Beginners Guide to Fishing

A guide to jig fishing:
casting and retrieving

Jigs are a basic staple of artificial lures. Many fish have been caught with a jig, possibly more than any other lure. They can be fished in heavy weeds and brush, and used when fish are not active. Most jigs have the following: a weighted head, a hook, weed guard, a skirt (the strands of hair, plastic, or feathers that are attached just under the head to form a "skirt") Some come with a trailer, others don't, and can be fished as is or you can add a plastic, pork rind, or other trailer.

There are different styles of jigs including: Leadheads, Casting jigs, Flipping jigs, and Hair jigs also known as "bucktails. You can find a variety of jigs, grubs, beetle spins, etc. For pan fish as well as bass and other game fish at your local bait shop, or you can find a wide variety online at or one of the other fine fishing sites who's banners are on this page. There are also a number of smaller jigs used for panfish.
Use the Basic Color Guide as a guide to which standard colors you may wish to have on hand. As your experience grows, so will the colors of lures and baits in your tackle box. Also there is a temperature chart to give you an idea as to what lure to use in different water temps.

Jigging for panfish

For panfish such as bream or crappie, I enjoy using a beetle spin weighted between 1/32 and 1/8 oz. Simply cast it to a promising area and retrieve by turning the reel crank one turn, pause a second, and repeat. I use the same retrieve for other panfish and crappie jigs, around brush piles and drop offs (where the pond or lake bottom drops off and becomes deeper) or sloping banks.
Or, use a 1/22-ounce hair jig and attach a live cricket onto the hook of the jig.Bait the cricket from the rear to the front so the whole cricket is on the jig. Attach a split shot weight about 6 inches up from the jig, and use a bobber that has lead in the bottom of it for easier casting. Set the bobber so the jig is suspended about 3 feet from the bobber.

Heavier jigs work great for bass and other large game fish especially in highly fished lakes, where bass are slow to bite do to high fishing pressure. They work great in colder water, muddy or murky water, and heavy cover as well as sloping banks and drop offs. Below are a few casting and retrieval suggestions.

Flipping

Flip the jig into shallow murky or muddy water that has a dense wood cover. (Flipping is preformed by extending 7 or 8 feet of line past the rod tip, and pulling an arms length of line out with your free hand, then begin to raise your rod tip smoothly to start your lure swinging toward you while pulling line through the guides with your free hand at the same time. When the lure swing all the way back to your body, lower the tip of your rod and let the lure swing forward like a pendulum toward your target. The lure should enter the water with little noise and splash and fall to the bottom. It takes practice to master flipping.)

Pitching

In clear to slightly stained water with weed and wood cover, pitching is often your best bet. (To pitch, holding the lure with your free hand, put the reel in free spool, releasing the line. Point the rod tip toward the water, quickly snap the rod upward while releasing the lure. The lure should stay close to the water as it swings forward almost with a straight trajectory. As the lure moves toward the target and begins pulling line from your reel, lower the rod to control the lures height above the water. The lure should hit the water quitely and straight down into the cover. If using a baitcaster reel, use your thumb to feather the spool as the lure falls.)

Swimming retrieve

On flat pond or lake bottoms try a jig with a pork or plastic trailer. Cast the jig and hold the rod at the 3 o'clock position while the jig sinks to the bottom. Bring the rod up to the 2 o'clock position and begin a slow constant retrieve all the way back to you. If the jig hits the bottom during the retrieve, simply speed up the retrieve a bit. If you feel a bite or some unusual resistance drop the rod to three o'clock and set the hook.

Drop retrieve

Use this retrive with any jig when fishing down sloping banks or ledges. Position your boat to deeper water and cast to the shallower water. Leave your rod in the two o'clock position as the jig sinks to the bottom. When the jig is on the bottom move the rod to 3 o'clock and reel in the slack line. Lift or pop the rod back to 2 o'clock. Lifting will cause the jig to move smoother. Popping the rod will make the jig jump.

Color

Choose the color of your jig by the color of the water you are going to fish. In muddy water try black, chartreuse, pumpkin, white, pink, or combinations of these colors. If the water is just stained a bit, try black, blue, or a combanation of black and blue. For clear water smokey grey, watermelon, pumpkin, and flake colors, or combinations there of, work well.