Jigs and Jig Fishing

As everyone knows that has fished with me, I love jigs!!!! Yes, I think that highly of them, and they have rewarded me with lots of bass over the last 10 years. As bass baits go the jig has replaced the plastic worm as my number one go to bait. Jigs are in a family of lures called jump baits, that is they are baits that are worked up and down in the water column. However, if you are just working jigs up and down, you will only catch a small percentage of the bass that can be caught with other jig presentations. In this article, I will try to cover the equipment to fish jigs effectively, jig design, presentations, and applications that will give you the confidence to catch more and bigger bass next year.

When it comes to fishing jigs, the first and foremost important tool is the rod. The rods I use all have one thing in common -- a fast taper; this means that the rod has a stiff butt section and a tip that loads up quickly. These rods have what is known as a 20% tip 80% butt. Even ultra lite jig presentations require an ultra sensitive rod and not a "flim-flam stik". Whether I am fishing a 1/16 oz marabou jig or an 1 oz jig-n-pork, they all have the same fast taper heavy action. Do not confuse this with a "broom-stik" or a "pool-cue".

It cannot be stressed enough that you need a sensitive, light, fast taper rod for feeling the bait and delivering it to the target zone, using a wimpy rod is like pushing a truck up a hill using a rope. For light jig presentations I use a 5'3" Boron X Fenwick spinning rod with a 1300 Daiwa spinning reel and 4# to 6# Berkley Vanish line. This rod is unavailable because it is 15 years old; however, the CastAway MLS60 Mag lite or LS60 will work great. I just bought the MLS60 and cut 3" off the tip and it has the same great fast action and excellent feel to cast light tubes and marabou jigs as my old reliable Boron X Fenwick. Read More

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