Jigs are the most used lure in the tackle box. Jigging is the most used system to catch fish. Why Use jigs? What are the different Jigs? When someone says did you try jigging, the first thing that comes to mind is fishing for Walleye. This is by far the most preffered way to catch walleye but jigs work on panfish, northern pike, lake trout and all fish species.  Jigs come in all sizes from tiny 1/64oz all the way up to 4 and 5oz coastal fishing lures. But the most used sizes are 1/4 and 1/2 oz jigs.

When you first start fishing jigs it may be confusing, chosing the different types of jigs, figure out what jig works best in different water situations and what style and color body to use. Jigs usually have a molded weighted head on a j or Aberdeen Hook, with various type bodies. Most common is floaters, leadheads with plastic, hair or bristle, flyers and jigging spoons and just jig bait style bodies. If you add a blade to the jig it is called a roostertail. If you insert the entire jig into the plastic body it is called a tube jig. To start your jig collection you may want to consider purchasing a Holographic Bucktail Kit, Mimic Minnow Panfish Kit, a Walleye Jig Kit, a few Bucktail Jigs or Holographic Bucktail Jig or Tri-Color Tube Kit.

Why Use Jigs: 

Most fish especially walleye feed on or close to the bottom or they spend most of their life within 1 foot of the bottom. Jigs get the hook down to the bottom and keeps the jig in this vital area for you to catch fish. Most jig fishing means vertical straight down below the boat or casting into an area and retrieving the lure through the desired target zone, so that you do not scare the fish away. You can troll with jigs but you will need extra weights, Bottom Bouncer Sinkers and 3 way swivels to get and keep these light lures down.

 

Benefits of Jig Fishing: 

Quick change of styles and sizes
Quick change of plasyic bodies
Have grub, curly tail, twin tail, swim tail with one lure
Fish any situation
Fish with or without plastic body
Tip plain hook with bait
Imitate the minnow bait very closely

 

Types Of Jigs:  

Floater Jigs: Gum-Drop, Screw-Ball Floater  

These jigs float up in the water or on the top of the water. The most common is in a small minnow pattern. They work great with harness, crawlers or bottom fishing where you want your hook to float up off the bottom. Tip here is use a solid wire leader to get them farther out from your main line or use a 3 way swivel system with a wire lead and bottom weight when fishing floating jigs. 

 

Flyer Jigs and Jigging Spoons: Jigging Rap, Jigging Spoon

Jigging Lures are a weighted flyer wing style lure, usually with hooks on both ends and a treble hook underneath. Jigging Spoons usually have a treble hook at the bottom. Both are classified as a darter type. When falling they dart or fly in different directions. These are a good only for vertical style fishing as you tie or attach to them on the top of the lure.

 

Hair and Spinner Jigs: Marabou Tinsel Jigs, Thunder Jig  

These jigs instead of using a plastic body look more like a fly with hair or bristle tied or formed right onto the hook. You cannot change the body on these so to get different hooks you have to purchase each color as a seperate lure. These have the appearance of fins moving when the hair or bristles move in the water. A very good hook for light bites or finesse situations. They do work casting but the hair lays down and looks like a very thin bait. When jigged verticle the hair puffs up and works better.

 

Plastic Body Artificial Jigs:Beetle Grub, Single Tail Grubs, Double Tail, Weedless Tube, Slurpies Swim Shiner Kit, 

There are 4 styles of bodies a grub or bug like with or without a tail, single or double curly tail, double curly tail, swim blunt tail and worms or minnows plastic only. You either put the body over or onto the hook and slip the body up the hook shank to the head or you fish by putting a hook through the body at some point. You can rig these as a weedless hook by threading the hook point back into the plastic body.

 

Bait Body Imitator Jigs: Slurpies Holographic Worm Kit, Gulp! Minnow, Gulp! Leech,  

These type of jigs the weighted head and hook are fully inserted into the plastic body the hook can be exposed or fished in a weedless patern by keeping or rigging the hook point back into the plastic body.

