Keyport Seahawk - Tog jigging and late striper surprise

[Gerry Zagorski]

Gave jigging a serious try this past Saturday and had decent results and as Chris said, it's a lot of fun.

I'm no expert so for what it's worth, here is some novice advice...
- You need a very light weight set up (rod and reel) in order to feel the bite... I tried my heavier spinning set up I use for snagging and live lining Bunker, and could not feel a thing. Just kept on coming back up with an empty hook.
- The set up also has to have some backbone, both the rod and reel since you want to be able to keep the fish from dragging you back into the reef and busting you off.
- Having said this, if you read the "Some Impressive Tog Today" post you'll see that Dustin had a 22.5# on A St Croix Mojo rated for 6 to 12 lbs test...It was strung with heavier braid but that rod seems a bit light for my taste but he got it done.
- A nice long fore grip on the rod comes in handy to give you some extra lifting leverage.
- I'd be using 30# braid and a 30# or more mono or floro top shot.
- Some people say a loop knot is better to tie to the jig but not sure if it make a difference or not.
- I've seen 2 methods using jigs... Slight slack in the line and you watch your line for twitches or keep it tight and feel the twitches...Can't say I've mastered either but a tight line seems to work better for me.
- Bite is different every day...Sometimes you'll just feel a bump and other times they will pick up the jig and run with it. I think the lighter the jig the more apt you are to have them pick it up and there are no mistaking those bites.
- When you are fishing lighter jigs (below an ounce) you need to make sure you are on the bottom.... Cast out, pay some line out and let it sink. Take in some slack and raise and lower your rod tip to make sure you feel the jig come in contact with the bottom. You are not going to be able to do this easily unless you have a nice light set up.
- Unlike rig fishing, I'm told keeping the jig perfectly still is not as much of an issue. It's not like you want to move it around a lot, let it sit for a few mins and if no hits, move it and then stop again.
- Crabs come off the jigs easy so after a bite you probably want to check and see if you have bait... If your rod is sensitive enough you'll be able to tell if you have bait left or not by lifting the rod tip and feeling the weight or lack thereof. You also want to be sure to hook the crabs through the leg sockets this way they stay on better.

A word of caution..... At least for me, there was a pretty steep learning curve involved, so don't get frustrated or loose patience. You need the right conditions to get used to fishing this way. Too much current or a bumpy day would not be the time to give it your first try.

Hope this helps.