I am new to using Jigs and Plastics on the open water.......Any tips on how to setup your pole and tie jigs on would be helpful.
I've used them ice fishing and just use a swivel to make it easy to swap them out. Do I do the same thing on the open water or do I tie them directly to the line?
I target mostly trout but am open to catching anything that'll bite!
Thank you in advance for the advice and tips!
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TD will show up with his 50 page jig write up soon, I bet, but I tie to the line because jigs wiggle at the tail so no line twist.
Basic curly tail jig is just a cast and retrieve thing. But you can retrieve fast or slow, smooth or jerky, reel and drop, etc. I use plastics more than any lure because they are cheap and so versatile.
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[#0000FF]Here ya go. I'm in the process of doing a rewrite and adding pics but there should be something useful.
Also attaching something on tandem rigs.
Put in the time...practicing and learning. Soon you will be fishing some kind of jigs the majority of the time.
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4 lb line. Tie straight to the jig. That is what works for me. I fish jigs 99.9% of the time
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TubeDude, you're the man. I'm printing your write ups as I type this message.
I've been jig fishing/soft plastics most of my life and it's always nice to have different ideas and thoughts on presentations, types, etc.
I was curious about tandem set ups; looks like i'll have some reading material while it rains all weekend.
Thanks for sharing!
Russ-T
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Thank you everyone for your help!
Keep it coming if you have anything to add! going to give the open water a shot with some jigs next week and can't wait to try.
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Tube dude is the man for sure on jigs, rumor has it he'll even sell you some....I'm primarily a fly fisher, but TD is right, you cant beat jigs much of the time. My 2 cents:
for small mouth bass, I think the best thing going is 3" tube jigs on a carolina rig. When the fish take, its important to drop the rod tip and let them have it for a bit, before setting the hook; if you set up too quick, you'll miss most of the time. They'll usually pick up the bait and run a little ways away, sometimes you can even get a little tug of war going.... I really like dark greens and browns for this, but experimenting is cool too. I like to cast out from shore and bounce these in, seems to work better than casting to shore and reeling out.
for trout, particularly bear lake cutts, again, the big tube jigs work very well, albeit with some different retrieves. Also for trout, black marabou lead jigs bounced on the bottom; perfect for imitating leeches and have caught some large fish doing this.
for walleye, you cant beat the 3" curly tails, swum slowly along the bottom and in the rocks.
lastly - for panfish, particularly crappies, I like a tandem rig under a bobber and small - 1.5" max, and tipped with worm or stinky stuff. Been doing well lately in some of the UL harbors, until about 3 days ago when the cold front came in. Water temps yesterday about 60F in provo harbor, was about 63-64 last week.
good luck!, Jigs are great as others have said on this thread and cheap to boot
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If we don't start keeping it hush-hush about how well jigs catch fish the secret will get out and everyone will be catching them. Is this what we want TD?
Well of course it is.[
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I don't post much but I would like to give tube dude another thanks for what he does. I will post more if an when I can get out.
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[quote brookieguy1]If we don't start keeping it hush-hush about how well jigs catch fish the secret will get out and everyone will be catching them. Is this what we want TD?
Well of course it is.[
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You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him catch fish...or something like that. You, of all people, should know that merely tieing on a specific lure is not a guarantee of success. Jigs (generically speaking) are potentially great for almost all species on almost all waters. But it takes a lifetime to learn and fine tune the subtleties of size, color selection, depth, retrieve and other presentation factors. And therein lies much of the enjoyment of jig fishing.
A good fisherman can catch fish on the "wrong" lure but a bad fisherman often catches nothing even on the "right" lure.
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Wow is all I can say! TD, great article. I started reading it last night and finished this morning. I think that info could be organized into a pretty good book. Have you been published?
I have a couple of questions, if you dont mind. What type of paints to you use, and what is your opinion on whether or not paints and/or markers can create a scent that is unfamiliar to fish? I'm quite certain that certain human scents such as tobacco, gasoline, or food residue can be discerned by fish and can have a negative effect on results....so, do you have some kind of neutralizer such as scents of some kind or have you found it to not be a problem? Along the same lines and somewhat related, you mentioned pieces of crawler or fish scents from time to time; is this more the exception or the rule for you?
Again, my kudos to you, your information is generous, informative, and entertaining. Well played sir!
