Jig & Pig follow up. How important is pitchining?

[RandyFish]

I tried to master pig and jig last summer. I took advice from this page (color, cast to specific target, etc), but I still am not having the success I wanted.

Here is a question: How important is the "pitchin'" cast to having jig success?

I ask because the concept of a quiet entry with something as bulky as your typical skirted bass jig with a trailer makes sense...particularly if you are casting around shallow structure: docks, lily pads, etc.

I do not pitch my jigs, instead I use a regular cast and sometimes really "thump" the jig into the water.

And, if pitching is important to learn, is regular mono a better line choice than braid. I am practicing but my baitcaster -- set at its lightest settings -- does not allow me much range.

Braided line, because of its smaller diameter, seems to wrap itself really tight against itself on the reel (if that makes any sense, at all) and offer extra resistance coming off the reel.

I plan on devoting one rod/reel steup to just jigs..should it have standard mono, probably 12 or 14#, on it?

Thanks again for your help.

RandyFish

[delmuts]

it may take time to have confidence with a jig. the pitching , it can and is some times a big plus but i use a reg cast many times also. it is one of those deals where times it will spook the fish and or at times it calls them. i still like mono for pitching.( i use solar) so i can see it so much better.and yes a birds nest can be harder to get out than with mono. if it is a big problem for you, i would stay with mono for now. yes the smaller braid do like to wrap themselves. that is why many of us use the 50# or higher. i use 80 # powewr pro( 20 # dia) or 20# mono. my $.02 del

[Ray Esboldt]

That's something I've never really evaluated, "How important is pitching?" I know there's been many a day where the only over hand casts I make are ones behind the boat to loosen the tension on the line. Just like Randy described, braided line (which I use for pitching) does dig in on the spool after you tear free from a snag or land a fish. And, he's right about the resistance as well. You probably don't get as much distance with a braid. But, it's ability to cut through vegetation when you hook a fish outweighs the minor performance flaws for me. And, low stretch mono works fairly well for pitching. So, that is a good option as well.

I'm guessing I pitch a pegged plastic 80% of the time instead of a jig. Plastics seem to come through junk weeds much cleaner than jigs. It drives me nuts to have to pick angel-hair weeds out of a jigs skirt after every cast. I also try to get away with fairly light sinker like a 1/4oz. whenever possible. I like the bait to hang up on a weed ocassionally. Give the fish a good look at the bait dangling from the weed, slide it forward, the bait drops and a bass inhales it.

Quiet entry? I'm with Demuts there. Sometimes you need to be stealth, but many times the more comotion the bait makes the more likely a fish is to jump on it. Plastics are quieter on entry than jigs. I like to be subtle, but I'm not overly paranoid about it.

So, back to the question. How important is pitching? I really can't think of a more subtle (word of the day ), accurate, and effective way to prevent baits in tight quarters. I've spent the better part of many 8 hour days pitching. I really believe this is a tactic that every bass fisherman should carry in his bag. Plus, laying into a 5 pounder 30 feet from the boat in heavy cover is a pretty big rush.

[andy j]

I agree with these replies but one thing that I can tell you that will make you a better pitcher it to have a good quality rod and reel. I have tried to pitch with entry level bass gear and it just doesn't do the job. If you want to get accurate and consistant then get yourself a 200 Shimano Curado, or other quality bass reel, on a nice Pitching stick, 6'6"-7' sticks seem to get the call from most bass guys. Don't confuse pitchin with flipping, if you want something for flipping I would go with at least a 7'-7'6" Good luck and practice makes perfect, you can practice in the house watching TV in the hard season.

[Beef46]

Quote:

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And, if pitching is important to learn, is regular mono a better line choice than braid. I am practicing but my baitcaster -- set at its lightest settings -- does not allow me much range.

Braided line, because of its smaller diameter, seems to wrap itself really tight against itself on the reel (if that makes any sense, at all) and offer extra resistance coming off the reel.

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I may be going against the grain here but I use Spinning Setups for pitchin' and flippin'. Eliminates the above problem.

[buzzsaw]

Theres nothing wrong with that if it works for you!

[Beef46]

Nice avatar. What does that stand for again......sh&%head??

Just givin' you a load of dump Mike. Make sure you get your hands primed up so you can land my fish for me this summer.

[buzzsaw]

awwww you hurt my FEELING Bryan.

[Beef46]

Quote:

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awwww you hurt my FEELING Bryan.

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Hey Mike, where'd your avatar go????

Thanks again for your help yesterday. I really appreciated it. I'll buy you lunch next time we're on the water. Or maybe bring a double batch of Breakfast Burritoes!!!

[buzzsaw]

My avatar should be back up and running, I was experimenting with some things. It's always nice to help people out when they are in a bind!

I like the b-fast burritos!! for all tourneys...