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Here's another video for you guys so you can add this tool to your toolbox. It's been helping me catch fish so I thought I'd make a video to share the love.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=2&theater
For more videos and fishing reports check us out at: https://www.facebook.com/chesapeake.kayak.trolling
This technique is a good way to catch fish while they are hanging deep and you have identified the pattern, knowing that fish are nearby. You can't cover a lot of water this way so pick your spots carefully. You can cover more water than purely vertically jigging. A pedal driven kayak is a great tool for this technique. I use a Hobie Outback.
If fishing tidal waters, move in the direction of the current. In this video the wind was forcing the top layer of water against the current. If I were to jig in a standard fashion in these conditions, I'd be drifting in the wrong direction, against the current. Striped bass face into the current and strike at lures coming towards them, rarely do they strike at a lure that is going against the current.
Drop a jig head down....I used a 1 oz dressed with a Bass Kandy Delight (BKD), which is the standard soft plastic jig on the Chesapeake. Let it hit bottom and then start slowly moving (trolling) in the direction of the current along your desired feature or according to your pattern--in this situation is was the bottom of a channel edge. Let out a little more line so it still hits bottom while you are moving and bounce it along. As the jig touches bottom, the rod tip should be just touching the water which will give you the best rod sweep for a hook set when a fish hits. Just like standard jigging, slack is the enemy. Keep the line taut but not so much that the jig won't act naturally.
The benefits of troll jigging from a kayak over vertical or cast and retrieve jigging are numerous:
Like all trolling, the lure is always in the water so there is more productive time fishing.
The fish finder lights the way. It will tell you where the features are as you are atop them, letting you know if a strike is imminent as you go over a school. The fish finder can be then used similarly to the tactics I discuss in Light Tackle Kayak Trolling the Chesapeake Bay.
The other benefit is that, to the angler, it feels like vertical jigging rather than cast and retrieving where you don't have the sensitivity. Try casting and retrieving in deep water, you'll find that you run out of runway fast! Jig Trolling employs the sensitivity of vertical jigging while taking advantage of using a swimming presentation of casting and retrieving.
The down side is that after doing this all day, your wrists get tired.
Throw this tool in your toolbox and report back on the book's facebook page how you did. Or, give us your own tips...we'd love to hear them.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=2&theater
For more videos and fishing reports check us out at: https://www.facebook.com/chesapeake.kayak.trolling
This technique is a good way to catch fish while they are hanging deep and you have identified the pattern, knowing that fish are nearby. You can't cover a lot of water this way so pick your spots carefully. You can cover more water than purely vertically jigging. A pedal driven kayak is a great tool for this technique. I use a Hobie Outback.
If fishing tidal waters, move in the direction of the current. In this video the wind was forcing the top layer of water against the current. If I were to jig in a standard fashion in these conditions, I'd be drifting in the wrong direction, against the current. Striped bass face into the current and strike at lures coming towards them, rarely do they strike at a lure that is going against the current.
Drop a jig head down....I used a 1 oz dressed with a Bass Kandy Delight (BKD), which is the standard soft plastic jig on the Chesapeake. Let it hit bottom and then start slowly moving (trolling) in the direction of the current along your desired feature or according to your pattern--in this situation is was the bottom of a channel edge. Let out a little more line so it still hits bottom while you are moving and bounce it along. As the jig touches bottom, the rod tip should be just touching the water which will give you the best rod sweep for a hook set when a fish hits. Just like standard jigging, slack is the enemy. Keep the line taut but not so much that the jig won't act naturally.
The benefits of troll jigging from a kayak over vertical or cast and retrieve jigging are numerous:
Like all trolling, the lure is always in the water so there is more productive time fishing.
The fish finder lights the way. It will tell you where the features are as you are atop them, letting you know if a strike is imminent as you go over a school. The fish finder can be then used similarly to the tactics I discuss in Light Tackle Kayak Trolling the Chesapeake Bay.
The other benefit is that, to the angler, it feels like vertical jigging rather than cast and retrieving where you don't have the sensitivity. Try casting and retrieving in deep water, you'll find that you run out of runway fast! Jig Trolling employs the sensitivity of vertical jigging while taking advantage of using a swimming presentation of casting and retrieving.
The down side is that after doing this all day, your wrists get tired.
Throw this tool in your toolbox and report back on the book's facebook page how you did. Or, give us your own tips...we'd love to hear them.
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