guys i've been bass fishing since i was a lil kid and i've never had any luck with jigs....i've used nearly every brand jig there is with diferents types of trailers but can count on one hand how many bass i've caught off jigs...any help on how to catch bass with them would be appreciated...i usely fish them like i would a plastic worm

Fishing a jig like a worm is fine but to me they're a lot more effective flipping them in the thickest cover I can find. The most common problem I see folks doing is short hopping a jig along the bottom...pop the phucker up off the bottom a foot or more and let it settle back down. 99.9% of the bites are going to come on the fall. Also a lot of folks miss a bunch of fish because they don't even realize a bass has bit the jig and they pull it out of their mouth or the bass spits it out and they never knew the fish was there. You don't feel the tap like you do with a worm so watch the line.

You need to come up and fish with Riverrat and me one day.

I know a guy who makes jigs and probably could get one or two.

Some jigs are better than others. Some trailers are better than others.

But it ain't necessarily the jig or the trailer.

It's the location, the patience, being able to feel what's down there and tell the difference between a stick and a bite and a silty bottom and a hard bottom and that mushy feeling and then ripping the hook through the friggin' fish's brain.

Give me a cheap jig with a chunk or a $5 fancypants jig with a fancypants chunk ... either one pitched by a treetop, stump, nasty-ass wad of hydrilfoilpads or on a hard clay bottom will catch a fish.

Sounds like a lil' fishing trip is in order.

Have boat will travel!

I sure could use some of them TIGHTLINE JIGS that you can see at www.tightlinejigs.com I do advertise for him really well.

That ol' coot makes a purty good jig, IMO.

I'll be down your way Monday, or coming back from B'ham, if you want to toss a line in the water.

I like a jig too. I fish mine like a worm or swim it over the grass. I got different brands, but I have been using tightlines and choo choos lately. I can't find a good one that comes through the grass like I want it to, but I'm still experimenting. When the grass gets matted up, I intend on learning to pitch and flip one better. Summer has always been tough for me.

Rat,
You been using my jigs? I caught 2 this morning on one that I made..

Looks like Tightline really loves thier jigs!

They ain't heavy enough for the type fishing I'm doing now. But I will give them a try at a later date.

Next to a RiverRat custom jig You can't beat a tightline jig. Well worth the money.

After a beverage or ten and the production pot heats up the first run of the RiverRat 1 1/2 oz. Matbuster jig is about to be poured.

I think the TLJ man only goes to 1 1/4 on his jigs.

I have some 2-ounce I bought nine years ago in Florida. Big suckers. They look like a small plum.

Let me know how the Matsterbaiter Jig comes out

He calls them Stumpbreaker Jigs.

Hmmmmm...StumpBreaker jigs.........I like it!!

Just put the skirts on hope to try them out in a day or two.

How the hell do you get a skirt on a goat?

I aint sure if any of yall have tried these but they are the best I have ever used. I have there jigs and spinners and love them. HE has some of the best color combos I have found. I use the extreme bluegill and the fogy green and kill with them. Plus the owner of the site is a member of ultimatebass.com and will answer any question you have on the forum.

www.karulures.com

hey riverrat are these tightline jigs the Peanut Butter and Jealy jigs everyone on Smith Lake has been talkin bout?? if so i had no idea wat they were talkin bout but apparently it's a heck of a jig...do i have to buy them online or is there any place in walker county that sells them?? thanks appreciate it

Which one do you like: grass jig or wood jig? Don't look like there's much difference between the two.....

I like the wood jig for fishing wood and I like the grass jig for fishing grass. :rolleyes:

Really the grass jig has got a more streamline head.

gonna order me some of those tightline jigs they look sharp!

I like the BassStalker jigs too. They have a "wood" version and a "grass" version. I use their grass version 99% of the time because it's less prone to hang ups.

There doesn't appear to be too much difference b/t the two. So I figured the grass jig would be the go to.

The Woodthumper head is a smidge more squared off than the streamlined Grass Jig.

The Woodthumper is good for swimming w/ a Baby Paca Craw or Strike King Rage Tail. Or, so I've been told.

went to the blackwater creek this evenin behind the house and thought i try out the ole jig because the creek if anyones familiar with it is full of limbs logs, blown down trees big boulders you name....well i tied on a strike king premier pro model 3/8 oz tipped with a summer craw strike king rage tail craw....i fished from about 5 to dark and caught 3 spots around 1-3.5 lbs bein the biggest.....i'm kinda gettn the hang of it....can't wait til the tightline jigs arrive so i can try em out....got a couple in the mairdigra color and a couple in the PB&J color

I fish jigs most of the time, I usually have 3 jig rods ready to go, but I prefer plastics when it comes to wood cover, jigs will get hung. You really can't go wrong with jigs swim'em, hop'em, drag'em, stroke'em, flip'em, bass love 'em

got the tightline jigs in today tipped some with paca graws and other with yum craw papi...they're looking good. i like strike king and i thought i liked the premier pro model but the truth is i think for like sixty cents cheaper get the regular pro model jig..rattles don't fall off and they make more racket.both are good jigs though

does jig size really matter?? is there a time to use a 3/4 oz or heavier jig and is there a time that a jig as small as 1/4 oz is better to use??

