Dragging a Jig on the Bottom
Sometimes the fall can be a struggle, the bass seem to be reluctant to move and chase as we would expect in fall fishing. One way I counter this is to find some 10 ft water near grass and work a football head jig off the grass. The down side of this technique is it can be boring and concentrating or staying focused can be tough. The thing you have to stay focused on is the pure fact that when you do get a bite it might be the one fish you have been hunting all fall long.
The technique of dragging a jig is not very complex; you have to concentrate on keeping your jig on the bottom not allowing it to hop or lift off the bottom. If the water is rough or it's windy and your boat keeps moving this is when this technique takes some skill. What I do in rough water conditions is point the rod tip at the water instead of holding it high and actually let the wind movement drag the jig as it moves the boat. If it's rough then I leave slack in the line so the up and down of the boat doesn't pop the jig off the bottom. The bite can be very difficult to feel when fishing this technique in rough water; you really have to be aware of any change in feel of your jig. Sometimes you luck out and the bass really hits the jig hard and you can feel the bite pretty easy, but this is generally not the norm so sensitivity to the bottom and change in movement direction has to be sensed by the fisherman or you may miss the fish!
Lastly jig size has a lot to do with getting a bite, you would think that you can just take a big heavy football head jig and it would stay on the bottom making the presentation simple. Not necessarily true however; I try to use the smallest football head jig size I can fish. A 3/8 or oz. is what I prefer, because I believe the smaller football jig gets more bites dragging it on the bottom that a big one.
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry