 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |


Ready to upgrade?
Dell Can Help!


Want to Send
a e-card?
Try OkieFish's
Card Site! |
|
|
 |
Mastering the Jig , Catch Big Oklahoma Bass |
 I
want to start first by letting you know that I am still in the beginning
stages of my bass fishing life and even more of a beginner at trophy bass
hunting. I am far from being any kind of bass master, nor have I mastered the
jig. I can tell you that I have improved in leaps and bounds though. There
are a few things that I have made note of that I would like to share which
have changed the way I fish from now on and have consistently produced adult
bass since I first picked up a jig on March 28th, 2002. As an avid bass
fisherman and a wannabe trophy bass hunter I quickly grew tired of fishing
six or more days a week and catching a bass or two every two weeks. I had to
find that “kicker” bait soon or I may get tired of this whole bass fishing
thing and go back to some catfishing where I could guarantee myself several
catches every time I gave it a try. On Thursday, March 28th, 2002 I took the
advice of a buddy of mine and decided that I would tie on a ¼ oz black and
blue jig and plastic chunk trailer. I actually tied it on the night before
because I knew that if I showed up at the pond with that jig I would be too
excited about fishing to cut and retie, and I hate having to retie. I
decided, against my better judgement, to step out onto a semi-fallen tree and
fish the middle of this tree. Having no experience with any type of jig
previously I dipped it into the water so that I could see what the action
looked like and what I needed to do to make this bait look tasty to momma
bass. I tossed it into the tree, straddling two large branches, and thought I
felt a nibble. I thought to myself “Now what do I do?” and continued to wait
until I felt the bass hit it again. As all you jig fishermen know you don’t
wait until the bass hits again because she has probably already spit it out
by then. After a few seconds I checked my line and the was definitely nothing
holding my jig. I made my move again and tried to jig it right down the side
of a large branch. WHAMO! I set the hook into what felt like a stump and the
short fight was on. She literally hit the jig right below my rod tip. I dip
my hand into the water after only about a 10 second fight and carefully grab
her. It turns out at the time she was the 3rd largest bass I had ever caught
even though she only tipped the scale at 6-1. I was a pro and I had only made
two casts with a jig! Not exactly. I had heard and read so much about how the
angler has to let the fish tell you what presentation they want. I figured
that I caught a nice size bass on my relatively fast fleeing crawdad retrieve
so surely all the bass would want the same presentation. Once again, not
exactly. I had a humbling dry spell after that which prompted me to search
for all the jig fishing info that I could find and figure this part of the
game out. As we all know from fishing and life in general there is more than
one way to skin a cat and there is definitely not just one way to present any
given bait. The tough part about it is finding that one way that the fish
want you to present that particular bait. It took a while for me to find it
at my big
ol’ honey hole ponds but I think that after many hours of intense trial and
error I have found a definite pattern that is successful for myself at my
honey hole. This place is definitely a honey hole to me but for the folks who
haven’t found the pattern that I found it is horrible fishing at best. It
only took me about 20,000 casts with each one of my 40 spinnerbaits to
realize that the bass at my ponds are not real interested in spinnerbaits
RIGHT NOW. I have eliminated spinnerbaits from my arsenal until I see someone
have some results with one. After seeing many other bassers throw crankbaits
and rattletraps in open water for hours on end with very low numbers I have
eliminated open water, cranks and rattletraps from my arsenal FOR THE TIME
BEING. I have been working on that jig for a while though and it may surprise
you to hear the results and what I am doing to make almost every single
outing a productive outing. Of course I am strictly a trophy bass hunter so
what I see as productive may be nothing special. I can tell you that I have
only caught about five or six bass under 3 pounds since I began my jig
fishing routine.Every single bass I have caught this year has been off of
timber with the exception of two that were caught off the same rock. It is
not because I don’t fish other areas either. I have tried open water, flats,
drop offs, channels, rocks, points and everywhere in between with absolutely
no results. I’m going to explain what I do every singly time I go fishing and
the proof is in the pudding. I don’t even need to explain the preparation
that I do before I go because everyone needs to check rods, line, reels and
make sure that all of the necessities are there and we need to be prepared
for anything from checking the amount of film is in the camera to having a
tape measure to making sure that if we lose our favorite and most productive
bait that we will have plenty of extras. The first thing I do when I get near
the water is go into stealth mode. That includes lowering my voice from a
talk to a whisper. I am not sure if bass have any kind of audible or body
language they speak to each other in but if you can imagine being in the
local Super Wal-Marts full of people where everyone is carrying on good
conversation and going about their business and all of the sudden the fire
alarm sounds off, what happens to the atmosphere in the room. Bass react the
same way when they are going about their business and all of the sudden the
alarm sounds with stomping feet and a “Hey Eddie! Tell Jon to come check out
this turtle!!! What?!!! COME-CHECK-OUT-THE-SIZE-OF-THIS-TURTLE!!!!!!”. Be
quiet. Stealth includes our appearance as well. I have to stress that the
color of clothing you wear determines whether or not you look like an alien
and a threat or if you blend in with what the bass normally sees on the bank
or in the sky.So we are going to be as quiet as possible and we are going to
try to blend in with the surrounding, at least from the waist up. Next on the
list is where are we going to fish. It’s always a good idea to target an area
that you think may be holding bass, right? We are looking for anything that
looks a little bit different. According to Doug Hannon a bass has eye sight
that is almost as good as a human has. There is one thing they lack though
and that is eyebrows and eyelashes and they don’t have hands or ball caps to
block the sunlight from their eyes. If there isn’t a cloud in the sky and the
sun is beaming down on the bulging eyes on the bass and they have fairly good
eye sight wouldn’t you think there would be a glare to deal with? I have
noticed a considerable difference since I started considering the bass’
vision. I probably catch 4 bass in the shade for every one that I catch out
of the shade.I have already eliminated open water so I am looking for timber
to target. I am going to try several different angles and numerous casts at
each target. I want to consider that if the stump is in shallow water the
shadow will be much more important to the bass. If the stump is in deeper
water the shadow will be a little less important due to the fact that the
deeper the water gets the less the light will penetrate. Either way, you
don’t have to hit the shadow where you see it. Consider the angle of the sun
and the shadow will extend under water and will get larger as well. You can
also target the edge of a shadow where the bass may be in the shadow yet
still has a good view into the water which has direct sunlight.Next, you have
to make the most out of every single cast and presentation and know that on
every cast you are giving 100% of your attention and applying all of your
knowledge to it. You have found your target and you decide that you are going
to flip or pitch to that sow that awaits you. The best way to keep from
spooking the bass when your lure splashes in is by eliminating the splash.
