Any tips or techniques for swimming a soft plastic minnow on like a 1/16 oz jig head? Colors to use and movements would be a great help as well.
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Any tips or techniques for swimming a soft plastic minnow on like a 1/16 oz jig head? Colors to use and movements would be a great help as well.
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To start with, just cast it out and let it hit the bottom. Make note of the count down before it hits bottom. Use any count down method you want, as long as it's consistent with each cast.
Then start a slow retrieve back. No movements. Straight & steady. After using this technique in a fan casting fashion, shorten the count down by a couple of notches and repeat. Shallow up your depth, as you continue with the fan casting approach to the area.
Rarely do I impart any action to a jig & plastic combo when casting. You can also speed up your retrieve a bit, but be consistent in covering an area. Fishing is a process of elimination and recall. Fishing the water column from top to bottom and fan casting the area before you leave a spot. You just never know what's going to "turn the key" on them at any given time.
This approach works well for me. :)
Very helpful. Thanks a lot for the input
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Good info, thanks
I kinda do the same thing, but in reverse. I cast out and start retrieving, then on following casts allow the jig to go deeper (using the countdown method Crestliner mentioned).
Occasionally I will "pop" the rod tip slightly, but usually only after my partner has done so & caught a fish. :biggrin It has worked, on occasion, but a slow & constant retrieve works more often.
NOTE: I was told by a friend that fishes with the Livescope, that he's seen fish scatter away from a jig that is "jiggled" on its way towards or near a school of fish. He's also seen fish move around to the other side of a tree/brushpile when one is caught and dragged away from the cover. He's also seen, and so have I while fishing with him, fish come up to the jig and follow it a ways, then turn and go back to the cover without touching the jig ... sometimes doing the same thing on repeated casts. :Doh:
As to "colors" ... I usually use a two color plastic with heavily contrasting colors (dark color/light color) with the lighter color usually being chartreuse.
Use a real slow retrieve, when you think you are going slow, slow down some more. Most use a too fast of a retrieve and their bait rises as they reel it in. It's really important to maintain depth control of your bait once you have found the correct depth of the fish. Diffrent jig heads and diffrent jig body types each have their own speed of retrieve needed to maitain correct depth.
I let the jig hit bottom then holding the rod to the side with the rod tip close to the water slowly pull the jig with the rod. At the end of the pull let the jig fall, catch up your slack with the reel and pull again. At the start of the 2nd pull watch for the rod tip to load up. Most of the hits come after the 1st pull as the jig is falling. You have to watch the rod tip for the bite, you won't feel anything.
Kinda like working a Carolina rig?Quote:
Originally Posted by Oregon slabman
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I think he's talking about something like that, but not actually dragging the jig along the bottom (like a Carolina Rig), but just off the bottom.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisTownsend
If I did that I'd lose a jig about every other cast where I fish (and I use weedless jigheads). :Rofl
I hold my rod up at a 45deg angle, reeling slow enough that I'm constantly keeping a slight bow in the line. I watch that line and set the hook whenever I see it move/jump and I know I didn't cause it to do that. I'll also set the hook when the line suddenly goes slack and I know the jig cannot be on the bottom. My hooksets are not so much "hard" as they are "fast".
I've pretty much dialed in that my 40ft cast & slow retrieve will result in the jig reaching about 8ft deep at its lowest point in the retrieve. If I want it to go deeper I can slow the retrieve, pause the retrieve, or if in deep water I can count down a few seconds after the jig hits the water ... assuming that each second will allow the jig to drop about 1ft (more or less).
Good stuff. Thank you. I would lose a crowd of jig heads too lolQuote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
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Yes, you always have to adjust your style to the type of water and structure you're fishing. I fish an extremely steep sided canyon reservoir with 100% rock structure. No vegetation or brush. The only time the jig is on the bottom is usually on the initial drop. I do lose a few jigs, more if I don't pay attention.
Some very nice info here. Thanks.
Bob
Can y’all explain your cast technique??I hear everyone say they catch a lot of fish on the drop. I can’t figure how to keep enough slack out to set the hook on the drop. I know that’s a dumb question but just wondering how y’all do it.
