The practice of fishing with a jig is called jigging. The jig is a fishing lure with a lead sinker with a hook and a soft body to attract the fish. Jigging is used for both freshwater and saltwater fishing. With a jig, the fish are mainly caught that are near the bottom.

Jigging involves piercing the fish in the hook; the line is jerked to pierce the fish in the hooks that provide momentum to penetrate the fish so fish may not escape. 

Parts Of Jig:

There are two parts of the jig

• Head

• Body

Head:

The jig head may have different shapes; round, cone-shaped, fish head shaped and the most common among them is the round head. In addition, the color of the head may vary.

The head weighs ranging from 1/80 of an ounce to a pound for saltwater fishing. 

Types of jigs based on jig head:

There are three basic types of jig head for bass fishing, and these are,

• Football jig head

• Flipping jig head

• grass jig head

Body:

The material used for the jig body may vary, and it can be silicon and rubber. In addition, the color ranges from yellow to a transparent brown with different color streaks.

The shape of the body may resemble frogs, fish, lizards, grub, and different insects. Certain baits such as minnows, leeches can also be used as a jig body.

Feather hackle, hairs, flashabou, marabou, chenille wrap, whitetail deer tail hair, and some other materials are also used to make jig bodies. 

Advantages of Jigging:

Following are certain advantages of jigging

• Low energy technique.

• Less expensive.

• Jigging is applicable for both local and commercial levels.

• Fish is caught and can be captured live.

• Additional baits are not necessary.

Disadvantages of Jigging:

Jigging also have certain disadvantages as,

• Technical knowledge is necessary to apply this method.

• Labour intensive method.

• Time-consuming.

• Some machines are relatively expensive.

Steps of Jig Fishing:

Jig fishing is one of the active fishing methods. To master this, learn the simple and the basic steps.

• Cast out and wait a little bit, so your spoon hits bottom.

• You have to pop the rod quickly to move your lure vertically in the water column so it may reach the bottom. 

• Jig up and down, sideways, these movements create the look of an injured baitfish, and it will attract some big game fish.

• Keep the line tight by reel down a little bit. It will help when you face the strike.

How to Fish a Jig:

The following tips and techniques will help you fish a jig,

Fish From the Outside In:

When fish are schooled near the cover, the best cast is to cast from outside. It will not disturb other fishes.

Cast in Clear water:

Successful jig fishing is fishing in shallow clear water. The fish spook in about 10 FOW in hyper clear water, which means you have to stay over deep water.

Cast in Opposite Wind Direction:

The wind is the single largest inhibitor to your catch. Always remember to do no cross-wind casting. Position your back towards the wind or drift into crosswind so every fish in the lake could hit your bait. Wind triggered many fishes up shallow, so lessen this effect by keeping your rod-tip close to the water.

Select the Right Tackle:

Map the Bottom :

Your casts must be exploratory missions, so cast out in such a way that the jig hit bottom. Then slowly drag it back with some quicker movements in between. 

Vertical Jigging:

Vertical jigging is the best way to enjoy your fish jigging, and it works well in deeper waters.