A jig is a lead head with a hook molded into it. Jigging rigs is the setup you choose to display these jigs to increase your chances of a hookup.
Jigging rigs come in various configurations. A simple setup would be a bucktail at the bottom with another bucktail 18 inches above it. You can attach it with a drop shot or a dropper loop. If you want to get fancy you can use crimps or three-way swivels to make various lengths away from the mainline. Just move the tip of the rod gently. Your aim should be to ensure the sinker remains at the bottom at all times, and the flies float gently at the targeted depth.
A flutter or butterfly jig has a non-symmetrical and tapered jig designed to flutter and tumble as it falls. Rather than floating straight to the bottom, they do so erratically, thus mimicking injured fish. The action triggers an instant kill response from game fish, whether they are hungry or not.
A slow-pitch jigging rig is specifically for swift action as it allows the jig to imitate a wounded baitfish. The jig floats right down to the bottom since the weight is at the bottom, a design that will enable the jigs to flutter as well.
In other words, it imitates an easy snack that fish cannot ignore. Vertical speed jigs are for vertical jigging. Post-spawn walleyes generally remain in relatively shallow water. Regarding color, chartreuse is arguably the most popular color walleye jig. I like to mix it up a little but always have a bit of chartreuse or lime green on the jig, regardless of water clarity. Fish can be sluggish in cold water and tend to bite short. When using larger shiners, I use a three-inch stinger.
For smaller shiners and fatheads, I drop to a two-inch stinger hook. Make note of the number of fish hooked on the stinger only. Only then does one realize how many bites would be missed without it.
Croix Avid spinning rod paired with a quality spinning reel gets the call when jigging. Six pound test Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon is my line of choice.
While walleyes are shallow, say in less than fifteen feet of water, a casting approach is effective. You may be thinking that a 5 foot, 9 inch rod seems pretty short, and it is. However with jigging, longer rods can actually be a disadvantage. The goal with a jigging setup is to have the most sensitive setup possible.
Another bonus to a shorter rod is they are lighter. Having a light jigging setup is important as it reduces fatigue and helps transmit feel better. This greatly limits the amount of time you have to set the hook before you lose the fish, so having a fast action allows you to bury the hook more quickly. Probably the most important factor to choosing a good jigging rod is the rod material. Absolutely under no circumstances should you choose a rod with a fiberglass blank. Look for rods with a high-modulus graphite or carbon fiber blank.
These materials are much more sensitive and react much more quickly than fiberglass, making them perfect for this application. The price may seem steep, but making an investment in a quality jigging rod with pay for itself in no time. This rod fits the criteria perfectly and performs up to par with rods three times the price. They also have a hidden reel seat design which is super comfortable.
You can learn more about these rods by watching this video:. Live bait rigging is a great way to catch walleye all year, and as before with jigging, having the right rods can make a big difference.
With rigging, sensitivity is still very important, however there are a few other factors that a good rigging rod needs. For this, we want a longer rod to provide some leverage for big sweeping hook sets, a lighter tip action, and a lighter rod power. Here are my specs:. With these rods we want something that provides a good amount of feel, while having a soft enough tip that when a fish picks up the bait, they can hold it for a while and eat it without feeling too much pressure on the line from the rod.
The other reason we want a softer tip section is to detect bites. Sometimes walleye will hit the bait and more or less just sit there with it in their mouth, making it difficult at times to determine when a fish has hit the bait.
Having this light tip almost acts like a bobber and allows you to see strikes and sort of a bobbing motion, indicating that a fish is on the line. Some of the new technical style super jig rods will cater for a far wider range of workable jigs but these rods will be expensive and not aimed at the beginner.
The new specialised braids are the best lines for mechanical jigging. They have no or very little stretch. Having no stretch allows the angler to staying in touch with the jig and assists in creating a positive hook set. Braids are now being measured in what is called a PE rating. PE simply stands for Poly — Ethylene which is the base material these braids are produced from. There is a crude but simple rule of thumb to convert these PE weight classes into pounds. Most jiggers will choose to use a multi-coloured braid, not because it looks cool but because each section of coloured line is marked off in either 5m or 10m sections.
This makes it easy for the angler to work out how much line he or she has deployed when targeting fish at a certain depth. There are two main options for leader material : mono or fluorocarbon. Both have their own pros and cons; mono is less brittle and generally easier to tie with better knot strength, while fluorocarbon has better invisibility properties in water and is more abrasion resistant. Either way a line of 45kg-plus is recommended and 90kg is not out of the question.
Recommended leader lengths range from m, this will allow you enough line to cut and re-tie assist hooks or remove any worn or damaged sections without having to re-tie the braid-to-leader knot. As with all fishing, it is recommended that you replace the leader after each trip. You never know when that trophy fish will strike and it could be the very first fish next time out. The knot of choice to tie your leader to the braid is the PR knot.
This knot is very slim which allows it to easily pass through the small guides on all jigging rods. It will also add less bulk when on the reel spool. The knot from leader to the assist hook solid eye will normally be an improved clinch knot but there are others as good if not better and I will go through all these knots and how to tie them in the next issue. Since the revolution of mechanical jigging has been introduced into New Zealand we are starting to see jigs of all shapes and sizes appearing in tackle store displays.
Like the braid line, the jig weight needs be matched to the rod you intend to use it on. This has several very significant purposes.
The range of shapes of jigs available is immense and many have been designed to impart a certain type of action to attract fish. Colours also will range from the bright reflective to dark and even glow colours. Some will come pre-rigged with an assist hook, which should be attached to the top eye of the jig so it hangs towards the middle of the jig.
As mentioned many jigs will come pre-rigged with a cheapish assist hook to get you started but many jiggers will prefer to remove this and tie their own assist hooks using better quality hooks and better quality cord.
This is the piece of tackle that is attached to your leader line via a solid ring and it needs to be robust enough to handle the pressures of big fish. They will generally be straight shanked and have longer beaks on the hook points for extra penetration and holding power during the fight.
If you use a short-pointed hook you run the risk of the hook being flicked out if the pressure on the fish was reduced for some reason.
These cords are available in small packs or spools ranging from10m to 30m. The cord should then be looped to a solid stainless steel eye ring with a stainless split ring of 70kg breaking strain to attach the jig.
Other items needed for joining the jigging scene are things like a gimbal belt or gimbal bucket to place the rod butt in after the fish has been properly hooked. A good pair of heavy duty split ring pliers is a must as is a good pair of braid scissors. You can also dress up the assist hooks with fancy little squid-shaped squirts, and I will show these in more depth in the next issue and the purpose they perform on the assist hook.
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