What Is A Jig For Fishing? How To Jig?

What Is A Jig For Fishing How To Jig

What is a jig for fishing? Jig fishing also referred to as “jigging,” has a straightforward premise. In essence, it involves jerking an artificial lure up and down to mimic a struggling bait fish. Jig fishing isn’t the simplest method out there, despite this, it’s fair to say. First off, there are many different ways to jig, including vertical, micro, slow pitched, fast, and so on. 

What Is Jig Casting?

Jigging is a type of lure fishing that is best suited for catching large freshwater fish like bass because it makes use of specific motions to mimic an injured baitfish’s erratic swimming style. 

A lead sinker and hook are combined to form a jig. A soft body that mimics the color and appearance of baitfish is frequently used to cover the jig. A jig attracts predatory fish by moving vertically through the water with quick jerks, in contrast, to spinnerbaits, which move horizontally.  

Slow Pitched Vs. High-Speed Jigging

Generally speaking, there are two types of jig fishing: slow-pitched jigging and high-speed jigging. There are many other names for high-speed jigging, but the terms “high pitch” or “vertical jig fishing” are most frequently used.

It entails making quick up-and-down motions to mimic a wounded bait fish trying to flee an aggressor. Due to its success in catching tough-fighting fish that hide farther from shore, it is particularly well-liked by saltwater anglers.

The next type of music is slow-pitched jigging. Although it doesn’t have the same exciting sound as high-pitched jigging, it can still be just as effective! The element of frantic movement is eliminated by this method. Instead, it’s employed to simulate an injured bait fish that can’t move quickly. This method uses a pitch-and-retrieve movement rather than an up-and-down motion. Anglers who want to catch large, sluggish bottom dwellers looking for an easy meal find it to be particularly popular!

In general, the kind of jigging you use will depend a lot on the fishery you’ll be investigating and the fish you’ll be aiming for. Jigging is an effective method for catching a variety of fish in fresh, salt, and brackish waters. Even though it is possible to jig in shallow waters, you will typically use this technique in deeper waters.

It also goes without saying that this is an active fishing method. You must be in motion as you snap and pop your jig up and down. Because of this, it can be exhausting work, but the potential rewards make it worthwhile!

What Kind Of Fish Can I Catch When Jigging?

Jig fishing can be used to catch a wide range of species because it is so adaptable. There are a huge variety of fish you can target when jigging in saltwater, depending on where you are fishing.

If you decide to try slow pitch jigging, you’ll usually be pursuing large bottom-dwelling fish, such as a wide variety of Grouper species and Snapper. Tuna, Cobia, Amberjack, and Mackerel are popular targets near reefs and wrecks.

They’re not the only saltwater fish you can target with this technique, though. Jigging has a special quality that allows you to target a huge variety of fish because it is so adaptable. You can pursue well-known big game species like Mahi Mahi, Sailfish, and Wahoo. You can even go after species that stay nearer the shore, like redfish and speckled trout. There are countless opportunities available!

Your primary freshwater jigging targets will probably be different species of bass, along with crappie, salmon, various trout, and bluegill. Another well-liked wintertime technique is to jig through openings carved into iced-over waterways, particularly if you’re after walleye.

Essential Jig Fishing Techniques

To land a fish, you must use more skilled jigging techniques and some jigs are better suited for certain prey than others. The top three jigs and effective techniques for using them to land trophy fish are listed below.

Tied Dressing Jigs

Dressed jigs can be used for the majority of species, including the following, depending on their size: panfish, crappies, bass, stripers, northern pike, walleyes, and lake trout. They form a body by tying the dressing material to the jig collar. bucktail hair, marabou, mylar, and tinsel which provide a mimicking life-like action in the water of minnows and other aquatic life. Jigs that have been dressed retain fish scent well and can be tipped with live bait to increase their attractiveness.

What Is A Jig For Fishing How To Jig
What Is A Jig For Fishing? How To Jig?

Soft Plastic Dressed Jigs

An angler can choose from a huge variety of soft plastic jig body colors, scents, shapes, and types when fishing with them: grubs, reapers, worms, tubes, lizards, crawfish, leeches, and minnow bodies. The curly tail grub is by far the most popular lure when using a jig and plastic lure. If you use a split-tailed grub or tube and hop along the bottom with short snaps, it will imitate a crawfish. This presentation will work for any freshwater game fish. Jigs with a reaper flat tail at the tip will resemble a leech swimming through the water. When being retrieved, the subtle motion of a paddle tail on minnow bodies imitates a baitfish. To make the soft plastic bait feel more natural when the fish strikes, a lot of new soft plastic baits have recently evolved by incorporating the jig head into the body of the bait. With the introduction of these new soft plastic baits, lifelike patterns, and holographic colors, baitfish now have a more convincing appearance and flash.

Live Bait Jigs

Using live bait jigged slowly can be deadly at certain times of the year, especially when the water is colder and the fish’s metabolic rate decreases, making them less willing to pursue faster-moving lures. When using live bait, the rigging methods are straightforward: always hook minnows, worms, and leeches through the head or snout.

Jigs made for live bait don’t need a collar hook to hold soft plastics, and some examples are: Round head, swimming, wobbling, propeller, floating on its own, and weedless. When using live minnows, a short shank round and floating head is preferred. Stinger hook attachment is an option for short striking fish. Spinner blades mounted underneath the head of a live bait jig are an additional option for adding vibration and flash.

Floating Jigs

As implied by the jig’s name, they float. Both types of floating jigs—hard bodied and soft bodied—require the use of weights or rigging, such as: sliding sinker, bottom bouncer or simple split shot rig. When presenting live bait just off the bottom of lakes and rivers, floating jigs are a great option.

Weedless Jigs

When using live bait in cover, weedless jigs are a great option because the guard stops the bait from getting tangled in weeds and other vegetation. The hook guard is anchored in the head of the jig and is made of trimmable plastic bristles, wire, or a plastic V shape. It faces up toward and covers the hook point and enables the jig to pass over and through underwater obstructions.

Basics On How To Jib

Jigging is one of the most active fishing techniques; to move the lure vertically in the water column, you must quickly snap or pop the rod tip up. Jigging straight up and down while drifting is an option when learning how to jig. You can also cast your lure out and jig it back in your direction while reeling. By using these jig fishing techniques, you can make a baitfish look injured and entice game fish to bite it.

Jig rigs are available in a variety of sizes, forms, and hues, making it possible to learn how to jig using live or dead fishing bait. Numerous spoons are made for jigging; they flutter as they fall, luring fish. Along with painted lead-headed hook and feather combo jigs known as buck tails, soft plastic worms are another tool used in jig fishing.

Remember to reel in slowly to keep the jig near the bottom as you learn how to jig if you are casting a jig out and retrieving while jigging.

How To Jig In Easy Steps

These straightforward steps can help you learn how to jig:

  1. Cast out, let your jig hook hit the bottom, and either count a few seconds or wait until you feel the spoon touch the bottom before you begin to count.
  2. Let the lure descend back to the bottom after quickly snapping or popping your wrist and rod tip up.
  3. You can jig sideways, up and down, or up and down and sideways.
  4. Repeat after slightly reeling in to maintain a tight line in case of a strike.

Conclusion

Hooks attached to artificial lures are used to entice and catch fish in the centuries-old fishing technique known as jigging. The lures are fashioned to resemble the tiny fish that the intended prey species would typically consume. They are typically operated in a rhythmic up-and-down motion to mimic the movement of small fish, but frequently, especially if the fish are feeding well, the simple motion of lowering the jig to the necessary depth is sufficient to entice the fish to take the jig and be caught.