Jig Fishing Help

[Jmcfarland]

 I need to learn how to fish skirted jigs. I know they catch big fish and lately in tournaments I have been getting my limits but have not been able to get the bigger bites I need to win. I know that there are some knowledgeable jig fishermen on this forum and I was hoping to get some help.
  I have tried jigs and fished them for hours before without hardly any luck. I have tried dragging football jigs for smallies, I've tried pitching heavy cover for largemouth. I've even tried them on bedding smallies with very limited success. I just don't have any confidence in them at all. I was hoping that someone could point me in a direction of a lake with some good jig fishing oppurtunities up here (northwest Michigan,Petoskey). I would like to just go and get some fish on them to build some knowledge and learn what the heck I am doing. I have even thought about taking everything out of the boat but my jig rods and jigs so I have to learn, but I get frustrated after 7-8 hours and no bites. Would prefer to learn how to pitch them in cover for largemouth and mainly focus on that for now, but I am open to any and all suggestions. If there is someone in the area that has some knowledge and wants to teach someone that wants to learn I have a boat. As always thanks in advance.

[djkimmel]

A small, weedy lake with some numbers would help probably for largemouth. The only lake that sort of comes close, but not quite right - though a good lake - that I'm aware of near Petosky is Crooked Lake. You'll probably get into pike and walleye there in the weeds. It's a better spinnerbait lake because of the size.

I don't much about many of the smaller lakes near there. Not too far away are the smaller lakes north of Intermediate Lake in that same chain. Many, many years ago, one of my partners and I won a bass tournament with a 3.3 pound average on largemouth pitching jigs in to weed edges in the smaller lakes along with weedless spoons over top.

We were told the largemouth couldn't beat the smallies on that chain but maybe it was because no one had tried? We won easy that day since the smallies were coming tough for everyone. Long time ago, and of course for a few seasons at least after that, the small upper lakes got hit a lot harder but I imagine the fishing is still decent up there. We caught a lot of bass just pitching to the weed edge and weed changes. We caught many pike too including some bite offs by some bigger gators.

[LennyB]

Hi Jmcfarland,
Dan posted a video I did a few seasons back that was all jig fishing for largemouth in Michigan. Maybe you can get an some tips from it ( http://www.bassfishingvideo.net/video/cWAZu5B4EpM/Michigan-Largemouth-Bass-Fishing-wmv.html ).
On this lake the weeds stop growing at 12 foot so I kept the boat in 14 foot and pitched to were I thought the edge was. 90% of the time I use a 3/8 ounce jig. The weed edge is determined by the water clarity and how far the light penetrates. This lake had that good green stain from all the weeds and my graph showed them ending right when I hit the 12 foot zone. This is a good pattern from early summer through ice-up. Just find the edge and follow it. Let the bait hit bottom, hop it a few times, then move down the line 10 feet or so all the way around the lake. Usually you will find little groups of fish on the points and bends in the weed line. Give it a try, it works.
Len B.

[macbass]

jmcfarland you can send an instant message to old jigger which is on this board he is probably one of the best jig fishermen around he has a lot of years experience with 30 years of tournaments under his belt and his primary bait is a jig and he will help you in any way he can..also one of the best jig lakes around on the northern west side could be freemont lake...cadillac is pretty good also.

[LipRip]

I asked the same question a few years back and got great advise that helped a lot from the members of this site. I now throw a jig with confidence, and honestly, its my go to bait. There was one member in particular that helped me the most and that was Brian McCarter (GLB McCarter). He tooks a good deal of time to explain to me how to fish it. I would recommend contacting him and see if he'll take some time and give u a run down on jig fishing. He explains things like i cannot!

Another person that could help u out with jig fishing is Jeff Elliot. He fishes jigs completely different that McCarter, but is equally effective. If you sweet talk him, he might hook you up with some helpful advise! His GLB name is Fishstick.

Jeff and Brain can fish a jig with the best of em, if they can't set u on the right path than u might be SOL!

My advise to u for jig fishing is this. Get a 1/4oz Nemesis Upskirt Jig in PB&J color and put a green pumpkin zoom super chunck jr on it. Load it up with scent and go to ur favorite weedline. Throw it as far as u can down the edge of the weedline and let it hit the bottom. Once its on the bottom, shake it a few times....if no bite then pop it up off the bottom and let it fall again. If u get weeds on it, rip it up as hard as u can to clear em. Keep doing this till a bass crushes it, then reel down and set the hook as hard as u can. They might bite on the fall,  or maybe when its on the bottom, but they will get it eventually! (pike will too =/) After that first big bite, u'll be hooked to jig fishing!

This year, at least around here (southeast mi), has been an off year for the jig bite in my opinion. I still get fish on it, just not like years past. According to some people that i've talked to, the jig bite seems to cycle on and off from year to year.

Hope this helps, i know how frustrating it is when ur starting out with a jig!

