Springtime Jig Fishing For Big Bass
Springtime Jig Fishing For Big Bass
Jason Nightingale - Kaotik Lures Owner's point of view - When the water starts warming up on lakes and river systems, anglers start getting the itch for the fishing season to begin. This will also start frustrating many fishermen when the bites are almost non-existant. There is hope however. For guaranteed success, you look no further than bass jigs. For many years, anglers have been using the jig to produce huge numbers of bass. Here are a few tips that you can use to bounce back into Spring with a smile.
Location, location, location
Once the water temperatures reach the middle fifties, bass will start to migrate from the deep water and position themselves for feeding and then to spawn. Points play a major role in Spring fishing. Points offer bass a place to move from deep water to very shallow water to feed. Throw in a brush pile or some stumps and you have bass heaven! Under this condition, pitch your bass jigs to the deeper water along the structure, moving your jig up to shallow water. Make sure you make repeated casts along all points of your cover, because cold bass can sometimes be nonaggresive. The key is to be patient and work your jig slow. This gives your bass jig plenty of time to sit in the bass' strike zone.
If the bass aren't on the points, try moving back into coves and pockets off the main lake or river. In here, you'll want to hit every piece of cover that you can find. Again, work your bass jig slowly across every bit of that cover.
Another little secret spot to find large numbers of springtime bass is bridge rip rap or any other rip rap banks. Rocks will generally warm up faster than other places, which will in turn warm the water faster and activate bait fish. Start pitching bass jigs shallow to every crevice that is on the rip rap an work your jig down to deeper water to about 10 feet deep. If there is bass there, you will definitely know it!
Presentation Is Key
Presentation will make a big diferrence in a few bites or a lot of bites. Think about a crawfish for a minute. Craws in distress will back up really fast and then sit there motionless. So start off imitating a distressed craw by quick hops on the bottom with 3 seconds of pause time while reeling up your slack. If the bass aren't aggressive, work the bass jig or spider jig very slowly with a drag and pause movement. Shake the bait a bit to make the claws move on your trailer. These two techniques will help you get more bites while out on the water.
Know Your Equipment
The equipment you use can also lead to success or failure. If you are fishing a bass jig, I recommend using a flippin' stick. These rods a specifically designed for bass jig fishing. They allow you to get more leverage on a bass that bites in heavy cover. Use fishing line this is no less than 20lb. test.
If you are fishing a finesse jig like the Kaotik Spider jig in a 1/4 oz or 3/8 oz., the rod and line I have found to work best is a 6'-10" or 7' medium heavy rod with 10 or 12 lb. test monofiliment or flourocarbon line. Bites on finesse jigs are often light, and you need to feel the bait and the light bite without being detected, and a softer tip of the medium heavy rod allows that.
Quality above all
The most important thing to look for in today's diverse bass jig selection is quality. Make sure bass jigs has a quality hook, skirt and weedguard. Kaotik Lures only offers the best hooks, 60 strand Bio-Flex skirting and fiber weedguards on all of our Spider Jigs. You also get your choice of Mustad UltraPoint hooks or Gamakatsu Wide Gap Hooks. Also, when fishing bass jigs make sure you add a trailer, and in some occasions, scent.
With Spring on our doorstep, make sure you are ready for an action packed Spring of jig fishing for bass. Using these tips and my Pro Staff's tips on your upcoming adventures, I will guarantee you will catch more bass. Have fun!
Tank Mosley's point of viewWhen I think of Spring, I think of sunny days, Reaction Strikes and big bass on beds. Spring is not always beautiful to us hawg hunters. Early spring brings fronts, high winds and colder water. In early spring I always keep a bass jig tied on and ready to go, I can cover water by swimming bass jigs to locate grass, brush, or rock piles. Once these structures are located I can slow down and pick it apart. Generally, I'm fishing 4-6 feet of water them moving shallow. For this time of year I'm fishing <3/8 oz Black/Blue or Pumpkin Green Kaotik Lures spider jigs. I pair my spider jigs with a Katie bug or Baby Paca Chunk to give it that added appeal.
In the Middle of Spring, the Potomac River fishing begins heating up as the mutiple species of grass begin to grow. As Spring progresses and the grass gets thick, I begin flipping bass jigs to individual clumps of Milfoil and Hydrilla. When this begins, I will switch to heavier bass jigs in the same colors. I fish all of my jigs on a 7" Medium heavy action, JB's Custom Rod. I pair my rod with a Abu Garcia "Skeet Reese" Revo and 20 lb flourocarbon. When Bass lock on the beds, I will use a jig to catch them. I will trim the skirt of my bass jigs way back witch gives the jig a flare presentation. Match your bass jig with a Baby Paca craw and start wackin' away!
Andrew Robert's point of view - Jason, it's funny you should ask me about Springtime bass jig fishing today. I was out yesterday and caught 5 bass in a couple hours including a 7.25 pounder. They all came on Kaotik Spider Jigs.
I should tell you that bass jigs are my favorite bait. Whenever I can fish a jig, I do. For me, springtime means using bass jigs a couple ways, depending on what the fish tell me to do. I like to throw smaller jigs (1/8-3/8oz) in the springtime, as there is far less grass prevalent and therefore no need for a heavier jig which I will need later to penetrate.
I also like swimming a smaller bass jigs as I can swim it more naturally than a heavy bass jig, which I like to do in the springtime to lure pre-spawn and spawning bass into striking or at least chasing the bait and showing themselves to me. I will usually do a combination of swimming and hopping the jig to find fish and then focus on an area while working a bass jig more slowly.
As I said before, I allow the fish to dictate. For example, I fished with Tank Mosley a few days ago and they were hitting the spider jig while I was swimming and bouncing it. Yesterday, they wouldn't touch it so I had to slow down and every fish I caught, picked it up off the bottom. As with other times of the year, I will allow water color to determine jig color, but with the sparse vegetation and cleaner water that I normally associate with springtime, I prefer a lighter color bass jig. I will also select bass jigs that are similar in color to the normal springtime nuisances of bass - ie: bluegill.
Mike Yeagley's point of view - When the water starts to reach the 50's in early spring, I will be throwing bass jigs about 80% of the time. Bass will start to move out of their winter homes and start feeding for spawn. Even though they start moving and feeding for spawn they will still be sluggish and not want to chase a meal down. This is why I love to fish a bass jig at this time of year. It can be fished very slow and effective for this hungry bass. But, at this time of year I will be throwing it different than I do in the summer and fall.
The first thing that I do, "is what I do not do", this time of year. I do not trim the skirt down on the bass jig as I would in the summer or fall. By not trimming the skirt gives the jig a bigger profile which is appetizing to the bass and it also makes the jig fall a lot slower. With all bass jigs, I add a trailer 100% of the time and in the spring I add a very bulky trailer. This will also make the jig fall even slower and gives it a big profile.
I love throwing as light as bass jig as possible in the spring. If there is no-to very little wind, I like to throw a 1/4 oz jig. If it is windier, I will throw a 3/8 to a 1/2 oz jig. Wind is the main factor of my decision on weight, not the depth I am fishing. As colors go I prefer 2 basic colors, black/blue and green pumpkin.
When I am fishing bass jigs, I will let the fish tell me how they want it. Some days they want it just sitting on the bottom with very little movement. If this is the case, I pretty much "dead stick" it with very little action. Sometimes they like it to hop off the bottom. Then there are times they like it to jump high and fall back to the bottom. With these three different techniques they all can be intertwined. This is what I will let the bass tell me. If I am fishing an area I am confident there are fish, I will work bass jigs many different ways until I get bit. Then you will know what they are wanting and go on to catch many, many more.
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