jiggin is tough!!! need help!!!

[J. Owen]

ok so this is what kept happening
dragin a black/blue .5 oz jig alon the rocks
i kept felling bump bump wil the jig was not in motion
set the hook nothing
same spot maybye 5 inches to the right same thing
set the hook nothing
WTF!!!!!

so ya i guess what im asking for is am i to slow? am i to quick? lol sounds bad i know:ROFL: thats what she said!!!:ROFL:
back on topic
any suggestions how to make that conection between jig and bass????

[Hang'em High]

Couple of ideas:

- Depending on what the wind conditions were or if you were drifting (in a boat?), your line/rod still could have been moving the jig when you did not think it was happening. The jig could have been falling over a rock or down a ledge and what you felt was the impact of it's landing.

- Smaller fish could have been pecking at it (panfish, small bass) and not taking in the bait.

My advice:

When you feel like you are getting short bit or get a strike where your not sure if it was a fish or structure, gently lift the rod up and check for pressure. If you do it right and there is a fish on there, you will hopefully feel a moving or movable weight. If you do, swing. If you don't, keep fishing.

Swings are free, skunks are stinky!

[a biley]

My advice:

When you feel like you are getting short bit or get a strike where your not sure if it was a fish or structure, gently lift the rod up and check for pressure. If you do it right and there is a fish on there, you will hopefully feel a moving or movable weight. If you do, swing. If you don't, keep fishing.

Swings are free, skunks are stinky!

yeah I wait for the thump, reel in slack and wait for some movement or to feel weight, then its the swing!

[J. Owen]

yes windy day thanks for advice very helpful
see you on the water!!!
good luck & tight lines!!

[Jig-Guy]

Hi J. Owen, I agree with what Hang'em High said! Are you fishing from shore or from a boat? I have caught bass from shore but it is much harder pulling the jig uphill you get snagged allot. If in a boat it is much easier.
Using a jig has been my favorite way of catching bass. I use a 6 foot med/hvy jig rod Bas Pro Shop Johnny Morris Signature Series rod 85 million modulus XPS, this rod I can feel most anything that touches my jig. Reel a Shimano Curado 201BSF casts a mile and is dependable. The line that I have found to be the best for me is P-Line fluorocarbon 15 pound test. This rod and line makes it easy to feel the fish touch the jig. The jig I use I make myself and I use Gamagatsu #114 super sharp jig hook mostly 1/2oz painted brown or watermelon with weedguard. The bait and color that I use mostly is a Yamamoto 5" hula grub color 208. When the weather and water warms up and we fish shallower you can go to a 1/4 or 3/8oz. this will give the jig a slower drop and a nice presentation. Smelly Gelly crawfish anise is the scent I have been using for over 20 years. Simple setup and works! Like Hang'em High said swings are free. So just get out there and keep doing it and you will get bit. Hope this helps, have question just ask.
Jig-Guy

[FishingFanatic]

I jig rocky flats all the time with a football jig at DVL. I always think I am getting a bite and it takes a while until you recognize the difference for that day. Ussually when I am drifting I feel a thump, thump, thump then my pole loads. I set the hook about a hundred times only to find that one of those times was a fish and not the rocks. Alot of times I get stuck inbetween rocks and have to take my boat back also. I am almost positive you were drifting and feeling the rocky bottom. Just remember to re-tie every 10 casts or so that the line doesnt tear up while dragging.

[bassassassin]

Try to use a berkley chigger craw or a uncle josh pork trailer on all your jigs. With these trailers the bass bite and hold on almost twice as long, no joke.

[Stormcrow]

You need to P.M. Warrior Mike. He is a talented jig fisherman and Im sure he will give you some pointers.

I can tell you though that a 1/2 oz jig is difficult to fish from shore. I would go to a 1/4 or even a 1/8.

[richaaron]

Spray some BANG Craw on that jig. That get's um' to stick...

[lurk 182]

could have been a bedfish that just kept moving the jig off the bed w/o getting any hook in the mouth, they're amazing when they just want to move it. usually you want to go ahead and swing on anything that feels un-natural, ticks or thumps are not natural. i like to let them fall straight down on a slack line. let it sit on the bottom for a couple seconds, sometimes you'll get bit on the fall or w/o ever even moving the jig. always be ready for those bites from the moment you cast. once on the bottom, i try to just shake it in place a little while w/o actually dragging it towards me. if i'm fishing flatter stuff, i'll throw in a little hop here and there, always using the rod to animate the bait, then reeling up slack. on steep banks, i don't hop at all b/c the bait will swing back towards you like a pendulum and you'll miss a bunch of area when that happens. creep slower in cold water than warm. more hopping when its warm too, sometimes they need to be triggerred with a quick move of the bait. jigs catch better than average fish, i don't like to fish less than twelve pound and a medium heavy (preferably heavy).

[Eat Sleep Fish]

Couple of ideas:

- Depending on what the wind conditions were or if you were drifting (in a boat?), your line/rod still could have been moving the jig when you did not think it was happening. The jig could have been falling over a rock or down a ledge and what you felt was the impact of it's landing.

- Smaller fish could have been pecking at it (panfish, small bass) and not taking in the bait.

My advice:

When you feel like you are getting short bit or get a strike where your not sure if it was a fish or structure, gently lift the rod up and check for pressure. If you do it right and there is a fish on there, you will hopefully feel a moving or movable weight. If you do, swing. If you don't, keep fishing.

Swings are free, skunks are stinky!

....good info.

[dockboy]

Yup. Feel for weight. Dont wait for the thump or the tap. Many times they will thump it good, but not nearly as often as some people think. A lot of times you wont feel a jig bite. Just weightlessness. Get good at knowing what you jig is doing at all times. Get to know what it feels like when you slide down a rockpile. Learn the difference between larger rocks and smaller ones. Learn what it feels like when you are bumping the jig along and its hits a piece of brush. Learn how long it takes for your jig to hit bottom, and then learn how long it does when you hop it.
And every fish bites different. Sometimes its a tap-tap. Sometimes its a thump, a nice solid vibration you feel all the way to the rod butt. Sometimes they just pick it up and keep moving, all you'll feel is weight. Some guys preach watching the line for movement. That works, but not nearly as well as being in tune with your jig. Know what it feels like. A lot of times you just get this feeling of something on your jig... its not a bite, its just this feeling, almost a second nature thing.
And SWING! If you dont feel weight and its obviously hung, dont swing. But if you have ANY second thoughts... load'er up and swing away bud. If you aint hanging jigs from false swings, you aint fishing a jig thoroughly enough. Thats why I make my jigs. I can make an equally good jig that will catch just as many fish as the $2-3 ones you buy at the store. Its much easier to concentrate on the fishing when you arent concerned about throwing that jig where it needs to be. Its nice knowing you are losing less than half a dollar everytime you break off, cuz when you have those days where you are losing half a dozen of'em to the rocks, its much easier to swallow.
Jigs are multi-varied and so are my setups. 1/2-1oz with a weedguard, 7ft heavy-extra heavy rod with at least 12lb, typically 14 or 15lb flouro. 1/4-3/8 with a weedguard, a 6'6" or 7' med-heavy with a dofter tip but good bacbone. Light 1/4-3/8oz jigs with no weedguard, a 6'6" medium extra fast action rod with 10lb flouro. If you start flipping them, then you open up even further demensions.
Just remember if you get good a jig fishing, you become a better fisherman. Learn to throw jigs and you become more patient. Learn to drill out 5 keepers on a jig and there are few bites that will escape your skill set. Patience is the key to a calm and level-minded apporach, and jigs teach it well. Best of luck