Vertical jigging Master

J

jiggerjohn

Active member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
547
Finally got out with Red over the past two days -the guy is the most amazing fish HUNTER I've ever seen ! We had windy conditions (always makes it tricky on flat Pymatuning) and high sun, post cold front conditions, with the water temps at 51* and still not quite as warm as it takes to get crappies moving (esp at the deeper water south end where we were).Nonetheless, the ole boy instantly ran out to a deep water bar he knew (seems he knows them ALL !), scouted with the depth finder for a minute,plunked down a marker buoy, and we were soon vertical jigging the wool jig in 13' of water. Before I blinked, Red had 3 nice crappies on board! We picked and pieced over the two days, and had a chore cleaning the mass of crappies,perch, bluegill, walleye, smallmouth, and rock bass after each day (already I now am having trouble fitting all the bags of fillets in my home freezers!!), in what he called "bad days, fish ain't quite ready for about two weeks from now"!). Red's exact method will take some time to properly explain, but he is very good with his cheap depth sounder, his own knowledge as the "GPS"(!!!), and marker buoys -then uses a delicate feel when vertical jigging, along with moving slowly around a tiny bar or brush pile with his electric trolling motor.Sorta of a slow troll on exacting small prime structure spots,while fishing 8-14' straight down from the boat,with his woolies (sometimes tipped with a tiny minnow for these tough conditions, but almost as effective-moreso the first day- when jiggled untipped), and a CONSTANT eye on the depth sounder for tiny dots that indicated fish.Amazing how he could call out those "fish dots" and a few seconds later,one or both of us would have the rod bendover!! Much more to tell, but son Sean ( a pro chef) is now serving fresh walleye,perch, and crappie in our kitchen!
 
H

Hawnjigs

KISS
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
4,318
Location
Ogallala, NE
Uh oh, first big water trip of the season and your freezer already full? And the bite isn't on yet?

Didya get to compare wool jigs with other material ties?
 
J

jiggerjohn

Active member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
547
Hawnjigs, Yep, I briefly tried a plastic paddletail which had scored in the past,but nada. Cast a Boolie for a while and got one or two. As I said, the take in the cold water was very slow, almost had to put the wool jig, and usually only a BLUE satin model (my trout killer!), right in front of their nose ! Fortunately Red DOES know how to position the jig right in their face with his perfect boat control, and was,after a while borrowing MY blue jigs (the ultimate compliment!!)- tho he did vow after a long day on the water to get home and tie a bunch of blue satin woolies!! One crazy thing I did discover -with Red's jig, a small split tail cut from an ultrathin plastic grocery bag was a superb,actionized dressing, which got me a bunch of fish (Red didn't use any I had precut,but perked up when I nailed a bunch in a row:he calls these tippings "baggies"!!)
 
H

Hawnjigs

KISS
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
4,318
Location
Ogallala, NE
Blue is one of my fave salt water colors, but never made it into my fresh water arsenal cuz, well, I never saw that color in the wild except on dried out crawfish shells. Altho, my first experience fresh water fishing in CO caught dinner for 5 on blue & pearl tube jigs since I had only my salt water lures. People in HI told me that mainland fish were blander tasting than local but we sure enjoyed those walleye.
 
E

eyecrosser

New member
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
494
Location
Kansas
Could you post a pic showing the "baggie" tied in. Thanx. Sounds like a great day on the water and a nice mess for a meal.
 