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I know you've been at this for a "little" while. I'm sure along the way you've tried your hand at pouring your own plastics, yet you seem to have taken the practice of pouring your specialized leads, twisting your spinners and such, but picking up your tubes and grubs commercially.
Just curious why? I'd expect a lead setup is more costly than plastic pouring. And there's certainly plenty of custom to plastics, considering color, combos, flecks and flavors. But perhaps there's such a preponderance on the market, it's just not worth the time.
If I only had more time to fish, I might actually get a chance to TRY all the offerings I collect and create.
[#0000FF]Thanks for the kindly comments. Glad to help. Yes, I have articles and CD books in publication. But a lot of what I produce is strictly intended to provide help for those who request it. Just paying it forward in appreciation for the help I have been given over the years.
I am attaching another one of my "writeups"...on painting jig heads. Since all of my goodies are hand painted...no dipping or spraying...I prefer the vinyl jig paints. I have tried the powder coating paints but do not like their tendency to chip and pop off the first time you ding them on the rocks or wood. The vinyl holds up much better.
I finish all my paint jobs with a coat of 2-part epoxy. That adds additional gloss and translucency. Plus it adds toughness for chip resistance. It also is protection against contact with plastics, which have solvents that dissolve some paints. The final benefit of an epoxy finish is that it masks any residual odors of the vinyl paints and their potent solvents and thinners.
There are a lot of "scents" that are turn-offs to fish. Not the least of which is human scent...L-serine. Some folks put out more than others. But gasoline, sun screens and other unnatural odors can be real downers. I don't use a lot of attractants. Crawdad and shad are about the only ones I carry.
I generally do tip my jigs with crawler or perch meat. Sometimes white bass where legal. I strongly believe in first appealing to the vision of the fish. Then bringing them in with motion and vibration and sealing the deal with scent. Of course, when fish are in an active feeding mode...especially when in a school of other fish...they often bite first and sort out the edibility later.
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I'm going to have to test what TD said about going with smaller and lighter jigs on some trout at some of the local community ponds. I've almost finished reading the 57 pages although I skipped the sections on bass. Thanks TubeDude for a very interesting read this weekend cause the weather has not been too great for my outdoor activities.
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[#0000FF]You're quite welcome. Glad to make your forced confinement more endurable.
Y'know, there is a whole group of serious anglers in California that specialize in fishing small jigs for big trout. Quite a few lakes and ponds over there that grow BIG trout. And the specialists have discovered that bitty bites often work better than big facefuls. The longer that hatchery pets live a natural life in wild waters the more they key in on "regular" foods...like bugs and small minnows. You can still catch them on big lures at times but when they get finicky you will usually do better with the little stuff. Plenty of jiglets that appeal to those fussy fishies.
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Well, while we're on the jig endorsement bandwagon, I'll add that while jigging for walleye today, I actually caught 2 good sized 16" or so trout, one rainbow, one brown. Though they weren't the quarry I was pursuing, they provided some good action on an otherwise slow day. Both fish took a 3" pearl curly tail jig on a red head with black eyeball.
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[#0000FF]Not sure where you are fishing but whenever you are using jigs there are no guarantees as to species or size. Lost count a long time ago of "volunteers" (besides the targeted species) that smacked the jigs I was fishing for something else. In fact, I catch more walleyes while fishing jigs for other species than when I am targeting walleyes.
At Starvation Reservoir it is not uncommon to catch 4 or 5 species on successive casts...on the same jig...in the same spot. That must mean something. I'll have to codgertate on it a while.
I keep hearing voices in my head...something about a box of choclits.
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So if I fish for perch, maybe the walleye will show up?
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[#0000FF]It happens a lot...but mostly in lakes where there are both perch and walleye. They are close relatives and usually feed on the same things in the same lake...like baby perch. So if one species is in the area feeding there is a good possibility that the other is also.
There have been a lot of days on Deer Creek and Starvation when I see fish on the bottom and drop my jigs down to them. Then I catch a mix of perch and walleye in the same area on the same jigs. But the silly trout often wanna play too...and the smallmouth. Gets so ya cain't even take a break sometimes without some dumb fish pesterin' ya. (Good problem to have)
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[quote Trout_lover]So if I fish for perch, maybe the walleye will show up?[/quote]
I've tried that..for browns and walleyes..Didn't work out for me. The problem is, you have to find the perch first. [:p]
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