Slow jigging

[jonnyswamp]

As a bit of a follow on from GPS Gurus reply in another thread

I've heard a fair bit about slow jigging over wrecks

Anyone care to enlighten me with regards to the difference between it and normal drifting

Different tackle and lures ?

[Andy135]

Basically yes. Specialist rods and reels, and lures that are designed to flutter downwards, attached direct to the main line. Different technique to using them too, one which I suck at, so can't really comment on the best way to work a slow jig but like the name suggests they flutter slowly down through the water column representing a dead or dying baitfish.

[Saintly Fish]

30 minutes ago, Andy135 said:

ne. Different technique to using them too, one which I suck at

Just out of interest, apart from LSD catching is there any form of fishing you DONT suck at?

[Andy135]

Just now, Saintly Fish said:

Just out of interest, apart from LSD catching is there any form of fishing you DONT suck at?

Well... I'm great at catching weed 👍

[jonnyswamp]

Just had a look at a few youtube videos

So is an expensive, specialist rod and reel a necessity

Or will a spinning rod and fixed spool do the job

Is this only done around slack water, or very small tides

Surely anything less than 8-10oz would just kite out on a normal tide

[Andy135]

I'm led to understand that to get the proper action for the lures to work properly a jigging rod is best, but they can be quite reasonable in cost. Take a look at the HTO Slizzle Jizzle rod - less than £70.

https://www.lureheaven.co.uk/spinning-lure-fishing-shop/HTO-Slizzle-Jizzle-6-6--230g-Rod-4085.html

Reels are less essential but they recommend narrow/light reels with big cranking power.

The proper technique involves lifting the rod and reel high above your head to allow the lure to flutter downwards for as long as possible as you let the rod tip drop down to the surface of the water, hence narrow, light reels to minimize weight.

More details here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.jigabite.co.uk/Slow%20Pitch%20Jigging%20Explained.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj1gKuhvezsAhUERxUIHYAhCVkQFjANegQIGBAB&usg=AOvVaw1RARZ3wFWwevQqyThESUEm

[GPSguru]

1 hour ago, jonnyswamp said:

So is an expensive, specialist rod and reel a necessity

No, but it does the job better ...............

 

1 hour ago, jonnyswamp said:

Or will a spinning rod and fixed spool do the job

Yes, but I don't like mangles for slow jigging ................

1 hour ago, jonnyswamp said:

Is this only done around slack water, or very small tides

No, it is done at all states of the tide, using a jig weight to suit ................ mine vary from 60g to 250g....................

 

OK ...........TBH, a 6 -12 with a soft (ish) tip will do the job quite well ...................

 

I use Hearty Rise Slow Jigging II rods ... the SJ632/230 & SJ632/340 (£300 each)  ................. https://www.heartyrise.cn/product/slow-jigging-2/?lang=en

The rods are very light and you can use them for hours without fatique .................

You need braid of about 20lb (no heavier) , the braid needs to be thin and good quality 8 strand (1 or 1.2PE)............. using Jig master braid I can quite happily work a 200g in 200ft on a mid spring .................

The easiest action to master, is .............. drop to the bottom, lift the rod to vertical, then lower the rod to pointing at the sea . This will leave coils of line on the surface as the jig flutters down, wind 2 turns and repeat ............... the take will be on the fluttering drop.

Slow jigs work due to their geometric shape ........... one side of the jig is heavier than the other, so they flutter in the water like a leaf falling for a tree .............

However, the jigs are expensive (£10 -£25) and it is easy to lose a few on a wreck ...................

It is additive, but also can be quite expensive .................

The best resource to learn is Japanese Anglers Secrets .........http://www.anglers-secrets.com/slow-pitch-jigging/

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by GPSguru

[Andy135]

4 minutes ago, GPSguru said:

It is additive, but also can be quite expensive .................

So what's new? We're boat owners 😖🤣

[GPSguru]

2 minutes ago, Andy135 said:

So what's new? We're boat owners 😖🤣

I added a link for you to look at ............. the videos are quite helpful

[Andy135]

Just now, GPSguru said:

I added a link for you to look at ............. the videos are quite helpful

Ah thank you! That was the site I was struggling to remember the name of when replying to Swampy. It's a great resource.

@jonnyswamp, the link that GPS posted has everything you need to know about slow jigging. 👍

[GPSguru]

Another slow jigging action is to make the jig tumble 3 or 4 times .............. this action keeps the jig roughly in the same position in the water column, great when the fish are tight over a wreck ...........

Drop down and wind up 'X' number of turns to where the fish are (on a wreck between 5 and 10) ............ point the rod parallel with the water and use a quick wrist flick upwards by about 30 degrees (not a lot) and then lower the rod to parallel ............ this has the effect of making the jig tumble , but also leaving it at the same position in the water column................

 

 

[crisdafish]

I cut the cost of slow jigging losses by buying cheaper lures from China, I expect that's where most come from anyway.

Try AliExpress https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32958208971.html  These are decent quality, I've been using these for a while and they work both at home for cod and pollock as well as overseas. 

One thing I did last year but never got to try was to tie some assists using aberdeen hooks rather than using standard assist hooks which are much stronger. The idea being if you caught the bottom with the hook you stood a chance of bending it out. This tactic works on my rough ground shore rigs but I'm not sure how they would work if bringing a decent fish up vertically, but most of my fishing is done in relatively shallow water so that may not be too much of an issue for me.

