IMBOW wrote:
Question on your jigging technique - you seem to use a pretty subtle technique with what I would describe as gentle lifts and drops of say 1 to 1.5 feet. You also appear to take pretty long pauses. I thought I saw you make a couple of shorter "shakes" once maybe as well. It was hard to tell, but appeared that you were reeling up some to raise the bait and the fish. Do you or anyone else care to share their favorite "motion" and why they think it works. For example, I fished 1/17, 1/18, and 1/19. Nothing worked for me on 1/17. The fish would come in, but I could NOT make them bite. On 1/18, I saw maybe a half dozen fish and got one 7 pounder to commit to a series of continuous 1 foot lift and drops with no pauses. on 1/19, I and my group of four caught lots of fish to 10.3 pounds and they seemed to hit everything from spastic shakes to continuous lifts and drops. They still didn't seem to want to come off the bottom much, so we had to keep it in their face to get bit.
the fish will tell you what they want when the bite is on they will hit a moving beer can top when they arnt feeding hard you have to work them to me and most my friends that's when fishing gets interesting and gives the most reword. honestly ive fished with some serious hardcore fishermen some days they kill them with there ways if you are lucky they will show you and you will catch fish with them........ the more tricks you have in your back pocket the better your chance is to catch fish at different times thru the day if you jig all day and cant get them to hit it makes for a long day and few fish to show for your efforts. when the fish are actively feeding it can be ass easy as one minnow in a hook drop it down and its fish on before your line hits bottom,,,, books have been written on this subject, and a lot of theory's. bottom line is learning to read a fish as fast as you can and adjust before you turn it off and it leaves. keep its intrest you now stand at least half a chance at catching it I know this really dosnt answer your question but in any given day im liable to trigger a fish using anyone of dozen tricks lure size big flash, no flash 3 minnows one minnow a minnow head high jigging pounding the bottom aggressive rips. and sometimes pause until the fish licks its way up the minnow to the hook..... I wish there was a good answer to your question but there just isn't...
And to me, if a fish wont come off bottom more than a foot that's the fish im looking for I bet if you ask most guys who hunt big fish they will tell you its the vipers that raise up and smash a lure 10 foot off bottom but almost never will a true hog rise more than a foot to chase a lure that's the one I want to work.