Setting The Hook - Jigs Vs T-Rigged Softbaits 2025
Cyacnba reply :
Hey guys,
I've started using jigs for bass since a few weeks ago. Before that, I've always used t-rigged rage tail crawfish because it just worked too well. Now, my question is: when do you set the hook for jigs? When I used the t-rigged crawfish, if I had a bite, I would start lowering my rod (following the fish) for like 2 seconds and then set the hook. I was wondering if this is how you do it with jigs as well. I've done this, and it worked, but I'm not sure if I would miss more bites. I've seen how fast a bass takes the jig, meaning they could spit it out that fast as well. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
d-camarena reply :
On jigs,you usually get a pretty nice thump when a fish inhales it. I instantly go for the hookset since jigs are pretty compact. I dont feel like i miss bites. Jigs have some of the best bites/hook up ratios of all the lures
clh121787 reply :
I really don't change a thing.I think tx has extremely high hook up ratio. And bass will hold on to a plastic much longer than a jig. The weight of a jig head will cause the hook to shake loose faster than a standard worm hook. Imho. Feel a tap take up slack swing hard and high.
Senko lover reply :
I set the hook with both presentations as hard and fast as I can after detecting a bite.
Mike L reply :
On 10/22/2015 at 6:56 PM, Senko lover said:I set the hook with both presentations as hard and fast as I can after detecting a bite.
Ditto
Mike
Cyacnba reply :
Thanks everyone! I will try setting the hook as soon as I feel that thump. I think I just need to get used to jigs since I'm still not really familiar with them
WRB reply :
If you set the hook only after feeling a thump you are missing the majority of jig strikes.
Remember this simple fact; bass don't have hands. To be a good jig angler you need to be aware of what the jig feels likes and how fast it falls through the water column. If you feel anything unusual, see the line move, the jig stops falling before it hits bottom, set the hook!
Tom
gulfcaptain reply :
As Tom put it, most jig bites aren't a thump. Yes it's nice when they smack and try to run off with it, but most of mine are a heavy mushy pressure or it just doesn't feel right. There isn't a thump or tick in the line. Like Tom suggested, you have to know what the jig feels like by itself and anything out of the norm, set the hook.
Catt reply :
The most difficult part of jig fishing is feeling the bite, many will tell you it aint like the bite you get on a Texas Rig but it is so get that notion out your head.
Like with a Texas Rig those bumps, thumps, tics, & taps are easy to detect it's the ones where the bass inhales your jig without any tell-tale sign or line movement.
I say now is the time to bring forth all your expertise on feeling subtle bites stored away in your brain from Texas Rigs.
You will also hear "bass don't hold a jig long", don't be surprised when a 2 lb bass inhales your 1 oz jig without any tell-tale line movement and proceeds to sit there until you apply too much pressure at which time they spit it!
Sounds kinda like a T-rig bite huh! 
desmobob reply :
On 10/22/2015 at 11:00 PM, WRB said:If you set the hook only after feeling a thump you are missing the majority of jig strikes.
Ain't that the truth!
The best way to get good at jig fishing is to do a lot of it. After a while, you'll have that very satisfying experience of setting the hook because "something just didn't feel right" or "I had a weird feeling," and reeling in a big hog. Remember: hook-sets are free!
Tight lines,
Bob
Cyacnba reply :
Really appreciate all the help. I actually went fishing today using a jig with a trailer. I hooked 8 out of 9 bites. The one I missed was because of my lack of experience. Like you guys said, right after I casted the jig, I waited for it to touch the bottom. When I slightly lifted the rod, I thought the jig was stuck but since I felt a really subtle movement, I set the hook, not strong enough since I wasn't really sure. Of course, the fish took some line and got unhooked.
However, is it me or you lose more fish using jigs vs t-rigged baits? I managed to land 4, but the other ones escaped right in front of me when I was trying to lift them...
WRB reply :
Hook setting requires that the hook point penetrates beyond the barb into solid tissue. Most jig hooks are made with larger diameter wire than most worm hooks and the jig heads are positioned very close to the hook point than T-rigged bullet weights. What happens when a bass strikes a jig or worm, it engulfs the enteir worm or jig into it's mouth and bites down to crush and kill the critter. If the feels the hard weight or jig head, it often spits it out. With jigs the head is part of the hook, it always goes inside the basses mouth, the bass feels the hard heavy jig and spits it out or keeps eating it. With a sliding bullet weight T- rig the weight is usually up the line when the bass strikes, no weight to feel and the bass usually continues to eat the the soft plastic or rejects it like a jig.
If you feel anything suspeciuos set the hook with either a jig or T-rig, faster is better than hesitating.
Take a look at Oldschool horizontal jigging thread on this site.
I agree with Catt, don't hesitate and set the hook with jigs or t-rigs and use all your experience to determine strikes. You hesitate you miss.
Tom
Catt reply :
While I agree in part with ya Tom I also disagree & here is why.
A jig imitates a crawfish correct?
Yes I believes they do
A crawfish has a hard shell does it not?
Yes they in fact have a hard shell
Why would a bass spit what it preceives to be a crawfish because it feels somthing hard?
When the bass "crushes" the jig to kill it; it feels the hardness of a shell, the softness of the skirt, & the firmness of the trailer just like a crawfish. Believe me as a Cajun I've eaten 1,000s of pounds of crawfish.
When we cast an un-pegged Texas rig the amount of separation between the plastic & weight is inches not feet. The moment we apply any pressure to the line that distance of separation closes & stays closed!
Ever look at an un-painted lead bullet weight after catching a bass?
You will see teeth marks!
WRB reply :
Catt if you don't set hook on a plastic worm the bass often continues eating and swallows it, ie; the gut hooked bass. If you don't set the hook with a jig the bass spits it out a very high percentage of the time, therein lies the difference.