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I rarely catch on the drop.
I cast out, let it fall on a slack line, then start the retrieve.
Same here. That’s why I was trying to figure out if I need to try something different. Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
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They may be saying "on the drop" but meaning "as the jig pendulums towards them" (on a closed bail & stationary rod) :donoQuote:
Originally Posted by Damion Kidd
Like DB4D, I've rarely caught any specie of fish when the jig is dropping straight down, at a distance or right under the rod tip. In fact, the only fish I ever remember catching (or having them bite) when the jig is dropping on slack line is a Green Sunfish :Rofl and them little critters will hit just about anything you throw that splashes down next to the bank they're on. And even they aren't going to very often be in water over a few feet deep.
There's another "possibility", too. They may be saying they're catching fish "on the drop" ... but actually meaning "on the dropOFF". A friend of mine always tells me he "caught his fish on the drop" at such and such a place on the lake ... but what he's really saying is he "caught his fish where the bottom drops from xft to xxft" (aka a dropoff or a channel edge).
What they mean, is when they move their rod tip up from a 10:00 position to a 12:00 position it makes the jig or plastic worm move upward and it starts to fall (drop) again, and that's what entices the fish to eat it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Damion Kidd
Ahhhh. Now I really feel stupid. lol. In just y to thought I might be missing some fish and didn’t even know it. Don’t want that. Lol. Thanks guys.
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Well, you can miss some fish, if you pop your jig up too hard, and not reel in the excessive slack, the fish can suck in the bait ,and spit it out without you knowing it.That's why they always say to "maintain contact" with the bait, by always reeling in any excessive slack, so you can feel when the fish takes the bait when it's falling.Quote:
Originally Posted by Damion Kidd
Just remember one thing. You cannot fish a jig wrong - period. It's all about trial & error and trial again. As far as "on the drop" goes, after my cast I watch the slack on the surface of the water as the jig decends. Any stopping of the slack, or twitch and "set the hook"! :)
Good stuff to remember! thanks guys!
On the drop takes some feel. Drop your rod and watch the line go slack. That means you are dropping your rod tip too fast. You need to drop your rod tip at the same speed the lure is falling. It takes practice, but, once you get it. you will understand, Then you can start reeling in slack line at the same time you are dropping the rod tip. Takes practice.
Right, you want to reel in just right amount of slack, so the jig falls naturally, and so you can feel when you get a bite.Quote:
Originally Posted by DonaAna1
Being a line watcher and using a sensitive rod will help you feel/see the thump . I catch may fish on the initial fall .:twocents
Very interesting read,I discovered the technique by accident ( notice I didn’t say I invented it ! ).I was fishing in a stump field and flooded standing timber,using a 12’ telescoping rod.I noticed that instead of dipping,I caught more if I pitched beyond the stump,and allowed the jig to swing / sink alongside the stump.I dip jigs at times,but allowing the jig to swing drop seems to work best for me.
Very nice tips in addition to previous pages.
Thanks!
Bob
I prefer to drop the jig on slack line, keeping a focused watch on the slack as it descends. Any hesitation, or stopping, before the jig touches down and you set the hook! Has worked very well for me. You need to be using a floating line though (braid or mono, not fluorocarbon) and of a color that you can easily see.Quote:
Originally Posted by DonaAna1
Great info good lessons
My recent experience showed me the importance of using a floating line. I was using (1/32 to 1/16) jig to fish with mono or braid line without issue to catch crappie as deep as 6 feet. However, I won’t be able to reach crappie 8 feet or lower with even 1/16 jig. Then I switched to 4 lb FC as mainline, but I totally messed up with my feeling of cast. Until recently, I switched back to braid with 1/8 jig and found feeling again even catching crappie as deep as 10 feet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crestliner08
I think the floating property of braid line really helped slow down the drop of jig and maintain depth during retrieving. This is quite different feeling from using FC line with which I had a hard time to maintain depth and entice the strike.
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I Second on 4 lb test mono line