My first-ever bass on a jig!

WatterBoy · 07-25-11, 10:46 PM

I finally took some time this past weekend to pull out one of the Thunderstruck Jigs that Kory made for me earlier this year and see what I could do with it. I know pretty much zero about jigs and how to fish them, so I sort of just randomly grabbed one of the several I had ordered and threw a Green Pumpkin Super Chunk Jr. trailer on it. The jig I chose happened to be a 3/4 oz. Peanut Butter and Jelly colored football head jig. I don't have any idea if I was using it how, when or where I was "supposed" to be using it, but it worked GREAT!

The first time out I had made about a dozen casts with it when this 3lb 1oz, 17" Smallie fell prey to it.

The next night I was fishing with a couple relatives who fish once a year, on their trip here to MN, so I was mainly helping them with casting, retrieving, etc. After they were at least somewhat comfortable with that, I picked up my rod with the jig on it and cast it to a spot where I'd normally fish a senko -- where a nice weed bed meets a stand of reeds. I immediately had a nice Largemouth take me up on my very first offer! This one checked in at 2lb 10oz and 17". He is pictured here on the right, along with a 2lb 2oz LM that I got a bit later after a fun little battle with my Black Widow Spro Poppin' Frog.

The following afternoon I was fishing with my wife and sister-in-law along a nice reed-filled shoreline. It was a bit windy, so I just tried to keep the boat where both of them could cast to some decent spots from their middle and back of the boat positions. That meant I was quite a ways from the reeds most of the time. I made a particularly long cast into a spot just before the reeds ended and enjoyed the long-distance battle provided by this super-chunky 15-incher that set my scale to a reading of 2lb 11oz! As you can tell from both pictures, he REALLY wanted a jig meal.

I also caught another smaller LM and a pike during my time using this jig during the weekend. It was a tremendous amount of fun using a lure that was new to me and to catch some really nice bass while doing so! Now I guess I need to start learning which color and type of jig to use and how/when/where/etc. to use them and see if I can hook up with some more photo-worthy bass.

THANKS, KORY!

keithdog · 07-25-11, 11:08 PM

Heyyy, way to go WB! Those are some good lookin bass buddy! Congrats on the breakthrough with jigs. Now your hooked for life. Time to call Kory for more huh? lol

Marc David · 07-25-11, 11:12 PM

Congrats bud! I see more jig fishing in your future

Jrob78 · 07-25-11, 11:32 PM

Nice going WB! That should definitely be a good confidence builder, maybe jigs will become a bigger part of your arsenal.

islandbass · 07-25-11, 11:42 PM

That is awesome! I thought that I was the only one who didn't catch a bass with a jig for the longest time. I finally did but it was with a worm trailer vs. a pig trailer. So I hope it still counts.

MississippiBoy · 07-25-11, 11:52 PM

Kory makes some great jigs, no doubt. I've still got a few, but not many.
Congrats on the first jig fish. May there be many more to come....
As far as colors, for clear water, stick with the natural colors; green, brown, watermelon, pumpkinseed, etc. If you get into some murky water, you might want to try black and blue or other dark colors. But then again, you never know what the fish might want, so you better get at least one of each color, just in case....

Bassboss · 07-25-11, 11:57 PM

Congrats on the first of many water boy! Jigs are definitely my favorite lure to toss, fun to fish, fun to catch em on em.

Looks like you really took to em fast, jigs are arguable one of the hardest bait to get master!

carolina-rig-01 · 07-26-11, 01:07 AM

I appreciate all the compliments from everyone about my jigs. And I am very happy that they caught fish for you so quickly. For a guy who claims to know nothing about jigs you sure picked a deadly color combo haha. PB&J with a green pumpkin trailer is a very reliable combination in almost any water conditions. The Zoom Super Chunk Jr. is one of my favorite trailers as well when the water is anywhere to clear to heavily stained. The great thing about jig fishing is that there isn't a wrong way to do it. Today you might have to drag the jig slowly with long pauses to get bit but tomorrow you might have to slowly reel it along the bottom. Since there are so many different presentations for a jig that means that you can't possibly do it wrong, just keep playing around with different presentations until you figure out what will get you bit right now, but don't get set on any one retrieve because you might have to change retrieves several times throughout the day as conditions change.

Congrats on a milestone Dean, honestly it takes most guys much longer to gain confidence in a jig. But once they do it's addictive because it can produce some giant fish as well as big numbers. And like a guide here on Table Rock says, "a jig is one of the only baits that will catch fish 365 days a year". Of course your water gets hard in the winter so that might not directly apply to you but you get the idea anyways lol.

rrw4258 · 07-26-11, 07:25 AM

Very nice fish WB! A jig is such a great bait to fish, and one that I really enjoy fishing. To me the average size of fish seems to go up on a jig. Congrats!

