First, a few sunrise pics:
I decided to try something completely different this week, which was to leave the Senkos in the bag. “Why the heck would you want to do that?” you ask. Very good question, and one I asked myself all week 
. But I proclaimed this week as “jig week” and jigs it was, for better or worse. The week in review:
Tuesday, I tried a different spot than the one I usually fish in the morning. This spot has rocks along the shore, but not so much in the water as my regular spot and since I was worried about getting snagged on every cast, I started jig week here and in about 1 1/2 hours worth of fishing, caught this one, the biggest of the week.
Wednesday was a Korean holiday so wisely, I stayed in bed to avoid the crowds; a wise decision indeed but I went back to my regular spot on Thursday. A while ago I read an article on jig fishing which stated that although you’ll get much fewer bites on a jig than other lures, the size of the fish you catch makes up for the lack of bites. Well, neither one of these two fellows have obviously ever read that or any other article on jig fishing. When the dink on the right hit, I set the hook so hard that I completely pulled that fish out of the water and flipped him behind me on the shore – I bet that’s the last jig that bass ever hits.
Today, I was back at it bright and early and threw that jig for over two hours and this fish was my only reward, and I caught it pretty early. Nothing at all after that, I’m sad to say. I walked what felt like a mile, back and forth, covering every inch of that area but I couldn’t get another bite to save my life. But hey, I’m not really complaining, I caught more bass on jigs these three days than I have in my entire life. LOL
Now. For those of you that like fishing jigs, my hat is off to you. You’re better men than me. It was killing me to think that my trusty Senkos were within reach and that I could possibly catch more fish if I just put that jig down but I was stubborn and determined to use nothing but a jig this week (it wouldn’t be “jig week” if I used something else, would it?). The really great news is that I didn’t lose a single jig and I think that’s because I was using these new Zero Gravity jigs which have a very slow sink rate but are also pretty light which makes them a bit harder to cast any distance. I don’t know, maybe I was fishing the jig wrong; I was basically casting it out and hopping it back, raising the rod tip then letting the jig sink, and sometimes giving small jerks while slowly reeling in. If anyone can give me any tips, I’d appreciate it. I was told that it’s more productive to flip and pitch vs. casting out and reeling in like I was. Next time I go out in the boat, I’ll try that. In a way, it was pretty interesting, trying to figure out how to make the bass bite on a lure I was really unfamiliar with (and still am, to be honest), and it was also a bit frustrating when I didn’t get any results. Senkos have spoiled me! So that was pretty much it for jig week…
maybe next week will be “spinnerbait week”?
Great job Nomad, for sticking to you guns with the jigs
I have seen those jigs before on the internet and thought they looked very interesting. I guess I’d better give them a try now also.
What was the actual fall/sink rate of these jigs Nomad? I bet they would work awesome at Andong along the rock walls.
LOL on the flying bass, Rob did the very same thing when I was up at the river in April, one of the funniest things I have seen, but I felt sorry for the poor fish, lol.
Thanks Steve, but as I mentioned, it got a little frustrating out there at times, casting for an hour with no bite at all, especially when I wasn’t sure I was even fishing the lure correctly. But who knows, maybe there weren’t any bass in the area and I would have had the same result with Senkos or other lures.
As for the fall rate of that jig, the website claims 1 foot every 3 seconds and that seems about right. The jig almost floats down,insterad of sinking like a rock and if you put a trailer on it, it sinks a little slower. But, like I said, they’re pretty light and are a bit hard to cast a good distance – if you’re not worried about casting it 50 feet, then no problem.
LOL, that dink hit in about 1 foot of water and I set that hook pretty hard. I don’t know who was more surprised, the fish or me, when it went flying
Nice going Nomad, and good on you for sticking to your guns, errr, I mean jigs. LOL
LOL Rob. Trust me, it wasn’t all fun. Like you and I were talking the other day; Senkos pretty much catch the fish for you…but this, this was too much like work
Nomad, spinnerbait week it will be and the colors will be yellow and white, black and yellow. Way to fish them jigs though. See you soon as I’m back at the house from the states.
Nomad,
I have had a lot of luck everywhere with a bitsy bug/Zoom Super Chunk Jr. combo. I don’t know what it is about a bitsy bug but it is much better than any other jg I have used. To me it is like comparing a fake senko and the real senko. The difference is definitely there. Green pumpkin has always been my favorite color.
Ty,
Welcome back, brother..remind me, I have something for you too.
Tex Mex,
Are those the finesse-type jigs that weigh 1/4 ounce or less? Because I have a couple of those and had planned on using them once the weeds/reeds get thick out there and the bass become a little more finicky. I’ll have to get some of the smaller trailers though…
Yes, welcome back Ty!!
Thanks Nomad, Jet lag is kicking in.
Thanks Rob, we need to schedule a Andong trip this year with Nomad. Maybe two days and set up camp.