One of the most useful skills that you can learn is these techniques for fishing with jig heads for those who just started fishing. Learn about the basics as we share with you how you can start practicing this technique on your next adventure. Ask any fishermen if they could have one bait that they believe they could catch fish day in and day out, and what would that choice be? Some will answer a jig head.
Fishing with jig heads makes you a versatile angler as it allows you to fish deep waters and various fish species. You can tip it with live bait or team the jig head with plastics to catch any fish. This kind of bait is one of the most versatile techniques for fishing known for various anglers.
In this article, let us look at some of the jig head techniques that will help you get that big bite. Some of these jig presentations are alternatives you have previously seen, but some might be new to you.
What Is Jigging?
The art of fishing with a jig, a type of fishing lure, is jigging. A jig consists of a lead sinker with a hook-shaped into it and is typically protected by a soft body to attract fish. As compared to spinnerbaits that travel horizontally through the water, jigs are intended to produce a jerky, vertical motion. The jig is very flexible and can be used both in freshwater and in salt. Many species are drawn to the lure that has made it popular for years among anglers.
The jigger, you, should use a rod that is good for feeling a strike and wants to keep in touch with the lure to get it to where the fish are for effective jigging. On or near the bottom are most of the fish captured by jigs.
Head
The jighead features various shapes and colors. The round head is the most common, but others include fish that are head-shaped, coned-shaped or any number of varieties. In bass fishing, the three most popular jighead shapes are the flipping jighead, the football jighead, and the grass jighead. These heads come in several different weights for large saltwater bottom fish, typically ranging from 1/80 of an ounce to almost a pound. They can be used in a broad range of colors and patterns as well. Often, the hooks differ. These variances may depend on the type of hook, color, angle of the hook, or hook content. Some jig heads also give a guard for weeds.
The Body
A large variety of bodies are available for jigs. The most popular one is made of silicone or rubber, and it may resemble a grub, frog, fish, paddle tail, lizard, or various insects and come in several shapes. These colors can range from bright yellow to translucent brown with flakes of silver and red. Look at shades for the heat during summer months, such as browns or blue with black hair. Many others, including smallmouth bass and largemouth bass, capture fish. You may also use bait such as minnows, leeches, or nightcrawlers as jig bodies.
Other, more conventional kinds on the outside use dyed or natural whitetail deer tail fur. Named a bucktail jig, in the northern and midwestern United States, where many are still hand-tied by anglers, they are commonly used.
In jig bodies’ construction, other types of materials are also used, such as a Chenille wrap on the hook shaft, different feather hackle, hair or other furs, marabou, Flashabou, and other materials. Construction is often similar to the fly-tying method. Some jigs are built similar to their counterparts in the artificial fly. Bodies may either be colored brightly or muted. They are also intended to imitate local fish of prey or large local insects.
4 Techniques For Fishing With Jig Heads
Jigging is one of the most aggressive fishing methods, forcing you to quickly snap or pop the rod tip up to move the lure in the water column vertically. It would help if you tried either jigging straight up and down while you drift while learning how to jig or throwing the lure out and jigging it horizontally back towards you while reeling. These jig fishing techniques build the look of a wounded baitfish that a game fish would like to bite.
All sizes, shapes, and colors come with jig rigs, allowing one to learn how to jig with or without live fishing bait. Many spoons are intended for jigging, fluttering as they fall, and tempting a fish. For jig fishing, soft plastic worms are often common as lead-headed hooks, and feather combo jigs called bucktails are painted.
Tip: When you learn how to jig, note that you’ll need to reel in slowly if you’re throwing a jig out and retrieving while jigging to hold the jig near the bottom. Here are some easy steps if you are learning how to jig:
- Cast out and sink to the bottom of your jig hook and count for a few seconds or wait until you feel the spoon touch the bottom.
- Snap or pop a short distance to easily tip your wrist and rod up and let the lure fall to the bottom.
- Up and down, side by side, or up and down and sideways, you can jig.
- In the case of a strike and repeat, reel down a little bit to secure the line.
Techniques For Saltwater Jigging
Some of the most flexible lures are jigging lures or jigs, in that they can be used in just about any location you find fish. Jigs come in all sizes, colors, types, and weights and can be fished so that they resemble baitfish in several different ways. The bucktail jig and the vertical jig are possibly the two most common jigs. It’s essential to learn the difference between the two, depending on the species you want to catch, so that you can understand, for example, the best jig for bass fishing.
Usually, a bucktail jig consists of a lead head, which can be several various shapes and sizes, shaped onto a hook, and attached to the bottom of the jig head with hair-like material. Since many bucktail jigs are made using hair from a deer, this hair-like material is where the word ‘bucktail’ comes from. The jighead and bucktail hair come in several different colors. It is possible to fish these bucktail jigs on their own, or they can be rigged with a rubber worm, live shrimp, or other natural baits like fish strips.
A vertical jig, or speed jig usually comes from a long and slender piece of lead or metal that mimics an injured baitfish by cutting through the water. Vertical jigs will have a split ring connected to one or more hanging hooks attached to the jig’s top or bottom. Vertical jigs range from 1/8 oz to 14 oz and are often referred to as “butterfly jigs.” To understand how to fish with jigs, by continuously raising and lowering the rod tip, the angler must jig the lure up and down repeatedly.
When learning how to jig for saltwater fishing, one useful technique is to drop the jig down to the bottom and twitch the rod tip erratically with a speedy recovery before the jig comes to the surface and repeats. No matter which type of jig you are using, it is essential to know how to set up a jig. That means matching each jig’s weight to the depth you are fishing at. To reach the bottom, deeper water would require heavier jigs. When selecting your jig weight, it is also essential to consider the tides and current.
