For thousands of walleye enthusiasts the jig is the lure of choice.

Despite the popularity of jigs, jig casting is one of the least understood and poorly practiced methods of walleye fishing. Lots of anglers enjoy casting leadheads, yet few do it well.

Unlike many other angling methods, jig casting requires a very specific list of equipment or tools that are must-have items. The first is a quality graphite spinning rod and reel combination. Graphite is the only material that is capable of telegraphing the light bites a walleye jig caster is likely to encounter.

Fiberglass and graphite-fiberglass composite rods simply can't get the job done effectively. At a minimum, select a rod that has 96 percent graphite content. The higher the percentage of graphite the more sensitive, light, and responsive the rod becomes.

The length and action of a jig-casting rod are also important. The best choices are five-foot six-inch to six-foot models sporting a medium action. A jig-casting rod must be fairly short and stiff. Longer or soft-action rods tend to absorb much of the vibration or telegraphing effect of the rod.

For my money, a rod featuring a Tennessee handle is ideal. The smooth cork handle enables a spinning reel to be taped at exactly the point on the handle where it balances in my hand. Rods with fixed reel seats often make it impossible to balance the rod and reel. Simply use electrical tape to hold the reel securely.

The perfect reel for jig casting should be a light freshwater-sized spinning reel. The new infinite anti-reverse reels are the best possible choice. These reels have no slop in the reel handle, enabling the angler to deliver bone-jarring hooksets. Once you've fished with one of these reels, going back to an ordinary spinning reel is out of the question.

The total jig-casting rod-and-reel combination is likely to be the most expensive rod in your collection. Good rods range from $40-$100 and reels go for $50-$150 each. The good news is this combination should last the average angler a lifetime.

Fishing line is the next piece of essential equipment. Specifically I'm referring to monofilament. These days super braid lines are receiving a lot of attention and many anglers have mistakenly assumed that the new braided products are ideal for jig casting. They are not!

Braided lines have little or no stretch. When fishing these lines the angler can feel everything from the vibration of a blade to a jig dragging along the bottom. While it's nice to be able to feel what's happening on the end of the line, anglers must also realize that feel goes both ways.

Because the line doesn't stretch anglers can feel more of what's happening under water. By the same token, fish can feel the angler. What usually happens in this situation is the fish senses something is wrong, before the angler reacts to the bite and sets the hook. The result? Missed fish and lots of them.

Braided lines have many applications for walleye fishing, but based on my experience, jig casting isn't one of them.

Take an ordinary length of monofilament and pull on both ends. The line stretches like a rubber band. When the line is wet the stretch factor is even more pronounced.

The stretch in monofilament makes it a little harder to feel the jig as it moves along bottom or the bite, but with practice anyone can develop the skill it takes to jig fish effectively. The key is learning to concentrate and fish the jig on a taunt line.

A more important problem with monofilament fishing lines is memory. We've all seen fishing line memory--tight coils that come off a reel that's been stored a long time. Fishing with this stuff is like fishing with a slinky!

The coils make it impossible to keep a taunt line between rod tip and lure. In fact, memory coils provide enough slack line that a fish can pick up the bait and swim away with it without the angler ever knowing. Remember this, you can't feel the bite if there is slack in the line.

Using monofilament with little or no memory is the first step towards keeping the line taunt. My choice is Stren's new Easy Cast in six- or eight-pound test. This copolymer line is designed to have a soft surface that resists coiling and comes off the reel smoothly. I use the lighter line most of the time, but keep some eight-pound test handy when fishing in weeds, timber, or broken rock where snags are a fact of fishing.

Keeping tension in the line requires concentration. Casting a jig and working it properly back to the boat or shore isn't difficult, but it does require a meeting of mind and body.

Start out by making a short to moderate cast. Long casts are difficult to control. In most instances jig casting is a shallow-water game. I primarily use this technique when fishing in water from one to 12 feet deep.

At these depths a 1/16- or 1/8-ounce jig is the standard weapon. My personal choice is a short-shank live-bait-style jig such as the Bait Rigs Slo-Poke. This eye forward jig is ideal for working through weeds, rock, and wood with the least amount of hang-ups. Live bait jigs also feature a wider hook gap than other jig styles allowing for better hookups.

If the wind is blowing use a slightly heavier jig such as a 3/16- or 1/4-ounce model. Heavier jigs are easier to feel on bottom and you have a better chance of keeping bow out of the line caused by the wind.

