Quote Originally Posted by tader View Post
Inkdabber thanks for all the help. just one more question, do you just repeatedly throw past the structure you are fishing and let the jig fall and then do it all over or do you cast let it fall and the work the jig around the structure. also i see some say they just let the jig sit and some say they just bump it every now and then just curious on how you fish yours. thanks again
tader
Start out like you are talking about, flip the jig out away from the brush and let it free fall back down, this will usually catch the same fish that you would catch casting. When you catch them like this they are usually sitting on top of the brush, like Ink said they maybe just a few feet up under the water even if you are fishing deep water. My next step would be fish the jig straight down, 3-4 foot above the top of the brush pile. From here I would just keep working your way down into the brush. The depth you catch your fish at depends on where the fish are located. It's always a good idea to start at the top and work your way down until you figure out the depth the fish seem to be holding at. I think it's easier to get the fish to come up for the bait than go down for it. Never rule out dropping your jig all the way down to the bottom, either. A favorite trick of mine is to let the jig to the bottom and just start easing my rod tip up as slowly as possible. If you feel it good you can tell the difference between a bite and brush. If you think it's brush just let the jig fall back down and sometimes you can avoid getting hung.

Usually I catch more fish with the jig sitting still and not moving it much at all, but with jigging you can never rule out anything. But I do remember one summer where the only way you could catch a fish was to constantly jig it up and down for some reason. Usually it is one little detail that is the difference in getting the fish to bite on that day. It may be a foot or two difference in the depth you are fishing or the depth of the brush. Could be the location of the brush or alot of other things. My point to saying this is pay attention to the little stuff and keep trying stuff until you catch something.