jigging

[jighead 3]

im a new walleye fisherman and have never jigged for them but hear that it is a great tactic can someone give me a quick lesson on how to jig for eyes

[musky hunter]

Start out with about a 1/4 ounce jig, heavier for current and wind, lighter if you can handle it. Spool up with 6 lb. mono until you can really work it and get a feel for the jig, you can move into the more expensive lines later. Use shiners or chubs and hook from under the lips and out through the snout of the minnow. You do not need to cast far. Let it sink, then bounce along the bottom with minimal line slack. Keep a finger on the line at all times so you can feel what is happening to the jig. At the first hint of tick on the line, set the hook with a short but quick action. Do not try to remove the walleyes' jaw on the hookset. Make sure every jig is razor sharp, a hook file or stone should be in the pocket and touch up the jig frequently. You can even catch walleyes right under your boat, and frequently they will follow the jig and will rewpond to a vertical presentation at the end of the retrieve. Good luck.

[nofishfisherman]

Sounds about right to me. Many times I don't cast my jig at all, I will simply drop it straight over the side of the boat. When fishing with several people in the boat jigging is the best way to avoid casting issues.

The only thing that i differ on is how I hook the minnow. I put the hook through the mouth and take it out the gill. Then i bend the minnow and hook if through the side. When done the minnow will be straight with the jig head sticking out its mouth.

[musky hunter]

That is a great way to hook a minnow. But unless you have long shank jigs it's sometimes hard to get it back through the body, and most jigs are now short shanked hooks. I do this a lot because it will tripple minnow life. The method goes liek this: insert the hook through the mouth and out the gill plate. (there is no blood drawn here and no flesh is penetrated). Then, insert the hook through the minnow body as far back as you can, but make sure the point penetrates all the way through the minnow, not under the skin on the opposite side. Minnow stays on much longer. Hook can be turned 90 degrees so minnow orientes in the water in a more natural presentation. Good luck.

[nofishfisherman]

I use alot of the northland jigs and it seems to work beautifully for me. You can catch 3-4 walleye on one minnow if you need to.

[Team Otter]

A broad question...

This time of the year, snap or rip jigging is tough to beat. Throw your presentation 50' behind the boat, troll forward between 1.0 - 2.0 mph and jerk your rod abruptly forward and follow your line back. Most fish will hit on the jerk.

Vertical jigging can be good too. Anchor, drop your presentation below the boat and slowly lift and drop from the bottom to ~12" off the bottom.

[Big Julie]

OK, I'm with you folks regarding early season jigging.

I've made it my goal to be done with my moron mentality I've had regarding the ability to fish shallow.

I'm just going to start doing it and give it my best shot.

I've learned to love the braided lines for late season deep jigging where I have used powerpro 2-8.

How good are similar (lighter) lines for early, shallow jigging?

I haven't looked into what lines they have in a lighter line, but recall something like 1-6...?

Anyone used these lines for early, shallow fishing and how do they stack up with mono or P line?

Thanks,

Big Julie

[Northlander]

I use the 1# diameter Power Pro Jigging all year long and love it. Baits get down fast and the feel is great.

[computerboy]

Hey Northlander,

If you don't mind me asking, what type of rod/reel combo do you use for jigging walleyes? I'm mainly interested in the rod...length, action, etc. I've gotten conflicting information on jigging rods, so I'd like to know what your opinion is on it.

Thanks in advance!

[Captain B.R.K]

jighead 3- don't be bashful with using a bit heavier jig as well as you learn how to jig effectively. When vertical jigging, I have always found it best to keep contact with the bottom. Keeping that jig at the bottom 5-6" is key.

The heavier jig will give you the idea and feeling of what it is like to drag or lift & sit that jig on the bottom.

As mentioned above, the 1/4 oz. jig is a great size to use. If you aren't use to the feeling of what "bottom is" then use a little heavier jig at first until you get the feel down. You should be able to catch fish with this method.

Definately get the feel down until you start going to smaller size jigs. I know it can be frustrating if you are fishing a lighter jig and you can't feel the bottom. More importantly you are probably not keeping that jig in the strike zone either.

In in doubt, go a tad heavier in jig size.

[Surface Tension]

First think of a jig as basically a method to get your bait to the fish. Staying in contact with bottom is critical, depending on bottom content you might never feel bottom. The idea is to not drag your jig but to hop it along over rocks and logs. So how do you tell if your on bottom? Theres two ways, by sight and by the feel of your jig. You know what your line looks like as your jigs takes it with it to the bottom and goes slack. Thats what your looking for. During a retrieve you perodically look to see that your jig is hitting bottom. Thats fine for daylight hours but what about after dark? You feel for your jig. Practice feeling your jig with sight. You see your line go limp as your jig hits bottom, now drop the tip and with your wrist give the jig a little pop to take out the slack in your line, you'll feel the transition from no weight to feeling your jig. Now if you weren't on the bottom you would have felt the weight of the jig instantly and you would give the jig more drop time or slower retrieve. If retrieve and drop rate are too slow for the conditions then step up in jig weight. Once you start getting the hang of feeling your jig you'll want to decrease the slack time in your line to were your in constant contact with the jig.

You'll also start getting a better understanding of the relationship between drop rates, depth, jig size, retrieve speed and line size.