J

jiggerjohn

Active member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
547
Hawnjigs, I was reflecting on your "blue" jig color thoughts- I'd read years ago of a scientific study(1960s) conducted in a private lake in the midwest that had been closed to any fishing for years,then opened& strictly controlled for the express purpose of checking each bass/bluegill catch & determining what lures were vital to tricking them.Most of the old, famous standard plugs were most consistant, but one thing that baffled the scientists,was the outstanding take by a simple BLUE bucktail jig -and ONLY blue- that those bass didn't seem to get tired of (they grew wise to some plugs,however). My old fishing partner, the late,great Earl Cartwright and I used to joke about things like the blue color, and he'd remind me of crazy notions, such as "there are few blue critters around lakes,simply because the fish ATE EM ALL !!" Maybe why blueberries grow away from lakes & bluejays don't fly near -they're irresistable to bass!!! Of course, it's probably the sight factor- Dr. Colin Kageyama in his book, "What Fish See" was very high on the extreme visibility of blue. I believe blue is just a very bright "neon gray" in water,and we know they LOVE gray jigs! Talked to Red last night and he was out once more yesterday-again blue was the key deep water color (they coolered another 50 or so, but discovered the crappies are moving into shoreline coves from 5 till dusk, and the waders are getting bunches now).

Eyecrosser, right now I don't have any photos of the "baggies". But,wow, do these have great action behind Red's jig! All ya gotta do is take the wrapper that your morning newspaper is delivered in, cut a rectangle of 2" length and 1/4 to 1/2" wide, and cut a V tail in the back end. Just pin over the jig hook so it extends just beyond the rear flashing materials. This ultra thin plastic is amazing on a vertical jigging motion, or any up down twitch imparted thru the jig. Also it wiggled around very realistically during those times Red would troll us thru shallow bays in search of moving fish.Try one & see ; if ya don't like em,it's not like there's any cost involved!!
 
J

jiggerjohn

Active member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
547
Sean and I just spent the past two days on Pymatuning with Red. Water is warming, both days were sunny and comfortable for fishing, crappie are staging to begin hitting the shallows, and Red again proved to be a virtual "fish sniffer" ! Monday found the crappies to be on 12-14' edges of humps and bars, and quite eager to load on to Red's jigs and his vertical fishing tactics. Picked up a few at each location,with Red's liberal use of the depth sounder,electric trolling motor, and floating markers! Then,near evening, we discovered bunches of huge crappies on a midlake "walleye hump"- we picked up about 20 over(some well over!) 14" in length!! Those biggees(numbers of lunkers even shocked Red himself!) sure topped off the cooler! On day two, the size was not as good (see full cooler above in Keith's post (thanks for the help, Keith!), but we took more total fish, both days of which Sean estimated of about 120 crappies, with many more pulling off the jigs at the last moment at boatside(with this much activity, some of us get overly excited during playing time!!). I discovered when fishing with Red, that ya better have a quick, strong NET, even with these "panfish"! And Red still maintains "the best is yet to come",once the crappies get in to spawn, then go on the "big feed" thereafter!!
 
J

jiggerjohn

Active member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
547
A few other neat items observed of Red's fishing technique-he always has his "hands on rod" down to his side,arm bent, with neither arm nor rod touching anything-just hanging in space for max feel of even the lightest bite.He observes EVERYTHING on the water-what others are doing in boats close or far or from friendly chats at the boat launch, how us partners are rigged or even tying knots, and any fish activity whether on or near surface or down deep on his depth finder screen.When fish are picky ,as now with spawning very close, Red likes to tip with the front HALF of a minnow(clips em off at the vent and removes tail -is convinced this enhances a "scent trail, and often uses "fresh dead" minnows anyway). By the way, Sean & I discovered a superior bite by using wool/satin jigs (Blue) tied on Hawnjigs' new 1/22 oz tin Dartheads, kept deep & somewhat stable for vertical jigging with Red's windy weather (almost always on Pym!) tactic of a nice sized split shot 8" upline.
 
F

Fatman

Active member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
10,525
Location
Northfield, Vermont
JJ - I found out what you meant by that wool really sticks to the fish's mouth. Even the two little bass I caught had it stuck good.
 
F

fish_4_all

New member
Joined
Jun 12, 2010
Messages
18
This has been a LOT of reading for sure! Lots of good stuff and I think Wool will make it's way into some of my tying for sure. I really love the Satin for the flahs because I can not find the thin stuff I really like anymore.

I will definately be trying some for some of my steelhead and slamon flies and jigs this year just to see if it can make the same difference for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top