So. I'm on my way to mastering another technique. ive pounded alot of water but without a teacher thats telling me that I am doing it right, I just am not catching fish, I feel like I'm pissing in the wind, so to speak. Vhawk described this technique when he spoke of fishing in the skok. And all you STS readers know that awhile back there was an article describing basically how this technique was born from twitching a cerise fly years ago on the OP rivers by a local guide. Now.....what am I doing wrong. cast to head of hole. Let hit bottom once. twitch up and through the hole as your jig goes down stream???? Am I smokin crack here? doesn't seem like rocket science. Maybe my tounge placement is off, should I hold it to the right....or left of my mouth?

we do a fair amount of it ... some people get it, tohers just never do.

I will say one thing, I have never seen a technique with such a disparity between angler success in a boat as this. It's all in the twitch and being able to feel the take ... because for an actual bite, it's ALWAYS on the drop when the line is slack. You have to be watching and feeling

What kind of water? Typical holding water? Does the speed of the current affect the presentation? Or should I say the WAY you presentate it? I was fishing in behind a log jam on the skok, the 'slip' between fast and slow water was pretty quick. Do you always keep tension then, on the jig? Typically what size jigs do you use? VHawk was talkin like a freakin choker. Best employed with a Scrotum Scratcher ( spinning reel) I imagine.

You can fish them in all kinds ...

More current speed, less reeling ... unless you're coming down the current, then you're reeling like hell in fast water.

Lots of slack on the drop ... that's where most have big problems knowing anything ever picked it up.

I usually fish 3/8 ounce, but sometimes lighter, smaller, sometimes heavier.

Ive used the "twitching" technique for years and have had good success. Ive caught steelhead using it when they didnt want it dead drifted. Its a go-to for pinks, silvers and even chum. Havent tried it for kings but everything else likes it so so should they. The only down side is, you will snag fish if they are kegged up. For a technique thats been out for eyons, sure is getting alot of press lately.

I think those of us who used to call ourselves bass fishermen are at a distinct advantage on jigging up silvers. It takes awhile to get a feel for it. It's a lot easier to learn on a lake with the lack of current, changing water conditions and especially because of snags.

Hmm. Sounds like more practice is in order. OH DARN!! I hate when i have to practice fishing

Twitching jigs can be frustrating. I've tried it with no success. Most of the folks I've seen doing it from the bank are snagging, particularly for coho. Any slight bump results in a eye-crossing hookset.

But that is NOT what Bob is talking about. As I see it, twitching jigs might be successful but it's not as fail-proof as the various articles seem to indicate. Twitching jigs from a DB might be more effective than doing from the bank.

You're right CA ... it's not foolproff ... just another technique to have on hand. There are days it clobbers them, other days they pay them no more attention than the 100 things you probably threw at them.

By the very nature of the technique, you will snag some fish. It's pretty easy to tell when you do ... easy to point the rod and pull it free it most cases though.

Like a lot of stuff, it comes down to common sense / respect in how to use it

It's not hard. You just want your jig to bounce around. Use one heavy enough to cast and get down. In slow water I crank the reel once, then pause, crank, pause.

Dammm, am I doing that again? Ummm, whats a freaking choker? I thought thats what Goth chicks wore around their neck.

TYESTICK , where are you? Maybe you could help explain how we were flipping jigs into the timber.

Tye picked up the technique fast enough that he was getting bit after only 45 minutes of watching me. The water was clear enough you could watch the silvers come out from under the logs, follow the jig up, and turn to hit it. Sometimes they would hit it almost at the surface.

Merg, drop me an email and I'll met you on the water sometime.

Don't think I wasn't frustrated last year trying to find an easier way to pull them big fish out of the wood. If you want to talk with the master get ahold of Adam, Angler # 6486. He is slightly deranged, but catches craploads of fish. Ask him nice and he might show you how to work the timber.

Even better would be to hire Bob. I hear the guides on the west end of the OP are catching lots of fish on big jigs.

What's really amazed me over the past few years ... is how many kings we cathc vs. silvers. never thought of kings as chasin' this much ... but they do!!

When you get a silver to chase the jig up to near the surface, I've had good luck just dropping my rod tip so that the jig free falls. Much of the time they will hammer it. The same works for silvers in the saltwater when you are flyfishing.

I suppose that this goes to Bob's point that they grab it on the fall.