 

How Do I Use A Jig:

See Article How To Use A Jig

 

Why Use A Jig: 

When fish are in shallow feeding you do not want to motor right in amongst them or you will scare them out of there and have to find a new area. Park your boat and anchor far enough away, but still able to cast into the area. Park upwind and let your boat back to the area.  If fish are all along a shore let the boat drift over them and vertical jig as you drift, when you get to the end start up the motor and go back to the beginning again. If you catch any fish simply toss out some kind of marker or buoy, fish until no more bites then move on. 

 

What Jig Do I Start With: 

You will develop what jig to use through trial and error, however I start with a 1/4oz round ball jig in chartreuse, hot pink or white, with a white or yellow curly tail. I will change the body several times before I change the hook. If you use a fishing journal *****see example**** write in it what lure you started with. What condition the water was, clear, stained, murky and weather clear and bright, overcast or cloudy. People swear that on bright days use dark colors and on dark days use bright colors but this does not always work. I will start here but switch after 10 or 15 minutes without a bite. 

 

Tips For Using A Jig:

Concentration and sensitive touch rule here. Walleye are light biting fish you may feel the slightest of tap to a sharp tug.
Aggressive walleye inhale jigs by sucking, and can spit your lure out faster than you can set the hook, be ready at all times.
If you lift your rod to jig the hook and you feel ANY resistance set the hook. Walleye take the hooks as it falls or sits still.
If you see the line move or tighten in any way, set the hook a walleye may be mouthing the lure.
Watch for the tap, tap, tap or slow bend in your rod, a walleye is nibbling. Not active but looking.
Some of those little pesky pecks may not be perch, but walleye, try a smaller or bigger jig with bait.  

 

Common Mistakes With A Jig:  
Missing The Bite:

New fisherman fail to set the hook and get frustrated, they see and feel the bite but cannot connect.  Many wait to long and what they see or feel is actually the fish spitting out the lure. Any resistance or movement set the hook right away. 

 

Waiting To Long To Set Hook:

Most beginners to walleye fishing expect a sharp tug or aggresive bite but walleye take a lure so softly that you may not feel or see the line move until they are spitting the jig back out.  99.9% of the time walleye bite as the jig is falling or sitting still durring the jig process. If at any time you see or feel even the slightest tap or resistance set the hook.

 

Not Sure If Actually Had A Bite:

Many fisherman see a slight twitch but put it off as a wind gust or small tick off a weed or something hitting your line (floaties). Some times you will notice an abnormal sinking like the hook is just hanging or it seems to take longer to get to the bottom or the line moves slightly sideways while sinking. These could be walleye mouthing your bait as it was falling, rule here is "If In Doubt Set The Hook". 

 

Was Sure It Was A Weed:

When fishing close to weeds or lily pads and you cast out, let it sink and when you start winding have a small bit of weight do not think it is weeds Set The Hook it could be a walleye. You can always take the weed off you cannot put the fish back on. 

 

Mistake Those Pesky Little Bites:

This is a common mistake when you Assume those little nibbles are Perch. They could and usually are Walleye that grabbed your bait as it was falling.  Try a stinger hook or keep tension on your line as it drops, never assume, you know the rule about (ASS-U-ME).  

 

When using a jig, You must concentrate SEE and FEEL the smallest peck, tap, or line movement. Never allow slack line when winding in and try to even keep the line tight as you let the jig sink. Do not lift the lure too high and just drop rod quickly, try to let it settle with slight tightness in line. When you bounce the jig off the bottom, try to keep line tight or lift right away don’t let it sit for long. Watch your rod tip and the water on calm days you may see a slight twitch, a small ripple or your line move slightly to the side, set the hook, FISH ON! 

  

Other Jigs:
Weedless Marabou Jig Baits
Dancin’ Marabou Jig
Marabou Crappie Jig
Enticer Rattling Jig
Finesse Jig
Bottom Bouncer Walleye Rig Kit
Whistler Jigs
Fire-Ball Jigs
Thumper Jigs
Neon Gum-Ball Jigs
Tournament Jig Kit
Plane Jig’n Spoons

 

 

 

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