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Jig fishing tips

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1
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Bass Fishing

When fishing Bass and you don't have any leaches and the Bass aren't hitting anything you throw at them. Remember to have some beef liver in the freezer. Thaw it out and cut it into strips. Use behind a spinner or just with a coloured floating jig. Bass like beef.

Topics: Liver, instead, of, leaches
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Jigging Tip 2

If you've caught your first fish of the day and plan on using your fish for cut bait or keeping it for later, an old man showed me a trick for the best piece of cut bait from any fish. He called it the "tongue" of the fish. Beneath the lower jaw of the fish is a white fleshy piece of meat, and if you tear it off with pliers, it has a triangular shape. Hook the thickest tip. When jigging, this piece, it tends to "flutter" and not fall straight down but side to side.

Topics: Jigging
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Jigging Tip

While Ice fishing the other day, 2 old men walked up to talk and offered me a tip. He saw me jigging and asked what I was using, and I told him cut bait. He took a look and saw I still had the skin on the meat on said the fish shy away from that, and so i did it his way by just using all meet and saw an increase in bites.

Topics: Jigging
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Staggering Swimmer Heavy Type

I PREFER FOR SHORE JIGGING

Staggering Swimmer Heavy Type
WORKS VERY WELL

Topics: JIGS
1
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Fall Fishing is here

Fall is here, it is getting cold, and its a good time to fish. The ice is already starting to build on the ponds and shorelines. A lot of people already have brought there boats out of the water. But if you have a small boat I recommend trolling along the shoreline for muskies, jigging for walleyes, top lures through the weeds for Northern/Bass. The walleyes are in the cold shallow waters. Fall is my favorite time to fish, and usually one of the only times I fish off shore. Since the walleyes are in shallower waters, you can just cast off shore for the lunkers.......

Topics: Walleye, Muskies, Pike, Fall weather
5
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Two-pole Permit

I think it's always a good idea to buy your two-pole permit for fishing. 99% of the fishing I do is from a boat where I drift bait, troll, or bobber fish, or on a lake where I can sink bait or bobber fish with my second pole. This allows me to always have a pole in the water while I figure out what fish are biting on. Also, now that I have a better grasp on fly fishing, this will allow me to fish the surface of the water as well as a few feet below with a bobber, or on bottom with some bait or jig.

Topics: Twopole
9
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Jigging and Snags

I found a little trick. If your finding your self getting snagged a lot, use shitty weighted jigs that bend on a snag or bend it out almost straight once or twice. I just kept bending them back after a snag. The tip of the jig would snag and bend because the pressure was applied at the tip where it can be pulled at it's weakest point, but when a fish was on, they pull at the bottom of the "U" on a hook so it wouldn't ever bend on them as I was able to land all the fish without the hook bending. So i caught my fish and didn't lose any more gear. It may not work for those monster fish, but i wouldn't know; Its been a while since I hooked into one. But I'm pretty sure it would take quite a fish to really bend your hook even though it may be a little weaker.

Topics: Jiggin
9
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Scents that attract and repel

I went fishing one night and my friend and I used the same worms, hooks and bobbers but I was snagging fish left and right when he was barely getting bites. We started to wonder if my scent had anything to do with it. The tables had turned a few weeks later when he had been catching all the fish and I did not, so I did some research. Just like how we pinch our noses for bad smells, the same odor threshold can be said for all species of gamefish. Everything our hands come into contact with such as sun lotion, bug spray, cigarettes and our own human scent can cause fish to turn up their nose and refuse to bite. As the weather gets hotter and the bugs come out, I definitely load up on the bug spray. Even if you think your hands are clean, L-Serine (a tasteless, odorless chemical found in the skin oils of humans) will always be present on every worm, jig, or crankbait you come into contact with. Applying fish scent to your lure will not only attract the fish, but will mask or eliminate these undesirable smells. Fish can spit out a lure or bait very quickly. If the bait they are trying to ingest feels unnatural, or has a negative taste or odor, the chances of you setting the hook are very low. Applying scent will make your bait feel and taste alive, convincing the fish to hold on to the bait for a much longer time, ultimately allowing you to feel the fish first, then set the hook. Of course using scents for attractants vary depending on the type of fish. For example, when dealing with pike or muskie, scent is only useful when they have already made visual contact and are just about to strike. Scents come in a variety of packaging, but I have read more good reviews about spray bottles and will probably buy a few to try out. I wouldn’t want anything that you have to rub in since you’re trying to avoid touching it with your hands. If anyone has any recommendations or input on scents (good or bad), I’d be interested in knowing!

