Short read about jigs.

[CK14]

Why does everyone recommend using Drop shots? Why isnt fishing weightless better? you can get better jig movement w/o weight especially when it comes down to plastic worms.

1.) because dropshots are awesome, plain and simple.

2.) water depth. once the water gets deeper then 15' weightless plastics are a lot harder to use (although if it's calm i will use them sometimes)

3.) i don't think so, have you ever scene a dropshot worm move in the water?

you cannot fish as efficient or as effective in deeper waters unless you have weight.

But you cant just say that Weightless is unefficient. I know many ppl who catch bass weightless and im one of them.

he didn't say they were unefficient. and he didn't say he doesn't use weightless plastics, just not as much in deep water.

edit: whoops, me and t-dot posted at the same time pretty much :albino:

[danielt]

1Fishingpro: drop works because its a great way to present a SUSPENDED bait anywhere from 1 inch to 5 ft from the bottom and keep it in that zone as long as you can hold the rod. Id never use a leader more than about 10 inches but you get my point. Weightless is great but not the only way to catch bass.

And what did you mean by this...

"you can get better jig movement w/o weight especially when it comes down to plastic worms."

I dont understand at all


Anyway after you keep fishing for bass and learn more tactics and presentation you will understand why its better to have multiple rods/reels with you for different situations other than weightless Texas rig.

[Drewp]

[
Speaking of rip-rap, is there any way to fish a jig, tube, or worm down there without getting your line stuck in the cracks and forcing you to break off? There is a lake that I fish that has a rip-rap dam that runs for about 3/4 of a mile. But the rocks are so massive and tangled, I have not been able to fish it effectively due to constant hang-ups. I have even lost a good number of Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits in the mess. If I stay above it, I rarely get bit because the smallmouth don't look up to find crawdads, they look down for them. Any ideas? The best I have been able to do is fish the edge of the dam where it meets the clay bottom, but if you're not the first one there in the morning, that spot is taken. Help me!

Cavdad45, there is a technique that i use which in thinking about it, it is going to be really hard to explain over the keyboard, but i'll do my best to give you a mental picture. When i'm fishing rip rap, especially from the shore, and i feel like my lure is stuck in rock, the last thing i do is pull hard. First, i will twitch it, constantly adding pressure to see if it will pop up and fold over the crack or rock ledge it's on. If that doesn't work, I will pull the line tight, then in between the reel and the first eye, i will pull out about a half arm's length worth of line, hold it on the end of my finger, then "flick" the line by letting go and dropping the rod tip so that it puts slack in the line. It's almost as if you are "shooting" slack line in the direction of your hung up lure. Immediately after the "flick," try and pull straight up on the rod as verticle as you can and try to get the lure free, and many times this will work. If that doesn't work, then I pull as hard as i can, and usually donate 3 (more or less) bucks to the cause. It took me a while to get the timing of the "flick" down, but once you get it, it can save you lots of money and time retying. I know i'm not the only one who knows about this technique, because i saw it on TV done by someone on a bassmasters tourney. Anyone know if there's a name to this?

Well, that may not have made any sense - it's the best i could do in typing. This really only works with weedless style baits like jigs, dropshots, and Texas and Carolina rigs. Crankbaits? Man, when they're stuck, they're usually stuck for good. Cheers.

[cavdad45]

Sort of like launching an arrow from a bow using just a fingerflick as you drop the rodtip simultaneously? Or am I missing it all together?

[danielt]

Sort of like launching an arrow from a bow using just a fingerflick as you drop the rodtip simultaneously? Or am I missing it all together?

Yea kinda if you were launching it up into the sky

[cavdad45]

Thanks guys, I'll give it a shot. I'll also try the vertical dropshot danielt mentioned.

[fishnislife]

I know what you speak of Drewp. I will try that as well if I'm hung up and can't get the snag loose by twitching the rod tip lightly in different directions. I wonder if there is a name for it. If you find out let us know. Actually, if you find the name and an article about it post it up and others will be able to benefit from knowing how to do it.

fishnislife

[leahcim_dahc]

I am looking into purchasing some jig heads, skirts and trailers. The skirts and trailers are the easy part of the equation...or what seems to be the easy part. What I am curious about is the vast selection of jig heads available and their suited purpose.

Just getting into jigging myself, I tend to do alot of dragging along the bottom. But there are times (from what I understand, and may experiment with) when a jig can be swam.

For example, if I am fishing at a local pond where the edges and bottom is fairly weedy with lots and lots of soft mud and small rock, I can opt to drag the bottom with football style jig head designed to represent a crawdad or a similar critter that meanders about the bottom. But a larger lake such as Riffe Lake, which has quite a bit of large boulders that can swallow a jig in a relatively timely manner, could make use of a swimming type jig designed to look like a baitfish. Seems fairly obvious to me.

My question is with the different types of jig heads available, which would better suit a swimming type jig? There are jig head specifically made for swimming, but I really don't see the advantage of an overpriced chunk of lead that resembles a bluegills head. Especially, when an Arkie style jig head would serve the same purpose. With my limited jigging experience, I would think a simple football jig head would work well for dragging the bottom, while maybe an Arkie jig head would be sufficient for swimming jigs.

