BassinJ Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Hey, I took a trip down the shore today to do some pluggin. Not a single bass hit, although I did catch a small fluke on a bomber , didn't know they were still lingering around here in NJ. Anyway, I threw bombers, xraps, danny swimmer, polaris popper, and nada. I talked to a few guys who said they seen a short caught here and there on clams. I also talked to a guy who said he caught 2 shorts on a "Ron Z", I researched into this bait, and found it to be a sand eel type of jig. He said he would hop it, and sometimes slowly swim it. This being said, I want to try and get into learning how to fish a jig. Can you guys give me some info on them, cause I'm pretty clueless. When I search for striper Jigs, I see bucktails, but I never looked at a bucktail to be the type of lure that was fished alone. I always thought it needed to be fished with a trailer of some kind, but maybe thats just from fishing for too much fluke over the years hah. So my main question to you guys is when/where/how should a jig be fished? I'd also like to know your favorite striper jigs that produce the best for you. Thanks for any info, and hopefully I can stick a few on the next trip. No excuses, go fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Flat Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 White bucktail jigs are one of the staples of striped bass fishing lures IMO. When I fish a bucktail I like a sandy-ish bottom. Some rocks are fine, but too many and your chances of losing a lot of jigs go way up. Simply cast out and let it sink to the bottom. Jerk up with the rod tip and reel down. You should feel the jig hit bottom and repeat. There are other ways to fish them, but this is the way that I like best and have had the most success with. "I would rather be on the water and catching nothing than at home and catching nothing" - ME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermic Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 White bucktail jigs are one of the staples of striped bass fishing lures IMO. When I fish a bucktail I like a sandy-ish bottom. Some rocks are fine, but too many and your chances of losing a lot of jigs go way up. Simply cast out and let it sink to the bottom. Jerk up with the rod tip and reel down. You should feel the jig hit bottom and repeat. There are other ways to fish them, but this is the way that I like best and have had the most success with. I would agree- a white bucktail (tipped or naked) is one of my "go-to" lures, besides the black bomber! A little practice with it and you'll find they are fairly easy to work. As Sea Flat said let it sink and hit bottom, then I jerk the rod tip up every so often to dance it off the sea floor. 99.9% of the time the bass with hit it when it's sinking back down to the bottom, so after you jerk the rod up and line goes slack be ready! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassinJ Posted November 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Hmm, so would you say your prefer the bucktail trailerless? Or without a trailer? Or would you say they both work fairly equally? Any trailers that work best for you, if so what are they? Can you also tell me a few brand names you have confidence in, and a few sizes? Oh, and the area I'll be fishing 95% of the time is from the beach, either on jettis, or from the shore. Water is typically 5-10feet deep from my knowledge. No excuses, go fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermic Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 I've caught bass with and without a trailer. I've also caught bass with different types of trailers, (grub, pork, and fin-s), so it's hard to say. I will say that I don't get the distance with a trailer on so if bass are holding close I'll use a trailer, if I need some added distance I'll take the trailer off. Bucktails work well on jetties, open beaches, inlets with strong current- everywhere. You just have to be very careful working them around boulder field type beaches you find up north. As far as brand name the only bucktails I use now are andrus. They have a rip splitter and a jetty caster- both work well, has to do with amount of hair they have and affecting their "drop" rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassinJ Posted November 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 I've caught bass with and without a trailer. I've also caught bass with different types of trailers, (grub, pork, and fin-s), so it's hard to say. I will say that I don't get the distance with a trailer on so if bass are holding close I'll use a trailer, if I need some added distance I'll take the trailer off. Bucktails work well on jetties, open beaches, inlets with strong current- everywhere. You just have to be very careful working them around boulder field type beaches you find up north. As far as brand name the only bucktails I use now are andrus. They have a rip splitter and a jetty caster- both work well, has to do with amount of hair they have and affecting their "drop" rate. Any specific size in ounce you would recommend? No excuses, go fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Flat Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 The size would be most dependent upon your setup, how deep the water is and how fast the current is moving. Generally I like the 3 oz.bucktails, but will use lighter with little current or heavier with a lot of current. I like Smilin' Bills in the large and Spro's in the smaller. Good Luck "I would rather be on the water and catching nothing than at home and catching nothing" - ME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermic Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 What Sea Flat said- I agree there, I even agree with the spro- I use them in the smaller size when targeting weakies/fluke in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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