I'm no expert jig fisherman, but I found out a few things last season that I think will help me be more confident fishing them. First thing I learned is you have to fish the bait slow. Dragging it on the bottom, or small slow hops seem to be best for me, and if you think of what the bait is trying to mimic (the crawfish) that's how they move across the bottom of the lake. This isn't to contradict "swimming a jig, flipping or pitching a jig" which are different techniques all together, where you are often time fishing for a reaction bite. I'm talking about fishing off the bank along the bottom. I think alot of new jig fisherman work the bait too fast, and I was one of them. Once I slowed my presentation down to a crawl (literally), I started catching fish. Another issue for me was making sure I was fishing it in the right areas. For example, if I am fishing a long point, and i want to locate fish on the point, I'm not going to use a jig. In fact, I'm probably going to use a crankbait or a carolina rig first to locate the fish, unless I've seen something on the graph below the boat that says "Fish Here!" If I get bit on the crankbait or c-rig and can't get another bite on that presentation, then I pick up the jig and work the area I got bit very slow, and often times, I can catch another fish or 2 that way. The key is if I told myself I wanted to catch a fish on a jig, and started fishing it on the point, (IMHO) I would either be fishing the bait too fast, or I would be spending too much time fishing where the fish aren't. If I locate a point that extends out near the main channel of the lake, I always throw a jig in the area. If there are any irregular features (in the way of structure) with bait near bye I will throw a jig, because i have confidence that the area could, if not should, hold fish. Those fish that are often times innactive and can be picked off with the jig that might otherwise not chase down a fast moving bait. Sloooooow is the ticket, for me at least.
