This is extremely tough to convey in writing how to properly use a jig, but I’ll go over the basics of how I used them and recap some of the things I said in the jig tying post. First, I rarely float jigs. Some guys do this with good success and float them in current and twitch them below a float. Also a very light jig can be casted further with a float. Occasionally I will float a jig but only in current where it is too fast for me to swim a jig or swing it. I want to feel every twitch of the jig and have it completely under my control and I can only do that with the line tied directly to the jig. I also can impart the best swimming action to attract fish.

Stick with lighter jigs like 1/64 and 1/32 in lower water, and 1/16 ounce jigs in higher water, deeper pools, and swinging in current. Get a rythmn going and use your wrist to swim the jig in front of fish. Jig through pools, blind jig deep if you have to, and keep the jig in the fish’s field of vision. If you can’t see fish, keep it off the bottom, you are not jigging for walleyes. Keep it mid water column and experiment at different depths. If fish are holding high start jigging as soon as your jig hits the water.

Shorter tied jigs work best when presenting them vertically to fish close to you, and longer ones work best for casting out and retrieving, and swimming in current. You can hold a jig in current right in front of fish, much like using a Flatfish lure, keep the lure working at the right depth, and get them to strike. Even in slow pools you can target each fish and give all of them a good look at it.

Remember to feel the weight of the jig while you are imparting a jigging motion. Don’t furiously jig your arm off and don’t go so slow that it drops too much. About a 2 inch drop is all you need for the material to swim and attract fish. You want the jig to look alive. If the action doesn’t look good to you, it won’t to a fish, so slow down or speed up your jigging.

You can jig in almost any water. Pools, drifts, against banks, in front of packs of fish at the top of pools, even to fish that are just entering them. You can cast and retrieve them or swing the jig out with 10 feet of line already out and repeatedly jig to fish holding below your feet. You can also swing them like a streamer on a fly rod or a Flatfish lure in current. Cast the jig across and upstream of fish, let it drift down while jigging, then raise your rod tip and jig it across and in front of packs of fish that are downstream from you, allowing the jig to be pushed back to your side of the stream while you are jigging in the current. This is swinging. Fish will dart out and strike when they see it coming across their field of vision. Make sure the jig is at or slightly above the fish’s eye level in any situation.

For colors please reference the Jig Tying post. Jigging is something that works from September through April in all sections of the stream and even in the lake if they are close enough. It works all hours of the day including at night with black or glow in the dark jigs. It’s a technique that allows you to see the fish strike much of the time and see them chase. You should know in the first few casts if a pattern will do any good or not. I have a rotation of my best patterns that come out of the box in any situation and after a while I’ll try some new patterns or oddballs. Work on your rythm, cadence, and use just your wrist. You should not be jerking your entire arm, in fact your arm should be moving very little. Like casting a fly rod it’s all in the wrist. Use every inch of your rod when you have to and use the rod tip to feel the weight of the lure each time you lift a jig.

The best jig you have used the right way will out fish any live minnow and pretty much anything else you can use in Erie on our Steelhead. Even ice fishing in the winter on the streams a jig will get you into more fish than anything else. I’ve used and tied them for 7 years now and can’t comprehend why I wasn’t using them my first 2-3 seasons in Erie a long time ago. Once I watched enough guys hooking into fish throughout the day on them I finally broke down and bought a few. Buying a tying kit was the best thing I’ve ever done in fishing.

It’s tough to learn much about this technique without getting out and doing it so please buy a few jigs at the tackle shops or tie your own and use them. It may take a little time but soon enough you will be hooking fish at will and it will seem way too easy. It’s a deadly tool to have in Erie with a high success rate in the right hands, and it’s easily one of the most exciting ways to hook a fish. Good luck this season using them and the best part is you don’t ever have to shy away from using jigs in any part of the season, so you have about 7 months to get it right.

-JB