I totally agree as a bass angler we don't know how a bass is going to react after striking, so imidiate hooks sets eliminates the debate.
Tom
Catt reply :
Huh!
The only time I have an issue wirh gut hooked bass is plastics 6" or under that are unweighted or Wacky rigged.
Most of my jig fish are hooked midway back in the roof of the mouth.
Out of 1,000+ caught this year I've gut hooked 1, the times I've used a hook remover dozens.
the reel ess reply :
On 10/22/2015 at 11:21 PM, Catt said:You will also hear "bass don't hold a jig long", don't be surprised when a 2 lb bass inhales your 1 oz jig without any tell-tale line movement and proceeds to sit there until you apply too much pressure at which time they spit it!
This has been my jig experience. By the time I know they have it, they're gone. But with a Chigger Craw, they'll swim across the lake with it and refuse to spit it out. And I seem to catch big fish with it. So I have pretty much stuck to it when the occasion arises to choose between the two.
Raul reply :
If you are going to wait before you feel anything on a jig you'll miss half of the bites, half of the times when a fish inhales the bait what you cease to feel is the bait dragging the line as it moves, the bait simply "dissapears" from the line, then it's time to set the hook.
scaleface reply :
jig vs Trig I fish them the same and set the hook the same .The T rig is basically a jig with the weight separate from the hook .
Catt reply :
On 10/23/2015 at 9:09 PM, Raul said:If you are going to wait before you feel anything on a jig you'll miss half of the bites, half of the times when a fish inhales the bait what you cease to feel is the bait dragging the line as it moves, the bait simply "dissapears" from the line, then it's time to set the hook.
Once we really learn to feel what's going on with our t-rig or jig we will notice the same is true both.
This right here is why I advocate night fishing!
Night fishing will amplify your sense of feel so much it will scare ya!
Y'all remember when ya first used tungsten how it amplified every thing!
Night fishing will double that
Josh Smith reply :
Catt,
Along those same lines, I generally close my eyes when fishing slowly.
Josh
Raul reply :
On 10/23/2015 at 10:28 PM, Catt said:Once we really learn to feel what's going on with our t-rig or jig we will notice the same is true both.
This right here is why I advocate night fishing!
Night fishing will amplify your sense of feel so much it will scare ya!
Y'all remember when ya first used tungsten how it amplified every thing!
Night fishing will double that
No need to go fishing at night fer me 
....... all I need to do is to take off my glasses and I can´t see squat. 
senile1 reply :
On 10/23/2015 at 10:28 PM, Catt said:Once we really learn to feel what's going on with our t-rig or jig we will notice the same is true both.
This right here is why I advocate night fishing!
Night fishing will amplify your sense of feel so much it will scare ya!
Y'all remember when ya first used tungsten how it amplified every thing!
Night fishing will double that
Night fishing scares me anyway. I'm afraid of the boogey man.
Siebert Outdoors reply :
On 10/22/2015 at 11:21 PM, Catt said:The most difficult part of jig fishing is feeling the bite, many will tell you it aint like the bite you get on a Texas Rig but it is so get that notion out your head.
Like with a Texas Rig those bumps, thumps, tics, & taps are easy to detect it's the ones where the bass inhales your jig without any tell-tale sign or line movement.
I say now is the time to bring forth all your expertise on feeling subtle bites stored away in your brain from Texas Rigs.
You will also hear "bass don't hold a jig long", don't be surprised when a 2 lb bass inhales your 1 oz jig without any tell-tale line movement and proceeds to sit there until you apply too much pressure at which time they spit it!
Sounds kinda like a T-rig bite huh!
Catt pretty much summed it up. For me I do not change anything.
Raul reply :
On 10/23/2015 at 11:40 PM, senile1 said:Night fishing scares me anyway. I'm afraid of the boogey man.
No problem unless you call his name 3 times.
Cyacnba reply :
Awesome tips!
Now, I remembered something from yesterday. I know how important it is to watch the line for jigs, but how would you do so when it's really windy? Yesterday, the wind was getting stronger, making it harder to tell whether my jig (1/4oz) was being moved by the wind or by a fish. If I tried to pick up the slack line, it would kind of lift my jig. Unfortunately, the 1/4oz is currently my only jig (waiting for a few more from Siebert!). I had used a 1/2oz jig before, but it didn't feel right on my Veritas rod
jonnyblazex reply :
Cyacnba, during really windy days a heavier jig is a must! Might as well forget about line watching in those conditions.
smr_hga reply :
Jigs can be tricky at first, when i first started i sometimes thought i had a bite when i really just ran into a patch of weeds lol. However when you get a bite, you'll know it, it will be as if your jig just thumped into a wall. Like most lures when you feel that resistance, set the hook with confidence and you'll get a lot of hookups.
scaleface reply :
On 10/27/2015 at 12:27 AM, LiftedSquare13 said:Jigs can be tricky at first, when i first started i sometimes thought i had a bite when i really just ran into a patch of weeds lol. However when you get a bite, you'll know it, it will be as if your jig just thumped into a wall. Like most lures when you feel that resistance, set the hook with confidence and you'll get a lot of hookups.
I get lots of bites that i dont know. I weigh the line and if my line feels heavy I set the hook . Thats the reason I still use mono instead of florocarbon . I'm use to the sensations of mono .
smr_hga reply :
On 10/27/2015 at 12:41 AM, scaleface said:I get lots of bites that i dont know. I weigh the line and if my line feels heavy I set the hook . Thats the reason I still use mono instead of florocarbon . I'm use to the sensations of mono .
Huh... Guess i've been jigging so long i can't miss a bite anymore lol.
related Fishing Tackle topic
previous topic
next topic
© 2025 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.