Jig sizes....

Crew i'd like to hear a few opinions from those that jig often chasing demersals...

 

I came to believe from what i'd read here and elsewhere that you should ideally use the lightest jig you can get away with using, after buying lots of light ( 60, 90 and even 120 gram jigs ) I've now come to realise that light is not good for most of the country i fish...

 

Usually i fish 25 - 50 mtrs and IMO heavier jigs come up trumps....

 

I'm sure there are acceptions to this but you need ideal drift conditions or a mechanical aid to assist keeping fairly vertical with anything other than heavier jigs....

 

In shallow country i'll use perhaps 120 grammers ( placcys and jigs ) but in any breeze or depth out come the heavier ones usually 150 gram minimum......

 

Big baits big fish i use that same principal for jigging and it seems to be working well....

 

Curious to hear peoples personal opinions and experiences....

 

Boon


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I'm with you Timboon,I've

Tue, 2018-01-16 07:00

I'm with you Timboon,

I've often wondered how others manage to get the light jigs down and keep them there when there is a far bit of water under you and wind or current pushing the boat along.

I'm using similar weights to yourself.

NORUN NOFUN's picture

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I use the lightest outfit I

Tue, 2018-01-16 07:57

I use the lightest outfit I possibly can when fishing light jigs, 60 to 90g, usually in the high 20's to 40mtrs.
I am sure other people do the same, but when the wind and current are strong I always cast upwind anticipating the time it takes for the jig to reach the bottom, once it hits bottom and if I have timed this right I should be vertical over the jig creating a small window of opportunity to put your jigging technique to good use.
This is where in my opinion a good technique in that small window of opportunity will get the best reaction bite.
Having an outfit that works the jig combined with a good technique is half the battle won.
On windy days I seem to spend more time casting and winding, but I do this to increase my vertical time, compared to persisting with jigging on an angle.
I hope this made sense.

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Light as possible

Tue, 2018-01-16 08:42

 I’m same as above. Also running the braid through your fingers when your dropping cancels out the action of the jig and gets you to the bottom much quicker

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Lighter jigs require thinner

Tue, 2018-01-16 08:42

Lighter jigs require thinner line to get down to the bottom quicker. A lighter outfit running pe1.5-2 would be ideal. For really light jigs 20g-50g I have a PE1 outfit that does the job nicely.

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 And yes, putting a tiny bit

Tue, 2018-01-16 08:45

 And yes, putting a tiny bit of resistance on the line will actually make the jigs sink much quicker. Good advice!

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 And yes, putting a tiny bit

Tue, 2018-01-16 08:45

 And yes, putting a tiny bit of resistance on the line will actually make the jigs sink much quicker. Good advice!

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 With you timboon, 150g is

Tue, 2018-01-16 08:57

 With you timboon, 150g is usually the lightest i start with in metro unless it is 10 knots and below, then I would go as low as 80g.

 Kind of impossible to fish with 120g most of the time given the drift and wind.

 Using lighter outfit will definitely get the lighter jig down faster but I have lost several unstoppables that way.

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Drifting fast

Tue, 2018-01-16 09:05

 Sometimes conditions are just too shit for jigging and your wasting your time IMO

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yep as others have said

Tue, 2018-01-16 09:21

yep as others have said ....my go to is 150g, but I do fish generally a bit deeper. and my demersal gear is PE 2 30lb.
no doubt that if I went shallower and lighter outfit I'd be better off with the light jigs.

timboon's picture

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 Myth busted i'd have to say,

Tue, 2018-01-16 11:46

 Myth busted i'd have to say, thanks for the feedback and i'm glad i've now got it sorted as i've spent frustrating hours thinking i'm doing the right thing.....

 

No Run... I'm hearing you but i'm of the opinion that a jig close to the bottom is better than one not in the water hence the heavier jig weights....

 

The cast forward technique is ok but you just feel like you're chasing you're tail all day and i hate that feeling....

 

Sure if you have a hot bite on a really good lump then you only need the one drop that will work a treat....

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 To add to my reply above, a

Tue, 2018-01-16 12:43

 To add to my reply above, a fella who i fish with a lot is an absolute gun on the jig...

 

He uses two rods, both combined would total about $200 i reckon for the rods and reels, one is a little piston grip bait caster set up he found jammed in the rocks washed up at 3 mile Gnaraloo....

