Probably a dumb jig question.

[Durango]

I'm not a bass fishing expert like many of you. About all I know how to do well is drop-shot roboworms. From 230 to 730 Wednesday afternoon, I landed 43 bass, 20 of them not larger than a banana. I must have tied 15 palomar knots, often losing my hook and worm to an underwater tree or bush. And about every third cast I would have to remove the moss from my hook and line. I have been fishing like this here at Barrett for nearly three decades, so I am used to the aggravation. But I always catch a bunch of fish with this method.

I have read a lot about you guys who use jigs. And I am curious. Do you get hung up a lot, and don't your jigs find a lot of moss? I want to learn how to use jigs, but I fear they may me more aggravating than drop-shotting.

And another thing, I use 6-pound test . Would I need a heavier line for jigging?

Well, one more thing. Does anyone know why the bass are so thin?

[Shawnster]

Grabbing my popcorn.

[Ryan2421]

I used 12lb floro and it held up just fine. Green pumpkin jigs with any matching craw trailer worked well for me.

My first trip to Barrett this season I was able to land almost 50 on the same jig. This last trip I lost 4 or 5 jigs. I usually buy the strike king bitsy bug that's around $3 retail so it doesn't hurt too bad if I lose multiple ones. You'll get a little bit off moss but I use the 1/8oz or 3/16oz so it falls slowly and it doesn't collect too much gunk.

At Barrett in particular, focus on rock piles and dead sticking the jigs worked best. Cast towards rock piles, let it fall slowly. Reel in slow and give it a couple light rod twitches. Wait for the *tick* or if your line swims in a different direction, reel down and set the hook. Sometimes they hit the jigs hard too. Jigs tend to land beefier bass for me.

Hope this helps.

Bass are probably thinner because they're most likely spawned out.

[Gotfish?]

If you fish a jig on the bottom, you are going to get even more moss than the dropshot. You say you are using a lot of rigs, you should fish weedless drop shot using either an offset hook or a fiber guard hook made for drop shot. I use a split shot for a sinker or a walking sinker, those catch less moss than a clip on dropshot sinker. I am usually using braid so I use a swivel to fluorocarbon to eliminate line twist plus it catches moss above the dropshot bait. 1'-2' spacing between the bait and swivel seems to work well enough. I haven't found a soft plastic that won't work on a dropshot.

Weedless Ned rig is also very good, fish similar to a jig.
The bigger fish will be in the more attractive spots, especially underwater rock structure.

Thin bass means too many bass for the forage base, especially if the head is big compared to the body. Probably means a really good bass spawn last year and it is over populated this year. It will correct itself in a year or so. On the positive side, thin bass are hungry.

[Early release]

I'm learning how to use jigs also. This year I have dedicated to using lures I don't normally use, and learning them. I have been fishing a couple styles of jigs this season and at Barrett. I lose a lot of jigs when I am fishing them with an exposed hook. They seem to actively seek underwater tree branches. In a little over an hour in one spot I think I lost 6 jigs. But, when I am using the bitsy bug Ryan mentioned, my losses are few. I have noticed how you fish it makes a difference too. If you bounce your jig a lot, it seems to me, you find issues more. If you lift and drag, you do two things, you never have slack line, and you snag much less. Or maybe that's me. Ryan also has a good suggestion in using the lighter 1/8 or 3/16 ounce jig, it does seem to float over the gunk a little better, when you have a trailer.

On the skinny part, it seems to me most of the bass are thin from the spawn, I'd agree with Gotfish? that it was a good spawn last year, and there's not schools of shad showing like a few years back, so that may be a factor also. What looks promising is there is also a good bluegill spawn this year, so I'd expect bluegills are on the dinner menu, which may make for a lot of swimbait/crankbait fun. I did have a mix of skinny fish and footballs my last trip out, so I'm hoping it's not forage issues, but post spawn making them skinny.

[DarkShadow]

They make jigs in all shapes and sizes. Some seem to do better in certain structure than others.

Some head shapes slide better through certain grass than others. If you're getting 'snot grass,' I don't think I've found anything that slides through that.

Football jig - Better for rocks, and deeper water. Seems to get hung up on sticks and soft structure.

Casting jig- - Better all around, personally. Works great in all sorts of structure, and it seems to keep out of the cover better than the football jig.

Flipping jig - Tend to be bulkier and head is more cone shaped, so that it can punch and flip through the nasty stuff.

Swim jig - Tends to work a lot better in grass. I notice a lot of fisherman seem to 'rip' the jig whenever they feel they've picked up grass.

I'll throw anything from 8 to 14 pound test FC (Shooter, Mastiff) with jigs, unless I'm throwing a flipping jig, which I throw straight braid. Weights vary from 1/8th to 2 ounces. The lighter the jig, the less it tends to get hung up.