Cheers

-tony

Bob, shush. No more talk about kings.


Maybe this will help. Plus I amused myself with it enough to repost.






Its a bit less snaggy then a corkie. Where it excels is fishing small pockets surrounded by structure, and where there is not time to get a corkie and lead to sink to where the fish are. Especially if you can get above the hole into a decent "jigging" position. You want to be able to work the jig in a up and down twitch as much as possible. If your casting way out in front of you you'll only be dragging the jig along the bottom and getting it snagged.

Maybe a decent analogy would be to imagine the spot your fishing is a 10 foot wide ice hole with a little bit of current. You'd drop straight down at the top of the ice hole, twitch it a couple times, then lift the rod tip to get your jig out.
So that means that getting close is important, as well as keeping extra movement down to a minimum, wearing clothes that blend in, and having your exit strategy preplanned.

The site below is where i get my unpainted jigs. I can't imagine he is making any money for what he sells hand poured jigs for. I'm getting 50 unpainted jigs for about $10. You can get 100 painted jigs on 2/0 Eagle Claw 635 nickel hooks with eyes, for about $30. Thats costs me no more then $15 a day in lost tackle after I add in costs for marabou and paint.

Ask him and he can do special orders for very cheap. Let him know that vince, the salmon angler from Olympia, sent you.





Online tackle store


Actually I've learned to use my tongue to remove hooks from deep in a fishes mouth. I'll be giving a class teaching this innovative new catch and release technique in the girls dorms at UW. Please sign up early and include a picture.

The picture is me with one of the coeds from WSU, giving that same class. She was one of the better looking gals too.

search way back for an old cowlitzfisherman post on techniques for jiggin for silvers.....it had good pics and techniques......

start with a 1/2oz head if you cant swim the 1/4 oz heads right or havent learned the feel.......... i give it what i call the "puf puff give" or in other words the "twitch twitch pause" with only lifting the tip of a 9'6" a few inches........sometimes you have to change up the speed or depth to re-entice........also swim them right up to the boat as oftent he coho will follow and grab it right in front of you

I love the puff puff give analogy Lupo! Hilarious, but it also makes perfect sense. I've been reading these posts tring to figure out the best way to describe how I learned.. and you nailed it. I was able to pick this technique up pretty quickly. Probably just luck. My advice to Mergantroider would be to find a hole where the fish are stacked up, so you can watch the fish during the take. That might help you become more acquainted with the feel of the strike. Keep hitting those log jams at the Skok, and it will pay off!
-Tye

Hmm. Thank you much guys. Email sent to VHawk. Was plannin on headin up Bob's way this weekend to J.D. Love's place on the Duc. Heard a few reports. I will keep the twitchin up. I know I'll catch a fish eventually. The clock is tickin for those silvers!!! Plannin on fishin Thanksgiving if anyones up for a holiday fishery???? Send me a line if you are. Got one spot in the DB if VHawk passes up.

Oh yeah I almost forgot. as far as when I use a regualr Jig ( with Marabou) what colors am I lookin for? Cerise? Green? gimme the low down dudes.

A month ago I was working a stretch that had salmon holding and moving. In 1 spot fish were rolling and I missed 2 fish with spinners then nothing with spinners or spoons. I put on a 1/2 ounce marabou jig with long feathers my wife had made. 3 casts later I hooked and landed a nice 14 lb Coho. I look at it as another weapon in my arsenal.

When you are working a jig, try to follow the jig back down after a twitch or lift with your line. Don't drop it and leave slack laying on the surface. Most fish will pick up on the drop. If you can follow the drop and a fish picks up the jig, you'll get a hitch in the line - you have to be ready to set the hook.

I learned a version of this technique from Bob last year, and I have since caught everything doing it, from the silvers, lots of kings, steelhead, and humpies. I never let mine hit the bottom, I just cast slightly above where I want the lure to be fishing, then twitch it real quick 2 or 3 times, then pause, then 2 times, then pause, again, and again. My jig is always in the middle of the water and you very rarely will snag a fish. I have most of the hook up right after the twitches, the bite is like a heavy pause, pull up, feel the fish, the ram it home. This is my number 1 way to go now, and I've had awsome luck in low and high water. It's all about the twitch. I also think that having it in the middle column of the water gets the fish that are active. I learned it all from Bob though.