You can try to actually hit the target and allow the jig to fall into the
water or you can intentionally miss the target all together. Either way you
should slow the jigs descent into the water. If you exclusively use a
baitcaster like I do you can slow it down by braking the spool with your
thumb and raising the rod tip a couple of feet just before the jig hits the
target. I have heard two sides of the story from here. You can let the jig
fall on a slack line without the reel being engaged or you can engage the
reel and follow the jig down with slight tension. I prefer to set the brake
and follow the jig down with the tip of my rod due to the high number of hits
I get on the fall or as soon as the jig hits the bottom. The disadvantage to
this is the click that is produced when you engage the reel is a bit
unstealthy but it has worked time and time again. I have tried both ways and
I have missed fish by not having the reel engaged when I got hit so I find it
better to engage and follow so that there is plenty of sensitivity. If you
are not hit on the initial fall just let it hit bottom and sit. Sometimes I
will allow the jig to sit perfectly still on a tight line for over 10 seconds
before I get hit. If you still don’t have any luck after letting it sit there
give it a couple of short bumps. By saying bumps I mean to moderately raise
the rod tip about 6-8 inches and letting it hit bottom and repeat. It is not
uncommon for me to take 2 minutes or more on a single retrieve. With the area
that I fish having so much underwater timber I don’t want to miss any
possible hot spots. I also like a 1/8th oz jig due to the slow fall. It must
fall less than a foot a second and I have noticed more good fish since I
switched from a ¼ to a 1/8 oz jig. My good friend Dominic Lamanno, owner of
Backwater Jigs in New York, set me up with what I believe is the best jig on
the market and has been a solid big bass producer since I began fishing with
them. This perfect jig is a 1/8 oz football head with a single 3 strand wire
brush guard, a full size shirt to slow the fall even more and a 3/0 Mustad
hook. The large hook is better for many reasons but most of all because the
small hooks that normally accompany a 1/8 oz head are too small to handle a
few good size bass in a day. The small hooks are easily bent or
broken
and the point can roll up on you and lessen your chances or a solid hookset.
What the strike feels like is a whole different story in its self if you have
never experienced it. For me it is absolutely nothing like a stick or any
other type of interference you may bump into. After you set the hook on
timber and lose a couple of dozen jigs or catch a couple of dozen fish you
will know the difference most of the time. A good sensitive rod it essential
in detecting the difference in a strike and an object. I normally use a 6’6”
Falcon MH rod but whatever is comfortable to you will work as long as it is a
fast enough rod to get a good hookset every time. Now for the hookset. The
moment I feel the fish strike the jig I reel down on and with every bit of
energy in my body I set the hook. This is best performed by keeping the rod
and reel tight to your body and a swift jerk from horizontal to perpendicular
is a good habit to get yourself into. I am in the process of helping my great
friends and fishing partners Mike Armstrong and Jon Harrison to learn how to
use jigs. My favorite statement used to be “RIP LIPS when you get the hit”.
After seeing several missed fish, including some pretty big bass, I changed
my hookset statement to “RIP THEIR HEAD CLEAN OFF when you feel the strike”.
The good thing about a good jig is that the hook will stand straight up on
the bottom and from what I have seen will do the same when they suck it in.
The reason you will know is because the hook will be in the bony part of the
mouth in the very top of the mouth. A good hookset and sharp hook will
penetrate this easily and then all you have to do is get her in. I don’t miss
too many bass once I set the hook. I did have a bass that went over 9 pounds
shake the hook when I lost tension because she shot straight towards my boat.
Another essential is a good high speed reel, 6.2/1 or more. This way you can
reel down on the fish quickly for the hookset and hopefully reel fast enough
to keep up if she charges you. I hope this information will help you and your
catches will be plentiful and larger then ever. Since I implemented the jig
into my arsenal I have caught so many bass from 3 to over 8 pounds that it is
not even funny. Yet I have only caught five or six bass under 3 pounds on
this great bait. I have to agree with a great remark I read from Frank
Manuele where he said the old statement “Match the Hatch” may not be the key
to catching fish. I would say to “Match the Catch” and keep using whatever
the bass are biting. That is why I will stick with my 1/8 oz black and blue
jig and plastic chunk trailer until I stop catching them on it.
To contact Dominic Lamanno at Backwater Jigs
email drdj4@dellepro.com
Tight Lines!
Luke “Bassman” Carder
|
|
 |