So, I know that fishing jigs with a small piece of shrimp/prawn meat is a common method, and that most people recommend against using scent with jigs because it messes up the action of the jig material.

I'm wondering if you guys have any preferences regarding what types of jigs you do/don't use any bait with (e.g., marabou, rabbit fur, bucktail, etc.) because it does or doesn't mess up the jig action.

I know I've got a couple jigs that I like using with a bit of prawn meat, but I also notice that if I let them dry after using them without a bit of a rinse, the material gets a bit brittle/sticky. That makes me wonder if the underwater action isn't as good when I'm fishing them with bait.

On the extreme rare occassion I'm forced to fish a jig, I do fish it with shrimp or prawn meat... The only time's I'm forced to fish jigs is when I'm in the DB with my buddies and they're low holing the hell out of me by floating their bobber to the end of the hole as we pull into the top of it....

Dang long liners....

Any jig you want to fish works, just the cheap maribou's with a good hook seem to work in pink/white...

Keith

For us lazy fishermen or those of us who like to fish in no bait water (soft plastics aka worms, not allowed) you can go with Good Day Fishing wipes. They're basically anis flavored baby wipes and not only to they add scent without messing up the action of the feathers, but they will also allow you to clean up the feathers reviving an other wise goopy jig in a few seconds on the river.
As far as jig choice is concerned, there is one that I absolutely refuse to walk away from. First Bite Jigs in North Plains, Oregon is head and shoulders the best jigs I've ever fished with. Mark does a great job and I hooks are as solid as they come. Look for the beaded pink or orange shrimp tail series. Sometimes no beads in super clear water.....

JD

+1

i have never had to tip a jig with anything. bead/yarn jigs are the only jigs i'd any scent to.

tipping a jig with prawn meat is like putting bait meat on a fly. no need. but it happens on jigs alot!

Most of the time you don't need to add anything to a jig but at times in heavily pressured water it does not hurt to tip them. For the most part I use small micro jigs even in winter flows so they do the trick on their own!

Do you use splitshot to get the micro jigs down in higher flows?

I am a firm believer in sand shrimp tails a red first bite jig !! I have seen it way to many times where a plain jig goes through and never gets touched only to toss out a jig and shrimp and get bit on the first pass. That beeing said I have never had it the other way around ...

I have never tipped any of my jigs or scented them and have caught plenty. Even in dirtier water.

next were gonna hear the topic on "scent on pink worm".

not trying to derail this topic. since brewer can recall back when the popularity on jigs was small... even laughed and scoffed at. we and everybody else busting winter steelhead never tipped a jig with any bait. trust me it was back in the dark ages of jig fishing. we caught many steelhead on large black crappy jigs. landing big winters on a crappy jig was a test in patience. again never scented or tipped them.

so scent and tip... or not. it all works...

I definitely believe that jigs can work with and without bait or scent, and I don't have enough experience to really judge which is better. My gut would say bait enhances effectiveness unless it interferes with the look/action of the jig.

So I'm wondering if anyone that does use bait with jigs (or at least has done it before) has an opinion on whether putting a bit of prawn meat on it negatively affects the look/action of the jig underwater.

Well I definitely "don't use bait", and I catch as many summer run as many of the group I choose to fish around. Just easier for me to not have to play around and go thur the expense of having sand shimp or prawns.

One of the main reasons, I started using jigs, in the late 80's, was to get away from the "bait stealers", squaw fish, suckers, and smolt.

Take a look at the fish pictures on the followingweb site, I'd say 98% were baitless.......


http://www.bradsjigs.com/ ]

this is where steelheading has it's very grey areas. it's like putting a pink worm on a jig hook. ??? why? are you bobber fishing or what? if you want to run bait, run bait don't slam bait on a jig. good gawd!! pick your practice and learn it correctly. next thing bozos will be back bouncing a BW-2112 with 48" leader to #5 rvrfshr diver slammer! then asking wether the slammer needs to be tipped with prawn tail?

well of course!!!!!


PISS!

Marabou feathers tend to get matted up rather quickly if scent is applied. Palmered schlappen and hackle feathers will hold there shape longer then marabou but still succumb to the oils in scent. Best bet is too just use scent sparingly if you do use any at all.

I don't think bait affects the underwater action of the feathers. When I use a sand shrimp tail on my jig I put the jig hook thru the shrimp tail three times to secure the tail onto the jig. This doesn't affect the action of the feathers.

When I use micro jigs I'll add several split shot (3-5) starting about 18" above the jig. I usually use a Drennan Piker and add enough split shot so the top 1/2" of the float is barely sticking out of the water.

