey Jools, have something for you to try. I know you mentioned there are a lot of weeds in your lakes. Do you have any open water? I would think you would have some parts of the lake between 14 and 24 foot depths where the water is open. If you do, there is a jig combo a friend of mine got me started on that you don't see mentioned anymore. But it can be killer on all sizes of bass. I live in northern Indiana, so any bass over 4 pounds here is respectable as you know. I saw my fishin buddy land an 8 pounder on this jig combo. All it consists of is a 1/4 oz. black maribue feather jig with a 6 inch black plastic lizard for a trailer. We used to use black lizards with yellow spots, but no one seems to sell that color any longer, which is a shame as that IS the color of the spotted and tiger salamanders, which are very common in the midwest here. I now use just a plain black or black and red glitter lizards as a trailer. I work this combo on a 6 1/2 foot medium action spinning rod with 12 pound test. Simply cast it out in deeper water near the weedlines and slowly retrieve the jig/lizard combo with an occational twitch or lift of a foot or so, letting it fall back to the bottom between lifts. Just try to make it look alive. I remember one day when I caught 18 bass on 18 casts with this rig from the same area without moving my boat. That was a day in June a few years back. In fact, june has proven to be an excellent month for this tactic over the years. Give it a try.

[jooleyen]

Awesome. Thanks Keithdog.

[BassAddict]

In the rivers around here my brother and I have been using either a 5/16 oz Eakins jig or a 3/16 oz Booyah Baby Boo jig. Best color for us is a black/blue jig with a bright blue small Zoom plastic chunk. We caught bass as small as 8" to 5 lbs. on these jigs. The small fish seem to really like that blue chunk though.

Eric