 

The other is what most people would call a cheap bread and butter fishing type rod, not a big Dhu/Groper/Sambo stopper but he does....

 

He uses cheap 200gram jigs with fuck all colour and kills it, i think the brand is Tekka ( long jig yellowish and silver ), He always runs a bottom hook plus the 2 assists at the top and it would be at least 50/50 as to which end of the jig he catches fish on....

 

He just keeps the jig moving, nothing specific just keeps it moving in the strike zone and he is bullshit how many hits/fish he gets.....

 

He's one of those fellas that you see blokes standing next to him ( including me ) and using the same gear the same action and getting fucked off coz he's pulling fish and no one else is.....

 

Its good to witness and it feels very satisfying when you outfish him :) not that its a competition ( bullshit of course it is )

 

Anyway its taught me a lot fishing with him, we rarely miss.....

 

No Run he's not a caster he just gets it down there and does his thing...

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 I forgot to mention that yep

Tue, 2018-01-16 12:48

 I forgot to mention that yep i have seen him get bricked, a couple of times and thats not because his gear could'nt handle it he went to easy on the initial run or two....

 

The opposite to most blokes who loose fish because they think they have to muscle the shit out of each fish they catch only to pull the hooks on half of them, my pet hate but some people can't be told, especially those that come south after trying to beat the sharks in the north....

 

 

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agreed haha. especially when

Sat, 2018-02-17 03:14

agreed haha.
especially when you are on rubble ground with no caves at all! let off the drag and be sure to get it in. Iv landed a 14kg dhu only handing on by the swim bladder using super loose drag as I knew there were no caves around. you can normally feel the hook isn't set in something solid and ease it off.
I do the opposite with nannygai schools though, their cheeks are so soft that they easily shake the hooks through the cheeks, better off skull dragging them up before they have a chance to think.

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Fair enough Timboon, if it

Tue, 2018-01-16 13:27

Fair enough Timboon, if it works well for you, why change it.
I guess I was just replying to you asking for any opinions or experiences with fishing light jigs and what has worked.
I must be the only one in Perth with my style :-)
I guess the good thing is, you can sell me your unsed light jigs - win win

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 Hey mate i'm certainly not

Tue, 2018-01-16 13:32

 Hey mate i'm certainly not suggesting you dont catch fish, there are lotsa fellas out there that use the cast in front system ( it makes perfect sense, and i do use it at times but not down up cast down up cast just cast then down if you get me  ) 

 

I appreciate your feedback, there aint no rules in fishing....

 

A mate of mine used a fucking chook head the other day and nailed a Dhu first drop....

 

Chigging he called it.....

 

Regarding selling my unused Jigs, I'm a bit of a hoarder.... You just never know when you may need them and it wouldn't be a fishing/camping trip if you didnt take everything you own only to use fuck all of it!!

 

Thanks anyway....

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 I know a fella who uses

Tue, 2018-01-16 20:12

 I know a fella who uses chicken breast for Dhuies and does ok.

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Damn - I was hoping for a

Tue, 2018-01-16 13:45

Damn - I was hoping for a bargain, my last trip to the Montie's certainlt thinned my collection out.

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 if its suited to your boat

Tue, 2018-01-16 17:21

 if its suited to your boat like it is mine slap that bad boy in reverse and try hold the mark a little longer.

 go tha tekka jigs  i dont buy anything thats not in the discount bins

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That's a great point Gilly, I

Wed, 2018-01-17 06:27

That's a great point Gilly, I will always do the same with reverse and just idling.

A few of my mates over east are using spot lock on there minn kota's, they all have 6mtr ali's and so far reckon it is a great feature.

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So much to learn

Wed, 2018-01-17 07:25

 Interesting read for a not so newish newbie. I have so much to learn :(

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 No Run, you take me to the

Wed, 2018-01-17 10:20

 No Run, you take me to the Monties and i'll even give you a couple of Jigs....