Mark

No negative affect if you don't "overload" the jig. Fish have an amazing sense of smell. A small piece of prawn the size of a dime on the hook and you'll out fish a plain jig day in and day out in water that allows bait. But I don't fish a plain white prawn, I cure them up with UEC and some scents. Or, the standard sand shrimp tail on the hook works very good too.

For those that don't beleive bait is better with a jig, you're leaving fish behind....

Keith

I think that with very few exceptions, if you're looking to put bait on your jig...skip the jig and just put the bait on a hook. You'll do just as well, and you don't have to worry about ruining the action of the jig, since it will still be in your jig box.

Fish on...

Todd

Never hurts to have a little something extra in the arsenal. have to go with Keith on this one. I fish them both ways and catch more than my share

Very true Todd. If I had to rank effectiveness of methods to catch steelhead from the shore they would go:

1. Drift fishing bait / shore doggin bait
2. Bobber fishing bait/jig or bait alone
3. Drift fishing yarnies - (no bait areas)
4-5. Jig fishing or worm drift fishing - (no bait areas)
5-6. Spinners and spoons - after you've bait fished the hole (only because it makes or breaks the hole)

Keith

some exeeelent point being made. here is another aspect on things, jig size. years back i bought book by a guy named Bradbury who made marabou in orygun somewheres. his jigs were friggen huge!! by jig standards. like 3/0 jig hook. so i bought about 20. the year was 89 or 90. i was the only guy using them brabury jigs. they stood out like a sore thumb. i was busting winter steelhead from the get go. the entire weekend i was on FAHR! those huge @ss J.lo jigs out fished the nightmares and other jigs at the time.

oh and not tipped or scented.

I love ultimate and use it all the time. Today opening day. 3 steelhead hooked and one coho! Two steelhead came on micro jigs and the coho. The other steelhead came on a pink worm. Ultimate was fished first and often in this pressured hole. Micro jigs accounted for three of the four fish! Keep in mind I love my ultimate and it gets a lot of steelhead for me but I would not say bait is always better. A lot of the time but not always.

I like to run two or three small split shot when fishing micro jigs and prefer the drennan zeppler float in the 11g size. From today it looks like it should be a good winter for steelhead. Lets hope it keeps up.

After reading your post again I agree that bait on a jig can be very good in the right conditions.

I don't always fish jigs, but when i do, I prefer Aerojigs. You can tip them with shrimp, you can douse them with scent (Mike's shrimp oil or egg nectar are good ones), or just fish them alone. Good color combos and Gamagatsu hooks.

SMJ-2 usually tipped with prawn

I only use tipped jig on Chum's, where I have tested a tipped vs un-tipped jig enough to know it makes a difference.

For Steelhead, not needed. I'm sure it doesn't hurt, but don't think it matters any.

I mostly just use a jig, but will doctor one up with a Trout Power Worm from time to time.

My laziness prevents me from fishing bait with the jig, so I don't.

Exactly!!! If I wanna fish hard and roll bait all day i'll do it but if I wanna just go fish screw bait. It's pretty much one or the other....and there's a lot of situations where I'm way more confident in a jig
JD

Wonder what Mr. Vedder's thoughts are on this matter?

I'd also be interested in Mr. Vedder's opinions on the matter (having just received and read two of his books for my birthday).

I was swimming jigs for coho this fall and I watched 3 adult cohos chase a jig tipped with prawn. One fish grabbed the jig, and I watched the other one grab the prawn after it fell off.

So, I guess it can provide an edge in a few circumstances. I never scent my jigs otherwise. I would say if it is legal, carry a couple of prawns along. It really is not a laziness issue, I mean pop two prawns out of the bag in the freezer in the microwave for 30 on your way out the door. If you run your jigs through a slot and get no love, tip your jig and try it a few more times.

Here is a coho caught while steelhead fishing yesterday.





No bait on this micro jig.

Sure it is.

I mean for God's sake..............freezer/microwave/plastic bag/rebaiting...............jeezus man. Who has time for that kind of effort?

Yeah, he is so zipperlipped that the last time he used a jig tipped with prawn, he had to toss his rod in the river to keep from being discovered.

Hey, I remember the day you came down and we all went side drifting for the day and you picked off a couple extra fish with the bobber and jig rod.. You remember the day we trimmed your shorts up a bit...

I've used that tactic from time to time in those soft spots with and without the jig being tipped with bait and have caught more fish since. Sometimes it takes success to push someone past the laziness thats developed to drive them to do it again... On a few different occassions it's filled the last part of our limits that were tough to scratch up mid day out of the more defined beat up water... Thanks Dan...

I have caught a fish or two on the jig now that I think about it.

What shocks me the most, though, is that Keith seems to have developed a soft spot for the lowly float and jig. Never thought I'd see the day...........

Shoot, if Keith starts slinging jigs AND bait, he'll be downright dangerous to a fish's health.