Freshwater Jigging
Jigging can be a very effective freshwater fishing technique that uses light gear, but it takes a learning period before you reap the benefits. From a stationary or drifting ship, jigging is achieved. The basic idea is to position your boat directly into the zone where fish are assembled over a good trout location and lower lures or flies. As it is possible to target all water depths, jigging can be effective at any time of the year.
Standard Jigging Rig
It is necessary to have a lightweight jig rod and jig reel, or for beginners, jigging combos already made up are perfect. The reels are spoiled already, and the swivels are ready to go. Many people prefer braided lines for jigging because it does not stretch like nylon. The angler has a more optimistic ‘feeling.’ It is already possible to buy full jig rigs made up and only clip them on your swivel, or you can tie your own like this diagram.
When jigging, the depth where the trout is is closely targeted. It is a must to locate fish by using a depth sounder. Before even dropping their lines, many anglers spend a lot of time finding a spot. It will help target fish easily by marking your line with depths or by using a color-coded braid. Alternatively, position your boat so that it drifts over a drop-off or a sloping lake bed, then begin to jig and hold your sinker in contact with the bottom of the lake as you glide up and down the lake bed slope.
This type of jigging is incredibly useful in lakes with a sandy or muddy bottom free from weeds and snags. There is no need for your ‘jigging motion’ to be too pronounced. All that is needed is a small and gentle movement of the rod tip-just enough to hold your sinker in touch with the lake bed, or your flies moving gently at the targeted depth.
The 6 Types Of Jigs And When To Use Them
For each of the big jig presentations, we’ve put together the following overview of the ideal jig form to help you narrow it down. Look no further if you are searching for the right jig for your circumstances.
1.Swim Jig Fishing
Swim Jig Fishing is just what it sounds like, one of the hottest techniques on the pro tours, winding a jig through the column of water, much like a spinnerbait or lipless crank. The ideal swim jig ranges from 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 ounce, has a lighter weed guard, and slithers around and through the cover with a bullet-shaped head. Since swim jigs shift when the bass bites, they don’t need almost as massive a hook-for full penetration, you want something sharp and narrow. Grubs, paddle tails, or other plastics with plenty of action provide perfect swim jig trailers.
2.Casting Jig Fishing
To stand up from the bottom, perfect casting jigs should be ⅜ to 1⁄2 ounce and feature a round, Arkie type, or flat-bottom head. They should also have a regular medium-strength weed guard or cable. The ideal multi-purpose jigs are casting jigs, which can be fished with or without a rattle. Craws, creatures, and grubs have perfect casting jig trailers.
3.Flipping Jig Fishing
To go through the heaviest wood or brush and come out unscathed, flipping jigs are made. It should be ⅜ to 1 ounce for flipping jigs and have a stout, heavy-gauge hook. Anything lightweight, ideally with a recessed line attachment, should be the perfect head shape. The weed guard should also be a little firmer than other jig forms on a flipping jig since it has to keep the jig from hanging up. Rattles are also a significant advantage when flipping a jig, and an incorporated rattle is used on the best models. Chunks crawl, and monsters are the best flipping jig trailers.
4.Grass Jig Fishing
Grass will foul up much of any show, and some jigs excel at fishing for the green stuff. Grass jigs come in sizes from 1⁄4 ounce up to 1 1⁄2 ounce and have a conical head near the top with a line tie almost always. It enables them, without gathering grass, to properly penetrate the grass. Grass jigs are also fished on heavy tackle, so a stout heavy wire hook should also be required for them. Grass jig trailers should be lightweight and not have plenty of appendages on the grass to snag.
5.Football Jig Fishing
A football jigs pigskin-shaped head, intended to drag over rocky bottoms, enables it to roll over rock and debris without dropping into the cracks. The ideal head weight varies from 3/8 to 1 ounce for football jigs, and they should have a fuller skirt and a sharp wide gap hook. On football jigs, weed guards are standard, but many anglers often remove or trim them when fishing for looser cover to ensure better hookups. The best trailers are skirted grubs, twin-tailed grubs, craws, and full-size creature baits for football jigs.
6.Finesse Jig Fishing
In areas with smaller fish, intense angler strain, and cold water, finesse jigs excel. They are usually 3/16 to 1⁄4 ounces and come with finesse skirts or spider cut skirts and a soft wire hook finesse. They should have ball-shaped or compact heads, and when combined with a little craw or creature bait, they can be lethal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jig head fishing makes you a versatile angler as it helps you hunt deep waters for different types of fish. With live bait, you can tip it or team the jig head with plastic to capture some fish. This form of bait is undoubtedly one of the most flexible fishing methods known to numerous anglers. One of the most valuable skills you can learn for those who have just started fishing is jighead fishing techniques. On your next adventure, learn about the basics as we discuss how you can start practicing this technique.
What do jig heads catch?
It is possible to fish shallow jig heads and catch various fish species. You can tip it with live bait or mix with plastic to capture almost any swimming fish. You may make the argument that it is one of the most flexible distribution systems known to fishers by looking at the jig head.
Do you use a bobber with a jig?
For several different situations, bobber jigging is a quick but successful presentation. A basic bobber attached to the line above your jig is the bobber jig setup. A slip bobber or a stationary bobber connected to the line may be the bobber. You can also use bobber jig in deep water or crappie in shallow water.
Can you jig fish from shore?
Using a jig is one of the easiest and most effective ways to strike fish from the shore. We may present a wide range of both live and artificial baits from any portion of the water column by selecting jigs of various weights. To work the mid-range depths, pick a heavier jig or to bounce a lure along the rim.