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 I generally use heavier slow

Sat, 2018-01-27 11:07

 I generally use heavier slow pitch jigs now pretty much most my jigs are over the 180gm weight with 200-250g being the avg I use now days in 30m plus just so that I can get longer verticals time while drifting.  Most people say try throwing infront off the drift but with a oh and very soft tip slow pitch rods I just don’t feel comfortable doing so so this is where the heavier weight helps 

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May be different in Exmouth

Sat, 2018-01-27 14:22

May be different in Exmouth but the heaviest I fish here is 150 gram and thats in 120mtrs of water and current with wind. Most of the time its 60 and 100gram jigs in 50mtrs to 100mtrs. Back of the reef for trout and rankin i am down to 30 gram jigs in 30mtrs of water. Heaviest I fish is PE3/4. As others have said I will hold the boat in reverse to keep me on the spot and cast up drift so I am vertical when the jig is on the bottom. About to install a new Minn Kota with spot lock should make life alot easier. Oh and same for the bargain bin sick of loosing $20 jigs to sharks if it cost more then $10 wont use em.

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I usually fish with a 130g

Tue, 2018-02-13 22:46

I usually fish with a 130g jig in the 30-40 mark and it feels about perfect in a 5-10kn wind with my PE3 combo. Any lighter than 5kn and I can feel it thudding into the ground so I'll try micro jigs or soft placcies with my lighter combo instead but fucked if I can nail a big boy on the placcies yet. Still learning the jigging game but my biggest dhus so far have all come from my 130g lamble half pitches.

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For cheap jigs take a look at

Fri, 2018-02-16 22:47

For cheap jigs take a look at dhubite jigs, they have a presale promo on and iv been killing it with them. Only $5 each for 150g and very similar to the expensive types.

In my opinion cast in front system isn't worth it. Because about 40% of your drift you don't have a jig in the strike range, and during the time your jig is on bottom, it is sitting in only one spot as it doesn't drift with the boat. With a heavier jig you still stay vertical and also drift with the boat covering more ground with the jig. If im drifting faster than about 0.9kn then the jig is moving too quick horizontally and the fish doesn't have time to be intrigued before a strike, so I will click the motor in reverse and use motor to angle my drift where I want it - sea anchors are a waste of time for short drifts and you cant control your drift as well. I don't believe the theory that smaller jigs attract more fish, I too believe big baits/jigs big fish, I think the myth has has stemmed from the 'always use the smallest sinker available, only use the smallest possible swivel blah blah rubbish', which like all fishing myths comes about because smart marketers want you to purchase a range of tackle rather than one suits all set. But the myths work because there is next to no scientific proof to prove otherwise and people want to do every possible thing in their favour to help their hook up rate so they will believe anything.
When people use heavier sinkers they catch less fish, true, but in my opinion that is because you use a bigger sinker on windier days, ie your bait is further off the bottom due to fast drift, your bait is drifting too fast which dilutes its scent by the time the fish smells it, and most importantly the ocean is generally also stirred up so the poor vis/more particles in the water means the fish have to be closer to bait to see/smell it, meaning you have a much smaller damage zone in any given drift. This is why big period swells 16sec+ are bad news for fishing baits and jigs in our standard 30-60m range, the big periods reach deeper and rub the seafloor stirring it up while a low period swell will not (this and swell size are much more important than bite-time in offshore fishing, but always overlooked).
Slamming a heavy sinker on bottom only makes fish that are prey swim away, predator fish are intrigued by it as long as you don't constantly slam it as they come close, I have watched it myself. If you drop a heavy jig onto the bottom any big dhus in the area will slowly swim over to see what the fuss is, so give it a dance within 1m of bottom for 5 or so seconds while he putts over and observes this strange thing, then retrieve 1/2 pitch fairly fast about 10m vertically so he thinks hes about to miss a feed. Any big dhus in the area will go bang. If they didn't strike first time they generally wont strike the second, I don't keep drifting the same spot all day, ill move my drift 10m over until iv covered the lump then move spots.

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where do you get your Dhubite

Sat, 2018-02-17 18:56

where do you get your Dhubite jigs from. Had a search online cant find them. After loosing over 20 jigs last trip out I need to restock but only cheap jigs. Thanks

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 https://dhubitetackle.com/ a

Sat, 2018-02-17 19:02

 

https://dhubitetackle.com/

 

also try abrolhos tackle as well for cheap jigs

 

https://www.abrolhostackle.com.au/

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Cheers for that.

Sat, 2018-02-17 19:18

Cheers for that.