Let the jig sink to bottom by keeping the reel bail open until the line collapses and lays still on the surface. Close the reel bail and face directly at the jig. Hold the rod in the 10 o'clock position and slowly reel up the slack line until the weight of the jig can be felt resting on bottom.

When the line comes taunt pull the rod from the 10 o'clock position to the 11 o'clock position and hold the rod still for a few seconds. This motion pulls the jig slightly off bottom and causes the jig to swing towards you on a taunt line. When the jig hits bottom again the line will go slack on the surface. Reel down to the 10 o'clock position again picking up the slack line in the process and repeat the procedure. That's it. Work the rod from 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock over and over again and concentrate on keeping the line taunt.

Your point of focus should be the point where the line enters the water. Many bites aren't felt, but can be seen when the line twitches or darts sideways.

If you have excellent eyesight and can easily see clear, green, or brown color monofilaments I'd recommend using them. On bright days a pair of sunglasses makes this chore easier. Anglers who suffer from poor eyesight should consider using fluorescent lines. Stren's clear blue high-vis is my personal choice, but there are other good products.

If the water is cloudy or slightly off color I've never seen brightly colored lines make any difference in the number of bites. If the water is gin clear, however, I'd stay away from bright lines. The manufacturers of these lines say their products are highly visible above water and invisible underwater. I know of many scuba divers disagree. In fact when we test crankbaits for various updated versions of the book Precision Trolling, we use fluorescent lines so we can see the lures under water more easily. Think about it.

Another mistake that many jig fishermen make is to reel in their lure and cast again before working the bait all the way back to the boat. Don't be impatient. Walleye are like northern pike. They often follow a lure or bait, waiting for the last possible second before striking.

Many people have a hard time even detecting the difference between a bite and the jig hitting something under water. All I can tell you is that the bite will feel like a sharp tick or tap in the line and once you've felt it you'll know.

In the jig-casting game there aren't any smashing strikes. If that's what you want to feel, cast a crankbait, spoon, or spinner. These faster moving lures are typically attacked more aggressively. When a walleye hits a jig-and-minnow combination, he simply slurps it into his mouth and swims off to eat his meal.

Minnows, leeches, and crawlers can all be used effectively for jig casting. The use of these baits tends to be seasonal. Minnows are more readily available in the spring and fall. Crawlers and leeches fill in during the warmer months. All work equally well.

When casting minnows, I lean towards fatheads, chubs, dace, or small suckers. These species stay on a hook better and live longer than emerald shiners, golden shiners, and other delicate minnows.

The first time I fished a tournament on Lake Erie the only minnows available were small emerald shiners. The bait shops and local anglers stood on soap boxes and argued that shiners were the only minnow that would work.

I called a friend in Wisconsin who runs a bait shop and ordered a pound of fatheads and had him air ship the bait to me UPS overnight. The next day I was catching walleye with minnows that stayed on the hook and wiggled twice as long. During the tournament my daily pro partners turned up their noses at my bait choice until they saw how many walleye I caught.

When casting crawlers I usually break the bait in half and thread one half onto the hook like you might thread a plastic grub onto a jig. Casting half a crawler works although it doesn't look like much.

In some cases I favor casting with plastic. Scented plastic grubs like Power Bait and Reaction Lures are powerful fish-catching tools. In areas where it's tough to get bait, such as on fly-in trips to Canada, I always go prepared with scent-impregnated soft plastics. I've even seen these products outfish live bait at times.

Finally, set the hook the second you feel anything. When fishing a jig you never hesitate or attempt to feed line to the fish. Hit him now and hit him with a strong rod sweep that takes up slack line and line stretch as much as possible.

The hard bone and tissue around a walleye's jaw is very difficult to put a hook into. That's why I use jigs with thin-wire hooks that are as sharp as possible. A thin-wire hook is easier to bury to the barb than a larger tempered hook.

When I'm casting jigs I often set the hook by raising my arms high over my head. Sometimes I even stand. Standing helps to pick up slack and line stretch and makes it easier to keep solid pressure on the fish.

When fishing light line and jigs you can't hit the fish hard enough at the hookset to drive the hook past the barb. If you set the hook that hard the line would likely break. Instead you simply use a rapid rod sweep to put pressure on the fish. When the fish thrashes to rid itself of the jig, his side-to-side movement helps the hook point work its way into the flesh and bone.

Like any other type of fishing, becoming a successful jig fisherman isn't a stroke of magic. It simply requires a simple set of tools and techniques.