Your weed guard plays a big role in 2 things:

1. If you're getting stuck or not stuck
2. Your hook up ratio

I've found there is a "Goldilocks" happy medium when it comes to a weed guard. You have thin, or too few fibers, and you'll get stuck a lot. You have thick or too many fibers, and your hook up ratio is gonna suck. You have to make sure you know when to trim or not.

For the most part, I only use tungsten jigs, unless I'm at Barrett and I get away with a Bass Patrol.

Tungsten provides various benefits, and the hardness of the alloy being the main one. You throw a lead jig at 40 feet and all you feel is mush. You throw a tungsten jig, and you can feel every contour, and more important, the subtle bites that you may get at that depth. Plus, the size of the tungsten makes the jig heavier, but with a smaller profile. Keitechs, and other JDM companies make some pretty effective tungsten jigs.

Usually I let the fish dictate my retrieve. As a general rule, the hotter the water temp, the faster/more erratic the retrieve. During the height of winter, a retrieve can last several minutes, as I barely drag that thing. I think the more erratic you work your jig, the higher the chances of being hung up and picking up vegetation. If you do a shake and shimmy, it tends to pick up less gunk.

Last year during April, my first 2 fish (a 4.5 and a 5) came back to back on a 1/4 ounce Keitech jig in green pumpkin, blue fleck, with a Deps Spiny Craw trailer. But, you can find me throwing some pretty random stuff most of the time.

Good luck with the jig learning. It can be a bit frustrating, but places like Barrett are the types of places where you can gain confidence on baits you dont' have confidence with.

[MistrRocko]

I just drag jigs while keeping contact with the bait. Jigs are like rocks and I don't expect fish to hold them long so I want to know as soon as I'm bit.

If you're in a boat, you can usually get your jig back when you get stuck in rocks. You can often break vegetation with your line. You will lose significantly fewer jigs than dropshot or any other open hook rig. I fish 20lb and there's no reason to go lighter. 25lb is fine, so is straight braid in vegetation/brush. Bass can't see fluorocarbon enough for heavier line to matter. You fish jigs at Barrett around thick and sometimes unknown structure. You need to be able to rub against rocks and break through sticks.

For bottom contact jigs, I use 1/2 and 3/4oz only. I fish them deeper and slower than most so I want to be connected to the bottom even in strong wind.

You only "need" 2 types of bottom contact jigs at Barrett.

1. Football jigs for rocky areas. The broad head makes it harder to get wedged in rocks.

2. Swimjigs. Not a bottom contact jig but there's no reason to buy a "casting jig" when you can just buy a swimjig and let it sit on the bottom and then also have a swimjig.

If you're in an area where you get covered with the algae constantly, you shouldn't be fishing a jig on the bottom.

fwiw all that said I think jigs are mostly an antiquated way to fish and a texas rig is generally better as it's easier to customize the size, weight and appearance of your presentation. Texas rig is also more weedless and has a better hookup ratio which is why I'd ignore flipping/punching style jigs entirely. At least football jigs offer some advantage in rocks.

And since the majority of Barrett fish are super healthy, I'd guess those super skinny fish are like that because they have an issue that causes them to be unable to digest the food and process the calories they consume. Maybe because they are filled with plastic worms they can't pass, maybe because they are older than their length suggests and they are dying of natural causes, maybe because of some disease. Or one of many, many other reasons since I am definitely not a fishologist.

[Sdbassangler]

I personally like the Berkley football jigs in 3/8 w/ 20lb Fluorocarbon Leader or 25lb . Holds up great in any cover. I only lost 1 jig @ Barrett and was because drag was to tight on a big fish , and swam under the boat. Weed guard on The strike Bitsy Bug is ok but weed guard doesnt hold up as good with cover. Moss is just part of the game.

[Durango]

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm going to buy some jigs and learn how to use them. I appreciate the effort you guys spent coaching me!

[Radar135]

Lite, lite, lite jig you don't want it to sink in the moss...just land on top of moss and work it real slow or dead stop.

[Pourboy]

I love fishing jigs. I think that everyone knows that. The jig type and style can vary greatly and can be intimidating to get into. All of the info above is great information. I know that the line size that people speak of above also varies greatly but you can find something that works for you. I almost always use 10-12lb flouro for my jigs unless I am flipping into heavy cover. That being said to avoid the moss I use the brail method. After a while you can feel what the bottom is made of and concentrate where there are areas of less gook. The one thing that was not added above is the trailer type (which also varies greatly) but by having a lighter jig with a trailer that adds surface area it will slow the fall and penetration even further. I really like that slow fall presentation unless the wind is up or I am fishing super deep. Trial and error are a great thing. Start with less expensive jigs (you can find some good ones on Alibaba also for cheap) and find out if it is something you like. I hope this helps!