Topics: Scents, attractants, smells
8
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Walleye Jigs

Walleye are aggressive fish, and they do not get big by being dumb. Its not necessary to use anything larger then a 1/4-1/8 ounce Jig. Or just a plain hook, depending on how clear the water is. Plain RED hook or bright colored jigs, work the best. Walleye eat Perch, so Id recommend the perch colors in your jigs; Green, Orange, Yellow and Black.

Topics: Walleye, jigs and fishing
9
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Bobber Fishin

I keep it simple with just a bober and worm about the length of my rod(5-7 feet) below the surface within 20 feet of the rocks and just jig it a little if they are nibbling but wont take the bait. They seem to strike 90% of the time i try this. Keep your line as tight as you can without dragging the bobber, and rather than set the hook by lifting up, try reeling as much slack as you can then rip the line through the water by keeping the rod tip down and pull to one side or the other to keep the most tension on the line especially if your fishing deeper.

Topics: Bobbers
12
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The Night Walleye Bite

Fishing for Walleyes @ night! Evenings the big females start to come shallow probably to return to their spawning beds or feed on minnows along the shore. For the big 10-pound walleye, evening and night is your best chance. Troll slow and close to shore or along reefs with Rapalas or a bottom bouncer rig with lots of line out. Stop and cast if you come up to some structure on bottom that is within close proximity to the weeds they hide in during the day. Blues, Greens and especially Fire-tiger jigs!

Topics: Walleye
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Walleye Tactics

Since walleyes have excellent visual acuity under low light levels, they tend to feed more at dawn and dusk, on cloudy or overcast days and under choppy conditions. Similarly, in darkly stained or turbid waters, walleye tend to feed throughout the day. In the spring and fall walleye are located near the shallower areas due to the spawning grounds; and they are most often in shallower water at around six feet deep. On calm spring days the walleye are more often located at the deep side of the shoreline drop-off and around shore slopes around or deeper than ten feet.

"Walleye chop" is a term used for rough water typically with winds of 6 to 16 mph, and is one of the indicators for good walleye fishing due to the walleye's increased feeding activity during such conditions. In addition to fishing the "Walleye chop", night fishing with live bait can be very effective.

"Walleye Jig" is another very effective approach for catching the fish. Simply tie on a 3/8 ounce jig and attach a minnow. Lower the jig to the bottom of a sandy bottom stream and slowly move the jig up and off the bottom. When you feel a tug – wait a moment, as walleye are cautious fish and it may just be nibbling at the bait, then hook the fish. Calm water in an anchored boat is ideal for this approach.

Here is a good site with more detailed tactics for different times of year, colors to use, and how to find the big females.
http://www.garden-island.com/how-to-catch-walleye.htm

Topics: Walleye
11
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Paint your own jigheads

I like to match my jigheads to my soft plastics - especially my creature baits. Rather than shell out more money for the pre-painted ones, I buy the plain old jigheads, then spray paint them to match. Some cheap spray colors at Walmart can be applied to the jigheads, multiple colors for making different colors, and then spray over with some Krylon clear. They look good, they match what you use, and it's a money-saver!

Topics: Jigheads, paint, matching
9
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Alternative way to rig a tube - with a leadhead and rattle

Just a quick tip for another way to rig a tube with a rattle - Bass Pro Shops sells this little roundish rattle for tubes (XPS Tube Rattle), and I use the Bass Pro Shops tender tube head in 1/8 oz. or 1/4 oz., depending on the depth and conditions. First, push the tube rattle up in the tube, then insert the tube head, and push the eyelet through the tube where it stops. The rattle sometimes adds just enough extra to the tube to get more strikes, and by having the jig head back a little from the end of the tube, it helicopters down in a more random manner, which also gets more strikes. You can also rig it this way without the rattle, just leave 1/4"-1/2" of space between the jig head and the end of the tube.

Topics: Tubes, Rattles
13
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Color-coding your rods

This may just be overthinking common sense, but if you have a lot of rods rigged differently, and keep them stored in a rod locker, I've found that color-coding to identify which is which saves a lot of time searching or trying to remember what rods go where.

The system is simple - put a small piece of colored electrical tape (different colors for each type)on each rod near the handle, and make a small laminated chart that you can stick to the inside cover of the rod locker to identify the rods. Some examples:

Red = Crankbait
Green = Spinnerbait
Blue = Flippin'
Orange = Jigs/worms
etc., etc., etc.

Find a system that works for you and help get yourself organized. For fun fishing, it isn't such a big deal, but to make the most of your time on the water, and especially for tournament fishing, if you can spare yourself the time and frustration of digging for a rod, the better the day will go.

