Northwest Fishing Reports

I have recently bought a couple of jigs (booyah and strike king) A couple small ones and a couple on the larger side. It's hard to feel the bite not sure if I'm snagging bottom or if a fish is biting. any suggestions??? I have only used them twice. I guess practice makes perfect.

If I think Im getting a bite, Ill set the hook, that simple. If your jig trailer(if you use one) comes back missing a claw for example, you have small fish, possible perch nibbling them right off.

Its gonna take time to be able to distinguish the bottom from a fish, but an easy way to get an idea is:
If you think you get a bite, dont set the hook right away, pull really slow to see if you have wieght on the end(its in the fishes mouth). If so, set the hook. Better safe than sorry.

One thing I have found is a bigger fish will not always hit hard at all. Think aboot it, the bigger the fish, the bigger the mouth. Larger mouthed(haha) fish only has to do one little suck to get that jig in, as oppsed to a smaller one possibly having to do a couple. It seems when a larger fish hits, it will be only 1 or 2 small ticks. I always keep my index finger on the line, always.
Oh, set the hook HARD. You have to set the hook thru the weedgaurd. Good luck on them jigs

SONNN

When in doubt definately set the hook,..why not they're free!

BB

SONNN you were all over it BB I'm with you on that one to always practice your hook sets.........LOL

Yeah BF,..if you recall I have some video of US practicing our "Hook-Sets",..LOL,..2 funny,..LMAO!

BB

Jigs can be difficult to detect. Bass seem to hit differently depending on the moods.

My favorite is when your line jumps, you feel this vibration in your line. Next watch your line, if your line starts moving, reel down and set the hook. The last, is on the fall. Probably the most common hit. You need to know when your lure should hit the bottom, if it felt like it should hit the bottom, reel down and what Sonnn said" Set the hook hard" Weed guards and a heavy gauge hook needs a good hook set.

Jigs will get you the bigger bite.

SONNN wrote:If I think Im getting a bite, Ill set the hook, that simple. If your jig trailer(if you use one) comes back missing a claw for example, you have small fish, possible perch nibbling them right off.

Its gonna take time to be able to distinguish the bottom from a fish, but an easy way to get an idea is:
If you think you get a bite, dont set the hook right away, pull really slow to see if you have wieght on the end(its in the fishes mouth). If so, set the hook. Better safe than sorry.

One thing I have found is a bigger fish will not always hit hard at all. Think aboot it, the bigger the fish, the bigger the mouth. Larger mouthed(haha) fish only has to do one little suck to get that jig in, as oppsed to a smaller one possibly having to do a couple. It seems when a larger fish hits, it will be only 1 or 2 small ticks. I always keep my index finger on the line, always.
Oh, set the hook HARD. You have to set the hook thru the weedgaurd. Good luck on them jigs

SONNN

The biggest bass I've caught didn't hit at all -- my line just started moving sideways. Unless you're fishing with a fast-moving search lure (crankbait, spinnerbait, etc), you've got to pay attention to your line. Sometimes you'll see a slight twitch but not feel anything. Other times, the line doesn't look "right" -- which means it's time to set the hook!

Those are some good tips for using jigs. As I have been mostly using senkos, the feel of the jig is a totally different experience. I am just beginning to use the jig and will keep practicing so that I can get the feel of it down.

kzoo wrote:Jigs can be difficult to detect. Bass seem to hit differently depending on the moods.

My favorite is when your line jumps, you feel this vibration in your line. Next watch your line, if your line starts moving, reel down and set the hook. The last, is on the fall. Probably the most common hit. You need to know when your lure should hit the bottom, if it felt like it should hit the bottom, reel down and what Sonnn said" Set the hook hard" Weed guards and a heavy gauge hook needs a good hook set.

Jigs will get you the bigger bite.

Well said Kzoo!

For jigs a higher quality rod with good sensitivity helps. And exposed blank at the cork dosen't hurt either. work em slow and watch your line.

The bass will most of the time hit on the drop. You do need a fast action rod and heavy line. You are looking for a tic just like worm fishing when you feel the fish hitting the worm but with the jig when you feel the tic set the hook. If the hook is through the top of the bass mouth you set the hook on the tic. If the hook is on the side or the bottom of there mouth you waited to long. Bounce the jig high off the bottom. Work it fast when it hits bottom bounce it. Don't let it sit long. They look for live bait.

there is some pretty nice info on jigging in here, personally I never gave it a real try and the way it sounds it seems like it is a way different feeling then cranking.

I fish jigs almost like I fish senkos. But like Trent Hale mentioned I set the hook the first time I feel the bite.

With the good information shared here, I will give it another try over the weekend and see what I can pull in ... hopefully more than jsut the jig ... laughs.