I could probably eliminate the need for two separate jig head designs and use one or the other, but I think the football would allow the jig to be presented in a more vertical manner than an Arkie when dragging. And vice versa for the Arkie when swimming.

Am I correct in this assumption...or just reading too much into it? Any opinions as to one way or the other? Thanks!

Chad

[CK14]

i've never swam a jig before so i'm not totally sure what style head works best, but football heads are by far the best jig head for dragging.

[YellowBear]

I have been making my own Jigs for sometime now.
If you are looking for a swimming Jig, the old roundball will work fine.
The football head was designed to land right side up and is a great head for dragging or hopping the bottom.
I also like to rig a 5 or 7 in Hellgie on a football, cast it out and let it settle then just rock the jig up on its nose and wave the tail at ole Mr Bass. This works pretty good on Walleyes two.
The down side to jigs is If you use them you will loose them.
I pour 4 to 5 hundred every other year or so and my wife and I use them 75% of the time.
( IMHO ) Nothing beats a Jig.

[leahcim_dahc]

I also like to rig a 5 or 7 in Hellgie

Initially, I thought...what the heck does that mean. However, I checked out the interweb and found the Hellgie. Interesting critter...might have to get me a handful of those and try them out.

Not sure I will be able to convince the wifey I need four or five hundred jig heads, but since fishing them for the past couple days...they do seem to get swallowed up by a not so jig friendly beast at the bottom of the lake. If I find myself going through too many, I may consider the move to creating my own jig heads.


Thanks for the tips!
Chad

[danielt]

I have been making my own Jigs for sometime now.
If you are looking for a swimming Jig, the old roundball will work fine.
The football head was designed to land right side up and is a great head for dragging or hopping the bottom.
I also like to rig a 5 or 7 in Hellgie on a football, cast it out and let it settle then just rock the jig up on its nose and wave the tail at ole Mr Bass. This works pretty good on Walleyes two.
The down side to jigs is If you use them you will loose them.
I pour 4 to 5 hundred every other year or so and my wife and I use them 75% of the time.
( IMHO ) Nothing beats a Jig.

100% right

A round ball is great for swimming. What alot of people dont realize is if you fish a grub...then you are fishing a jig. Most people cast a grub out on a round ball jig and just reel it back. casting and swimming jigs are a way of the past that still catches numbers of bass. The whole booyah swimming jig is just overpriced lead. Arkies work too for swimming just keep it simple. I mostly only hop and drag jigs, that's why I'm so bias toward the football.

[YellowBear]

There are things you can do with a football that no other jighead will do.

leahcim_dahc,
My little wife spends more on tackle than I do, LOL.

[Bigbass Dez]

There are things you can do with a football that no other jighead will do.

leahcim_dahc,
My little wife spends more on tackle than I do, LOL.

please explain more !! im not a jig man myself but i enjoy reading different views on them ...i have heard that footballs are great on rocks ..BBD

[dilbert]

I picked up some supplies to make a few jigs, but I couldn't find the skirt material I was looking for. I ended up getting these brown and white wavy pre-made skirts that just slide into place. I painted the football jigs a coppery brown color and put a cinnamon/purple flake twin tail grub on (BPS Triple ripple craw). Guess what, it worked! I caught my best fish of the day on my home made jig.

Also, I tried out my lure retriever for the first time (Cabela's snagmaster), and it worked great and was super easy to use.

[Nik]

The technique you all speak of to free a snagged lure is literally called the "bow and arrow" technique (or at least that's what Rick Clunn calls it). Its awesome when you're fishing around timber.

[leahcim_dahc]

I picked up some supplies to make a few jigs, but I couldn't find the skirt material I was looking for. I ended up getting these brown and white wavy pre-made skirts that just slide into place. I painted the football jigs a coppery brown color and put a cinnamon/purple flake twin tail grub on (BPS Triple ripple craw). Guess what, it worked! I caught my best fish of the day on my home made jig.

Also, I tried out my lure retriever for the first time (Cabela's snagmaster), and it worked great and was super easy to use.

That's awesome!! I am expecting my supplies in the mail today...I cannot wait to make a few and try them out. If you are looking for more material...try Bassdozer.com or Barlow's Tackle Express. Prices are fairly reasonable, and simple to order.


Chad

[danielt]

Sport CO in Fife, WA sells the skirts.

[leahcim_dahc]

Sport CO in Fife, WA sells the skirts.

Huh...I must have not been looking in the right place...be damned if I could find any a few days ago. Asked a couple of the people that work there. Looked down the bass isle with a million and a half tubes, grubs, jigs, and every lure imaginable...only skirts there were a couple replacements for spinner baits. Was on company time...didn't have much time to wander around and find them.


Chad

[danielt]

Sport CO in Fife, WA sells the skirts.

Huh...I must have not been looking in the right place...be damned if I could find any a few days ago. Asked a couple of the people that work there. Looked down the bass isle with a million and a half tubes, grubs, jigs, and every lure imaginable...only skirts there were a couple replacements for spinner baits. Was on company time...didn't have much time to wander around and find them.


Chad

Yea they are on the spinnerbait wall. It may look like they dont have much but between the strike king and hart companies id say there are at least 20 different patterns. Including some "perfect skirts", glow in the dark and solids are far as locally that were I buy all of mine. Also if you look inside the white boxes on top of the shelves they have more that just havent been hung up yet.