How to gain confidence in a jig?????

[ParaPro]

I want to fish jigs more but have never had any luck with them Im so frustrated with em that it makes it hard for me to pick one up and try again,, any tips / pointers?? Ive tried plain jigs and with different trailers.

[chaseub]

Fishing a jig is my favorite way to fish. What I did to gain confidence in them was, just go out on your favorite bass lake with only a jig and fish it all day. Go slow get a feel for the bottom and watch your line at all times( at least thats what i do). The more practice you get with them, the better off you will be and will catch more fish. Once you get a feel for it you won't want to fish any other way haha. A big fish bait for sure. this is just my take on it i hope it helps in some way.

[ParaPro]

Thats another part of the problem, I have no boat (until my league bass tourneys where Im a non-boater fishing with a boater) I know places i can fish em on shore and around docks though.

[gritsnham]

Try a swim jig. Not the traditional type of jigging but you can cover more water and maybe get you're confidence up.

Also try and find a school of fish with something you have confidence in and then throw a jig at em.

I remember struggling at first with jigs as well but stick with it and toss em on some braid and watch for line jumps...soon you will love em!

[ParaPro]

Thakns for the tips fellas!!! 1st tourney 1 week away, is it too early/cold to fish jigs yet??

[blakjack23]

Definitely not to early, in the metro area anyway. I got big fish, 4.7, on a jig in my league Monday. 3 feet of water. Probably a tad early to get a good jig bite going out deep yet though, depending on the lake.

[EBass]

I hated jigs for years and years. Then my buddy says, "jigs catch big bass" As soon as he said that he pulls up a 17" largemouth. Like within a second. I now have two jig combos. One to pitch larger jigs and a spinning combo for the lighter jigs. A jig is my confidence bait now.

Last Sat I caught 5 bass. 1 on a spinnerbait and 4 on a jig.

[basssmasher*]

I'm thinking if you guys are getting fish on jigs, come out to western Mn and show me how to use them too please!! Jigs are a big weakness of mine also!

[Juan Grande]

I fish a lot of inside weedlines and scattered weeds up near shore. Do you guys fish jigs in those areas or is it mostly on rocks, wood or flipping docks? I'm trying to find a reason to replace the senko with the jig as my go-to, but senkos work so well in those situations.

[TR21HP]

Juan, I actually fish senkos around or underneath docks and fish jigs on weedlines and weeds in general.

[basssmasher*]

I prefer senkos anyway, but not too fond of using them for a deep water bite cuz I like to fish em weightless..Another reason I need to learn to fish jigs well!

[Markula]

Jigs...anytime...anyplace.

The only way to learn is by using them. The way fish are biting them should determine the size and style of jig/trailer to use, and nobody can tell you this for any given day. Some days they want a slow fall, some fast fall, some days they bite on the bottom, some days they won't, some days the bottom impact of a heavy jig triggers bites, some days it's gotta be fished horizontally,.etc.

I was in the same boat with drop shotting many years back. But, i decided to fish it a lot. It didn't take long to realize I could acheive the same presentation with a jigworm, with a much better hookup ration. Plus dropshotting is the ultimate small fish presentation!

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

When I first started fishing jigs, I hated them too. Never felt confident fishing one. It was not until I fished a lake in Northern MN on a cousin's land. Ironically, the weekend we went, the lake was superbly hot. Fish were hitting on anything. With that, I tied on a jig and tried to learn.

Jig fishing requires a lot of patience. Jig fishing from shore is also hard to do. Even on a canoe it is hard to do. If you do get the chance to fish a jig from a boat or canoe, it is a lot of fun because you will see the inside weedline or cover that you can pitch your jig into. When there is a bite, you will know forsure.

[EBass]

Depends Juan,

If I'm just fishin shallow then more than likely I'll have a senko or tube on like you. But I still have a flippin/pitchin combo ready to use, but that's for heavy cover like thick pads or downed trees. Sometimes I pitch docks with a jig though depending on how deep. At least 3ish feet or more for me. Otherwise senko/tube/creature bait.

More so the outside and even in the weeds (like fall) and rivers. Deep rocks too. Heck sometimes when I'm reeling in the jig a bass will swipe it. Then out comes the swim jig.

So many options for bass fishin. That's why I love it.

[Pherris]

Tie one on and next time you are in a spot you are catching fish on your preferred method put down you rod and start throwing the jig. That is what I did and the jig soon became one of my favorite presentations. I am no jig aficionado so I jeep it pretty simple. 1/2 Hack attack with a craw trailer. The biggest surprise for me was how well it fished in weeds and pulled through cover. I really regret all the years I did not fish with one. They do catch fish!

Good Fishing!!

[jjz]

For me Jigs are like a sniper rifle. I start using them a lot well after the spawn when the fish start using pintails, docks, floating weed mats, etc... as a feeding edge. I target irregular features in the cover(pockets, points, isolated cover, etc..). Make a cast let it fall to the bottom one or two shakes, reel up new target. Definate big fish bait, but when bass are using these shallow edges gets numbers too.

