Jigging from a kayak

[wiljack78]

I would like to learn about jigging from a kayak. How heavy should the lead head be? Bucktail dressing or not? Soft plastic curly tail or Bass Assasin/ BKD type body? What color? When do I use a jigging spoon or StingSilver metal? Do I set the hook immediately or allow a 5 count? Can I just use a full soft plactic shad with weight inside? Should I rig tandem? Should I use a teaser? Do I drift and vertical jig while drifting or Cast and jig back to an anchored kayak? The student is ready ol' wise one. Teach me.

[DOGFISH]

Wow, thats alot of questions. I am by no means a vertical jigging expert, but I have done alittle. As you stated, vertical jigging is just that, up and down. So you lift your rod tip sharply and let it down. You can vary the speed of the raise and of the drop. However, most of the hits occur on the drop. So you do need to maintain some line control on the drop. Imagine, it is as if the small bait fish is trying to escape to the bottom and the gamefish will then grab it.

As I have recently learned, the hard way, there are these little flutter jigs, such as the Silver Buddy, the Cicada and the Bass Pro version, that will flutter back to the bottom, and provoke a strike. I have seen them used on TV and recently used by Chimo. They seem to be good lures.

I have used Hopkins and Kastmasters, jigging in the past with mixed results. You do have to set the hook quickly. It does not take a fish long to figure out the the food it just grabbed is a piece of metal. If you are using soft plactics, you may have alittle longer. I would set the hook as fast as I can. This is not like large mouth bass fishing with soft plastics. Where even then you don't take that long. A striper or a bass gulps it food into its mouth. When you feel the hit, the lure is in the fishes mouth, set the hook.

For years I have used bucktails. However, that is not exactly verticle jigging. This is something that is really catching on in the bay. For years this has been a deep salt water or deep fresh water tactic. Mostly in the bay, I have always used bucktails or soft plactics, such as the Storm baits, to cast out and then jig back in along the bottom or off structure. Thats not really vertical jigging.

Do not overlook the little flutter jigs that I mentioned earlier. They seem to be very effective. As far a weight, its like sinkers, you need to get to the bottom and stay in contact or near the bottom.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

[ictalurus]

You should check out chesapeakelighttackle.com. Pretty much everything there applies to jigging from a kayak. Also, check out posts on tidalfish.com by Shawn Kimbro (author of chesapeakelighttackle.com), jumbo1, and Tom Hughes--they're usually pretty informative about technique and how to locate fish. One difference in my limited experience is that guys that jig from a boat seem to use lighter jig heads than I do. I like to keep the line from "scoping out" (getting too far away from vertical) too much, so I often use 1oz heads/bucktails or more. Braided line (10-15lb test) is a must but requires a mono or fluoro leader. Lots of guys go on and on about fluoro being less visible, but I don't think that matters as much as the fact that fluoro has less stretch, which makes it more sensitive. There are photos on line of various monofilaments and fluorocarbons under water, and there isn't much difference. That matters even less when you consider how turbid the Bay is and how dark it is at depth.

For plastics, I like Bass Kandy Delights, which are a local version of Bass Assassins or Flukes. I like white and chartreuse, but opening night and other colors work, too. I caught some big croakers this year on jigging a BKD around the pilings of big pier. You can add some Spike-It scented dye to add some contrast and a more natural odor. The Bass Assassin shape generates less slack on the decent than a shad shape, and slack is the enemy of detecting bites and setting the hook.

For jigging metal, I like 1.2-1.5oz Stingsilvers with dressed hooks. I cut two of the tines off the treble. These work for white perch, too. These don't flutter as much on the drop as other spoon shapes. Lots of folks will add a clouser-type fly 18" above the spoon, which presents two sizes of baits. I haven't done this myself, though.

Bucktails tipped with a Gulp grub, shrimp, or jerk minnow are deadly for flounder. I think Redfish12 uses a cool bass-type jig (like a jig 'n' pig) combined with a Bass Assassin to good effect for stripers. The old timers used to use a bucktail with a pork rind for stripers, too.

