Not long ago I wrote a story that rated the top 10 lures for walleye fishing. Without hesitation I assigned the number one spot to lead-head jigs. No other single lure is more versatile or effective on walleye than the common jig.
Jigs are little more than a chunk of lead with a hook molded in place, yet these lures can be fished effectively on bottom, worked throughout the water column, presented in combination with a plastic grub, or tipped with a wide variety of live baits. Jigs are also available in many sizes, shapes, colors, and configurations designed for every conceivable presentation.
If all this weren't enough evidence that jigs are indeed the favorite all-time walleye lure, consider their popularity. There is hardly an angler who doesn't own at least a few of them and many collect these fish traps like little boys collect toy soldiers.
If jigging has a downfall it's that many anglers believe jig fishing requires some sort of special feel or sixth sense. Nonsense! Anyone can use jigs to catch walleye and mastering this art isn't nearly as difficult as some might imagine.
Rods, Reels, and Line
Start out with quality, balanced equipment. Unlike other forms of fishing, jigging requires that you feel where your lure is at all times. Accomplishing this requires a quality graphite fishing rod.
Those anglers who attempt to jig fish with fiberglass rods or those rods made from a composite of graphite and fiberglass are handicapping their ability to feel the lure bumping bottom.
Brand prejudices aside, a good jigging rod should be a spinning rod 5-feet, 6-inches to 6-feet, 6-inches long with a fairly stiff medium action. Choose a rod made from at least 96 percent graphite fiber. The higher the graphite content in a rod, the lighter the rod becomes and the faster it responds to vibrations telegraphed through the fishing line.
Spend a little more money to get a high modulus graphite rod; they are the best possible investment you can make towards jigging success. This rod should be matched with a medium or medium/light spinning reel loaded with six- or eight-pound test premium monofilament.
A few jigging applications call for slightly lighter or heavier monofilament line, but the average angler will seldom go wrong by staying with six- or eight-pound test. These sizes of monofilament combine the strength, thin diameter, limpness, and sensitivity required to fish jigs.
Jig Types
Once you purchase a suitable graphite spinning rod/reel combination, the next logical step is to explore the many different jigs available. Lead-head jigs come in shapes including round-head, darter-style, bullet, stand-up, weedless, and swimming versions, just to name a few.
Plated or painted lead spoons are also jigs. These lures come in an equally wide assortment of shapes and sizes that are highly effective on walleye when jigged vertically in deep water.
How and/or where a jig is to be used has a strong bearing on the type of jigging lure you select. For general casting, round-head, darter-style, and swimming heads are among the most popular. Fishing in weeds or submerged wood calls for weedless jigs. Stand-up style jigs are best when dragging the lure along bottom. When fishing deep-water structure or vertical jigging rivers, round-head jigs and jigging spoons are an excellent choice.
Each type of jig comes in a variety of sizes and hook configurations. The best hooks for walleye jigs are those fashioned from thin wire. Aberdeen-style hooks can be easily bent and--unlike heavy, plated hooks--the jig can be retrieved if it snags on bottom or debris.
Jig hooks also come in long-shaft and short-shaft versions. Long-shaft jigs are best for vertical or near-vertical presentations. They are also needed to hold soft plastic lures in place. Jigs equipped with long-shank hooks tend to reach deeper into the walleye's mouth, yielding better hook-ups especially when fishing vertical or near-vertical.
Jigs with short-shank hooks are designed to be used with live bait. These jigs typically features a wider than normal hook gap or bite--an advantage when setting the hook on walleye located away from the boat. Short-shank jigs are ideal for casting, especially with live minnows, crawlers, or leeches.
Size and weight are also important. No size is universal. Walleye fishing requires an assortment of jigs including 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 ounce. Lighter jigs are normally used for casting and heavier jigs for vertical presentations.
Water depth and current are also important in jig selection. In natural lakes, where jigs are fished on bottom structure ranging from a few feet to 20 feet deep, 1/16-, 1/8-, 3/16-, and 1/4-ounce jigs are the most popular. In deeper water, 3/8-, 1/2-, or 5/8-ounce jigs or jigging spoons are the best choices.
In most rivers with a moderate flow, 1/8- and 1/4-ounce jigs are suitable for casting. Vertical jigging in rivers calls for 1/8-, 1/4-, 3/8-, or 1/2-ounce jigs.
