Winter Jig Fishing

Winter Jig Fishing

Fishing a jig comes down to three important aspects of fishing. The first is size; in the winter a small weighted, small profile jig is always best for cold water fishing. Size matters this time of year bass are lethargic in cold water and placing a small profile jig in front of a bass with tantalizing movement caused by the current or wind is hard for them to resist. This is where patients come in; you have to make sure the jig is falling to the depth of the location of the bass and then be patient enough to let the jig entice the bite. Your Lowrance active target can get you to the right depth and your mental patience can get you to the bite.

Next is trailer movement; your pick of the right trailer for your jig is very important, you do not want to be big in profile, yet you want the trailer to have movement. In the winter I like a trailer with movement, small in size yet able to have a flapping movement to the feet of the trailer. This means the feet of the trailer have to have good movement, so it displaces water and makes a quick flap every time the bait is moved by you or the current. For me this means using a Missile Bait D-Bomb. It has a small profile body, and the feet flap up and down with movement or current. You can enhance the movement, if need be, by stroking the jig with light to medium strokes to help the flap attract a reaction bite if it does not get eaten by its own movement.

Lastly you must let the jig do the work for you and that means fishing it on a slack line unless you’re stroking it. You must be a line watcher when fishing a slack line as movement will be seen sometimes easier than felt. “Vicious” fluorocarbon line is a must when fishing slack line as it helps the feel tremendously and gives you much more sensitivity than monofilament line. You just have to let the line drop without any feel until it gets to the bottom and then pick it up by moving it slowly and letting it go slack again. Size, movement, feel are the keys!