You should set the hook right away. This is where I have trouble because the fish will often hit at the beginning of the descent when the rod tip is the highest. That makes it hard to get enough leverage to drive the hook in. A fast or extra-fast action rod makes it easier to detect the bite and set the hook. Also look for slack sooner than you expect the bottom to be. If you raised your rod tip 1ft but get slack 6" before hitting the bottom, set the hook.

The only other difference I've noticed between jigging from a boat and jigging from my kayak is that it's harder for me to set the hook from my kayak. I think I have a harder time getting the right leverage, which probably means I'm raising my rod tip too high.

I actually think the hardest part about jigging is finding a good concentration of fish to jig on. The Bay Bridge pilings and other bridge pilings are good for that, though.

That's all I got, but I stink at jigging. Good luck.

[surfdog]

the only thing i can add to what bill said is use a fast snap when lifting and try to keep the line tight on the fall. im right handed so i fish on the port side with 12 o'clock over head i will snap the rod tip from 830-9 to no more than 10 and follow it back on the fall any slack in the line on the way down and whack set the hook. man cant wait for saturday

[wiljack78]

Nice

Great info. I also can't wait to give this a try. Sounds like paying very close attention and focusing on my line is critical. Do you jig while anchored, not moving, or while the kayak is drifting with the current? Thanks for all the input. Going out Sat to work on this technique.

[surfdog]

mostly drifting. trick is to keep vertical straight up and down if you get a bow in the line you will not feel the bite.

[wiljack78]

another key that I've missed. "trick is to keep vertical". When ever I've tried in the past it was always casting and retrieving with a jigging motion. As Surfdog says, I don't feel the bite.

[chimo]

Vertical jigging works best when you can find concentrated areas of fish. You can't cover lots of ground like when you are trolling so you need to find the schools, get right over top of them and then put your bait / lure right there with them or slightly above. Good electronics are a lifesaver when it comes to this type of fishing. You can tell when there are fish around, what depth, and how they react to your presentation. good fishin

Chimo

[Redfish12]

another key that I've missed. "trick is to keep vertical". When ever I've tried in the past it was always casting and retrieving with a jigging motion. As Surfdog says, I don't feel the bite.

Great information here in this thread! Two different techniques though, vertical jigging and casting & jigging. What you were doing before can also be effective and allow you to cover more water. I think vertical jigging is more effective when you can locate a school of fish or are jigging near a structure that holds fish.

Vertical jigging is hard for me from the kayak, I should have done it more when the blues were thick this summer but I got too focused on live-lining when I was out by the bridge. My technique is very similar to surf's, if 12 o'clock is straight up I'm jigging from just past 3 to 2 on the watch face in quick snaps then lowering the tip of my rod as the jig flutters down. You need to keep enough tension to "feel" the jig flutter down and at the same time keep enough pressure off the line as to allow the jig to fall and flutter. It takes some getting used to but you should be able to feel it once you get the hang of it. This tactic has been primarily used on stingsilvers, crippled herring, diamond jigs, kastmasters, etc. basically any metal and the size should be similar to the bait, or enough to make it to the bottom and allow you to stay vertical. Sometimes the fish want longer sweeps, which is difficult on a kayak. For instance I was on a charter last Sunday jigging a plain 2oz stingsilver and I was the only one hooking up at all. My trick was to make sure I kept the belly out of my line- constantly reeling in and dropping it straight down a little ahead of our drift but at the same time keeping contact with the jig on the fall. I had two fish hit it before I could get the bail snapped back down (I was feathering the spool to try and keep a feel on the line), I think I would have caught them with a baitcaster. Anyway, long story short, I was jigging by pointing the tip down at the water then raising it all the way to eye level (Along with the butt of the rod almost) and then following it back down. I can't get that long of a sweep sitting in my kayak. Needless to say, I have not been the most effective vertical jigger from the kayak, but it has its place and it is effective.

