Entry 120-5
Chad Brauer on Jig Fishing
Deep-Water Jigging
Editor's Note: Chad Brauer of Osage Beach, Missouri, cut his teeth on jig fishing. If there's one bait he prefers to catch a bass on, it's a jig. This week, he'll tell us five techniques for catching bass on a jig.
Brauer: During the summer months, one of my favorite ways to fish on the Lake of the Ozarks is deep-water jigging. Many times I'll get out on those deep, rocky points and fish the jig much like I do a jigging spoon. I'll jerk the jig up 2 or 3 feet off the bottom and then let the bait fall back down just like you normally fish a jigging spoon. When I'm using this technique, I'll often use a 1/2-ounce jig so that I can get the bait down fairly quickly. Too, then when I rip it up off the bottom, the jig will fall back to the bottom fairly quickly.
The three colors of jigs I like to use the best for deep-water jigging, depending on water clarity, are white, black-and-blue and green pumpkin. The key to catching bass using this deep-water jigging tactic is you really have to watch your line because most of your bites will come on the fall. If you're not watching your line when your bait's falling to the bottom or after you've popped it up off the bottom and it starts to fall back, the bass will inhale the bait and spit it right back out. Then you'll never know you've had a bite. So, if you're going to use this deep-water jigging tactic, which I believe can be extremely productive during hot summer months and warm weather, you have to be a line watcher. If you're not watching the line, you're missing the bass.
Contents:
- Part 1: Docking Your Jig
- Part 2: Jigging the Grass
- Part 3: Jigging on Rocky Points
- Part 4: Swim Your Jig
- Part 5: Deep-Water Jigging