Topics: Rod, Colorcoded
11
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Mono vs. Fluorocarbon

OK, I'll start by saying I don't know a lot about braid or the superlines, because I've never used them. There may be applications where braid or another superline work better than mono or fluorocarbon, but I'm afraid to leave my "line comfort zone". Here's a little breakdown of the differences between mono and fluorocarbon (from manufacturer specs and my experience):

MONOFILAMENT
• Limp
• Low Memory
• Good Strength vs. Diameter
• Considerable Stretch
• Low Sensitivity
• Good Abrasion Resistance
• Good Knot Strength
• Low Visibility
• Floats


FLOUROCARBON
• Stiff
• Moderate Memory
• Good Strength vs. Diameter
• Low Stretch
• Very Good Sensitivity
• High Abrasion Resistance
• Good Knot Strength
• Very Low Visibility
• Sinks

PLASTICS/JIGS/TUBES
• Fluorocarbon Is Best
• Monofilament Is OK

CRANKBAITS (SHALLOW, MEDIUM, DEEP)
• Fluorocarbon Is Best
• Monofilament Is OK

LIPLESS CRANKBAITS
• Monofilament Is Best
• Fluorocarbon Is OK

SPINNERBAITS/BUZZBAITS
• Monofilament Is Best
• Fluorocarbon Is OK

SWIMBAITS
• Fluorocarbon Is Best
• Monofilament Is OK

TOPWATERS
• Monofilament Is Best
• Fluorocarbon Is Not Recommended (Sinks)

I hope this helps, as I have found that having the differences laid out for me really helps to understand the little nuances each style of line has. Remember to use the smallest line that is practical and it's worth it to spend a little extra - paying $9.99 for good line vs. paying $2.99 for store-brand line and losing a handful of $5 lures makes no sense.

Topics: Line, Fluorocarbon, Mono
8
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Rod, reel line selection

OK, back to basics. I know I posted a tip about making sense of rods & reels and making things less complicated. Absolutely an essential part of fishing. This year I've been doing some experimenting with my tackle, and I've gotten to this point:

7' MH baitcast with 12 lb. mono for bigger worms, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, lipless crankbaits, and topwaters

7' M baitcast with 12 lb. fluorocarbon for crankbaits, swimbaits, jigs, and tubes

6'6" M spinning with 8 lb. mono for worms, spoons, spinners, and all finesse tactics

I hope my homework helps you out, and as I test more ideas I'll post them to help get things going. Just remember, do what you find works well, and never stop experimenting and learning!

Topics: Rods, Reels, lines
11
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simple is sometimes better

When fishing, don't be reluctant to use simple set ups!! One of my favorite tactics is using Some split-shot,a hook, and a piece of bait!!! of course, different techniques work for different situations, sometimes just a simple float is best!!! Or even just a small jig-head, i once caught a 27 inch pike on a small white jig-head and a minnow while fishing for walleye!!!

Topics: jigs, splitshot, simple, floats
12
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Direct tie or swivels

Do you tie directly to the lure or clip on a snap swivel? Depends. There are times when a snap swivel is a necessity - like fishing spoons with a spinning reel. Sometimes, tieing directly to the lure is needed, such as with jigs or topwaters when you you don't want the action affected by the extra weight of the snap swivel. However, when I fish crankbaits or a select few topwaters and jerkbaits, I use a size 1 Fast Snap. They don't really affect lure action, in fact they help improve lure action on some retreives, and they make changing out lure a "snap".

Topics: Snaps, Swivels, Lures
11
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First rigs of the spring season

Up here in the northeast, fishing doesn't usually start until at least the third week of March, usually the first or second week of April (we have hard water). Anyway, once the ice goes away, that leaves the lake temps around 35-40 degree range. Here's what I keep tied on my rods for the first few trips of the spring (then I'll change up depending on what pattern I find):

1. Strike King Series 6 in Gizzard Shad
2. Strike King Pro Series Spinnerbait 3/8 oz. in Sexy Shad
3. Strike King Red Eye Shad 1/2 oz. in Chrome/Black Back
4. Strike King Wild Shiner Suspending Jerkbait in Sexy Shad
5. Strike King Wild Shiner Suspending Jerkbait in Chrome
6. Berkley Gripper Jig 3/8 oz. in Green Craw

I make color adjsutments based on water clarity, but for the most part, you want a more natural color base in clear water and go a little darker or brighter in stained or muddy water.

Topics: Spring, Bass, Crankbait, Jerkbait