Jig help? ..thanks

[KeepLearning]

I'm still struggling to put a walleye, or a sauger, in the boat. Can somewhere provide tips as to the best jigs to use - color?, size?, plain/hair/plastic tail?, and then what motion typically works best- slow swim, raise & lower, quick jerk?,touching bottom or keep it above?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[StCroixNewB]

we had pretty good luck yesterday jigging with fathead minnows. We found staying vertical was important. The jigging method that worked best was to keep the height of the jig up to about a foot off the bottom but not let it drop all the way to the bottom (fewer sheepies that way). I was doing about 6 lift-drops (moderately fast) in a row and then hold it just off the bottom for a few seconds. Most times, after the hold, the line would feel 'heavy' - when you get that, SET THE HOOK - FISH ON!

We were using white glow jigs (the ones with a red eye painted on), tipped with a fathead. We didn't even try plastics since the fathead bite was so good. I had a few shiners in the bucket and caught a nice sturgeon on one of those but that was all that seemed interested in the shiner. As to size, go as small as possible that will keep you vertical and allow you to feel the bottom. Line color also seemed to be important - I was running fluorocarbon and my son had clear mono and we definitely did better than his friend who was spooled with a hi-vis green line. Next time out, I'm going to tie 6' of fluoro on my fireline spool and see if I can get the best of both worlds out of the combo.

We caught all sauger yesterday. Considering we were staying in the 35 fow range, I didn't expect to hook up walleye quite that deep. When we went more shallow, simply didn't find any fish.

[baldav]

NewB,

I was out yesterday with fatheads and got skunked. Would you be willing to characterize the general location and type of structure you were fishing. I launched out of beanies and fished from the bridge down to the catfish bar. Rigging and Jigging - only sheepies.

This is my fist year on the river. It's been a struggle to learn so far, but I'll keep at it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[StCroixNewB]

If you launched from Beanie's, you probably saw all the gulls that were on the water just outside of their docks... find the gulls, find the forage; find the forage, find the gamefish! In my limited experience (just my second year out there), I've learned to look outside the edges of the flocks - look for changes in bottom structure like steep drop-offs around a relatively flat area. It seems like the walleye/sauger hug the drop off waiting for an unsuspecting bait fish to move over the edge. The fish we caught yesterday were coughing up shad all over my livewells.

[StCroixNewB]

it's too bad this site doesn't offer Private Messages... if it did, I'd be willing to share a bit more detailed information...

[baldav]

I'm not above pandering for additional information [email protected]

Thanks for the info you already provided

[StCroixNewB]

I'm hoping to get out again this Saturday morning... Let me know if you're going to be out and we can try to get together on the water. In the meantime, I'll send a bit more info via email...

[baldav]

I'll be heading up to Grand Rapids for some deer hunting this weekend and on to Lake of the Woods for some walleye action for later in the week. I'll be out on the Croix later in November. Thanks for the offer. I have a 16' Lund Rebel with a 40hp Merc tiller. Stop by if you see me sometime. Thanks again for your tips.

[KeepLearning]

StCroixNewB

If you're willing to share... I'm also not above pandering for additional information. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. thanks [email protected]

[Turk]

It is too bad the color and style of jig does not determine success (i.e. heard on the dock -they were biting but you needed an aspirin head jig with red eyes with a pink dot in the middle and a silver sparkle on the shank!” ha! OK I am having fun here, of course jigs and colors matter…read further), then all you would have to do is buy jig brand X and you would have success day in and day out. The key above all is location and being on fish. With that said, I like a few places right now, and one saved my behind on todays guide trip - cold rain/sno/cold front is...well not fun. I look for places with current or steep breaks. But it is not as much theory as legwork, and more checking out the places to find the bite.

One tip, Jigging fatheads was the ticket by far! My customers boxed six and I missed a bunch we really should have had close to two limits (blame the guide) Jiggin was even better than the anchored still fish presentation - which works very well in cold fronts.

If they bit in this snow/rain cold fronts conditions - this weekend should be good.

Keep catchin

Turk

[croixeyes]

As Turk has said blame the guide.Oh wait thats not what i was gonna say Anyway,as far as jigs go there are alot of styles and shapes to choose from.Choose shape according to the area your fishing and also what your putting on the jig.Tipping a jig with a fathead I typically go with a short shank hook, fireball jig,not in heavy current though.Jig weights,go as light as you can get away with.That being said there are alot of guys that use jigs that are way to lite for the conditions they are fishing.

This is something I get caught up in myself.I may start using a 3/8 ounce jig to fish 20 to 35 ft deep and then switch depths like 10 to 15 ft and still have the same jig on{mistake}.If you have the equipment remember to tie up a few different size jigs so your ready to go when switching areas,this also helps when it gets colder for your hands sake.Start jigging aggressive and work slower from there,the fish will tell you what they want Dragging your jig works great in the fall if bottom conditions allow you to.Guys dont forget the spoons,plastics and bladebaits on the river this fall,they can be deadly.Ive had some of my best days on the river rippin sonars at this time of year.Reading some of the other posts it sounds as though ill have the whole north end of the Croix to myself this weekend.........Nicccccccccccce

[LuckyNorm07]

Ive been using the color purple and have been having more success..has anyone else using that color jig and find the bite to be better.. i got a 30" eye about 2 weeks ago on a 1/4 oz. purple jig head and a plastic..biggest eye for me so far..ill try to post the pic, a nice healthy thick eye..released to see another day.

[StCroixNewB]

certainly colors matter... consider two factors: one, walleyes, due to the structure of the eyes (most importantly, their retinas) have a relatively narrow spectrum of color vision and two, the turbidity, solutes, and depth of the water all contribute to the spectrum of available light. The combination of these two factors determine whether the jig itself is 'visible' or 'invisible' to the fish. If 'invisible' by color, then the amount of 'flash' is what will 'grab their eye'. That's why I prefer to go with jigs that have some level of 'glow'.

As Turk states (the obvious ), all of this is moot if you're not at the right spot. As he also said, the fish seem to hanging around locations with current and/or drop-offs. If you're fishing the lake area between Hudson and Afton, current is pretty darn minimal so structure seems to be the most important factor, at least in my minimal experience (I am a NewB, after all )