Some guys want heavier jigs in summer to punch through vegetation and-or fall faster, eliciting a reaction strike from a bass that has a higher metabolism during the hotter months.

The converse is true in colder months.

I usually stick with a 3/8 or 1/2 ounce except in June through September. Then I'll go with a 1- or 1 1/4-ounce, or a 3/4 ounce football in open water around rocks or points.

I have been using the 1/2 and 3/8 oz jigs pretty much exclusively over the years. I bought some 1/4 oz tightlines with the grass head and that's what I've been pulling through the hydrilla with really good luck the last few days. The 1/4's come through the grass much better for me, so I plan to keep using them. Like Clem said though, if I'm flipping, I use the 3/4 and 1 oz so they fall through the grass better.

tightline jigs?? whats yal favorite colors to use..i got some of the PB&J and Mardigra ones

Black, black and blue, or green pumpkin. I have a pb&j and rusty craw color I have yet to use, but they are colored like a crawfish, so they should work.

ok i'm new to jig fishing and everything so this maybe a dumb question,but is swimmin a jig when you just reel it straight in? today i was fishing a PB&J tightline jig with a yum craw papi and i made a bad cast and i reeled it back to the boat and had about a 4# bass come up and roll on it.. Started throwing arounnd rocks and stuff and just slowly reeling it in and caught two doing this in about 15 minutes

Awesome, ain't it?

I've seen Greg Hackney retrieve them as fast as he can, just zip 'em back to the boat.

Some guys "chatter" them right under the surface with a real jittery retrieve. A lot of guys on the Coosa do this.

I try to keep it about 6-8 inches below the surface and use a steady retrieve with a little up-down motion, and just under the surface to create a wake.

Figure out how the bass want it.

We don't have to tell everything we know, Clem.

Yeah, but you gotta do it right to make it work.

Damn media...

Try one at the Coosa that is bright neon orange for best results. lol

Another tip, most of the time I like to trim my skirts even with the bottom of the hook. This gives the jig a tad smaller profile and makes the trailer stand out.

yeah i've primarly been jig fishing lately just to get the fill for it and most the ones i caught i've either barely felt them or just saw the line moving...the two i caught swimming the jig the bass bout jerked the rod out of my hand they hit it so hard those tightline jigs are pretty sweet..If i can catch a fish with one anyone can lol

what about the chatterbaits...do any of yal like them??looks like they would be good for swimming.... i have some but don't ever use them

bloodtrail's tip about trimming the skirt is right on, especially if you're swimming it and using a Baby Paca Craw, Yum Craw Papi or Berkley Chigger Craw.

Not trimming the skirt doesn't completely kill the action of the flappy claws but I believe it does hinder it. Trimming to the bend of the hook allows the claws to stick out and flap on the swim, and stand out a little more if you're working it on the bottom.

As for the blade-jig swimming lures like the Chatterbait, I prefer the Yum Boogie Bait or the Road Runner "Rockin' Runner" with a Zoom Fluke Jr. If they're hitting it good, though, I'm not sure it would matter what kind of trailer you put on it. The vibration of the blade is the main attractant and the trailer helps ... also try a 7-inch worm with a nice fat tail, like a Culprit or Zoom Dead Ringer.

Don't throw the Chatter-style bait and expect it to come through a treetop. Sucker hangs up pretty quickly. Open areas, edges of trees and brush, over emerging grass, parallel to vegetation.

Take some pliers. If they're hitting it good, they'll suck it into the back of their ugly throat.

Try it on Lay from Nov-Feb in the dead main lake grass. White 1/4oz jig with a white baby paca trailer. You won't catch many, but you'll catch the right ones.

We're giving away too many secrets.



A few years ago on Lay, a guy told me to make double-damn-certain to not pass up the patches of dead weeds that looked gross. Pitch a tube or worm in there and hang on, he said.

The year Larry Nixon finished well in the Classic on Lay, which I believe was 2003 when Jay won, he was using a frog around dead shoreline weeds. Said it was pretty much automatic to get at least one good bite from there.

Don't ever try to swim a white jig on Neely Henry. Just a waste of time.

Does anyone know where i could get a good helpful video on pitching and flippin jigs?? I don't want one that has a guy pulling in 10# bass every cast,but one that would actually teach me a lil bit about the technique

Best thing to do would be join a fishing club. I'm sure there's one in your area. Make sure you join one that is active in fishing either the TBF or Federation tournament trails.

what type of clubs would be good to join?? do you know of any in walker,fayette,jefferson,tuscaloosa county areas i could join.

Jasper bass club or Carbon hill bassmasters.

If you'll fuss at me some time I'll take you along and show you how I do it.
But if your gonna sit in the back of the boat and ask a gazillion questions like you do on here I'll have to pass.
Just kidding! I like a youngster that is willing to ask and learn instead of getting on here and acting like they know everything.
I'm gonna try to go to Guntersville next weekend if you want to go. Might even see if goofy arse Clem can meet us so you can actually learn something useful.

Carbon Hill has a bass club?
lol I graduated from Carbon Hill, but yeah I apprecaite I'll let you know something