Where's my lighter and that can of gas?

Hey now... I think there's a picture some where on the home computer. We did such a great job turning those jeans into Daisy Dukes.... To think Dan trusted us....

I miss the good ol' days.... Too funny!

Keith

Please post up a pic of DanS in "daisy dukes"...

They were Dansy Dukes, dammit............and I knew better than to let you f'ers within 10 feet of me.

And yes, Aunty, Keith did toss a rod in on the same weekend. Thing is, it was HIS rod so he can toss the f'er overboard any time he feels like it. The rod I tossed belonged to someone else. Woops.

Oh yeah I did and did it again since then. 0 for 2 finding them.... Fishing sure is an expensive sport!

Keith

you cant say one way works better or not. all runs are different. some rivers i fish ways that i wouldnt fish elsewhere.

what i do instead of scenting a jig (assuming you dont "want" to use bait) is i rub desired scent on my hands when leaving my rig so it can dry on the way to the river, then i handle my gear... fish can smell everything, they will smell that scent and you didnt get oil in the marabou. i also tip with cured shrimp.

essentially a tipped jig is a weighted piece of color with a small chunk of prawn, it works.

I like to use the Smelly Jelly special mix on just about everything. It even makes really great sunscreen.;) Just try a little bit on your nose, like the white stuff.

I like to use Pro Cure steelhead combo scent on my jig's.

WARNING: This can happen to your jig when you tip it and there are chum around.

Tiger prawn chunk cured in Pautzke Fire cure. First Bite beaded shrimp tail jig (thanks Mark!).

I've found a lot of jigs laying around through time with the hooks like that, but they always seemed to have a few extra scales on the hook.

Why is it that so many jig companies make jigs with lightwire hooks?

Keith

People that use training wheels are prone to having limp wrists. Gotta have those jigs with a fine wire hook for better penetration.



PS. The only person that I know if that does NOT limp wrist a hookset on a Flow-At is Superfly. Superfly has been known to break the sound barrier on his hooksets!

that there is a Mutzuo hook (aka RVRFSHR Sickle hook, locally).

ummmm, thinking of that jig rod as more of a "sidecar" for me than training wheels! many of us have learned to drift fish LONG before we picked up the float rods. Many times I have drift fished a hole over, picked up the jig and there he is!

I use Mustad 2x strong jigs hooks and have never had one bend out. They are a great hook for micro jigs which I use a lot of even in the winter. Caught Chinook, Coho and Steelhead this fall on micro's without a bent hook.

Yea that Bead Shrimp Tail Jig is a killer jig. Too bad the hook popped out on you. Could have been a bad hook, strong fish or most likely a combination of both.




Keith

Given the quality of jig hooks available today I don't know why any jig company would use an inferior light wire hook. That is why I use Matzuo Sickle Model 152 which is the strongest, baddest Matzuo Sickle jig hook they make.

When I fish for salmon including Chum then I use Owner Salt water needle-point 5/0 hooks with 40# test. This is my standard set-up for fishing Tillamook Kings. You know John Barth and his buddies. Well they use my 5/0 jigs this fall and landed fish in the mid 40's.





I couldn't agree with you more. A lot of times a jig is the last thing I toss at a hole and pop a fish.



[quote=steelhead_stalkers]I use Mustad 2x strong jigs hooks and have never had one bend out. They are a great hook for micro jigs which I use a lot of even in the winter. Caught Chinook, Coho and Steelhead this fall on micro's without a bent hook.



Nice picture there bud. Those Mustad 2x hooks are strong too.

Mark

I would have to disagree. As one of the primary "Jig Warriors" during those days I now feel like it was a total waste of time and effort and I probably embarrassed myself a lot more than convincing anyone that a certain jig was superior to others.
Be ethical and fish with what ever catches fish for you.

Thanks for the great tips guys, I'm writing them all down... If you "tip" a bartender is it kind of the same thing, or is it better to rub their head with scent?

You got it all wrong. If she's hot, you let her rub scent on your head....

Hey Mark,
didn't see that you posted... my photo above of the bent up hook was after releasing the chum. It did not pop out and did what it needed to to get that bad boy to the boat for a quick release. I retired the jig- and certainly enjoy showing what a monster fish will do to any quality hook.

probably doesn't help that I bend the hook sideways before fishing any piece of hardware or jig.

owner hooks.

I don't care who's jigs you fish. If you fish them with bait, the secrets in "the bait"..... Fishing jigs alone is where the real art begins. Steelhead will bite anything with a sandshrimp dangling from it (fingernail, crap, toejam, doghair, livestrong braceletes, etc). However, they won't touch just "any" jig fished alone. That's where it gets fun!

chrome

Yea it's fun to hook a big fish and have them really test your gear to the limit. Thanks for sharing.

Mark