Jeff Heaslip posted on July 15, 2005 23:50 :: 5540 Views
Tips For Fishing Micro Jigs
by CrappieMagnet
I tend to fish a lot of micro jigs in the springtime. I trim a lot of the fluffy "extra" hair off maribou jigs to minimize shorts strikes from crappies and bluegills. I try and trim them down so the maribou barely extends past the hook. This trimming greatly increases my catch ratio.
I never use cheap monofilament line. Cheap mono causes break offs and spool memory. I usually look for premium monos that are very soft and limp. My favorite is Berkley Trilene XL Fluorescent 4-pound test. Abrasion- resistant monos tend to be too stiff for micro-jigging, so I check my line frequently and retie often when I feel nicks in my lines.
When out fishing, I like to find transitional areas that have shadows and light together at the same time. Micro Jigs are killer where sunlight and shadow meet. This "edge" is an especially strong fish attractor in waters lacking thick submerged cover. Game fish conceal themselves in the shadows and rush out to grab passing meals. I like to drop my jigs in the shadows and swim them out into the sunlight....if it makes it out that far. Usually they hit the jig somewhere in between.
Change the jigs colors often! Micro Jigs are so cheap. I like to go out and buy several different colors to cover a variety of conditions and changing fish moods. It's surprising to me how fish can turn off a color in such a hurry. So if I'm catching a lot of panfish with one particular color and the bite slows drastically, I will change the color in a hurry. Good colors to switch to are brown, black, olive-green, white, chartreuse, hot pink, and yellow. I prefer drab colors in clear water and bright colors in stained waters.
Micro Jigs will catch big game fish in our state here, but the light line required properly demands that I finesse quality fish into the boat, and not try to horse them into the boat. When I use micro jigs, I tend to lose a lot of big fish at the boat. I figured this out the hard way. Now I like to play the fish out and not bring them in close to the boat until I've tired them out. I keep the reel close to my body, and extend my arms out to provide more leeway should they try and attempt their last ditch effort at freedom.
I like to sort my micro jigs out by weight and color, and I like to store them in clear plastic Plano boxes. I also like to have the black plastic film containers to use for the actual jig heads in case the panfish are feeding heavily on micro-plastics. I fish a lot of small insect imitating baits.
I hope this helps everyone put more panfish in your boat this spring. I can't wait for open water to try these little finesse micro jigs.
CrappieMagnet
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