While I was up this past week and sitting on he ice I was thinking of some of the little things I do that give me confidence while jigging for walleye. Some are superstitious, some may help but I was wondering what others do? Here are a couple of things that come to mind. C'mon spill the beans. i am sure i have more but these are the ones that come to mind on this sunday morning
1. I find myself bringing a cup to bail water out of the minnow bucket and i fel like this may attract fish by putting a scent and particle in the water. I also add water one cup at a time, maybe every 10 minutes to allow minnows to adjust. I might take 3-4 cups out but then I ad the water back in slowly. This also adds oxygen to the bucket and makes for spunkier minnows. Always change your minnow water right before you pack it up for the day.
2. I have an musical artist that i listen to while jig. I seem to always do better when i have him on. Maybe it actually affects my jigging pattern. Puts me in the zone
3. I will never jig with less than 2 minnows. If I have a monster on the flasher and I feel like he just stole a minnow or one fell off, i will reel up and add another. I have no confidence unless i have 2 minnows on my jig. 9 out of 10 times as soon as i drop it back down the fish will still be there and sometimes more aggressive.
4. I always hook one minnow through the head and the other through the jaw. When i pull up and i see a minnow is missing, i hook it though the opposite way of the remaining minnow.
5. I like to drill another hole 20-30 foot away from where my hut is. (the release hole) I feel like releasing them down the hole that i pulled it out of is a way to either spook other fish down there or maybe they have some sort of noise or way they act when they get down there that laerts fish to the danger. Again, may be stupid but confidence is a key on the bay.
6. Before i ever start jigging, I put a little Berkely Marinade on my fingers and the lure. I am not sure it attracts fish but maybe it's the difference in a fish sniffing and striking because he smells my monster energy drink or crackers or whatever else may have been on my touch.
7. When i drop a jig down i will not drop all the way to the bottom, i watch it on the flasher and stop it 10 feet or so above bottom and then jig it down . I've seen too many times where that has spooked fish.
8. I change hooks often. the thumbnail test is a good indicator. If it slides easy on your thumbnail, change it! Who bothers with sharpening? We spend how much money fishing on the bay? Just change the thing out because a few hooks is a small penny in the big scheme of what we spend. Think about it, that's the only thing that comes in contact with he fish and maybe most important.
9. RED HOOKS!!!!!!
10. i won't ever jig a side hooked minnow. If the hook wraps around and side hooks one on my minnows, it comes up and gets changed. I can easily feel this if it happens.
11. Here is one that makes me look like an idiot but i doubt i am the only one who has ever done this. When i feel like im caught in a certain jigging pattern and need to switch things up a little because the bite is slow, i will throw a dead minnow in my jigging hole and try to lift it or bounce it around with the line .
It mixes up my action and if you have ever done this you know what i am talking about. Not saying it works, just saying that i do it.
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