If I'm going to jig a soft plastic, like I would do at a warmwater discharge or in a heavy current area, I'll use 1oz-2oz leadheads with a 6''-10'' BKD, curly tail, or other slim profile plastic. I employ a similar action as I would with a metal jig, only the sweeps aren't as long and I try to constantly bounce bottom. Quick erratic jerks are usually used, in colder water the fish are more lethargic, so I try to give the jig short pops or even just let it swim there. Bites are often very subtle for large fish. Braided lines and fast action graphite rods rated to 2oz are great here.

This is getting out of hand... but a quick mention of other tactics-

JSKINNER put together a great video on bucktails tipped with gulp for flounder, I have been wanting to try it. JFFOLEY tried it with success this year, hopefully the flounder will make a better showing next year.

Casting and jigging- this can get very tiring on the kayak after awhile, but can also be the most effective. Casting around points, drops, and other structure while reeling and popping the rod can be deadly, but the speed will depend on the fish, as will the depth you need to be retrieving. The fish will let you know. My go to jig for this is a Swamp Munkey (bass type jig with a fluke) or a fluke. Other styles like sassy shads and storms do not need as much popping some days and you can just reel them in with the occasional bump. I've caught the majority of my fish with this method, but it's limited and excels in shallow water, when fish are suspended off the bottom, or oriented around structure.

I'm going to break out the vertical tactics next trip and see if I can't hit one on the nose!

[mmanolis2001]

This thread is full of good tips. Now i have a question

How do you non Hobie guys keep the jig vertical while drifting or in current? Do you up the jig size? I always drift to fast to keep the jig on a vertical plan for more than 2 or 3 lifts. Once the jig planes out i loose all feel for it on the drop and end up watch the line for taps or change in direction. Of course this only works if there is little to no wind. Good luck finding that on the bay.

I feel there is a limit on the weight you want to use while jigging soft plastics. When i get over 1.5 oz the Grub or BA just ends up darting down and not fluttering down like it does with the lighter jig heads in 1/2oz to 1oz size. In this case would you switch to the metal? I always have issues with metals hanging up on the leader when i jig them. Maybe I'm not keep enough tension on the line during the drop?

I need to get out and practice. Maybe i will get jiggy with it this Saturday and put some time in.

[surfdog]

if you dont drop an anchor when over the fish you might get 3-4 good snaps in before reeling up and dropping again then move back and find the school again.

i have a 4" shamano sushi spoon the kind with 2 hooks on top, ive been wanting to test in the kayak. saturday is looking very good, maybe no ice in the seat peg holes this weekend

[ictalurus]

Once you find the fish, it's a little easier to deal with the wind/current. Just go upwind/current and drift back over the fish. Also, you can cast upwind/current and time it so that the jig hits the bottom a little ahead of you so you can get a couple bounces before it scopes out the other way. I've done this from a boat with good results, so I don't see why it wouldn't work in a yak. If the wind and current are too crazy, than you'll have to anchor like surfdog says.

[DOGFISH]

I was talking to a guy at the store who goes jigging. He said he has been using a Sting Silver, in gold color and ties in a small yellow bucktail about two feet above the vertical jig. He said that he has been doing very well with that rig. He said sometimes he will even double up. Everyone seems to have their own way of vertical jigging. This is one area that I will have to play catch-up.

[wiljack78]

Sat 11 to 4:30, Caught 8 small Rock using vertical jigging at BB in 50 foot of water. 2 on a teaser and 6 on a stingsilver with no tail. they would not bite bass assasin, bucktail or a sting silver with tail. Nice day 54 deg water, mid 50's air, calm conditions, only saw Crawdad and a few boats. I have to keep working on this technique. I missed several bites and they were not on bottom like I thought. I had to get over them and find the best depth. Ictalurus is right, trebles are too much trouble to get out of their mouth. Thanks for the help.

[dhmjd]

use a drift sock, or make one. small bucket with a couple of hole will slow you down in the wind.