 

 

[JDP]

Slow jigging can literally be a rod in a horizontal rod holder gently moving to the wave action. Lures tend to flutter and its this fluttering slow action that can turn a fish onto smacking a lure. Normally the action of the rod is a slow soft feel and reels can be either spin or multi. Line class is way more fun and better at getting good action out of lures with lighter line but you can still get away using heavier. The falling of the lure is when many of the bites come which is why light line makes it easier to detect a bite as the lure drops. A bit like slow mackerel feathering up a few turns of the handle then back down a little, constantly trying to mix up the action.

A few years ago we were targeting yellowtail with the fastest reels possible and using actions that looks more like you were trying to not let a fish get the lure, this made the fish aggressive and worked well and still does. The slow action also works a treat, which is way more up my ally in terms of fishing. People around me will often do 4 or 5 fast drops to one of my slow jig drops. The verdict on which is best can be tricky but generally slow jigging will catch more species and most of the time as soon as one person hooks a kingfish everyone else in the boat hooks them too. Ive mentioned many times before that I believe this would work well on UK wrecks and am now seeing more and more people doing it with great success.

 

[suzook12]

Jon, what sort of lures do you use for slow jigging? Not ya standard jig I'm guessing..........

[GPSguru]

3 hours ago, JDP said:

The verdict on which is best can be tricky but generally slow jigging will catch more species

 

It is the slow fluttering drop that does the trick ............. there isn't many fish that will turn their nose up at what looks like a free easy meal with no effort  ............

[JDP]

10 hours ago, suzook12 said:

Jon, what sort of lures do you use for slow jigging? Not ya standard jig I'm guessing..........

I mix it up with so many different types but just have a quick search under micro jigs and virtually every manufacture has a some in their range. There are octopus style to small bait fish shapes like the Shimano colt sniper style, the most common are wider in the mid sectioned weighted to flutter on their sides. The black magic flutter jigs have been one of my favourite larger jigs on the bigger pelagic fish and Im sure these would be good on wrecks in the UK, especially the black and lumo colour. Things change rapidly in this style jigs, a few years back Daiwa Pirates were all the rage, There would easily be 100 styles of these kinds lures in my small local tackle store and heaps of Chinese copies on eBay.

[SiDfish]

So is a Norwegian pirk a slow jig?  We let them down, keeping in close contact, as pollack often hit them hard as they flutter

[GPSguru]

4 hours ago, SiDfish said:

So is a Norwegian pirk a slow jig?  We let them down, keeping in close contact, as pollack often hit them hard as they flutter

 

No, they are a standard Pirk jig and feck'in hard work in comparison to slow pitch jigging ................ a true slow jig is geometrically designed so that one side of the jig is much heavier than the other, this gives it a slow fluttering side to side motion as it free falls through the water column, very much like a leaf falling from a tree or a feather falling on a still day .................. the design also means that you can easily impart different actions to the jig and make it look like a fish darting from side to side.................

[Ivan Tuna]

Terry Smith at Jigabite on the south coast have reasonably priced jigs. 

[GPSguru]

1 hour ago, Ivan Tuna said:

Terry Smith at Jigabite on the south coast have reasonably priced jigs. 

Slow jigs have come down a lot in price now that there is more availability .......... I have found that generally colour is not important, it is the movement that attracts the fish and jig selection regarding shape and weight is determined by the depth of water, the tidal flow, and the boat drift .......... the jig must stay more or less vertical and avoid it streaming away from the boat ..............

[Andy135]

Here's a question for the slow jiggers here: do you find that the assist hooks rust almost instantly?

I've had trouble with some of mine - HTO jigs in particular. I'm guessing they all use hooks at the lower end of the quality range to keep the price reasonable.

Does anyone have any suggestions for better hooks that I could replace the standard ones with?

[SiDfish]

Use a lot of assist hooks and they do corrode quickly.  I reckon it's because the hooks, short shank semi-circle, are designed for C&R game fishing.  A good source for assist hooks is wickedrigs on Ebay.  I tend to keep all jigs/pirks used on a day in a re-usable ziplock bag and at days end give them a squirt of the boats WD40, a shake and leave for next time.  It's easy to make your own using a big swivel, heavy braid, hook and shrink tube.  If there's ling about (their teeth destroy braid) I'll use heavy mono for the line (150lb), with fluoro silicone tube from hook shank to swivel barrel.  Green for ling and orange for pollack/coalie/cod/pout/wrasse.

[ever optimistic]

agree with SID, i have used wicked a couple of times and excellent service and quality product.

[jonnyswamp]

OK, my first lot of 200g lures turned up today

These are bare, if fishing over a wreck, would you use 2 sets of hooks (top and bottom) or just one set on the top to avoid constant snagging the wreck

Single assist or double ?

Hook size, 4/0, 5/0 or 6/0 ?

 

[Andy135]

2 minutes ago, jonnyswamp said:

OK, my first lot of 200g lures turned up today

These are bare, if fishing over a wreck, would you use 2 sets of hooks (top and bottom) or just one set on the top to avoid constant snagging the wreck

Single assist or double ?

Hook size, 4/0, 5/0 or 6/0 ?

 

Good question. I personally would use just one set, on the top, but I'm curious to see if our more jiggy members suggest differently.