Jig Your Pig
By: Will Whitehead - Professional Angler
It has been a LONG and COLD winter. I for one am more than READY for spring… As I sit here in my office, staring out the window at the falling snow! BUT… March 24th is the "First Day of Spring" and I am more than READY. I just hope the "Smallies" are!
I am chomping at the bit for a chance to toss a lure into the Smallmouth Bass filled waters of the Susquehanna River. River water level is steady and the color has been good. Water temperature is creeping near the 40 degree mark, and I know the "Smallies" are hungry and looking forward to spring as much as I am.
The first lure I am going to tie on my line will be a bucktail hair jig, designed and tied by a local jig maker and Susquehanna River fishing expert. My first choice will probably be a 1/4 oz. model in black with chartreuse, or black with blue hair. Some of my other favorites are brown with olive; black with red; gray with purple and olive with black. The first color listed will be the dominant color in the jig, and the second color will contain less hair, but still enough to be very visible.
On another jig rod, I will tie on a living rubber jig, made by BOOYAH. Usually a 5/16 oz. "Baby Boo Jig" or "Pro Boo Bug" in Black Smoke Purple, PB&J, 3D Green Pumpkin or Black/Blue. The "Baby Boo Jig", with 60 strands of ultra fine silicone skirt, light weedguard and a Mustad "Ultra Point" light wire hook, is the ideal "Spring" bait for BIG hungry "Bronzebacks"! I use the "Pro Boo Bug" when a finesse presentation is required to entice the BIG BOYS (or would that be GIRLS?) into having a snack. It sports the same ultra fine silicone skirt material as the "Baby Boo Jig", a fiber weedguard and a Mustad HEAVY Ultra Point hook. I stick to the same basic colors as described before.
WHAT EVER my choice in jigs, you can bet EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM will be dressed with an "Uncle Josh" pork trailer of one style or another.
My favorite "Pork" is the Uncle Josh "Kicker Frog"… A chunky, fleshy pork frog head with curly twister tails for a realistic ripple and wiggle action. It contains the proven pork scent and my favorite colors are Moss Green, Crawdad Brown, Blue, Purple, Black and Watermelon seed… Pretty much in that order, but matched, and sometime contrasted, to what ever color jig the "Smallies" tell me they want. For a more subtle presentation, I will sometimes use the #101 "Spinning Frog" instead, but it's the "Kicker" most of the time.
For fishing the river in the spring, I prefer to filet off about half of the pork fat on either model "Frog". The water is usually moving at a faster clip then, and I don't need or want the buoyancy of the fat. I put the hook point through the "Frog" from the "fat side" so that when I slide it down on the hook, it is "pork side down". NOW you are set for ACTION!
Early spring river bass tend to bunch up on the shoreline, especially on rock and downstream from the influence of a feeder creek or stream. The warmer stream water will draw the bass to its current flow. The higher the river level, the more the fish will bunch up on the shore line.
The presentation at this time of year is slow. NO… SLOW! Toss the jig near shoreline rocks and allow it to sink to the bottom. Hold the rod tip HIGH and "follow" the jig as it bounces along the bottom. I make relatively short casts, keeping the jig within 25 feet or so of the boat. This will keep your line at a fairly steep angle in relationship to the bottom and you will "hang-up" far less.
Strikes at this time of year are more like "Sucks"! A bass will pick up the jig with all the enthusiasm and gusto of a garden slug, and I HIGHLY recommend a quality graphite rod like the St. Croix "Avid" and "Elite" series rods I use for jig and tube fishing. They are well worth the investment. My favorite is the "Avid" series AS59MXF, 5 ft. 9 in. Medium Power stick, with an Extra Fast Action. This rod allows me to feel every bump, twitch, or tickle on my jig, and the sensitivity of the rod, over ANY OTHER I have used is unbelievable. Unfortunately, I hear they have stopped making this particular model and I will probably purchase a 6 ft. or 5 ft. 6 in. model to try next.
But, I regress! Cast the jig upstream, ahead of the boat, as you work your way along the bank, INTO the current. Let the jig bounce along the bottom, and when it has reached a point, just astern of the boat, reel in and make the next cast. Keep a "tight line" and keep a close eye on the line for any telltale ticks of a big "Smallie" suckin' in the jig. Pay close attention to any logs or wood along the bank. Wood will heat-up more quickly than rock, and will hold the biggest and most aggressive fish.
And HERE is where you choice of fishing LINE is most important. I fish with "Super Silver Thread" or "Super Silver Thread Excalibur" line. Proven the most abrasion resistant line of the market! This is doubly important when fishing a jig on the bottom, in, over and around rocks, logs and other structure. It is also very sensitive line, due to its Copolymer makeup, will stay limp and subtle in cold water and will stretch far less than some other monofilament lines. All "Silver Thread" line is constructed by polymerizing multiple nylon monomers which make it stronger and more stable than other lines. The diameter of "Silver Thread" is consistent throughout the entire spool giving you the best line on the market… In my humble opinion ( and the opinion of thousands of Professional Anglers ) and according to the proven FACTS!
If you haven't tried the "Jig and Pig" approach to spring bassin', it is HIGH TIME you DID! When water temperatures are in the 38 degree to 48 degree range, there is NOTHING that will out fish this deadly combination. Just remember the IMPORTANT points………
- Use a well designed, HIGH QUALITY bucktail hair of silicone skirt jig
- Use the BEST pork trailer… "UNCLE JOSH"
- Use a HIGH QUALITY rod, designed for "jigging" like the St. Croix "Avid" Series
- Use a strong, sensitive and abrasion resistant line… "Silver Thread Excalibur"
- FISH SLOW and even SLOWER
- Be alert to subtle strikes
- Concentrate on the warmest water with the least amount of current flow
Tight Lines,
Will Whitehead
E-Bait Express Pro Staff
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