Ryan

WaffleJaw · 07-26-11, 10:31 AM

Thats awesome Dean!

Congrats on the first!!...Ill never forget mine....It was an 8'' bass on Fork,hahaha!

WatterBoy · 07-26-11, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolina-rig-01

I appreciate all the compliments from everyone about my jigs. And I am very happy that they caught fish for you so quickly. For a guy who claims to know nothing about jigs you sure picked a deadly color combo haha. PB&J with a green pumpkin trailer is a very reliable combination in almost any water conditions. The Zoom Super Chunk Jr. is one of my favorite trailers as well when the water is anywhere to clear to heavily stained. The great thing about jig fishing is that there isn't a wrong way to do it. Today you might have to drag the jig slowly with long pauses to get bit but tomorrow you might have to slowly reel it along the bottom. Since there are so many different presentations for a jig that means that you can't possibly do it wrong, just keep playing around with different presentations until you figure out what will get you bit right now, but don't get set on any one retrieve because you might have to change retrieves several times throughout the day as conditions change.

Congrats on a milestone Dean, honestly it takes most guys much longer to gain confidence in a jig. But once they do it's addictive because it can produce some giant fish as well as big numbers. And like a guide here on Table Rock says, "a jig is one of the only baits that will catch fish 365 days a year". Of course your water gets hard in the winter so that might not directly apply to you but you get the idea anyways lol.

You get 99% of the credit.

1) The jig colors I ordered from you were based on some general recommendations you gave me on colors to consider based on the clarity of water I would be fishing.

2) I picked up some trailers from Cabela's last week to try on my first jig outing based on your answer in this "Let's play a game - Pick a Lure, Any Lure" thread, which was:

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolina-rig-01

1/2 oz. black and blue football jig with a finesse skirt and a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer (either black/blue flake or Green Pumpkin depending on water clarity).

3) You asked me in one of my threads recently if I had tried out the jigs you made or not, and it made me realize I needed to start using some of the new stuff I had from this past off-season even if i was already catching decent fish with my "comfort zone" baits. I need to branch out and learn to put more versatility in my arsenal.

4) I'll take 1% of the credit for the luck involved with me casting to the right spots and hooking/landing the fish.

I already have confidence that I can catch fish with jigs and am anxious to try some of the other ones you made for me. I can't wait to get back up to the lake this Friday for a 9-day stay (

), which will be my longest of the year. My dad and I hope to do some hardcore fishing from Friday evening through Wednesday morning prior to the arrival of the rest of our family, at which point I will basically become a guide and helper for anyone else who wishes to fish. This family get-together is basically the one time a year that any of them do any fishing at all.

WatterBoy · 07-26-11, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrw4258

Very nice fish WB! A jig is such a great bait to fish, and one that I really enjoy fishing. To me the average size of fish seems to go up on a jig. Congrats!

Ryan

I noticed the size thing already and wondered if that was just a fluke or not. These are all real nice size bass for this particular lake. I'm hoping the "bigger fish" thing continues as I keep learning how to use jigs!

bcklash · 07-26-11, 05:01 PM

Hey Kory, Dean wants some more jigs.

WB thtat's awesome, it's addictive I know that.

WatterBoy · 07-26-11, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcklash

Hey Kory, Dean wants some more jigs.

WB that's awesome, it's addictive I know that.

Yup, it sure is. I'm already addicted!

LeBron_Hill · 07-26-11, 07:49 PM

im still yet to catch a fish on a jig...course I really dont use a jig very much...use more soft plastics but I need to start trying to fish with a jig more often!

bamabassman · 07-26-11, 10:19 PM

alright dean!!! great job pal. yep, i got a box full of kory's and anthony's jigs. they are good uns. glad to see oyu haveing such great luck with them. keep at it man.

carolina-rig-01 · 07-28-11, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WatterBoy

You get 99% of the credit.

1) The jig colors I ordered from you were based on some general recommendations you gave me on colors to consider based on the clarity of water I would be fishing.

2) I picked up some trailers from Cabela's last week to try on my first jig outing based on your answer in this "Let's play a game - Pick a Lure, Any Lure" thread, which was:
3) You asked me in one of my threads recently if I had tried out the jigs you made or not, and it made me realize I needed to start using some of the new stuff I had from this past off-season even if i was already catching decent fish with my "comfort zone" baits. I need to branch out and learn to put more versatility in my arsenal.

4) I'll take 1% of the credit for the luck involved with me casting to the right spots and hooking/landing the fish.

I already have confidence that I can catch fish with jigs and am anxious to try some of the other ones you made for me. I can't wait to get back up to the lake this Friday for a 9-day stay (

), which will be my longest of the year. My dad and I hope to do some hardcore fishing from Friday evening through Wednesday morning prior to the arrival of the rest of our family, at which point I will basically become a guide and helper for anyone else who wishes to fish. This family get-together is basically the one time a year that any of them do any fishing at all.

