Guys and Gals... Ever since I started fishing I have always wanted to improve my jig fishing. But I swear, I can never catch a fish flipping or pitching a jib into cover.. Football head, differentstory. What are you guys doing to catch fish throwing a jig? Is it a confidence thing? Is there a special color yall throw? What is it!!!! Thanks.
Plan speak,put on a black and blue jig and pitch it or flip it into lay downs or even shady spots. Pitch/flip as much as possible. Hell,cast it to shore and hop/drag it.
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Just a confidence thing, throw it when you know they are biting it and go from there, once you get a few bites, it will snowball for ya!
It is a confidence thing once you get a good day with it you will fish it more. i fish it more than a T rig i feel hook ups are better i fish three colors brown, black and a green all old school round rubber
Its same as when I have taught people to fish a soft plastic lure. Someone can tell you the principle of how to and what to feel for, but it is the fish that will teach you. If you are good at fishing soft plastics, next time you are doing well on a soft plastic and catching fish, just force yourself to put it down and go to a jig. Most any fish that is going to pick up a plastic will pick of a jig fishing in the same places at the same time. Only thing I would change is be more open to hopping the jig more than most would do with soft plastics.
Like Nowater said, "It's a confidence thing". I caught my first bass when I was 9 years old on a homemade jig that my brother made from a hook with some broom straw and chicken feathers from a pillow, that was held on with a squeeze on sinker. Every time I lose my confidence in jigs, I remind myself of that little bass.
Don't get locked into the idea that black/blue is the only best color. I went through a period where I couldn't catch a fish on anything but black/red. Other times, more natural sunfish colors work better. At the lake I fish most of the time, I do best with some little orange/brown rubber finesse jigs.
I use finesse jigs often and have caught some nice size fish on them. I think it's just something different that they haven't seen...sort of like a hook with straw and feathers.Sometimes they'll just want a smaller bite, especially in clearer water. I use Jewel and Santone jigs mostly but have several boxes of jigs from just about every jig maker there is.
Don't worry Ma'am....
I'm only here for the Bass.
It's 100% a confidence thing, so keep it simple. Fish a black and blue jig with a matching trailer or a green pumpkin jig with a matching trailer. Take nothing else in the boat with you that day but a couple rods and a handful of jigs and trailers.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
+1 Very good advise, Jeff. Was thinking the same thing!Originally Posted by Jeff Hahn
2008 BULLET 21XD 2007 Merc 300xs
just use the football jig you have confidence in
This!
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Start with a jewel finesse jig and work your way up. You will get a ton of bites and some damn good ones on that finesse jig.
Thanks for the input guys. I pulled one rod out Sunday and it was a jig rod. Used it for a couple hours, saw a nice laydown, made a cast with the black and blue jig, no bite. Pulled a t-rig out, BAM, bite 3lbr. Yeah its tough, its confidence thing haha
Yeah, that make sense. Knowing nothing about the conditions you were fishing, I would say, in general, that this time of year a soft plastic T-rig probably would be better. Warmer water=hungrier fish looking for bigger meals...more action. Once again, not knowing what jig or trailer you were throwing, I could guess that if you were throwing something like a swim jig or even a chatterbait type jig with a big flapping trailer, you might have caught that same fish.
Also, don't fish the same color for three hours without a bite. You're either fishing the wrong color or you're fishing where there ain't no fish. I know...we've all done it. Change color and sometimes even weight or trailer and change your luck. My opinion on black/blue....yes, it is a good color and I do fish with it some, but consider this. Everyone of the message boards, TV shows, magazines, all talk about black/blue. So what color jigs do you think the bass see drifting down in the water all the time. Change it up...change you luck.
Don't worry Ma'am....
I'm only here for the Bass.
I advised Black and Blue because that’s a standard but I use browns most often.
Red Sox in 6!
I am a diehard jig fisherman and its amazing to watch people fish a jig that are good fisherman and who are missing alot of fish. I was taught by a guy who was taught by a famous pro. First, you have to figure out which jig size they are hitting. I have been throwing a 1/2 ounce and getting no bites, while my buddy is throwing a much lighter jig and getting hammered and we are casting to the same feeding school. I have experienced the exact opposite too. So come out with several jigs tied on with different weights and colors. I switched and bang, game on. So the fall rate is one key point. Second, as you get into deeper water, you have to figure some things out. One, is sound. You would be surprised at how heavy some jigs are that pro's throw (3/4 to 1.5 ounces). Why? Bass only "hear" very low level sounds. so dragging a jig across or banging a rock is a meal notification. Some bass on right on bottom, some are not, so you have to experiment with the retrieve. Drag it, or hop it, or even pop it 3-5 feet off the bottom (water temps and things all play in) or swim it. I spent 2 days once just swimming jigs till I started to figure some things out and gained confidence. Confidence comes from success, success comes from learning, learning comes from failure. You have to put the time in. Color. the shallower, the more important color is. I have seen days were you had to have orange on it, others it was chartreuse, others red....my stock color trailer is watermelon red but if stripers in august are hammering shad, I'll throw a white jig under the school. I have all the colors of dye and use them. Lastly, is bite detection. It took me awhile, but this next thing is something I would personally recommend you do. Fish a slack line and learn to be a close line watcher. Learn the line cadence as you retrieve it back and if anything looks/feels the slightest difference, test the jig with the rod tip ever so gently. Just pull a bit of the slack out and see if its moving, see if its "heavy", just anything suspicious. A bass will hold a jig for a long time. After time, I can even tell if I put too much pressure on it, I can feel them drop it...at that point you know there is a fish there and you can make more casts, or throw a changeup bait. Find a rod you like, spend some good money on one that is very sensitive and only use it so you get to know all the little nuances. Figure out a line test and stick with it and brand so you get to know how it vibrates coming over wood, versas rock and if there are bits of grass etc. I use Megabass and GLoomis NRX and top of the line Daiwa for my various jig rods and techniques. Learn to cast/flip/pitch very accurately and low to the water so that it does not make a splash. Learn to skip it under docks and overhangs and learn how to retrieve it thru the thickest mess of laydown you can imagine.....and just keep learning.....have fun....
Last edited by Squire; 05-06-2020 at 09:26 AM.
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That’s some excellent advice. This time of year it’s tough cause you may catch one that’s defending its bed. So that catch has nothing to do with what kind of jig the fish want. I’ve been down that rabbit hole.
Great Advice. Ill be sure to keep this in mind the next time I pull a jig out, thanks!
Depending on the lake, gin clear or greenish/blue stain determines my color pick. As a favorite color pick for me, it’s basically like Mark Davis once said: “Black and Blue will always stay true”! I mainly use black and blue, but change it up when I feel the need.
2008 BULLET 21XD 2007 Merc 300xs
95% of the time I use a black & blue jig and craw. Sometimes I change the craw color. The other 5% is green pumpkin with a matching craw
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Great advice right here. Everl lake will have a color that gets bit better. i throw black/blue with a black/blue trailer in lowlight or dirty water & a sapphire blue traile in bright moonlight, cumberland craw or badboy craw when the black/blue's not getting bit & that's pretty much all i use with the exception of a couple colors of hair jigs when i'm throwing them.
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