Jigs draw plenty of bass
Whether it's deep or shallow, aggressive or inactive, lakes or rivers, or largemouth or smallmouth, jigs factor heavily in summer and fall bass fishing. Tailoring jig weight to differing fishing situations means getting the most production from this reliable tactic.
Kittanning's Deron Eck, a consistently high finisher on the Keystone Bass Buddies Circuit, is looking for reaction strikes from inactive fish when he drops three-quarter to 1-ounce jigs along deep weed edges.
Eck seeks out the heaviest clumps of weeds, typically milfoil and coontail on the clear-water reservoirs and small natural lakes he fishes, allowing the Zoom Big Salty Chunk-dressed Picasso Spider jig to bump along the cover on its way down before hitting the bottom with a resounding thunk.
If a pick-up doesn't occur during the initial fall, Eck stirs things up by imparting three or four quick 6-inch lifts before moving along to the next target.
Converse to the outside edge of the weedline, Chuck Aurandt finds summer and early fall largemouths relating to the inside edge of the weeds, particularly when fishing pressure has moved them off the deep side of the vegetation band.
"They'll get in that zone between the bank and the inside edge, which is usually about 2 to 4 feet deep," said the Johnstown-area tournament angler.
Aurandt lightens up to a quarter- to half-ounce jig with a recessed line tie. He trims the fibers on the weed guard and comes up with a finesse-sized compact offering. Holding the boat roughly on the inside edge of the cover, he inches along, making 20-foot pitches ahead of him, particularly to the thicker clumps of weeds.
"It's a slow, in-close method of fishing, but one that's especially effective on sunny days," said Aurandt.
Ken Baumgardner, a 2009 Bassmaster Classic qualifier, often targets fall weedbeds with a swimming retrieve that blends a horizontal look with a vertical one.
In areas where the weeds are located a foot or two under the surface or are pushed over by a breeze, Baumgardner fires a three-quarter to 1-ounce swimming jig over the bed. The 7:1 ratio of his reel allows him to swim a white-colored jig over the weed tops. He keeps the rod tip at the eight o'clock position and shakes the tip during the retrieve.
The bright color assists in keeping track of the lure so he can momentarily allow it to flutter down in open pockets of weeds.
Skilled smallmouth bass anglers who ply their craft on rivers during the fall also understand the significance of matching jig weight to the presentation requirement.
On the free-flowing portion of the Allegheny River, Dave Lehman uses a three-sixteenth- to quarter-ounce skirted jig tipped with a small Yum Craw Papi. Lehman pitches the jig to rocks in 2 to 4 feet of water. He casts past a rock, swims it up over it and drops it down the near side.
Lehman finds the most ideal situation for this tactic to be a rocky flat with moderate current flowing through it. He prefers the water to be clear enough to make out the subsurface rocks, but not so clear as to make the bass spooky.