LOL glad I could help.

BigBassin144 · 07-28-11, 10:02 PM

Congrats on getting your first jig fish man! Although you may not be believing it after such little time before you got one, but the first one is the hardest!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamabassman

alright dean!!! great job pal. yep, i got a box full of kory's and anthony's jigs. they are good uns. glad to see oyu haveing such great luck with them. keep at it man.

Thanks John, wait till you get you some of the new ones!

BB

WatterBoy · 09-15-11, 10:42 PM

Well, I got a chance to do some jig fishing again last week and caught a dozen more fish on it. The only downside is that 5 of them were little pike (~ 2 lbs). I did catch 3 real nice Smallies on it (3.4, 2.14, 2.13), so those were really fun. And I caught a nice 2.13 LM and three other LM that were each 2lbs or less. The first time I used it (top of this thread), every one of them hit in on the initial fall. Last week I had to learn how to work it back to the boat to get the bites, so that was fun! I did have one other hit that felt really solid when I set the hook. Unfortunately, it was gone after maybe one crank of my reel, but that was the only hit (that I know of!

) that I didn't get into the boat, so I was very pleased with the results. I am anxious to give it a good try again this weekend. The only thing I'm not sure of is what this COLD snap will do to the fishing. It was down to 39 and 29 the last two nights and the predicted lows tonight and tomorrow night are 28 and 39. Guess only time will tell. Hopefully I'll have more pictures to share Monday night when we get back!

Bubba_Bruiser · 09-15-11, 11:18 PM

I really need to put worms to the side and start throwing a jig. I keep telling myself every year that I am going to devote more time, but I have failed every time. Nice hauls BTW!

07-25-11, 10:46 PM	#1
WatterBoy BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Owatonna, MN Posts: 2,280	My first-ever bass on a jig! I finally took some time this past weekend to pull out one of the Thunderstruck Jigs that Kory made for me earlier this year and see what I could do with it. I know pretty much zero about jigs and how to fish them, so I sort of just randomly grabbed one of the several I had ordered and threw a Green Pumpkin Super Chunk Jr. trailer on it. The jig I chose happened to be a 3/4 oz. Peanut Butter and Jelly colored football head jig. I don't have any idea if I was using it how, when or where I was "supposed" to be using it, but it worked GREAT! The first time out I had made about a dozen casts with it when this 3lb 1oz, 17" Smallie fell prey to it. The next night I was fishing with a couple relatives who fish once a year, on their trip here to MN, so I was mainly helping them with casting, retrieving, etc. After they were at least somewhat comfortable with that, I picked up my rod with the jig on it and cast it to a spot where I'd normally fish a senko -- where a nice weed bed meets a stand of reeds. I immediately had a nice Largemouth take me up on my very first offer! This one checked in at 2lb 10oz and 17". He is pictured here on the right, along with a 2lb 2oz LM that I got a bit later after a fun little battle with my Black Widow Spro Poppin' Frog. The following afternoon I was fishing with my wife and sister-in-law along a nice reed-filled shoreline. It was a bit windy, so I just tried to keep the boat where both of them could cast to some decent spots from their middle and back of the boat positions. That meant I was quite a ways from the reeds most of the time. I made a particularly long cast into a spot just before the reeds ended and enjoyed the long-distance battle provided by this super-chunky 15-incher that set my scale to a reading of 2lb 11oz! As you can tell from both pictures, he REALLY wanted a jig meal. I also caught another smaller LM and a pike during my time using this jig during the weekend. It was a tremendous amount of fun using a lure that was new to me and to catch some really nice bass while doing so! Now I guess I need to start learning which color and type of jig to use and how/when/where/etc. to use them and see if I can hook up with some more photo-worthy bass. THANKS, KORY!

07-25-11, 11:08 PM	#2
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Heyyy, way to go WB! Those are some good lookin bass buddy! Congrats on the breakthrough with jigs. Now your hooked for life. Time to call Kory for more huh? lol __________________ Just one more cast, and then some!

07-25-11, 11:12 PM	#3
Marc David BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Biloxi, MS Posts: 324	Congrats bud! I see more jig fishing in your future Last edited by Marc David; 07-25-11 at 11:37 PM. Reason: Spelling

07-25-11, 11:32 PM	#4
Jrob78 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 4,671	Nice going WB! That should definitely be a good confidence builder, maybe jigs will become a bigger part of your arsenal. __________________ There are 3 kinds of people in the world…those who can count and those who can’t. HRN4L

07-25-11, 11:42 PM	#5
islandbass BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: WA State Posts: 1,783	That is awesome! I thought that I was the only one who didn't catch a bass with a jig for the longest time. I finally did but it was with a worm trailer vs. a pig trailer. So I hope it still counts. __________________ ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)

07-25-11, 11:52 PM	#6
MississippiBoy BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ridgeland MS Posts: 3,923	Kory makes some great jigs, no doubt. I've still got a few, but not many. Congrats on the first jig fish. May there be many more to come.... As far as colors, for clear water, stick with the natural colors; green, brown, watermelon, pumpkinseed, etc. If you get into some murky water, you might want to try black and blue or other dark colors. But then again, you never know what the fish might want, so you better get at least one of each color, just in case.... __________________ I smell smoke, and I hear sirens. Do you think that's a problem?