[oldjigger]

JIg fishing 101
  Jig fishing isn't rocket science as summer progresses and lake temps warm fish should go deeper and the weeds will grow deeper depending on water clarity and what not.  I now make jigs to sell and I have football and swim or weedless jigs.  Swim jigs come through weeds a lot better than football heads because of the profile
I like to be setting deep enough so that when I throw I just hit the edge of the weeds and then fish the jig all the way back to the boat while it is relating to the bottom/////very important  bottom/////
My trailer is usually something relating to a craw like a ditch bug.
sometimes a grup if my jig is to be more of a minnow presentation but primarily for me it's a craw pattern

[bassfan586]

I go heavier as the water warms and the deeper I go.  Right now I would use a 3/4 to 1 oz jig.  Football or swim jig.  Football jigs do work in the weeds but don't come thru as clean and its a little harder to feel the bite.  I like to crawl it up to a weed,  when i feel it hang up I "pop" it free.  Thats when I get bites.  I really like pitching to isolated clumps or holes in weeds in 15'-18' of water.  Right where the weed growth starts to thin.  I use my sonar to find these spots then throw a marker to fish them.  I get bit a lot on the fall so watch your line for sure.  Play around with skirt colors and trailer combos.  ITs not a numbers bait.  I have fished it all day for 4-5 bites.  They will be good bites but its hard to pay attention all day.  Crooked lake would be fun for largies.  I havent fished there in a couple years  but great breaks full of coontail.

[FishermanJohn]

I've just recently become comfortable with jig fishing. I like to fish a 3/8 to 1/2oz jig but I'll go up to 3/4 or 1 oz when fishing deeper than 20 feet or on windy days.  Find the deepest weed edge and start there.  Rocky bottoms in 10-15 feet are also great spots, especially combined with isolated cover.  Use a sensitive rod and fluorocarbon line - you need it to detect bites (many occur on the initial fall) and also to get a sense for bottom composition.  keep in contact with the bottom.  When you contact a rock or stump or weed on the bottom, stop...give it a shake in place, then pop the jig off the bottom.  Often this will get a reaction strike.  I use a football head almost exclusively except for swimming or pulling through heavier weeds.

Experiment with sizes, colors, and trailers.  Smaller and more natural in clear or shallow watwr.  Darker and heavier in deeper or stained water.  Match your trailer for size, rate of fall, and action based on comditions.  Definitely fish deeper in the summer and pay attention to your electronics.  It took almost a full season of fishing a jig extensively to get comfortable.

[fishstick]

Thanks for the kind words liprip!

Jmcfarland,

Theres a lot of helpful advice on here for you already! The best thing that you can do right now is to keep it simple. Like Liprip said a small quarter oz upskirt jig and small trailer are going to be your best bets to get confidence. This is going to appeal to both big and small fish and you will get bit on it. Keep the color natural and head to a weedline that normally produces for you with other baits, or a windy point. I'd also suggest spooling up with braided line if your fishing vegetation. A jig bite for me is usually just pressure not unlike a weed. I think braid will help you get a good understanding of whats going on down there. I don't think that when people start fishing jigs they don't get bites, I think its more that they don't feel bites. I think its best to concentrate on getting bites on the breaklines before you get into pitching docks and flipping the thick stuff.

Also if there's any places with current up there, take a jig and go fish current breaks. The fish will be predictable and you'll also be able to see a lot of them come out and grab it!

Good luck!

[Jmcfarland]

Thanks for all the help guys. Djkimmel it is funny you should bring up intermediates northern lakes I have a tournament out there (intermediate) on the 14th of august. Thanks for all the tips guys I really appreciate it. I also will be trying to learn on crooked lake because it is literally just a few minutes away from my house.

[djkimmel]

Just remember the part about where I said that was loooonngg time ago. I'd like to think they're still good, but I haven't actually checked to find out.

Watch out for the one sandbar between something like the 3rd and 4th lake, or maybe it was the 4th and 5th lake. My other friend got stuck there bigtime one day and we could hear his wife yelling at him 2 lakes away!

[Jmcfarland]

 Well guys yesterday I fished about 6 hours with only jigs. I got about three bites early (7-9am)around some wood pilings going into a river with a 1/2 oz black and blue jig with a pumpkin trailer with chartreuse claws on it. Did not hook up with any of these fish. It may have been bluegill or perch but they were good solid thumps not tap tap tap that you usually get with small fish on other baits. Continued fishing till 12 noon with very little action. Finally got a pike in a weedy cove with a creek flowing into it swimming a green pumpkin with green/orange twin tailed grub like trailer (i wouldn't usually say anything about catching pike but I was at least getting bit and catching fish  ). Next cast lose my jig to a pike. From there I head out in the cove maybe 200 yards to where the water depth goes from about 4ft to 6ft. I'm now fishing a 1/4 ounce green pumk. red flake jig with a green pumk. 3 in cut down beaver on spinning gear and 10lb test fluoro. I pitch to a weed clump let it fall and the line goes slack then starts going hard left. I set the hook on a solid 2 3/4-3lb smallie. About 2 cast later I pitch to another weed clump this time the line settles on bottom. I hop it 1 or 2 times and see the line jump/tick on the fall. I reel down fast and set the hook on a nice 17-18 inch walleye and fight it into the boat. Fish maybe 10 more minutes and have to get going as now I have to get some other things to get done and I also have a walleye to fillet!!! All and all it was a good day. Definitely see how jigs can help up your weight in a tournament. Also see how you could spend 7 hours fishing them in a tournament and not catch a limit or catch 20 lbs in 5 minutes.

P.S. All of this took place on crooked lake. Thanks for the tip guys.

[djkimmel]

You are on the way!! And sometimes the pike are going to drive you nuts on some lakes on some days! I recall a jig day on Foote Dam Pond once - club tournament - I got bit off so many times I almost ran out of jigs! But caught some nice largemouth too! Keep it up!

[FishermanJohn]

Great start!  Hopefully this will build some confidence.  Keep at it and keep experimenting with different techniques and combos.  I've had great days and frustrating days with jigs.