Boat Control
Boat control is an important aspect of most jig fishing. To the casual observer, drifting downstream and jigging beneath the boat may appear to be a no-brainer.
If we lived in a perfect world, boats would drift at the same speed as the current and vertical jigging would be easy. Unfortunately, wind gusts catch the boat like a sail and cause it to drift faster or slower than the current, while the jib positioned near bottom drifts along at the same speed as the current. When the jig and current are moving along at one speed and the boat another, it becomes a constant struggle to keep the jig directly beneath the boat to eliminate line drag.
Since you can't control the position of the jig once it's in the water, your only option is to move the boat over the jig. An electric motor is invaluable for this chore. With short and frequent bursts of power from the electric motor you can keep the boat moving at exactly the same speed as the current.
The line leading to the jig becomes your guide to boat control. When the line is straight down, the jig is perfectly vertical. When the line angles upstream or downstream, you must move the boat to bring it back over the jig. This is called "chasing the line" by tournament anglers.
Size 1/8-, 1/4-, and 3/8-ounce jigs are the most popular for vertical jigging in rivers. Bright colors like orange, red, glow-in-the-dark, and pink show up best in murky river water.
In natural lakes most anglers fish for walleye by drifting and dragging jigs along flats or by positioning the boat with an electric motor and casting jigs to reefs, rock piles, points, and other walleye structure.
When drifting and dragging jigs along bottom, stand-up style jigs help reduce the number of snags and these lures position the bait pointing upwards where fish are more likely to spot it. The best jig sizes for drifting are 1/16, 1/8, and 1/4 ounce. Subtle colors like white, brown, green, and black are good jig colors for natural lakes.
Drifting is a good way to hunt for walleyes. Once fish are contacted, throw a marker buoy on the spot and make several more short drifts past the marker.
When making subsequent drifts, avoid motoring directly over the spot. Walleye in clear-water natural lakes are often very spooky.
Rock piles, small reefs, and other bottom structure will routinely hold a few walleye and their location should be saved using shoreline sightings or, better yet, one of the new Global Positioning System (GPS) units. These machines are available in hand-held versions or console-mounted units that range in price from approximately $300 to $1,000.
When searching for a known piece of bottom structure, cut the outboard motor 100 yards or more away from the area to be fished. Use the electric motor to slip into position quietly.
Fishing Jigs
Casting jigs is one of the most effective ways to fish small humps, rocky outcroppings, sunken islands, and other isolated pieces of structure that attract walleye. This presentation allows you to fish away from the boat, where walleye are least likely to be spooked.
When casting, a 1/16-, 1/8-, or 1/4-ounce round-head, darter, or swimming jig is best. These lures are often dressed with a plastic grub body that adds additional action and color. Scent or taste impregnated plastic baits are also deadly on walleye. Available in a many colors, sizes, and styles, a few of these baits should be in every walleye angler's tackle box.
Jigs dressed in plastic can also be tipped with a live minnow, leech, or chunk of crawler to add sweetness. A split-tail grub is one of the best plastic baits to use with live bait. The split tail allows natural action and provides a convenient place for the live bait to rest.
The type of live bait you use will depend on availability. Small minnows are readily available during the early spring and fall when leeches are hard to come by. Crawlers and leeches are typically used more during the summer months when minnows are tough to keep alive.
When dressing a jig with live bait, hook minnows lightly through both lips and leeches through the wide or sucker end. It is best to cut crawlers in half and thread them onto the hook like a plastic bait.
When casting, work the jig back to the boat in a hopping motion or slowly swim the lure close to bottom.
When hopping or swimming the jig, watch the line closely. It will collapse on the water surface when the jig is resting on bottom and become taunt when the jig is pulled or hopped. Watching the line tells you where the jig is and what it's doing, plus subtle strikes are frequently telegraphed when the line darts to the side for no apparent reason.
Fluorescent lines are easier to see than those made from clear, green, or brown monofilament and are best for casting.
In all jig fishing, set the hook the instant you detect a strike, even if you're not sure what you just felt was a bite. A little practice and experience will quickly sort out what's a bite and what's bottom.
Copyright (c) 1996 Mark Romanack. All rights reserved.
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