[phishnerd]

I agree with all of you... Patience is the key. Fishing jigs is one of my favorite presentations. You can pitch 'em, you can flip 'em, you can swim 'em, you can roll 'em. They can be effective throughout the entire water column. I suggest picking a few different colors and weights along wioth a few different trailers and don't forget your trailer hitches. If you are looking to gain some confidence using them I would head to a lake that is littered with bass (they don't even have to be that big ) and spend the day using 'em. I would also try to hook up with someone who loves jig fishing and have them take you for fun ride. Stay patient and don't give up, once you get the hang of it, jig fishing can be highly addictive. I started using punch rigs a few years ago and man am I addicted to that set up! Talk about close quarters combat Milfoil mats here I come!!

[basssmasher*]

I am Para's brother, he and I are alike in not liking fishing with jigs.. lol so we are putting out a calling to anyone who would like to show us the "ropes" per se. as neither of us have boats

[CHEX1982]

Don't get the brainwash bug! A bass jig is essentially just a roundhead jig. You know, like Northland Gumball jigs, the stuff we all used when we started fishing and caught loads of fish of many species with! Then along came this idea that you had to be big and bad to use bass jigs just because the hook was upped in size and strength and that it had a skirt.

(hint: by now, you should've came to an epiphany of how to fish the bass jig...insert epic music)

[thatoneguy]

Huh?

[RumRiverRat]

Fish spots you know hold fish, either from past experience or fish located with other baits.

I will share what happened yesterday.

I fished a small bowl shaped lake with visibility of 1 to 3 feet.

I fish this lake a lot, 12 times so far this year, with all my time on this lake I know what the fish are doing and where to find them.

I throw frogs a lot on this lake, one shoreline has lots of overhanging trees and with all the rain and the lake level having risen 8 to 10" has put more of the overhanging branches in the water. The water is 6" to 2 feet deep under the trees. So skipping a frog under them is a great time.

Yesterday the bluegill spawn was in full swing, lots of gills up shallow on beds guarding and chasing away other gills. As we all know bass love to return the favor and eat the gills that were harassing them during their spawn. I started out throwing a squarebill crank, anytime I would put the crank right in front of the overhanging branches I would draw an absolutely vicious strike from a bass. This told me the bass where hanging under the trees waiting to dart out and ambush passing Gills.

Knowing the bass were there and aggressively feeding I decided to pick up my jig rod ans pitch jigs into the trees. I used a 3/8oz All terrain RT jig in PB&J with a 4" Pumkin Green Fleck Crazy Legs Chigger Craw from Berkley. I wanted to present a bulky profile with a lot of action, figured I would start in your face and downsize if needed.

I pitched the jig into the trees trying to get it as far under them as I could. All but 1 fish hit the jig after it had hit the bottom where I let it sit for a few seconds then gave it a shake and then a short hop, watching my line and slowly lifting my rod so I could see if it felt heavier than it should was the only way I knew the fish were there. It surprised me since the strikes were so aggressive on the crankbait.

It really does not matter what technique/bait you are using if you listen to the clues the fish give you. Pay attention to what you observe, bait breaking the surface, disturbances in weed mats from bass chasing gills and how the fish are relating to cover.

Visualizing what the bait is doing under water and how it reacts to what you do with your rod and reel will make you a better angler.

No substilute for time on the water. At some point after getting home I jot things done in a notebook about my experience on the water that day.

The point of this long rambling dissertation is if you want to gain confidence in a bait find a bunch of aggressive fish and put the bait in their faces.

[luckydog25]

I fish bass a lot and couldn't have put it better myself, well put RRR. If it's a lake you have never fished, cover some water and try different depths to start. The fish will tell you what you should do then. That's my favorite part about bass fishing, they will always give you at tip on what you should do, no matter what the conditions are. We are out there to relax right? So when you get that tip, slow down and think about what's going on (time of year, cloud cover, water clarity, water temp, depth of bites). Once you figure it out, and you will, pitch a jig and you will have your confidence and catch a lot of fish.

[Juan Grande]

I had another one of those nights tonight that doesn't help my jig confidence. Fished a jig on a rock point for about 45 minutes and nothing. This spot almost always holds a fish or two. Started throwing a wacky senko on a jig head and game on! We probably caught 30 bass fishing scattered weeds in 2-8 ft of water. Probably should have fished the jig in and around that weed bed since I knew there was fish there, but I was having too much success (and fun) with the senkos.

[RK]

I had another one of those nights tonight that doesn't help my jig confidence. Fished a jig on a rock point for about 45 minutes and nothing. This spot almost always holds a fish or two. Started throwing a wacky senko on a jig head and game on! We probably caught 30 bass fishing scattered weeds in 2-8 ft of water. Probably should have fished the jig in and around that weed bed since I knew there was fish there, but I was having too much success (and fun) with the senkos.

Sounds like drop speed may have been a factor there...which it often is. Next time just as an experiment be interesting to see if a lighter jig with a bulkier trailer would have gotten you bit. Have had the opposite happen too. Couple springs ago, for example, I fished through a spot with a slow-falling jig worm and didn't do much, but knew there were fish there. Switched to a heavy, fast-falling jig and got hammered. Playing around with drop speed and vertical vs. horizontal baits is a great way to dial in a bite.

That all having been said, sometimes that slow fall of a stickbait is exactly what they want, so why mess with it

[Juan Grande]

Yes RK, I do need some lighter jigs. They were definitely feeding on small sunfish higher in the water column so my 3/8 jig was just zooming past them to the bottom. Would I need 1/4 oz or something even lighter than that to get a slower drop?