Awakening

[Sea Draggin]

For me (and a few others I know) deep vertical jigging, and the way it is being done today, has been an awakening for me. I love the purist form of it. I love it when my buddies give me shit for tipping my jigs to catch snappers, or fight my big fish off the gunnel. I am just really enjoying everything about it and can't wait until my next trip.

I was talking to my buddy Craig the other day. I had drug him along before on dolphin trips, bluefin trips and about anything else you could think of. Who better to drag along on my first attempt at a pure jigging trip. I had heard about it and thought this was something I wanted to try.

We went and gave it a stab. I had numbers, but didn't know how to speed jig. Didn't fully understand the rhythm of backtrolling. Was trying to use my king tackle to jig. Hadn't started importing my jigs yet, so we were just using what we had. Thankfully Pete and Steve took me under their wings.

I'm really looking forward to this summer. Its going to be a good season. Backtrolling to a stop, as the ocean rolls on by.

Anyway, my talk with my buddy made me realize where I started with this deal. I'm pretty excited about where it could go this year. Thanks to all that have been supportive.

Cheerio,
Jim

[Jiggin Junkie]

Yes it is definately a blast. I am looking forward to the season also. Tight lines and fair winds and following seas to you.

[cblocal]

I plan to start bottom fishing this year and am seriously considering jigging. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I have had a conversation with Spiney and he has helped a lot but I want to soak up everything I can. I hate to beg but I need the help.

Thanks

[Jiggin Junkie]

I'll tell you what, you come down to Destin and i will take you out and show you the whole enchalada. Bottom fishing and jigging.

[cblocal]

I might just have to take you up on your offer. I am bidding on some reels on ebay so hopefully I will have the gear soon. Thank you very much for the offer.

[NJNickA]

Jim,
Jigging has always been one of my favorite ways to fish for fluke, stripers and cod. But when I was introduced to speed jigging a couple years ago it put my love for fishing over the top! Not only was it that I enjoyed fishing, but what makes it even better is fishing/jigging with some of the guys i've met here!!
I too can't wait for this upcomming season (it will be perfect if the YFT show up in our canyons) and plan on fishing my azz off, my wife and I are planning to have a baby at the end of the year, so most likely my fishing time will diminish, but not STOP!

Nick a

P.s. CB, where are you located??

[Jiggin Junkie]

NJNickA: Congratulations on you new addition. The little jigger.

[Sea Draggin]

Nick, I know exactly what you mean. Believe it or not I was jigging stripers nearly 30 years ago. I think you may have seen some of the pics on APS. But what we are doing now, in techniques and the equipment we have, has opened a whole new world. It sort of pisses me off to think about all the fish that I have passed over, without stopping to drop.

I hope to go back to Kerr lake this summer and try speed jigging for stripers. Back to the Ugly sticks , but will be trying some new jigs I'm sure.

[cblocal]

Jim,
Jigging has always been one of my favorite ways to fish for fluke, stripers and cod. But when I was introduced to speed jigging a couple years ago it put my love for fishing over the top! Not only was it that I enjoyed fishing, but what makes it even better is fishing/jigging with some of the guys i've met here!!
I too can't wait for this upcomming season (it will be perfect if the YFT show up in our canyons) and plan on fishing my azz off, my wife and I are planning to have a baby at the end of the year, so most likely my fishing time will diminish, but not STOP!

Nick a

P.s. CB, where are you located??

Nick, I am in Wilmington, NC. Congrats on the baby.

[Paul H]

Jim,

You nailed it. I've been fishing in Alaska for 12 years now, and last year I got bitten by the jigging bug. On my first Halibut excursions I'd use the tackle provided by the charters, which are typically 5 1/2' boat roads with 4/0 reels and 80-100# braid. Terminal tackle is a 16/0 circle hook and the sinker is a 2-5# cod sinker. We get some serious tide rips so you need to go to the heavy metal to hold bottom. I've been in rips strong enough that in 20 fathoms you won't hit bottom with a 5# sinker

These rigs take the majority of fish, and they are very effective as they pretty much fish themselves. But, you get worn out with such heavy rods and especially the heavy sinkers. Get excited and pull the circle hook out of the halibuts mouth before it gets set or get your bait stripped and you have to pull that heavy sinker up from 20-30 fathoms, and then repeat. A friend actually got a hernia on a charter from continually horsing up the cod sinkers and empty hook. Those 20# fish sure seem like a fight when you're lugging up all that lead!

Then a few years later I went on another charter, I'd gotten my own 5 1/2' boat rod complete with 4/0 special senator, but I brought some jigs. I had an absolute blast, I lost count but figured I'd hooked at least two dozen fish. The jigs were outfishing the bait setups, and using at most a 16oz leadhead, and then ending up with an 8 oz diamond jig was so much easier. I'd hit bottom, one or two jigs and fish on. I kept throwing back the 20 pounders hoping for a hog and kept fishing until everyone had two they were happy with.

I was content with that setup, not knowing any better, until I went on another charter that had a few Seeker jigging rods and avet reels. The rigs looked like something for salmon, but the biggest fish landed that day, 90#'s, was easily handled with the rod and reel. The light bulb started to go on.

So last year I picked up one of the seeker blue lighting inshore 40# rods, topped it with a shimano tld 20 II, spooled it with 50# braid and proceded to ply our waters for bottom fish. I didn't personally run a bait rig the entire summer, and while I never got onto any halibut (harder to find the fish running your own boat vs. a charter ) I did manage to find some lingcod.



My co-workers were running bait rigs and while they caught some rockfish, I easily outfished them. I was using a japanese style jig, though using a conventional yo-yo techique. It was very effective until the rocks took the last of them I took a few friends out late in the year and they each caught respectable ling cod, and limeted out on rock fish.

Looking at what you guys are doing with the Tuna, which put alot more stress on gear than our halibut and lingcod, I'm planning on taking the plunge into speed jigging. Why wear yourself out with heavy rods/reels when you can get heavy weight performance on light rods/reels? We finally have rods/reel that can take advantage of the advances in braided line.

I can't wait to get out on the water this year, and I plan to hit it hard!