Getting started with the jig
by Mark Denney

When you start talking jig fishing you turn a lot of heads. There are many reasons that seasoned bass fisherman pay attention. First of all as everyone knows the jig is a bait that consistently catches quality fish. These are the fish that have the weight tournament fisherman seek out on a daily basis. Tournament fishermen quickly learn that it's not who catches the most fish but who catches the five biggest ends up cashing the check and five jig bites will consistently outweigh its competitors most of the time. Check the books and magazine articles, the facts are there. The jig is neck and neck with the spinnerbait as to what is the best year round bait depending on who you talk to. You can fish both lures in thick cover and cover just as much water swimming a jig as you can chunking a blade. Personally, I don't go on the water without either tied on because they both perform the same task, almost....The jig is a bait that you can stick right in front of a fishes face and and he will eat it and then wonder why he did as you take the hook out of his mouth. A jig can be fished like a Texas rig, stroked on ledge, crawled on the bottom or can be swam to fish in heavy cover. Here's the difference. When you let a spinnerbait fall into thick cover it has a good chance of being inhaled but when it hits the bottom it's percentages of drawing a strike as it lays on the bottom drastically head toward zero. The jigs chances probably go up. The jig continues to mimic a favorite food source without any movement at all.

Here's the way I plan my attack. As far as color goes I will fish a black and blue jig half the time with the other 50 percent made up of watermelon, green pumpkin or white. I don't usually get crazy about the color. I grew up in middle Tennessee and all of the several thousand crawfish I caught as a kid were green and brown and some lighter and darker shades of each and they did have some black and orange at times. Now, I never saw a crawfish that was black and blue but that color will catch you a lot of lips. There is always a few exceptions when color will matter but I don't worry about it very much because I am looking for the aggressive fish. If you drop it on his head he will eat it. One thing I do think that matters at times is size. Especially in colder weather and earlier in the year it it may get you more bites. You need to match the hatch as much as you can. That can be done several ways. You can down size your jig or even trim your trailer.

O.K. now let's get to the age old question do I use pork or plastic? I really don't even want to get into this one but here goes. Some people will only fish pork in the cold months to get that slower fall and some people don't fish it at all and believe it is too messy and doesn't make a difference. I think fishing pork has its advantages. It was what I cut my teeth on and I still tend to lean toward it during the times when I am fishing a jig exclusively during the day and don't give it time to dry out and get hard on my jig. The times that I am only flipping at certain times during the day when I approach a good spot of cover I will be using a plastic craw chunk from Driftwood Lures. The Prowler and Zoom chunks are good too. I don't want to have to take the time to cut off my old piece of dried pork and hook on a new one.(Lazy)

A big part of Jig fishing is using a quality jig. I like a jig with a strong hook and a wide bite. I fish 3\8 ounce jigs most of the time and a 12 ounce pretty regularly. That's because I am usually fishing shallow when I am jig fishing. The bigger jigs also have their place on the ledges and deeper water as do the smaller jigs for spots or smallies. There are a lot of good jigs on the market. I have had good success with Ol-Nelle and Booyah but my favorite jig is a new one called Jig X. This jig hasn't been on the market very long and is absolutely awesome from the way it is made to the action it has. This jigs design is unbelievably snag proof. The line feeds through the head of the jig and then ties to the eye of the hook with a special knot. This keeps the knot protected and also gives the bait a more horizontal presentation across the bottom of your favorite fishing hole. This hook has also been modified to accommodate the style of the jig and provides you with a more compact jig without the sacrifice of a big strong hook and that's right up my alley. Most people modify the weed guard by thinning the fibers to their specifications and the type of fishing they are doing. I fish this jig right out of the package when I am swimming it but I will thin it some when I flip just depending on situation. The skirts are very realistic and come in some great basic fish catching colors. Jig X also comes with rattles that can be removed if that is your preference.

Fishing a jig takes confidence as does any other bait, maybe even more. If you have consistently caught fish on a jig then you have no problem but if you haven't you may be apprehensive about fishing one. I know it took me a while and this is how I learned. When I went to the lake I only brought one rod with me. You guessed it. I kept fishing the jig and even when I wasn't getting bit and by not bringing any other rods, I couldn't put it down and throw something else. It definitely limited my catching for a while and made some long days but it has helped me tremendously in the long run. In todays tournament trails you have to be able you use different tactics and equipment to be successful on the different impoundments across the country. If you can't fish a jig with confidence you are already behind. Now, I'm not saying you need to be the next Denny Brauer but you need to head in that direction. Here's how to get started.

Set a goal to learn how to fish a different bait or lure each year. This year pick a jig. Start in the time of year in your area when you know there are fish holding on cover where your jig can be fished with a high success rate(probably shallow) and it will help if they are in a feeding mode (Spring\Fall). This will up your chances to start and should be less time in between bites. Start fishing your cover with a systematic approach. Take a blown down tree for example. Use your best pitching or flipping technique and let your bait enter the water softly. (You need to practice your flipping or pitching at home.) Pick out the best spot where you would think a bass would be hiding and drop your bait in. I try to maintain contact with my lure as it falls and watch your line to see if it jumps and feel your rod for a "tick". If you don't get a bite repeat this all over the tree until you have fished the tree effectively. Then move on to the next one. I get bit on a jig about 75 percent of the time as it falls to the bottom. If you continue through the cover you are fishing you will eventually get bit. When you get a bite do not "Bird Dog" before setting the hook, let'er rip. When you get consistent at catching them like this, you can then fish it like a texas rig and crawl it along to pick up more fish. The idea is to keep dropping the jig into different areas until you can determine where exactly on the cover the fish are holding and you can duplicate it on the next piece of cover. Thus you eliminate water by fishing the most productive areas and save time which will help you make more cash on your tournament days. It's not rocket science it just takes some determination.

MSgt Mark Denney is currently serving overseas in Operation Enduring Freedom. He can be reached by email at this address: mark.denney@robins.af.mil