Jig Fishing
Techniques
Jig fishing for Stripers
Probably the most versatile
form of fishing there is, jigs can be used in all depths of water,
giving a presentation along the bottom about as sneaky as
it gets. A
subtle presentation given by matching the required weight with current
speed and water depth. What your trying to achieve in most cases, is a
presentation of dead bait tumbling along the bottom at the same speed
as the current your fishing. There is probably no better way to catch
big fish, fish that are dwellers of the deep and feed along the bottom.
The most effective method being from an anchored position in a boat or
from shore.
Important facts to consider are: You can't cast where you think the fish are, you need to cast far enough upstream to allow your jig to sink to the bottom before it gets to where the fish are. Otherwise, you're fishing over the fish's head, instead of in front of their nose where you should be.
In this situation spinning reels really shine,
basically, because they allow the jig to
sink with an open
bail. This makes
it much easier to place the jig where you want it along the bottom. If
the bail is shut when the jig hits the water, there is a pendulum effect
that swings the jig towards you as it sinks. It will still reach bottom,
just not anywhere near your intended target. This reduces your ability to
fish an area effectively and thoroughly. You may think you are fishing
an area thoroughly, but
without being highly skilled with a bait-casting reel and having the
ability to "payout" line at a rapid rate when the jig hits the
water, the pendulum effect is going to get the best of you. Bait-casters
have there place, without question, it's just not jigging from an
anchored position.
Making bottom contact is also extremely important. The
clicking of a jighead along the bottom, be it rocky or soft, really
attracts fish and may be the only way they feel/see the jig down
there. Quite often you won't even get a bite until you've made bottom
contact. Plus, how do you know your even at or near the bottom until you
can feel it at the rod-tip. If you can't feel the bottom you could
easily be 10 feet off from it and miss the strike-zone by a mile. Your going to lose some jigs while learning the bottom in areas where
there is bottom structure, that's just part of the learning curve for
any particular area. So be prepared, don't start out using $2 jigs. You
can also use tricks like "over bending" the 
hook,
leaving the hook-point pointed at the eye of the hook, instead of
running parallel with the shank. This makes the jig less susceptible to
hang-ups. Wire hook-guards also work well. Both methods will hook less
fish, but also make an area with a nasty bottom more of a pleasure to jig
fish.
Line types; What are the best ones? My personal preference is the no-stretch fused lines that are available. My personal favorite being "Fireline" by Berkley in the 14lb and 20lb sizes. Your ability to record even the most subtle of strikes is very important.
Tip for loading no-stretch lines: When loading these lines onto your spool, It's real important to tape the first wrap of line to the spool. If you don't, it will slip on the spool, especially a metal spool. It doesn't stretch tight like mono line and a metal spool will expand and contract with different temperatures. On a cold morning untaped line will slip on the spool. I use one wrap of electrical tape for this. I've also used a few drops of super glue and glued the line to the spool.
Recording Strikes: One fact to consider and
always remember is: It's a 3 dimensional world down there and the
strike can come from any direction. They may feel as violent as nearly
ripping the rod from your hand, (being a strike from a fish heading away
from you), to the feel of someone literally snipping your line with
scissors (a strike from a fish heading towards you). The
latter being the most difficult to record even by the most experienced
of fisherman. When most fisherman feel this strike, instead of setting
the hook quickly, they hesitate for a split second and that's all it
takes for the fish to reject it once it feels the unnatural weight of
the jig in it's mouth.
My basic rule of thumb is: If I feel something that I didn't create,
(weight, a tap, slack, drag) I set the hook, quickly and hard. When a fish hits coming at you,
they can quickly knock 3-4 feet of slack in your line, so the hook-set
should be swept backwards with a wide sweeping motion to take up the
slack created by the fish.
How sharp should your hooks be? This could very well be the difference between landing nice big fish and recording strikes of fish that get away far too often. I find myself constantly checking my hook points for sharpness. I want them so sharp that they feel "sticky" to the touch. If I'm missing fish with a sharp hook, I'll take my pliers and ever so slightly bend the hook point outward. If done properly, a fish has a hard time to spit it because it may stick into something as the fish tries to blow it out, giving you a second chance, in some cases, to hook them. Hooks straight out of the box are almost never sharp enough for me. In some cases they are very poor.
What are the best rods for jigging?: What you'll need is a rod with backbone at the butt and a fast action tip. Graphite construction being my favorite, I like a medium action 6.5-7.0 ft. ,1/2-3/4 oz. rod for all-purpose jig fishing. You need a rod that is going to move the jig when you set the hook, not bend like a noodle.
Jig configurations that work: I use
jigheads ranging in weight from 1/8 oz to
2.0 oz. depending on the
current speed and depth I'm fishing. The hooks should be
"stout". I also like applying rubber baits to the jig hook.
Anything from "sluggos" to rubber worms,
"paddle-tails" and anything that resembles the prevalent bait
in the area. Also the size and shape of the rubber will help you
to fine-tune the buoyancy of the jig your fishing and help to more
accurately match how the real thing tumbles along the bottom or swims
through the middle depths. What is most important is to match size
versus color. Color can be important but size will get rejected quicker. Rubber baits should be applied "straight" (very
important) so that the jig does not spin unnaturally on the retrieve. If
it is on crooked, it will get rejected more times than not.
Tip: Once applied straight and tested to be sure, just pull the rubber back from the head and apply a drop of "superglue" to the head shank; then slide the rubber back where is was when tested; allow it to dry for a minute. This way, the rubber won't be slipping down on a hard cast, or when bumping up against bottom structure. This trick will also double the life of the rubber bait.