07-25-11, 11:57 PM	#7
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Congrats on the first of many water boy! Jigs are definitely my favorite lure to toss, fun to fish, fun to catch em on em. Looks like you really took to em fast, jigs are arguable one of the hardest bait to get master! __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

07-26-11, 01:07 AM	#8
carolina-rig-01 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Webb City, MO Posts: 6,387	I appreciate all the compliments from everyone about my jigs. And I am very happy that they caught fish for you so quickly. For a guy who claims to know nothing about jigs you sure picked a deadly color combo haha. PB&J with a green pumpkin trailer is a very reliable combination in almost any water conditions. The Zoom Super Chunk Jr. is one of my favorite trailers as well when the water is anywhere to clear to heavily stained. The great thing about jig fishing is that there isn't a wrong way to do it. Today you might have to drag the jig slowly with long pauses to get bit but tomorrow you might have to slowly reel it along the bottom. Since there are so many different presentations for a jig that means that you can't possibly do it wrong, just keep playing around with different presentations until you figure out what will get you bit right now, but don't get set on any one retrieve because you might have to change retrieves several times throughout the day as conditions change. Congrats on a milestone Dean, honestly it takes most guys much longer to gain confidence in a jig. But once they do it's addictive because it can produce some giant fish as well as big numbers. And like a guide here on Table Rock says, "a jig is one of the only baits that will catch fish 365 days a year". Of course your water gets hard in the winter so that might not directly apply to you but you get the idea anyways lol.

07-26-11, 07:25 AM	#9
rrw4258 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bellevue, Ohio Posts: 2,338	Very nice fish WB! A jig is such a great bait to fish, and one that I really enjoy fishing. To me the average size of fish seems to go up on a jig. Congrats! Ryan __________________ Never Give Up!

07-26-11, 10:31 AM	#10
WaffleJaw BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Dallas,TX (DFW) Posts: 2,212	Thats awesome Dean! Congrats on the first!!...Ill never forget mine....It was an 8'' bass on Fork,hahaha! __________________ [nelsoncustomrods.com]

07-26-11, 05:01 PM	#13
bcklash BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Elliston, Va. Posts: 4,372	Hey Kory, Dean wants some more jigs. WB thtat's awesome, it's addictive I know that. __________________ The soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box. keep us free:

07-26-11, 07:49 PM	#15
LeBron_Hill BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: sharpsburg, GA Posts: 152	im still yet to catch a fish on a jig...course I really dont use a jig very much...use more soft plastics but I need to start trying to fish with a jig more often!

07-26-11, 10:19 PM	#16
bamabassman BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: cedar bluff, alabama Posts: 15,292	alright dean!!! great job pal. yep, i got a box full of kory's and anthony's jigs. they are good uns. glad to see oyu haveing such great luck with them. keep at it man. __________________ so many lures, so little time.

09-15-11, 10:42 PM	#19
WatterBoy BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Owatonna, MN Posts: 2,280	More Jig Fishing! Well, I got a chance to do some jig fishing again last week and caught a dozen more fish on it. The only downside is that 5 of them were little pike (~ 2 lbs). I did catch 3 real nice Smallies on it (3.4, 2.14, 2.13), so those were really fun. And I caught a nice 2.13 LM and three other LM that were each 2lbs or less. The first time I used it (top of this thread), every one of them hit in on the initial fall. Last week I had to learn how to work it back to the boat to get the bites, so that was fun! I did have one other hit that felt really solid when I set the hook. Unfortunately, it was gone after maybe one crank of my reel, but that was the only hit (that I know of! ) that I didn't get into the boat, so I was very pleased with the results. I am anxious to give it a good try again this weekend. The only thing I'm not sure of is what this COLD snap will do to the fishing. It was down to 39 and 29 the last two nights and the predicted lows tonight and tomorrow night are 28 and 39. Guess only time will tell. Hopefully I'll have more pictures to share Monday night when we get back!

09-15-11, 11:18 PM	#20
Bubba_Bruiser BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South MS Posts: 3,659	I really need to put worms to the side and start throwing a jig. I keep telling myself every year that I am going to devote more time, but I have failed every time. Nice hauls BTW! __________________ \,,,,/ ROCK ON! HRN4L!

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